Why search engine marketing should be about attracting customers, not 'driving traffic'. Includes a case study illustrating how 'visitor hijacking' doesn't work.
I've always had a problem with standard online marketing industry terms such as 'driving traffic' or 'generating hits'. When we use search engines we have a goal in mind. We are looking for an answer and the majority of us don't want to be hijacked, hoodwinked or driven down a blind alley. Think of how you use the Yellow Pages. How would you feel if you called what you thought was a plumber, only to be told 'Sorry, we can't mend your burst pipe - but can we interest you in a swimming pool?'

On the internet, this happens all the time when we follow search engine results that appear to be what we are looking for. Whose fault is it when they are not? The accuracy of these results (or lack of it) is for the most part down to website owners. Whether it's due to stealth tactics or plain sloppiness, we are constantly being misled, and certain industries seem more prone to it than others. I have a particular bone to pick with travel sites. Since travel was one of the earliest industries to embrace e-commerce, researching and booking travel online should be a stress-free experience ... shouldn't it?

Case study: searching for ferry information online

September 2002: We wanted to take the car on a day trip to France to stock up on wine in time for Christmas. We preferred the Newhaven-Dieppe route because Newhaven is only a 15 minute drive from home. We knew that during the winter months the Seacat catamaran didn't run - but we HAD seen a big yellow ferry in port. So all I needed to know was whether there was a ferry operating throughout the winter, and the times/prices of crossings.

Solution: go online and search for 'Newhaven-Dieppe ferry crossings' on Google.co.uk

The first result is: 'P & O Stena Line' - hmm, didn't think POSL covered the Newhaven-Dieppe route? Still, I click to see. I'm faced with a page saying 'Welcome to POSL', a menu of 10 links across the top and 13 links down the side, a large ad for a sales promotion blinking at me plus a booking form centre page. No indication of where I am in the site. After reading all the menu links, none of which appear to be what I'm looking for, I decide to just try going through the booking process and see what happens. The first drop down menu is 'Departing from' - and the choice is Dover, Calais or Zeebrugge. Nul points.

Back to Google - 2nd result: Newhaven to Dieppe Ferry Tickets - http://www.cross-channel-ferry-tickets.co.uk/newhaven-dieppe/

This sounded promising. I clicked on the link and then a second link to 'book Newhaven to Dieppe Ferry tickets' which brought up a booking form. This time, although the route is available, I have to specify an exact date, the make of car and even the registration number before I can get a quote. The result? 'Sorry, we were unable to find any matches for your search, please try again.' Does that mean there's only one ferry a week, and I happened to ask for a day when it didn't run? Does it mean there is no crossing all winter? Or that this agent only deals with Seacat and no other operators? I've no way of knowing.

Back to Google - the next two results turn out to be short break operators selling 3 or 5 day packages - not what I'm after.

Next up was 'Ferry Crossings :: SUSU Travel :: Travel at its finest' - but it brought up only a 'Error 404 - this page cannot be displayed' message. Grrr.

Finally I try clicking on 'Yahoo! Travel Deals Ferry Savers' - this took me to a page with a list of current deals from a variety of operators. One is 'Newhaven - Dieppe, standard return for car and up to 9 passengers -