SearchMarkeking-UK.com

-5.1- Introduction:

Mr. R.K Yin (1992) wrote in his book that there are three general purposes of carrying out research. The three purposes are exploratory, descriptive and explanatory. The exploratory study helps us to acquire the basic knowledge of problem. Descriptive research is suitable when the problem is clearly structured at the same time, as the researcher has no intention to find connections between causes and symptoms. Explanatory research is used when researchers are identifying factors causing specific phenomena. The purpose of this research work is mainly descriptive, as already stated the research objectives in the previous chapters. The aim of this research work is to gain a deeper understanding on how search engine marketing is expanding and progressing in United Kingdom. To summarize, this research is mainly descriptive but with elements of exploratory and explanatory purposes as well.

R K Yin (1992) further explains in his book that there are two methods that can be used when conducting research within the social sciences, namely the qualitative method and the quantitative method. The focus of qualitative research “is not on numbers but on words and observations; stories, visual portrayals, meaningful characterizations, interpretations, and other expressive descriptions” (Zikmund, 2000, p.103). Alternatively, quantitative research should be used when determining the quantity or extent of some phenomenon with numbers. Quantitative research aims at generalizing by looking at a large number of entities and only at a few variables (Zikmund, 2000).

In this research work, Author used both quantitative research and qualitative research methods. Quantitative data has been collected mostly through questionnaire and interviews. Internet users and search engines marketers were approached by author to fill in questionnaires. Telephonic interviews and face to face interviews were also conducted to gather quantitative data; these interviews became very useful source of qualitative data as well.

-5.2- Data collection:

There are various ways to collect data from the outer market like interviews, questionnaire and observations etc. the most important way to collect data in this research will be Personal interviews as it is the best way to get response and answers from consumers. The best thing about personal interviews is that you can observe the body language of customer and can use your own judgment. Author did interview different people from different companies and backgrounds to drive results from their responses. Second important way of data gathering was questionnaires. The questionnaires are structured and based on mostly close-ended questions. This helped author to collect quantitative data about the demographic backgrounds of search engine users and marketers and. The answers or responses were analyzed appropriately and it also helped a lot in interpreting the responses precisely.
Basically the data is in two forms that is;

i. Primary data
ii. Secondary data

-5.3- Primary Research Data:

Primary data is collected directly by the researcher for a specific purpose. Main techniques for gathering primary data exist i.e. Questionnaires, Face to face interviews, Telephonic Interviews. All these ways of gathering Primary research data are equally important. In this research author collected data through three ways:

-5.3.1- Questionnaires:

Openheim (1992, P100) explains that questionnaire is not some sort of official form, nor it is a set of questions which have been casually jotted down without much thought. Questionnaires are important instrument of research, a tool for data collection. Naresh K Malhotra (1996) recognized that questionnaire is the best method when doing primary research; it contributes to secondary data too. Therefore, it needs very careful planning, consultation and good decision to prepare.

Simply say questionnaires are set of questions to get response from a user of questionnaire. It is less expensive to conduct and administer than face-to-face interviews, particularly when responses from large number of people are desired. Structure of questionnaire should be simple and questions must be straight forward and to-the-point. While each respondent get the same questions and interviewer is not present at the spot, makes the whole process standard for every respondent. One advantage of using questionnaire is that it reduces the errors made by interviewer while recording the responses. Questionnaires guarantee confidentiality, therefore, respondent act without any fear or embarrassment. Another advantage, the interviewer, whose personal appearance, mood or conduct may influence the results of an interview, is not present when questionnaire is completed. (Burns, 2000)

In this particular research, designing of questionnaire was the most vital stage, author had to make a pilot study to ensure the level of common internet user about search engine marketing, and two different questionnaires were prepared for two groups of people. One group was common internet users who do not have much technical knowledge about search engines or SEM. On the other hand, search engine marketers were asked to respond to questionnaire. Pilot study played a vital role on preparation of questionnaire as two groups have totally different knowledge levels and perceptions about Search Engine Marketing. For internet users, Author had to make sure not to use any technical terms in questionnaire and kept questions as simple as possible.

Questionnaire ‘A’ (Appendix A) is made of common vocabulary, most of the questions ask for response in Yes or NO. These types of questions are called ‘closed ended’ questions which are very helpful in gathering quantities data and research can be on track, unlike open ended questions where respondent can give their own views and ideas (Zikmund, 2000). The structure of questionnaire is short (14 Questions) which make it more likely for people to respond. Research shows that people are more unlikely to respond to longer surveys than shorter ones (Burns, 2000). The Pilot study helped author to analyze and asses the knowledge interest of consumer, questionnaire was designed by keeping these factors in view.

Questionnaire B (Appendix B) is for more advanced users of search engines, people who are involved in search engine marketing activities in commercial sector. This questionnaire is also consisting of closed ended questions. The importance of close ended questions has already been discussed above. Questionnaire B is a short one too (14 questions). Pilot study was carried out before developing this questionnaire. This questionnaire was prepared for the marketing professional so the technical, academic and market terms have been used, but simplicity of questionnaire has not been compromised. Most of the questions are multiple choice ones and respondent have to make one choice.
The main aim behind the questionnaire was to achieve research objectives. The questions in both questionnaires are simple and self explanatory. Author emphasized on keeping respondents interested by using simple terms and easy choices.

All the questionnaires were emailed to respondents because of large number of questionnaire needed to be distributed. Email is the most fast, cheap and practical way of gathering response from large number of people. Zikmund (2003) writes that the speed of email distribution and quick response time can be major advantages for surveys about time-sensitive issues. Although there is not much academic research on ‘Email Surveys’ but it has been said that respondents feel more open or blunt on emails rather than on telephone or face-to-face interview. Email spamming is damaging the constructive use of emails, specially email surveys are the biggest victim of spamming. People do avoid emails from the people they don’t know and many have Junk Mail filters set up which send unsolicited emails directly to ‘Junk Mail’ folder. This filter does not always work 100% and sometimes genuine emails can be blocked.

Pointsmoney.com, an online research company was contacted by author to send these questionnaires to target audience.Pointsmoney.com have a large database of email users who subscribed themselves to received research survey emails. Questionnaire A was sent to 2000 users. As there were not many users subscribed as search engine marketer, Questionnaire B was sent to just 80 users. A brief introductory cover note was also included so users could know about the nature of survey straight away. These all users were already subscribed for email surveys so the response rate was good.

-5.3.2- Face to face interviews:

The term Face-to-face interview is pretty much self explanatory. An interviewer meets a person face-to-face to ask some questions to obtain qualitative and quantitative data. Zikmund (2003) reckons in-person interviews as a two-way communication between interviewer and respondent which allows going in detail. The interviewer’s main job is to ask the questions in such a way as to obtain valid responses and to record the responses accurately and completely. The initial task for the interviewer to create an atmosphere that will put respondent at ease (Burns, 2000).

Face-to-face, one-on-one or in- person interviews have advantages over telephone interviews in term of fewer limitations on the types and length of questioning and in the ability to use visual aids. Even though this form of interviewing is hampered by higher field costs, increased resistance on part of respondents to invite strangers into their homes, and difficulty obtaining permission from management to conduct interview in the workplace, it is regarded by researchers as one of the best ways to obtain detailed data. (Frey and Oishi, 1995)

Burns (2000) recognizes flexibility as one of the most important aspects of the face-to-face interview. Interviewer can analyze the whole situation and in which question has been asked and replied. Interviewer can observe facial expressions, voice tones and body language of respondent. Moreover, questions can be repeated and explained or modified to obtain the response. This method of gathering data becomes very useful when extensive data is required on smaller number of complex topics. The interviewer is able to control the sequence of the items as respondent cannot look ahead and anticipate trends in the enquiries.

Keeping original research goals in mind, Author organized the structure of interviews.
The questions were carefully selected and phrased to achiever the goals of research.
Some new themes and ideas were noted down during the interview and used later in interview to get the more clear answer from respondent. Two search engine marketers were interviewed by author; both are based in United Kingdom and are active search engine marketers. Mr. Naveed Yahya is CEO and E-marketing manager of Webcots.com. A detailed faced to-to-face interview was conducted to get his views and ideas on the issue. Webcots is a website hosting Provider Company; Mr. Yahya has been managing all the search marketing for company for last 2 years. The other gentleman is Mr. Waseem Hashmi of freemall.co.uk. Mr. Hashmi is an experienced professional and keeps an interest in all fields of e-marketing. Meetings and discussions with these two gentlemen were great source of collection qualitative data (Appendix C)

-5.3.3- Telephonic Interviews
Frey and Oishi (1995) recognize telephone interviewing as an increasingly popular means of conducting survey research because not only does everyone have a telephone but sampling techniques, such as random digit dialing (RDD), make it easier to access unlisted and new numbers. Other reasons why telephone interviewing is being used more are its cost efficiency and speed of data collection.

Joseph, Leon, Wayne and Brown (2005) while discussing the advantages of telephone interviews in their book, Authors believe that telephone interviewing has the distinct advantage of time over the mail survey and in-person structured interview (personal or face-to-face survey). It is possible with the technology today for some companies to design and field the study within one. The cost is similar to a mail survey and less expensive when compared to an in-person structured interview. Like in-person structured interview the researcher has good control over the question order as the interviewer is instructed on what to ask first, second etc. in the mail survey the respondent can answer the questions from first to last or respondent can start in the middle, at the end, etc. different than the mail and in-person structured interview the researcher are unable to use visual aids. The researcher can use sound (listen to music, advertising message, etc) and then ask a question or two or three about what interviewee heard. The mail survey format does not allow for this listening approach directly. Certainly, it is possible to send a tape or CD and ask the respondent to listen to it and then fill out the mail survey. The researcher here has little control over the listening and the validity of design of survey.

In this research work author conduct telephonic interviews with three search engine marketers, Mr. Ali Zain of Mypaypal.co.uk, Mr. Dean Davies of Freemall.co.uk and Mr. Tanveer Ahmad of pointsmoney.co.uk. Mr. Ali Zain and Tanveer Ahmad were not present in the country at the time author approached them, therefore telephone interviews were conducted to obtain their responses. Mr. Dean Davis live far from author (London) therefore he was also contacted through telephone. These interviews were brief but very useful, all three respondent were very cooperative and helpful. Questions about their approach to current SEM and their future perception of the market were asked. All three men are responsible of SEM related activities in their respected companies and were able to comment on their company polices. These telephonic interviews were held in February 2006.

-5.4- Secondary Research Data:

Secondary data is data, which already has been collected by someone else for another purpose. Statistics and reports issued by governments, trade associations and author’s views about the topic so on, are some sources of secondary data. The annual report and the enterprise’s homepage are other sources of secondary data. Blaxter, Hughes and Tight (2002, p170) say that secondary analysis can give insights into data and ready made data sets or archives do provide extremely valuable and cost efficient resources for researchers. Zikmund (2003) explains that business researcher use others experience and data, when these are available, as secondary data. The primary advantage of secondary data is that obtaining secondary data is almost always less expensive than acquiring primary data. In addition, secondary data can usually be obtained rapidly.
In this research work a lot of data has been used from different books and journals. There are not many books available in market on topic of search engine marketing as it is relatively new subject. To keep up with the constantly changing market trends of SEM, internet resources and marketing magazines were consulted. Marketing research websites e.g. mintel.com were used for the pre-available statistics. Some graphs and survey results were used from internet and marketing magazines. The author gathered most of the secondary data from various books, electronic journals, company policies and articles etc.

-5.5- Sampling strategy:

It was recognized that in sampling and selection of potential interviewees, much would depend on the willingness and availability of individuals, making it difficult to gain a truly random sample. For this reason, an acknowledgement of the limitations of approach adopted is crucial.
“Stratified sampling” has been used to do sampling in this research work. Stratified sampling means all people or companies in sampling frame are divided into "strata" (groups or categories). Within each stratum, a simple random sample or systematic sample is selected. People were divided in to different segments depending upon their demographic and behavioral back grounds e.g. internet users, Search engine marketers, etc. Total size of the sample depends on the overall population of specific area, so it will be measured after according to the size of clusters or stratum.
For example author randomly picked 10 men out of total number of men who had filled questionnaire and were observed their behavior towards search engine marketing.

-5.6- Validity of data:

Litwin (1995) emphasize on checking the validity of any survey data before analyzing it. He says that this validity must be documented when evaluating new survey instruments or when applying established survey instruments to new population. It is an important measure of a survey instrument’s accuracy. For this research work, validity of data, collected through questionnaire had been checked through method called ‘Content Validity’. It is a subjective measure of how appropriate the items seem to a set of analysts who have some knowledge of the subject matter. (Litwin, 1995). Both questionnaires were discussed with the search engine marketing professionals before sending out to the internet users and search engine marketers. Mr. Naveed Yahya is CEO and E-marketing manager of Webcots.com, and Mr. Tanveer Ahmad of Pointsmoney.com were consulted regarding the results of questionnaires. Both professional validate the data in the light of there personal views and experience. It is not a scientific measure of survey instrument accuracy, but it provides a good foundation on which to build a methodologically exact assessment of survey instruments validity.

-5.7- Data Analysis:

At the end of data collection phase author had all the data in scattered form. Data collected through Questionnaires was sorted to find the out come of the survey, Microsoft Excel was used to arrange and sort that data. Data collected through interviews (in-person and telephone) had been documented with help of Microsoft Word.
The first stage of data analysis was to relate the collected data to original research purpose. Author tried to relate all the responses collected through questionnaire, interviews and other primary and secondary data to hypothesis statements. It helped to keep study on track. The intention was to investigate some of the realities and reasons behind the available statistics, the progress and trends of search engine marketing in United Kingdom.
Author recognized two kinds of data as qualitative and quantitative. These two kinds of data were analyzed in different manner. The problem with qualitative research is that there are no rules to say whether findings are valid or not. There was much qualitative data collected in research through telephone interviews and face-to-face interviews, all the finding from qualitative data are dependent on human judgment. Once all the information and data was organized, author started the process of through study. This process consisted of reading the results of questionnaires, answers of telephone and face to face interviews and reviewing, reading and re-reading of secondary data. This process mainly helped author to analyze the qualitative information in interview (both telephone and in-person) transcripts. This process also used to calculate the response of consumer in questionnaires, as this research is mainly cover United Kingdom consumer of search engine, initial examination of result helped to separate non-UK consumer from the total respondent. Only UK based respondent were considered while analyzing and deriving results. The complete data analysis has been done in following chapter.

Next : Findings from Research and Analysis

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