Business owners who source products online and buy B2B from manufacturers, wholesalers and merchandise resellers know exactly what they want from their search efforts:

· The right business-useful information,

· Focused on their own product/industry category,

· That returns leads and resources they can use right now.

In a recent survey of more than 500 professionals (The Vertical Search – B2B – Report 2009 from e-Consultancy and Convera), here’s what business users said:

1. 67% go to vertical search engines to find the information they need quickly;

2. 65% go vertical (industry-focused) sites for their B2B searches because they get more relevant information;

3. 64% find a “significant benefit” — for their workflow and business needs — to searching at vertical sites that focus on their specific business interests.

And here is “where the rubber meets the road” …

Business-to-business sellers not only know what buyers want from their online search time, but they know exactly where they will put more of their marketing money:

On more performance-based online ads, rather than traditional display advertising.

And why:

Search advertising offers measurable returns and clear sink-or-swim results that are vital to budgets and accountability during an economic downturn.

Measurable Returns Becoming Ad Criteria for 2009:

· 78% of advertisers plan to raise their spending on CPA (cost-per-action or acquired customer) ad formats this year

· 67% plan to increase spending on cost-per-lead (CPL) ads

· Nearly 50% will increase spending on cost-per-click (CPC) ads

· Only 29% say their spending on CPM (cost-per-1000 impressions or views of a display ad) will increase this year

Source: The Vertical Search – B2B – Report 2009 (e-Consultancy; sponsored by Convera)

GET HIGHER ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) AT INDUSTRY–VERTICAL AD NETWORKS

· Vertical 1st: See the 64-to-67% of business searchers, above, who told e-Consultancy/Convera why they go to vertical search engines first: To find the most relevant results to meet their business information needs … and to find it quickly.

· Haystacks vs. Needles: Consumer-focused search engines (like Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft Live Search) do an excellent job of sorting an overload of web data into huge haystacks of results. But business users seek refined needles in those info stacks. The search for refined, filtered, specific results can be delivered only by engines that drill down into an industry or business segment, a verticalized product supply chain, or a professional interest sector.

· Reach Customers Closer To Buyer Decisions:

Vertical SE's Reach Buyer Prospects

· Bump Up Conversions By Wholesale Measures on Vertical Sites. Online marketers in the retail and direct-to-consumer world have straightforward conversion metrics: Click-through Rates from search ads; Percent of First-Time Web Visitors who Set Up a Shopping Cart and Convert to Purchase; Dollar Value/Frequency of Purchases; Percentage of Return Visitors and Conversion to Sale.

However, buyer behavior and purchase decisions at Manufacturer, Wholesaler and Distributor levels of the product supply chain require more time and decision-makers than retail consumers. And conversion measures for marketing by wholesalers are more sophisticated than simply counting up sales.

Wholesale conversion metrics might include:
o Prospects or Leads generated;
o Requests for quotes, rates, contract information
o Site Registrations to access directories, product specs, catalog, auctions
o Subscription to seller news feeds, product and price alerts
o Download of the seller’s technical White Papers or Industry Newsletters
o Completing Contact or Query Forms at the site
o Requesting additional product information or contact by a Sales Associate
o Lifetime Value Measures (based on customer retention rates)
o Comment or Interaction with other members of the seller’s community

Vertical-Industry search networks talk to a pre-qualified self-selected universe of prospects. So, Manufacturer/Wholesaler/Distributor marketing on vertical search sites tends to deliver better prospects who are closer to wholesale-defined conversions. (Some industry insiders peg vertical search marketing conversions at 10-to-15 times the rates at consumer search sites.)

· Better Conversion Rates = Higher Return on Ad Spend:

Higher Return on Ad Spend