AJ Tools attracted 150 new customers using vertical search. Go Wholesale's director of marketing & partnership programs explains why, and gives tips on how you can benefit from it, too.

Since AOL's August blunder, a goldmine of information has been revealed for search marketers with some especially interesting data for B2B marketers. The gaffe revealed over 20 million search words and phrases from over 650,000 AOL subscribers-- and the overwhelming majority was focused on consumer spending and personal lifestyle. While this is great news for the consumer-focused industry, the issue of targeted audience vs. broad reach is more important than ever for B2B marketers. The major search engines provide a huge branding opportunity, but when marketers are paying per click, having the right audience determines the success of the ad campaign.

The rise of vertical search engines
Vertical search engines have been growing in popularity over the past year, but this recent leak of information shows that Tier One providers may not be the best choice for those with specialized interests. For B2B marketers, the customer conversion rate or cost per lead is often a measure of the effectiveness of a pay-per-click (PPC) ad campaign, and vertical search engines are better positioned to deliver a steady stream of targeted traffic relevant to specific industries, services and product offerings. 

In addition, research from Slack Barshinger shows that 64 percent of business searchers use the internet as a first resource for finding business information, while Jupiter Research reports that these searchers want deeper, more specific and more relevant search results than the general search engines provide. The rise of vertical search engines gives these searchers the quality of results they are seeking and provides marketers with a highly targeted audience of potential customers. 

Getting more value from vertical search engines
After identifying the right search engine, marketers can further increase the effectiveness of ad campaigns by understanding and fully using the tools that search providers offer.

While search engines have variations on tools they provide, most fall into two main categories of either Campaign Management or Reporting. Campaign Management tools, such as Auto-Bid, allow for position and visibility optimization. Other campaign management tools such as Constant Traffic allow for accelerated customer traffic and a Monthly Budget setting allows for adherence to tight budgeting requirements. 

Reporting tools, such as tools for managing keywords, bids, banner ads, payments and budgets, enable advertisers to track the ROI of their campaigns. Another valuable tool that some vertical search engines provide is a dedicated and knowledgeable team of account managers. These professionals can provide expertise in identifying the best keywords, creating effective strategies for increasing visibility and budget optimization, and for monitoring the overall health and ROI of an advertiser's campaign.

Using vertical search to increase customer acquisition 
AJ Tools, a major wholesaler, distributor, and importer of tools and automotive accessories and general merchandise, found that using a vertical search engine has huge payoffs in attracting potential clients to their websites. In just one month of advertising on a wholesale specific search engine, AJ Tools attracted 150 new customers, received over 2,000 hits on its newly launched marketplace, www.GOTeStuff.com, and increased customer registrations on its core business platform. 

To generate these kinds of results, AJ Tools researched and identified the vertical search engine that could deliver a steady stream of targeted traffic to their site, resulting in increased interest in their products. 

Using goWholesale.com, AJ Tools created a pay-per-click campaign that focused on using keywords that aligned with their most popular products, which include automotive tools, power tools and air tools. The marketing manager of AJ Tools worked closely with goWholesale's account representative to select the right keywords, set up the Auto-Bid tool to secure higher ad position on results pages, and to monitor the reporting and tracking tools. This strategy enabled them to easily monitor clickthroughs and that most important and elusive of metrics, ROI. 

The first month this strategy was implemented gave AJ Tools a huge push in branding its new marketplace www.GOTeSTUFF.com as a major drop shipper in their main product line and gained fresh interest in its traditional business. The use of a wholesale vertical search engine continues to deliver targeted wholesale buyer traffic, both in quantity and quality. 

B2B advertisers, such as AJ Tools, may find that vertical search engines deliver a bit less traffic than some of the major search engines, but that they provide higher relevancy of search results, which attracts a higher quality searcher, and potential customer. In addition, the PPC rates tend to be lower than major search engines, creating a cost-effective advertising venue that can generate high customer acquisition and ROI rates.

Sandra Churchin is director of marketing & partnership programs for Go Wholesale, a leading wholesale vertical search engine that connects wholesale suppliers with retail, online and multi-channel businesses. Read full bio.