Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
26
Understanding Sponsored Search
We do this by asking questions, such as:
•
What are the particular attributes of the domain?
•
What are the unique characteristics of the search engine advertising platform?
•
What are the specific goals of advertisers in the industry vertical?
•
What are the explicit and implicit goals of potential customers for the domain?
This integrative approach to understanding sponsored search is important, as many
specific domains have their own particular attributes that impact the sponsored-
search process. For example, managing a sponsored-search campaign for a national
health care provider is more different than managing a campaign for a local bakery,
although the core elements are identical.
Conclusion
With its rather humble beginnings in 1998, sponsored search rapidly became the pri-
mary business model for Web search engines, providing a revenue stream for these
gateways to the Web. Running a major Web search engine, with the necessary soft-
ware, hardware, and people, is a rather costly adventure. Sponsored search provides
a monetization of this search traffic, making the search engine economically viable.
It is not too much to say that sponsored search has shaped the Web as we know it,
financing “free” Web searching that has become indispensable to many of us in our
daily lives. As such, especially for those of us that work in the sponsored-search area,
it is critical that we understand the process.
The presented model of sponsored search strips the process down to its core ele-
ments. We see that there are three major components of the sponsored-search system:
the searcher (i.e., potential consumer), the search engine (i.e., advertising platform
and market maker), and the advertiser (i.e., content provider). These three compo-
nents have a shared goal of relevant results in response to a query. The potential
consumer wants a relevant ad that addresses the underlying need. The search engine
wants to service relevant ads to maximize revenue and prevent searchers from switch-
ing to other search services. The advertiser wants only viable consumers to click on
its ads in order to manage costs. The search engine provides the technology platform
for this process to occur.
As with any process, sponsored search has developed its own jargon, the immer-
sion in which is necessary to understand the practical implementation. Central to this
is an understanding of Web search engines.
The SERP is the interface between the advertiser and the searcher. It is generally
composed of two types of listings, of which the advertisements can appear in several
locations. The ads generally follow a set structure, although the exact format varies
with time and search engine.
As for metrics, we are interested primarily in the interaction between the searcher
and the advertisement. For this, we track various components of this interaction,
including the number of times the ad appears, the number of times searchers click on
the ad's link, and the outcome of the searcher visiting the Web site.
