iCrossing's VP of communications explains how to apply Quality Assurance to your search campaign.

We're all familiar with the importance of quality management in the manufacturing world. In fact, it's so central to the success and reputation of companies that build tangible products that one automobile manufacturer -- Ford -- in an attempt to pull itself out of a slump, even went so far to adopt the phrase "Quality is Job One" as its corporate slogan in the early 1980s. Likewise, we no doubt recognize the vital role quality assurance (QA) plays in the software industry, where, even though more programs are delivered on demand as a service and not as concrete products sold in boxes, a serious bug or security flaw in a new release can not only damage a software vendor's brand, but also compromise the return on investment for those businesses that use the program or platform.

We hear considerably less about QA programs in the digital advertising world. Agencies use both tangible hardware and intangible software to create campaigns, which internet users may view and experience through a range of display advertisements and search results.

QA, while not touted as frequently in the advertising world as in other industries, nonetheless serves a central, if largely "behind-the-scenes" function in the planning and then day-to-day management of search campaigns. In the most basic sense, in an industry that prizes speed and indeed, runs on the ability to rapidly change bids, QA entails taking the time to ask the right questions and get the right inputs that will result in the correct deliverables. Speed can be the enemy of quality, and a more carefully planned campaign using the right set of keywords will better serve the client in the end than one simply put in place quickly.

Naturally, therefore, a relevant application of Total Quality Management (TQM) principles should permeate the back end of search marketing operations. This runs the gamut from effective and timely communications with clients by account directors, strategists and media managers (with the "how" of communication -- in-person meetings, phone, email -- of equal importance as the "how often") to the usability of campaign reports (with the crucial question being do they give client marketers information they can act upon) to producing high quality tools that drive the campaigns on a daily basis.

Quality also must infuse the user experience of search campaigns-- from getting the copy and images right, down to the relevancy of the information in the results themselves. Quality results are relevant results, which are results that provide meaningful information that allows users to take action, which in turn speaks to efficiency and effectiveness. The front end of the campaign is where speed is most valuable-- it means that users are finding what they want quickly, easily and reliably, and that creates satisfaction all around.

Agencies are in the business of solving the marketing challenges of their clients, and adopting a TQM approach is one way to ensure that processes are optimized, goals are reached, expectations are met and clients and their customers are satisfied. Explicit in the handshake that takes place between an agency and a client is the notion of partnership, where the agency in effect says to the client, "We will do everything in our power to see your objectives through your eyes and help you achieve your goals." As with building the best widget possible, quality should be an integral component of marketing-- it should be explicitly wrapped around every internal process so that agencies can build and deliver the best campaigns possible.

Particularly in a paid search advertisement, where space and time are at a premium, getting it right the first time can make a big difference in ad effectiveness and the proper allocation of client ad dollars. A search result may be a less tangible end product than say, a television or a car, but that in no way lessens the need for quality as job one.

Noah Elkin, Ph.D., is vice president of communications at iCrossing. Read full bio.