Should Artists Use Google AdWords More?
Search For Lady Gaga
Since Google is the World’s leading search engine, is it surprising more artists don’t use it to search for more fans?
Over time, by conducting many Google Adword campaigns we have amassed a large amount of ‘Search’ information on music, live events, artists and festivals. It’s facinating how people search for information and what keywords result in a click or a succesful transaction. And yet if you ask most Record Labels and Promoters for their Google strategy you usually get the same response – since it’s Search based, the person must already know what they’re searching for and therefore, why pay?
For instance, if I’m looking for car insurance, I search on “Car Insurance” and since there are many providers who are competing, it’s necessary for them to pay to be at the top of the results. However, if I’m searching for “Lady Gaga”, since there is only one of her, there is no need to pay to be at the top since she will already be there.
And to a large degree this is true.
But successful Search advertising is not about being at the top, but looking for keywords and phrases that can provide the best return on investment. The best way to compete is not to go for “Car Insurance” but perhaps “Car Insurance For Women” or “Car Insurance for Renaults”. By targeting specific phrases you can not only lower the CPC but customise the landing page since you know precisely what the person is searching for.
In the same way, search can be extended for artists : “Lady Gaga Music”, “Lady Gaga Lyrics”, “Lady Gaga Tickets” or “Lady Gaga tshirts”. Now you know more precisely what the person is looking for you can target the ad and the landing page to suit them. By deep linking in to your site you can provide them with the information they require and will be more likely to sell them additional services. Each landing page can be optimised and the person offered alternatives based upon their search. This will lead to higher acquisition and revenue if used properly.
In a similar fashion it is surprising how people search for gigs. Obviously, most people look for the artist by name. But our results show there are a lot of people who search on general terms such as “Gigs in Manchester” or even “Gigs In Manchester on August 2nd”. This suggests there are a number of people who are simply looking for something to do on a specific night. Could a band attract these people with an intelligent search strategy? Could you offer them a price promotion or 2-4-1 deal? A lot of new artists would, I think, be suprised at how many fans they might be able to reach through using Search.
About Neil
Million Media 
I use adwords heaps with my clients I got a real knack for it, but also, it’s more appropriate for the kind of lower level acts I work with, especially chasing down long tail and qualified niche clicks for next to nothing.
Big acts, it’s a whole different story, it’s as you describe but I’d never thought about it. I mean sure you can respond to more qualified queries but depending on where you are in the food chain it still seems a little challenging trying to wring out that value.
But for getting the first 1000 emails on a new bands list it’s great.
For big acts I think taking fans who search on “{artist} tshirt” – taking them directly to the merch shop rather than navigate?
Or, if they search ‘lyrics’ then straight to the lyrics page rather than lose the fan to a site like lyrics.com that will likely be further up the Page Rank?
N
I wonder if the people searching for gigs in a certain location are other musicians hoping to book something on that date. In other words, they may not be potential fans. I know that whenever I work with an artist who is trying to line up a tour, I look for shows in particular cities on certain dates where my artists could serve as an opener.
yes, could be. However, the number of searches on specific cities is in the hundreds. I guess there are hundreds of bands but it could also be people who only want to see a gig in a specific area.
Wonder how this could be researched more?