Targeting Tools for SEO Fools

Written By: Ashley Woodington

I had no idea that Google offered so many tools for marketers and advertisers to explore and track their potential audience.  Google is really changing the way marketers can track consumer trends and geographic locations, pinpointing at a minute by minute basis, exactly where and how to target their audiences.  

Google Insights for Search is a tool that can track where customer interests are the strongest as well as measuring the seasonality of searches behind a brand.  This tool can give marketers the advantage when choosing keywords for their strategy and give insight for new markets.  

Another tool that I thought was noteworthy is the Display Ad Builder.  I have taken an interactive media course in which we used programs such as Adobe Flash and Dreamweaver to learn how to build websites and make banner ads.  Both programs can be a headache if one is not familiar with the process, and with this tool, it creates templates for the user, creating professional looking ads in a much easier way.    

When it comes to media planning, Google's TV ads would come in handy when deciding where and how often to launch a TV advertising campaign.  I have learned in prior classes that it can be costly and unreliable when it comes to measuring the effectiveness behind a TV campaign.  These Google Tools can be used to target an audience based off of interest, rather than demographics and psychographics alone.  Planners can also optimize their timing strategy by using this search-based feature that suggests TV programs that are relevant to the concept. Google is truly changing the way market researchers can gather information about consumer interests.  And to be aware and educated of these tools can lead to a stronger marketing strategy and more efficient use of resources.

Video provided by GoogleBusiness