Demand for Information Services remains steady but marketing methods must change

This guest article was written by Farhad Divecha, who is the MD of AccuraCast, a search engine optimisation, pay per click advertising, mobile marketing and social media marketing agency based in London. Here he looks at Information Services in the "Google Age".


Source: Google Insights for Search

THE directory information services industry has been under attack from Google for a while now, and a number of analysts and industry leaders have gone so far as to predict the demise of the sector as a whole. Data from Google itself, though, seems to paint a rather different picture.

Since January 2007, the volume of user searches for most terms related to the industry has either gone up or remained relatively steady.

The search term that has fallen most significantly in that period is ‘yellow pages’. This probably signals a change in the way that users seek information and the corresponding departure from brand loyalty for searches in this sector.

Interestingly, the number of users searching for phone numbers has increased significantly, almost mirroring the rate of decline of the popularity of the search term ‘yellow pages’.

For the information services industry, what this means is simply that the way providers do business and the marketing techniques they use to reach their consumers must evolve.

So, given an adjustment in the way users consume information, what steps should providers take to ensure they are not left behind?

1. Research trends. Continuously

How users find information is changing continuously. How users identify sources of information is also evolving. Targeting a certain set of search terms, sites and ad placements today will not ensure their effectiveness or the campaign’s reach in 6 months’ time.

For example, the graph above shows a clear rise in number of queries for 3D cinemas around the time the movie Avatar was released in 3D. Providers who just targeted the usual flow of users looking for the nearest cinema would have missed out on all the extra business from those looking for the nearest 3D cinema.

Monitoring search terms, identifying newly popular terms and building a presence on the search engine results pages for those terms is crucial in an industry that is evolving.

Identifying popular new destinations is just as crucial. Ads placed on outdated sites and networks can have limited reach at best but can lead to a poor brand image at worst.

2. Don’t stop at search

Users search for and consume information in places other than search engines. Social networks such as Facebook and micro-blogging platforms such as Twitter are growing in popularity as user destinations. What’s more... they’re becoming what portals were 6 years ago – places where users consume information.

Doesn't it make sense then, to provide them the information they need right where they are?

Companies that form alliances and build apps that allow users to find specific information such as a Facebook friend’s contact details or a LinkedIn contact’s phone number are likely to gain popularity through these new channels.

3. Use all media formats

Information consumption online is no longer limited to text and images. Video, audio, Flash and a variety of screen formats make all sorts of media available to millions of users.

Even if a provider’s core service is limited to providing static, text-like information, their marketing methods need not be limited to plain text.

Search volumes on YouTube for just three keywords related to the directory information services industry are shown above. These volumes might not be in the millions per month, but represent an easy-to-reach target audience for branding.