Why CTV is an important part of any search strategy.
The tides of paid search and other performance channels seem to be shifting rapidly these days. Companies are changing hands, algorithms are updating and transparency is diminishing. With marketers looking for ad channels that they can consider both reliable and effective, this is where connected TV can enter the scene and support an already successful search strategy.
CTV is not just a brand awareness tool like its linear television predecessor, but it can also help advertisers achieve their performance goals, becoming the third pillar of performance marketing. Not only does it deliver performance results in its own right, but it also boosts the results of other paid channels, creating a halo effect.
Connected TV generates new demand
Connected TV is an essential tool for advertisers looking to generate new demand and avoid a dreaded performance plateau on your existing channels. There comes a time, after all, when adding more budget offers diminishing returns and the need for a new channel is necessary.
Paid search relies on a self-identifying audience–a user’s interest and intent are clear based on their search. This makes them easy to target and capture. This audience is the low-hanging fruit. What happens when these leads have all been captured? The ease of identifying this powerful audience also means that it’s ripe with competition; your competitor is likely bidding on the same inventory.
Connected TV, on the other hand, creates and captures an incremental audience. CTV ads are precisely targeted to an audience that may benefit from a product or service but may not be in-market quite yet, thus creating new demand. Why is this important? The Harvard Business Review found 90% of B2B decision-makers purchase from companies they already knew at the start of the buying process. CTV allows advertisers to put themselves in this initial consideration set with TV ads that are high-impact, memorable, and carry the prestige generated by TV advertising.
From an SEO perspective, there is also the benefit of direct search. Connected TV puts the advertiser’s name out there, increasing the likelihood that they are searching directly for the company name itself and not just a product or service that you offer. These direct searches have a positive impact on your SEO efforts, underscoring the credibility of your brand and ultimately raising your ranking within the search results.
Paid search results skyrocket when CTV is added
Connected TV helps generate new traffic, which in turn, paid search and other paid channels can help capture. However, the benefits of adding CTV to the ad mix don’t stop there. When added to the ad mix, CTV actually creates a halo effect around paid search, social, and email, increasing their performance results in their own right.
A review of MNTN clients running paid search, social, and/or email before adding connected TV showed this trend across the board.
Only 30 days after adding connected TV to their strategy, MNTN clients saw an increase in conversion rates for both paid search and social, with increasing results over the next two months. When looking at email trends, these also showed a similar trend, with the conversion rates increasing 17.58% thirty days after adding CTV and 37.35% ninety days after. The first-party data was clear; Connected TV drives strong performance in its own right and makes other performance channels perform better too.
Video doesn’t need to be a barrier to reap the rewards of CTV
A key to success with connected TV is having video content–and enough of it–for regular refreshes. But before you worry that this is a blocker to adding CTV to your strategy, it’s not as hard (or costly) as you may think.
If you are already running social videos, this can be the perfect place to start. You can repurpose those same videos on the TV screen. CTV’s real-time reporting will help provide insights into what’s working and what’s not so you can make the appropriate adjustments before your next round of creative development.
If you don’t have video available to you, there are non-agency solutions that don’t cost an arm and a leg to make video creative. For example, at MNTN, we offer Creative-as-a-Subscription (CaaS) that bundles your media spend with creative development, so you don’t have to choose between spending on making ads or running them.
CaaS offers regular video refreshes, which deliver better results over time. Relying on the same video ads can result in ad fatigue or ad blindness. Regular refreshes disrupt this process and capture viewers’ attention. From our first-party data, we’ve seen that advertisers who regularly refresh creative have a 49.71% higher conversion rate and a 14.74% higher return on ad spend. Amazing what you can accomplish when creative fatigue isn’t a concern, right?
While spending time and money on the TV screen may feel counterproductive to a robust search strategy, Connected TV can actually help your search results thrive and reach new heights. You’ll be generating both brand awareness and key performance metrics with CTV while also boosting the impact of your already successful search strategy.
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