Strategies that combine marketing tactics, tackling the campaign’s goals in multiple ways often prove the best course of action. But there’s one thing that marketing professionals can agree on: the combination of display and paid search. Such is the case for one of our healthcare clients, a local dental practice.
Pairing search with display is a smart way to create an ad campaign because conversion rates increase when these tactics are bundled. But why? How is it that these two tactics magnify the results of the other?
Brand Recall drives Search Clicks
Display impressions, or digital ads, drive consumer awareness of your brand. The more a brand is known, the more likely the audience is to click on search results from that brand. If a consumer is looking for information on a product or service and takes to Google, Yahoo or Bing for answers, that person is unlikely to click search engine results from brands they don’t know.
In the case of this dental provider, it was the strength of the brand shines in the search results.
Display Ads can Drive Keyword Searches
If your product or brand is new to the market, you can actually use display and print advertising to drive consumer behavior in researching your brand. “Google TownSmart Drivers” tells the consumer just what to do. “Ask for Us by Name” introduces the idea of a branded search. Or “Find more ProTips from Our Experts” might introduce your new “how to” video series. Telling the consumer how to find you is a simple way to drive activity in search.
Remember that many audiences prefer search over clicks. (Many of us will open a new window to look for an advertiser rather than click the ad. This is often why organic and direct traffic both lift during a display campaign, along with driving search results.) When your ad tells them what to search, you’re ahead of the consumer’s train of thought.
In the case of this dental practice, the companion display and search campaigns are closely geo-targeted to areas surrounding the office. Using our own publisher site as a key display position, but also the extended network (programmatic), we’re able to position the dentist with the audiences most likely to convert, and drive new clients to their office through form fills and calls from their website.
Site Traffic Is
90% Unique,
10% Are Returning Clients
Average of
37
New Patient Calls Per Month
Average of
12
New Patient Form Fills Per Month
Search and Display are Complementary
Display ads drive brand awareness, while search ads drive conversions by identifying consumers in the market for those brands. You can easily reach people who aren’t actively searching for your product or service with display, engaging audiences that have previously been beyond your grasp, and opening up new opportunities to increase sales!
This Dental Provider Benefits from this Strategy
In the past, this client has suffered from wasted impressions and spend. Keeping the geography where the ads and search are served very tight the location has driven improved quality of inquiries, while right-sizing the spend to the results. Analytics proves that 43%+ of the site traffic month to month can be attributed solely to this campaign effort.
Ad Choices
