How Does Educated Search Work for Advertisers?

Traditional advertising methods like television and telemarketing can easily be tuned out by consumers. As a result of changing trends in consumer behavior, businesses are shifting away from traditional advertising and spending more and more of their ad budgets online. Paid search advertising has become the ideal method to get products and services in front of consumers at the right time – when they are looking to buy.

Paid search advertising is growing at a phenomenal rate. eMarketer forecasts that paid search advertising spending will top $10 billion by 2009. Overall, online advertising grew by over 24% in 2006 from the previous year.

Educated Search gives advertisers an unobtrusive and superior outlet to get their products and services in front of a large and captive audience. The educational communities that ES serves will benefit from a locally operated search engine that serves the area’s businesses, families and visitors alike by providing the most meaningful content and opportunities.

Advertiser have many options in the ES search engine and can choose the following methods:

• Sponsorships - Businesses gain the benefit of preferred placement in the
• local search engine and favored status among families as a contributor to
• the quality of their child’s education.
• Paid Search Listings - Local businesses can list their company in the local
• search component of the ES search engine ensuring easy distribution of
• their message to local consumers who are actively looking for the
• products and services they offer.
• Banners - Banner ads can also be offered for display on the search results
• pages. These small graphical ads are usually comprised of company logos
• and slogans and are displayed at the top or side of the search engine
• landing pages.
• Barter/Promotional Giveaways - For businesses with small advertising
• budgets or that wish to support the school’s activities with their products and
• services may choose to provide free merchandise or gift certificates in
• exchange for a search and/or banner listing in the school’s search engine.

ES will specifically target a growing number of students and families using education-based websites and provide an outlet for advertisers to sponsor curriculum-based categories and local search listings in a business directory. As more and more families find value in their educational institution’s website and its search capabilities, they will continue to use it as a source for relevant information and develop loyalty to the site when searching for local goods and services. Advertisers will have ready access to this captive audience.