By Year
22 Feb 2005
www.timesonline.co.uk: FTSE giants outmanoeuvred online
Keeping up with cyberspace developments is proving tough for the marketing executives of some of the country's biggest businesses.
The Search Works, the marketing consultancy that carried out the research, claims that the findings show that two-thirds of the UK's biggest companies stand to lose sales by failing to exploit search engine marketing.
"The way in which consumers are searching is developing and becoming more sophisticated," said Nick Hynes, the chief executive of The Search Works, which counts BP among its clients.
"Users are now using phrases such as 'cheap flights to New York', rather than keying in just one word. That means businesses have to be much more aware of the portfolio of keywords they pay for through paid-search advertising and have to be on the ball when it comes to the various black arts that the experts can use to ensure you appear under the correct algorithmic index.
"It's all about making sure you're around at the moment of truth when a customer makes a purchase."
Yet even the most web-savvy of companies can sometimes fail to make the most of their presence on the internet. The Search Works, which conducted the research, describes itself as a "search marketing services" business. A search for "The Search Works" on Google, however, failed to pick out the company in the first page of the listings except as a paid-for advertisement.
"Well, we re-branded our company today," said Mr Hynes when Times Online asked him about the glaring omission. "You're going to find that it's going to take two or three weeks to get up there online, whether you're a baker or an expert - like us."
