Search marketing has risen to the top of digital marketing and is now taking the largest share of online budgets, due to its direct-to-consumer nature and its ability to drive acquisition activities. Companies have an opportunity to not only acquire new customers, but also retain existing customers by making search a part of their CRM strategy.

Merkle’s roots in database marketing and our exceptional talent in analytics, coupled with IMPAQT’s customized consulting capabilities and powerful analytic tools, allow us to tie a client’s CRM database directly into their search strategies by pulling key prospect segments based on transactional data from the CRM database. This data also allows us to understand what drove consumers to buy and target consumers based on their particular buying decision – in order to turn one-time buyers into repeat customers.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Our approach to SEO is one of customization. We create unique approaches to meet each client’s particular needs. At the same time, we also integrate standard best practices that work across all types of companies.

Our rigorous, systematic SEO strategies are based on our extensive client experience over the past decade. Some of our SEO services include:

• Web site architecture & usability
• SEO Copywriting Services
• Linking
• Social media
• International & local search
• Data feed optimization
• Video optimization
• Mobile SEO
• SEO consulting

Paid Search (PPC)
Our flexible technologies and customized processes are expertly refined to drive results via paid search. Proprietary technology such as BidWise™, Media Mix Modeling and Adaptive Bidding are customized at the beginning of each paid search campaign to align data and support decision-making. For each project, we home in on your business goals and ensure we're utilizing the best possible techniques to achieve them.

The “IMPAQT” of Tying Search to Other Marketing Channels:
Using our world-class analytic tools and capabilities, we have combined our search efforts with other online and offline channels to create the following results for our clients:

1. For a leading bank, we connect actual offline account signups with the value of leads driven by search. We then targeted consumers using this data and saw the following results:
   • Exceeded acquisition goals by 48% and maintained prior campaign lead acquisition CPA
   • Exceeded adjusted account goals by 36% at the same CPA as the prior program
2. For a top credit card issuer, we attribute value to customers in different geographic regions based on economic factors, such as credit score and use this data to recommend regions that would be most profitable for the client to target via search. After implementing the recommendations, we saw the following results:
   • 200% increase in accounts per month within the first two years
   • All account acquisition goals were exceeded by at least 30% after the first month of the program.
3. For a leading US insurance company, we created tracking and forecasting tools for their display, email and search campaigns to provide a complete view of where to allocate the client’s budget. Through this effort, we saw:
   • A 218% increase in policies issued through search in the first year