Sponsor 
By Marlet D. Salazar
More and more consumers are going online and utilizing search engines such as Google and Yahoo!, to discover what are the latest products in the market. In fact, “searching” is the top online activity here in the Philippines according to the Yahoo!-Nielsen Net Index 2010. This was revealed by Arthur Policarpio (pictured), president and CEO of Snapworx, during a talk on “Search Marketing: How to Drive Sustainable Traffic to Your Site through Search” held at Shanghai Bistro in Makati City recently.
“Search engine marketing is the foundation of every successful Internet marketing program,” Policarpio tells adobo. “Consumers discover content through the Internet primarily through search engines – as such, for a brand, it is imperative that their websites are ‘found’ by searchers.”
Searches come in two categories: the paid search (through pay per click models like Google’s adwords program), or via "organic search," or showing up in the natural search results of the search engines.
Sometimes, it is not enough that a website is the number 1 yield. It does not guarantee a 100-percent click from users.
“The methodology used in order to increase the rankings of a brand’s website in organic search results is search engine optimization (SEO),” says Policarpio who has eight years of experience in digital marketing, social media, mobile and search.
Being the top pick in search results is not enough. A website has to have a good content to make it more interesting and may hold promise of another visit from the user. The eight principles of buzz or what can entice people to visit a particular site include: secret, humor, contest, controversy, outrageous, new, utility, and causes or advocacy.
Why is search becoming more and more imperative to companies and how can it help their brands?
Policarpio said that marketing could help brands gain top of mind awareness among consumers for their category, build sustainable traffic to their website and other web properties (such as online videos), generate targeted leads or sales prospects, and generate an actual online sale.
More and more people are shifting their interests from traditional advertising to digital advertising and search is probably one of the most powerful tools in selling products. Policarpio cites a Yahoo-Nielsen 2010 Net Index Study, that says “around 10-11 different product categories, average monthly Philippine search traffic in Google for these categories increased by more than 90% in a 10-month period.
Policarpio said that efficient SEO (Search Engine Optimization) could greatly benefit marketers, “especially now that Filipino consumers are actively using the internet and search engines as an aid to their decision-making process for purchasing a product.”
For the San Miguel Food Group for example, Snapworx took advantage of the 1.54 million monthly Google searches for the word “recipe,” by uploading to YouTube, 200 professionally-produced recipe videos, all recommending San Miguel-exclusive ingredients. In four months, the videos have accumulated 231,233 views. Of those who watched the videos in YouTube, 76% claimed to have tried cooking the recipes. And among that 76%, a remarkable 81% used the recommended San Miguel products and ingredients.
“Filipino consumers are actively using the internet – in particular, search engines – as an aid to their decision-making process for purchasing a product,” explains Policarpio. “As such, it is imperative that brands use search marketing techniques in order for their websites to be discovered by consumers who are actively searching for information related to their product category.”
