Verbal Cue Webinar

From Keyword Research to Customer Communications

From Keyword Research to
Customer Communications
How search engine data can help you find the right
messages for your target audiences.

Presented by
Mike Corak, Director of Interactive Services
Sara Wachter-Boettcher, Content Strategy and Creation
Moderated by
Eric Reid, Social Media Services Manager

webinar.offmadisonave.com Call-In: (605) 475-4261 Session: 217-280-048


What’s this webinar really about?
First and foremost, it’s about audience research.

◦ Understanding audience needs, wants and trends is essential to building
any effective communications strategy.
◦ The more research you employ before you build a strategy – whether
for a website, a PR plan or any marketing campaign –the more effective
your messages will be.
It’s about using traditional keyword research tools not just for SEO

and PPC, but as an affordable means of performing this audience
research.
 It’s not about search marketing – although this research
can guide your search campaigns (and much, much more).

webinar.offmadisonave.com Call-In: (605) 475-4261 Session: 217-280-048 7/02/08 3


What is a Verbal Cue Analysis?
It’s more than a fancy name – it’s an in-depth audience

research process we’ve been refining since 2006:
◦ Compiling data from standard keyword research tools (Wordtracker,
Google Adwords Keyword Suggestion, etc.)
◦ Reviewing geographic, seasonal and other trend data
◦ Categorizing, aggregating and reviewing the data
◦ Creating comprehensive analysis and implications
◦ Comparing our analysis with other audience research findings (such as
segmentation, personas, focus groups, surveys, etc.)
◦ Outlining recommendations for online and offline strategies and tactics
that improve and produce desired results



But what can it do for me?
Give you insights into your audiences’ real interests and

desires.
Uncover common vernacular, allowing you to speak in the

language your audience already uses.
Help identify competitors and relative brand awareness.

Shape your key messages and brand positioning.

Help you prioritize content on a website and even

determine what information should be included at all.
Guide your company’s naming for products, services and

site navigation.



No, really – what can it do for me?
Common Online Results:
 More effective messaging and calls to action, leading to
increased site conversion and ROI.
 Increased site usability and more intuitive navigation.
 Less user frustration and site abandonment.
 Clearer identiﬁcation of site audiences and their needs.
 Better search marketing campaigns, leading to more targeted
visitors from natural and paid search.



The benefits aren’t just online.
Offline Implications:
 Brand positioning and messaging that truly answer your
audiences’ needs, easing the conversion process.
 Product and service names that reflect customers’ interests,
reducing the need to educate prospects.
 More effective creative, PR and other communications
campaigns.
 Support for assumptions made using other research
methods, such as focus groups or surveys.



Let’s See it in Action
Examples from real-life clients and research.



Online Brand Recognition
Trafﬁc data from sites like Alexa.com is often used as a

measure of online brand awareness.
However, branded search volume can provide a more

complete picture of how many people know about and are
interested in a speciﬁc brand online.
It is also one way to quantify results of large brand-building

campaigns. That is, a successful campaign that increases
brand awareness should increase branded searches over
time as well.



Situation
Fujitsu wants to increase brand recognition of the ECLIPSE

line of car audio/navigation products, and gain share of voice
online in the car audio market.
Prior to creating an integrated promotional campaign and

contest, we needed to gauge ECLIPSE brand awareness in
the car audio market compared to other brands.



Findings Keyword Phrase Daily Search Volume
 Many of ECLIPSE’s traditional Pioneer Car Audio 204
ofﬂine competitors have greater Alpine Car Audio 158
online brand recognition than Memphis Car Audio 105
ECLIPSE.
Kenwood Car Audio 86
 Not all brands listed were
ECLIPSE Car Audio 77
identiﬁed by ECLIPSE as
JVC Car Audio 74
traditional competitors.
Bose Car Audio 67
 A comprehensive integrated
Clarion Car Audio 65
brand-building effort will help
Panasonic Car Audio 59
increase ECLIPSE’s prominence
Sony Car Audio 56
online.
Jensen Car Audio 52



Reputation Management
Usually involves checking search engine results for branded

phrases to ﬁnd negative information.
Keyword data can provide a broader view of your online

reputation:
◦ Tells you whether people are seeking negative information –
whether or not that information exists on a website.
◦ Allows you to identify – and correct or combat – reputation
problems before a negative website even exists.



Reputation Management
A Google search for “Exxon” reveals

negative information about the company –
the Exxon Valdez oil spill – near the bottom
of the ﬁrst SERP (result 8).
 However, keyword data shows that “Exxon
Valdez” is searched for nearly ﬁve times
more often than “Exxon.”
 More than half of all searches that include
“Exxon” are related to the Exxon Valdez.
 Despite extensive PR and marketing efforts
to repair its image, this data shows that the
public still strongly associates Exxon with the
disaster.



Product Naming and Nomenclature
Especially common with e-commerce sites and those with

varied inventories, product names and categories are often
based on common industry phrases.
While this makes sense to those in the know, the issue is that

these names and categories often don’t align with consumer
nomenclature, and therefore don’t carry the same weight for
the end user.
Furthermore, prioritizing such products and categories is

often based on past performance or desired outcomes,
ignoring actual market demand.


Product Naming and Nomenclature

Align product categorization and naming with the most common audience

nomenclature. (“Short loin” or “ﬁlet mignon”?)
 Prioritize categories based on interest level, adjusting ongoing for
seasonality (“roasts” in the winter, grilling meats in the summer).
 Look for new product opportunities based on demand.


Audience Vernacular
Situation
 The Biodesign Institute at ASU must reach several diverse
audiences:
◦ Scientific community (professors, researchers, students)
◦ Funding organizations (NIH, NSF, DOD)
◦ Potential private donors
◦ Medical community
◦ Journalists and influencer groups
◦ General public
However, the existing website speaks primarily to the scientific

community, using very specific scientific terms to discuss
research underway.



Audience Vernacular
Findings
 People tend to search for general
phrases (like “biotech”) – not the
more narrow areas of study that fall
within the ﬁeld.
 Given the large volume of searches,
this group is likely comprised
primarily of laypeople.
 Content should be written
accordingly with general phrases
used primarily by the masses, and
more targeted phrases for
researchers.


Audience Vernacular
Dental health-related phrases had

far more volume and interest to
searchers than oral health-related
phrases.
 Site navigation should be adjusted to
represent “dental,” the most
common consumer vernacular used
in the category.
 Content should also be created to
target “oral health” phrases, as they
represent a signiﬁcant opportunity
for brand exposure, likely to
professionals.



Geographic
For brick-and-mortar and franchise businesses, search

phrases that include geographic keywords can be very useful
in the strategic planning process.
Information can be culled about where people are familiar

with your brand and where more brand exposure effort
should be made.
These phrases can show areas of demand as well.

Such information is also handy in helping to guide both online

and ofﬂine geo-targeting efforts.



Geographic Keyword Phrase Daily Search Volume
Nike has been recycling shoes for 20

Tennis shoe recycle 7
years, gathering materials at a large in Michigan
number of drop-off locations around Where to recycle 5
the world. athletic shoes
Chicago
 Location searches show where
people know about the program,
and perhaps more telling, where
they don’t.
 Brand-related searches were also
absent, showing the need for
consumer education and improved
brand attachment.



Search Seasonality
In addition to vernacular trends, seasonal trends can

also provide helpful insight.
Seasonal trends can help determine how to allocate

media buy and paid search budgets throughout the
year.
They can also provide insight into when users may

be most interested in a new product launch or
promotion.



Search Seasonality
A local hospitality client’s most

popular season is springtime.
 Seasonality data shows searches
for resorts and vacations peaking
around January 1 each year.
 Increased media budgets may be
needed during this peak time.
 The resort could also run a spring
booking promotion or advertise on
general “vacation” websites.



Research Validation
• Keyword data can help validate other research tools by
providing support for ﬁndings from other sources.
• It can also reveal new or additional ﬁndings not realized in
prior research.
• Utilizing audience research like Verbal Cue Analysis in
addition to other research provides a more complete
picture of audience trends and desires than any one
research method alone.



Research Validation
Situation
A well-known hairdressing school wants to ensure their website highlights the
right information to attract potential students.



Online to Offline
The kind of findings we’ve shown today often improve

communications results holistically both online and offline –
of great interest from an integrated communications
standpoint.
By using the most popular consumer vernacular consistently

across various communications tactics (advertising, PR and
interactive), message relevance and repetition work together
to maximize impact.
Beyond messaging, we also see these findings impact the

actual brand itself.



Online to Offline Dog Related Volume

Monthly Search Volume
260,790
300,000
Situation 225,000

 A client that sells pet behavior 150,000 110,196
42,906
product in national retail stores
75,000
8,100 990
0
has been using the same messages Solution Behavior Health Cause Guide

for its dog and cat products. Keyword Categories

 Research finds that those
searching for dog-related phrases Cat Related Volume

Monthly Search Volume
56,910
60,000
put more emphasis on finding 45,000
27,546
solutions for behavior issues, while 30,000
16,650 14,010
15,000
“cat” phrases described the actual 882
0
behavior. Behavior Solution Cause Health Guide
Keyword Categories



Online to Offline
Impact:
 Research dictated a different communications strategy for
dogs than for cats.
 Consistent messaging changes occurred across all
communications vehicles, both online and offline, that
reflected this difference in consumer behavior.
 Overall brand positioning and packaging are also being re-
examined.



Why bother?
Knowing your audience is the ﬁrst step to building or enhancing

any effective communications strategy.
 No one research method provides a complete and accurate picture
or your audience – but the more information you gather, the more
accurate your analysis and resulting strategy will be.
 If you’ve engaged in other audience research methods, this research
can help validate and complement at a small cost.
 If you didn’t think you could afford research tools, methods like
Verbal Cue Analysis can be an affordable means to start gaining
audience insight.



Q&A
If you have questions after this Webinar, please contact:
Mike Corak mikec@offmadisonave.com
Sara Wachter-Boettcher saraw@offmadisonave.com


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