Search engine marketing approach 'must be customised'

13:50 9th February 2010

Businesses must create their own search engine marketing campaigns rather than attempt a one size fits all approach, a search expert has advised.

David Roth, director of search engine marketing for Yahoo!, said in a piece for Search Engine Land that digital marketing professionals looking for a single model that will work for all businesses would be disappointed.

He explained: "As the landscape across which you're managing search engine marketing campaigns becomes increasingly varied, the more complex and custom your approach to search marketing will need to be."

The best way for businesses to optimise their search engine marketing campaigns is to come up with a unique approach, tailored to their own needs, Mr Roth advised.

He advised periodically re-activating keywords to check that they were profitable as a method of ensuring ad spending was working.

In an earlier article for Search Engine Land, Mr Roth said that although it is difficult to test the usefulness of paid search against more organic methods, it is possible to get a grasp of what is working by avoiding testing during periods of volatility such as holidays.

He said pausing paid ads for a week at a time could help a digital marketing professional to judge how successful they are against more organic search engine marketing methods.