Technology manufacturer Kingston Technology is the world's largest independent maker of memory products for everything from servers and workstations to digital cameras and handhelds. Based in Fountain Valley, Calif., this billion-dollar company also provides contract manufacturing for most of the largest semiconductor OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and carries more than 2,400 products for some 9,000 systems.
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"We have come around from skeptic to believer, because we're
getting 20 percent of our promotions traffic directly from
Google, and the cost-per-click on Google is the lowest one
we pay." |
Approach
When she first investigated Google keyword
advertising in the fall of 2002, Kingston marketing manager Jenni Kuo
admits to being skeptical. "We don't want to compete with our resellers,
so we didn't think selling directly online would work for us," noting
that Kingston had previously undertaken combined print and banner advertising, "but
the results were not good." Kuo ok'd a six-month trial with Google
AdWords™ for Kingston's business-to-business products. Since the
company offers so many SKUs, Kuo likes "the really smart format, which
means we can set up our campaigns by product line." And given the volume
of search traffic Kingston gets from Google, advertising seemed to
be a natural extension. "Google reaches so many people looking for
so many different things," says Kuo, "and that's really important to
us."
Results
In less than five months, Kingston opted
to drop all print advertising and invest more in AdWords. "We've easily
seen a 10 to 15 percent increase in traffic coming through Google ads," she
says. "And we've branched out into more sophisticated campaigns, such
as offering rebates and other special discounts, through a variety
of ads we run. We have come around from skeptic to believer, because
we're getting 20 percent of our promotions traffic directly from Google,
and the cost-per-click on Google is the lowest one we pay." Kuo cites
other metrics that have sold Kingston on AdWords. "We've seen a steady
10 percent conversion rate over the summer for our digital media products," she
says. "We have definitely doubled our ROI, and see at least a 4 percent
clickthrough rate – with some campaigns yielding as high as 9
percent." In one month alone, Kuo notes, "With Google providing two-thirds
of the traffic, we got 7,000 qualified leads, and 11 percent conversion
using AdWords. We know this because of Google's reporting tools and
our referral tracking system. Google is our top referrer." Kuo says
she appreciates the fact that her team can "run every campaign on Google,
which we don't do with other [advertising partners]." She believes
the AdWords system is more flexible, enabling quick revisions to keywords
and ad copy, noting, "Our sales team feels empowered to make the changes
they need." She describes the Google Network of search and content
sites as "compelling," adding, "we didn't even look at anyone else
for expanding our ad reach, because Google does it so well." After
less than a year of using AdWords, says Kuo, she's sure of one thing: "If
we ever had to limit our advertising, Google would be the last to go."
About Google Advertising
Google AdWords is currently used by thousands of businesses worldwide to gain new customers in a cost-effective way. AdWords uses keywords to precisely
target ad delivery to web users seeking information about a particular
product or service. The program is based on cost-per-click (CPC) pricing,
so advertisers only pay when an ad is clicked on. Advertisers can take
advantage of an extremely broad distribution network, and choose the
level of support and spending appropriate for their business. For more
information, go to www.google.com/ads.
