Published in DM News on June 16, 2008, Special 2008 Essential Guide to Search Marketing Issue:

Growth-Enabling Reporting Tools–
They’re Not Just for the Big Guys!

By Brian Gulledge

The right analytical Web reporting tools are critical to helping you make the strategic decisions that will take your business from “Mom and Pop” to Fortune 500. Affording those tools is tough when your business is still fairly small, but the right information can help you to break through that glass ceiling and rise to the enterprise level.

How do you get started?

Two ways. The first would be to purchase online software that provides essential data on traffic, conversions and ROI. Cost can easily run as much as $5,000 a month for licensing fees. The downside is evident – you don’t have the time or expertise to properly interpret the data.

Partnering with a search marketing agency is a better option for several reasons. You can get access to advanced bidding and analytics tools for significantly less than the licensing fees you would pay individually, plus you get agency SEM expertise and campaign management assistance essentially for free.

Analytical Web reporting tools can help you make decisions, not just on keywords and bidding, but they can track conversions to specific ad copy. This is the type of information that allows the big players in your industry to respond quickly and efficiently when a customer indicates what their hot buttons are, and most of them use an agency for this level of control.

When you can quickly and cost-effectively test search engine placement, keywords, ad copy and landing pages you know exactly how to position yourself in the market to get the best ROI for your online spending.

A good search marketing agency can give you access to these tools as part of their service contract and often, for a small business, your monthly contract will be far less than it would be if you licensed the reporting tools yourself. A better search engine marketing agency will recommend the analytical Web reporting tools that best fit your individual business needs and that do not limit you to their own proprietary tools. The best search marketers have the expertise: to really understand the data; to see the trends early and capitalize on them; and to customize the reporting so it is relevant and understandable to you. In many cases, all of that expertise is included in a monthly service contract that gets you access to the tools, manages your campaigns and provides you with customized data at a cost below what you would pay to get the tools on your own.

This is how you break from the pack and move ahead in your industry. You can get the information you thought you couldn’t afford, and best of all you don’t have to do it alone.

Brian Gulledge is General Manager of Idearc Search Marketing.

Questions? Call us at 978-298-1525, or e-mail SalesSMS@idearc.com.