SPL Marketing Tips
7 Ways to Make Pay-Per-Click Pay (Mon, 12 Apr 2010 21:36:17 +0000)
Among web marketers, it is the big debate: SEM versus SEO. Sound like just a bunch of letters to you?
If you owned a web site, you wouldn’t think so. SEO stands for search engine optimization, a process that seeks to boost a site’s traffic by helping it rise within a search engine’s organic, or un-paid, search results. It is often seen as the Holy Grail for internet marketers, as people tend to click those links over their paid counterparts. However, the conversion rate–that is, the number of shoppers that turn from browsers to buyers–tends to be lower in organic search listings.
Search engine marketing, popularly referred to as pay-per-click, on the other hand, is a form of internet marketing that promotes websites on search engine result pages through paid placement (In search engines, these links appear on the right side of the screen or they’re highlighted at the top of organic search results.) The conversion rate from these paid links is 2.03 percent versus 1.26 percent from organic links, according a 2009 study from Engine Ready, an internet marketing company in San Diego. What’s more, those clicking over from sponsored links also tend to spend more. According to the study, those who clicked through a paid link spent on average $11 more, or $117.06 versus $106.64, than those who traveled to sites via un-paid links.
The reason for the differential: Conversion rates tend to improve as shoppers progress through the buying cycle, says Alhan Keser, an SEM specialist at Blue Fountain Media, a boutique web site development and online marketing firm in New York. Although search engine users typically troll organic results to conduct online research, they start favoring sponsored links when they’re ready to buy, he says. “Most people who click on ads are ready to be sold to; they are at the buying stage,” Keser says.
Still, SEM can be expensive–especially for resource-strapped small businesses. Business owners normally set the price they’re willing to pay for keywords–the words or phrases that internet users type into search engines–which may be purchased daily from search engines like Google’s Adwords, Yahoo! Search Marketing and Microsoft adCenter. However, broader keywords and phrases are often pricier. Also, setting up an SEM campaign usually costs more initially, as marketers or owners may wind up choosing keywords that don’t pan out.
Despite these potential pitfalls, here are seven tips for getting the most out of pay-per-click:
- Don’t pick your own keywords
Picking the keywords that will attract shoppers to your site can be tricky. While you’ll want to select your company’s name, as well as the name of your competitors, the key in determining other keywords is to keep an open mind, says Keser. “Talk to customers; see what words they use when they search for your products,” he says. Note that the broader the search phrases, the pricier those keywords will be. To reduce your costs, consider opting for focused, relevant keywords.
In 2001, Ian MacDonald launched a pay-per-click campaign for Century Novelty, a Detroit party supplies company that had just gone entirely online. Although MacDonald started out bidding on broad keywords such as “party supplies,” over time, he started to get more specific in his keyword selections–choosing phrases such as “luau party supplies” or “Hawaiian party leis,” for example.
- Use keyword tools
Check out Google’s Suggestion tool for help homing in on appropriate keywords for your business. You can also track what competitors are bidding on via a free version of SEMRush, which provides a list of keywords that other advertisers might be bidding on. Keep in mind, however, that the bid data is not reliable, Keser says.
Other keyword research options include: Google Trends, which provides historical data on popular keywords and seasonal keywords, as well as old terms or up-and-coming buzzwords that may be cheaper if you secure them before others start bidding them up. EBay Pulse can also help marketers identify keywords and phrases that shoppers use.
- Monitor your results
After you select some keywords, go for a test run. Just make sure you stay on top of whether they’re working. To help you, check out various analytics programs such as Google Analytics and Yahoo! Web Analytics.
For optimal keyword analyses, ensure that your keywords programs and your analytics tools are connected, suggests Keser. Owners purchasing keywords and sponsored ads via Google’s AdWords, for example, won’t be able to gauge their company’s pay-per-click data, unless the program is connected to Google Analytics.
- Write compelling ads
In crafting your company’s pay-per-click ad copy, make sure it’s free from errors and gets to the point quickly. Also, include a call to action, says Chris Lien, the CEO of Marin Software, a search marketing firm in San Francisco. Not only should you invite potential customers to click on your ad, consider including other inducements such as discount offers, promotions and free shipping deals that might get people to click over. If you do insert incentives into your company’s ads, see if doing so has an effect on your company’s conversion compared to times when you’re not running a promotion, he says.
- Filter out undesirable clicks
For companies just getting started in pay-per-click, it’s common to want to be more inclusive than exclusive. After all, they’re trying to win sales. However, considering that companies have to pay each time someone clicks on their link–even when they don’t make a purchase–it’s best to pick highly relevant keywords and then restrict your ad copy to include only certain prospective customers. For example, a credit-card issuer might only invite those with stellar credit scores to click over.
- Align ads with landing pages
The last thing a web marketer should do is invite someone to buy something and then not direct them to the item that they want to buy, says Lien. When a landing page–that is, a web page that appears when shoppers click on an advertisement or a search-engine result link–doesn’t match up with keywords or the company’s ad copy, it can be a source of frustration for shoppers, he says.
Instead, make sure the keywords, the ad copy and the landing page correspond. For example, if you’re advertising a specific type of television, make sure that potential customers who click over can access a page on your site showing that TV, rather than directing them to a general merchandise page.
- Mind your quality score
Similarly, the more closely aligned your keywords are to your company’s products, the better your company’s quality score will be, says Keser. The quality score, which is a measurement that search engines like Google use to determine the order of paid links on a search results page, is based on how relevant your keywords are to search queries, the number of times someone clicks on your company’s link and the quality of your landing page. Of course, how much you’re paying per keyword matters. However, the more relevant your company is to certain keywords also factors in, he says. Basically, you’re trying build up a credit rating with Google. “As they see that your ads are getting lots of clicks, it makes them look better,” says Keser. “The worst thing for Google is to serve ads that aren’t useful for users; they will lose relevancy.”
http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/onlinemarketing/article205592.html
‘Share-to-Social’ Email Tools Grow Up (Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:59:38 +0000)
As more email marketers adopt ‘Share-to-Social’ or ‘Share-to-Network’ tools, best practices are emerging that can serve as role models for future campaigns.
Share-to-Social is the next generation of the ‘forward-to-a-friend’ forms found on many websites and email campaigns. It now enables a recipient to share an item with an entire social network.
New Offerings
Many new offerings in this area have come to market this year. Exact Target, for example, rolled out a suite called Social Forward in April. Its Direct-to-Social tool is emblematic of the concept: It allows marketers to incorporate the icon of a social network such as Facebook, Twitter or MySpace in an email. Subscribers can then click the icon and share the contents of the message with their online networks.
Silverpop is another company that also introduced new functionality last month.
In addition to helping information spread, these tools also can track the progress campaigns as they travel virally through Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn. Silverpop’s Share-to-Social feature, for example, tracks which social network the recipient posted the message on and which achieved the best results. For example, marketers can tell that an email was opened 1,000 times after being posted on Facebook and only 100 times after being posted on MySpace.
New Cases, New Metrics
As companies deploy these tools, a clearer sense of their ROI is coming into focus. A study by MarketingSherpa that examined SmartBrief’s use of Share-to-Social found that the online publisher realized a 25% boost in reader interaction and a surge in inbound traffic from social networking sites.
Another study, by Silverpop, did a deeper dive, sketching out benchmarks and metrics for marketers. For starters, it discovered that the average social sharing rate is 0.5% – compared with the less than 0.1% rate realized by earlier-generation forward-to-a-friend campaigns.
Other findings from the report:
- The life of a shared message is about one week.
- Email messages generate clicks on sharing links for an average of 6.8 days, with a median of two days and ranging from 1-44 days.
- Despite their inclusion of links, 35% percent of email messages studied generated no social email clicks.
- Click-through rates are inconsistent. There was little correlation among variables, such as location of the social-sharing link in the email, offer type, whether an offer was included in the subject line, format of the email and the likelihood that a message would be shared.
- Facebook dominates among social networks. No matter what else is measured, if Facebook is one of the variables, it will generally outperform other networks – but there are exceptions.
- View rates have room to grow. On average, an email will collect an additional 1% of views when shared on networks, a number Silverpop expects will grow as social sharing moves into the mainstream.
- Shared email has a powerful “multiplier effect.” Using conservative numbers, the Silverpop model estimates a posted email message has an average increase in reach of 24.3% (based on original emails delivered), but it also expects this figure to increase exponentially when sharing becomes mainstream.
In related news about online sharing, a recent report based on statistics from SocialTwist’s ‘Tell-a-Friend’ online sharing widget found that despite the social media revolution, email and instant messaging are still the most popular media for sharing content across the web.
http://www.marketingvox.com/share-to-social-email-tools-grow-up-045542/
2010: ‘Economic Slim Fast’ or sunshine? (Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:45:38 +0000)
By Bernice Ross, Monday, January 11, 2010.
Inman News
What does 2010 hold for the real estate brokerage industry? While I don’t own a crystal ball, here are my 10 best predictions about what to expect in 2010.
1. ‘Economic Slim Fast’ or sunshine on the horizon?
Higher unemployment and additional tax increases translate into fewer spendable dollars for housing. This means people can afford less resulting in more downward pressure on prices. On the flip side, sales in California and Florida have been on the rise. Real estate has usually led the way out of past recessions. Furthermore, some economists believe massive congressional spending will likely result in inflation. During inflationary times, hard assets such as gold and real estate are usually the best hedges.
Prediction: Provided the new health care bill and additional congressional spending doesn’t completely sink the economy, expect to see an increase in the number of sales, price stabilization, and even increases in the first-time-buyer price range. On the other hand, look for a reduced number of Realtors who can afford to stay in the business if they face additional taxes plus possible mandatory payments for health insurance.
2. Sales training makes a comeback
The strong seller’s market that ended with a crash in 2007 resulted in a whole new generation of Realtors who were order-takers rather than salespeople. The market downturn also resulted in the elimination of most brokerage in-house training programs. Consequently, it comes as no surprise that the median age of Realtors is climbing as the younger agents who lack strong sales skills are being forced out of the industry.
Prediction: Companies who move into “constant training mode” and specifically recruit and train younger agents will be the big winners in terms of market share for many years to come.
3. Digital rubbernecking: Big Brother is everywhere
Have you ever played a Facebook game? Are you using Google Voice, Gmail or Google Docs? Did you know that using these sites could jeopardize your privacy and that of your clients? Many online games and applications have a hidden purpose: to access your private data, harvest it, and sell it to other vendors. This practice is called “data mining” and it’s a major business.
For example, assume that you have “friended” one of your clients on Facebook. You then decide to play a Facebook game. The game application harvests information about each of your “friends” without them ever knowing or agreeing to provide access.
Prediction: Rules governing brokerage and agent obligations with respect to client privacy must be addressed now. Otherwise, look for an increasing number of lawsuits related to privacy issues.
4. Alternative business models continue to thrive
The days of palatial real estate offices will soon be a distant memory. Numerous brokers are experimenting with new models that range from having no office whatsoever to having a small condo-style office where the agents pay for the space they want.
Prediction: High costs will force major brands to scale back on office space as well as the number of agents they maintain on their rosters. If brokerages have to provide health insurance for Realtor “employees,” look for an immediate purging of nonproductive agents from company rosters.
5. Public grading of Realtors
An increasing number of consumers (especially those in Gen X and Gen Y) search for reviews of virtually everything online. Sites such as AngiesList.com, TripAdvisor.com and Yelp.com continue to grow in popularity as resources for third-party reviews of services.
Prediction: Consumer demand will drive more companies and associations to implement online rating systems for their agents. Look for the search engines to give higher ranking to agents and companies who receive endorsements on third-party sites.
6. The shadow inventory comes out of the shadows
Some sources estimate there are 1.7 million properties that have been foreclosed upon but not yet placed back on the market. If too much of this “shadow” inventory hits the market at once, it would kill the recovery and cause another dip in prices. The result could be another major round of foreclosures. The lending institutions do not want more foreclosures nor does the government. Under the circumstances, a controlled release of the inventory will help lenders to recoup a larger percentage of their losses.
Prediction: Look for online auctions and other creative ways to speed up the “shadow inventory” liquidation process.
7. More efficiency, less cost
One of the most notable current trends is consolidation of services. For example, there are at least two new platforms launching in the first quarter of 2010 that will allow agents and brokers to consolidate their social networking activities in one place designed specifically for Realtors.
Prediction: Look for consolidation of MLS platforms and integration of syndication and other services into single-vendor platforms.
8. Lifestyle search transforms how consumers search for listings
Early in 2010, a new search product will hit the market that allows people to search on variables such as bus stops, schools, places of worship, etc. Web site visitors will be able to search on multiple variables simultaneously and immediately identify which homes meet their lifestyle.
Prediction: Look for lifestyle search to transform how agents market property in the future including using more video, pictures, as well as better descriptors about the amenities in a particular area.
9. The upcoming real estate video revolution
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), only 1 percent of all agents are using video to market their listings, yet 73 percent of the sellers would hire an agent who provides video services. Videos can be used for marketing, lead generation, lead conversion, as well as to maintain contact with your referral database.
Prediction: Look for an explosion of video products for the real estate industry including video applications for cell phones.
10. Houselogic.com is the real game-changer, not RPR
In November 2009, NAR launched two new initiatives, RPR (Realtors Property Resource) and Houselogic.com. RPR is a national property database that aggregates property data including public records in one place. Only Realtors will be able to access RPR. While the buzz has been about RPR perhaps being a national “MLS,” the truth of the matter is that Realtor.com and most major companies have been providing national listing data for years.
In contrast, Houselogic.com is consumer-facing. It provides a wealth of information about issues relating to living in your home as opposed to just sale or purchase issues. Visitors register to access the functionality on the site. This process allows NAR to start gathering consumer contact information.
Prediction: Look for the beginnings of a national MLS in 2010. Also, expect NAR to use Houselogic.com to dramatically increase its ability to lobby Congress with feedback from both agents and consumers.
Bernice Ross, CEO of RealEstateCoach.com, is a national speaker, trainer and author of “Real Estate Dough: Your Recipe for Real Estate Success” and other books. You can reach her at Bernice@RealEstateCoach.com and find her on Twitter: @bross.
100 Ways to Measure Social Media (Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:39:05 +0000)
100 Ways To Measure Social Media,
by David Berkowitz
Social Media Insider for Tuesday, November 17, 2009:
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=117581
If there’s anyone out there left who says you can’t measure social media, here are a hundred answers.
At most of the events I’ve been to lately, measurement continues to be a hot topic. The first question that comes up is, “What can I measure?” That’s where this cheat sheet can come in handy: a list of 100 thought-starters.
Some entries here can be interpreted several ways. Depending on how you define them, some of these metrics may seem redundant, while others may seem so broad that they can be broken out further. Many of these can be combined with each other to create new metrics that can then be tracked over time. It’s a start, though, so dive in and consider which ones may apply to programs you’re working on.
1. Volume of consumer-created buzz for a brand based on number of posts
2. Amount of buzz based on number of impressions
3. Shift in buzz over time
4. Buzz by time of day / daypart
5. Seasonality of buzz
6. Competitive buzz
7. Buzz by category / topic
8. Buzz by social channel (forums, social networks, blogs, Twitter, etc)
9. Buzz by stage in purchase funnel (e.g., researching vs. completing transaction vs. post-purchase)
10. Asset popularity (e.g., if several videos are available to embed, which is used more)
11. Mainstream media mentions
12. Fans
13. Followers
14. Friends
15. Growth rate of fans, followers, and friends
16. Rate of virality / pass-along
17. Change in virality rates over time
18. Second-degree reach (connections to fans, followers, and friends exposed – by people or impressions)
19. Embeds / Installs
20. Downloads
21. Uploads
22. User-initiated views (e.g., for videos)
23. Ratio of embeds or favoriting to views
24. Likes / favorites
25. Comments
26. Ratings
27. Social bookmarks
28. Subscriptions (RSS, podcasts, video series)
29. Pageviews (for blogs, microsites, etc)
30. Effective CPM based on spend per impressions received
31. Change in search engine rankings for the site linked to through social media
32. Change in search engine share of voice for all social sites promoting the brand
33. Increase in searches due to social activity
34. Percentage of buzz containing links
35. Links ranked by influence of publishers
36. Percentage of buzz containing multimedia (images, video, audio)
37. Share of voice on social sites when running earned and paid media in same environment
38. Influence of consumers reached
39. Influence of publishers reached (e.g., blogs)
40. Influence of brands participating in social channels
41. Demographics of target audience engaged with social channels
42. Demographics of audience reached through social media
43. Social media habits/interests of target audience
44. Geography of participating consumers
45. Sentiment by volume of posts
46. Sentiment by volume of impressions
47. Shift in sentiment before, during, and after social marketing programs
48. Languages spoken by participating consumers
49. Time spent with distributed content
50. Time spent on site through social media referrals
51. Method of content discovery (search, pass-along, discovery engines, etc)
52. Clicks
53. Percentage of traffic generated from earned media
54. View-throughs
55. Number of interactions
56. Interaction/engagement rate
57. Frequency of social interactions per consumer
58. Percentage of videos viewed
59. Polls taken / votes received
60. Brand association
61. Purchase consideration
62. Number of user-generated submissions received
63. Exposures of virtual gifts
64. Number of virtual gifts given
65. Relative popularity of content
66. Tags added
67. Attributes of tags (e.g., how well they match the brand’s perception of itself)
68. Registrations from third-party social logins (e.g., Facebook Connect, Twitter OAuth)
69. Registrations by channel (e.g., Web, desktop application, mobile application, SMS, etc)
70. Contest entries
71. Number of chat room participants
72. Wiki contributors
73. Impact of offline marketing/events on social marketing programs or buzz
74. User-generated content created that can be used by the marketer in other channels
75. Customers assisted
76. Savings per customer assisted through direct social media interactions compared to other channels (e.g., call centers, in-store)
77. Savings generated by enabling customers to connect with each other
78. Impact on first contact resolution (FCR) (hat tip to Forrester Research for that one)
79. Customer satisfaction
80. Volume of customer feedback generated
81. Research & development time saved based on feedback from social media
82. Suggestions implemented from social feedback
83. Costs saved from not spending on traditional research
84. Impact on online sales
85. Impact on offline sales
86. Discount redemption rate
87. Impact on other offline behavior (e.g., TV tune-in)
88. Leads generated
89. Products sampled
90. Visits to store locator pages
91. Conversion change due to user ratings, reviews
92. Rate of customer/visitor retention
93. Impact on customer lifetime value
94. Customer acquisition / retention costs through social media
95. Change in market share
96. Earned media’s impact on results from paid media
97. Responses to socially posted events
98. Attendance generated at in-person events
99. Employees reached (for internal programs)
100. Job applications received
There you go. I welcome other entries in the comments. It’s also just the start of the answer to the broader question: “How do I measure it?” Ultimately, you need to start with figuring out your business objectives and then apply these metrics accordingly.
6 Steps for Outsourcing – An easy way to create your ideal marketing department. (Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:27:41 +0000)
Outsourcing: An Easy Way to Create Your Ideal Marketing Department
by Karin K. Schaff, For complete content, go to: http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/outsrcmkt.htm
In today’s unpredictable economy, companies are trying to find new and innovative ways to keep the marketing momentum going – while dealing with budget cutbacks and dramatic fluctuations in the market. In this type of economy, smart companies know that they can’t stop their marketing activities – especially if they plan on establishing healthy longevity in their business. So, where do they turn when marketing is necessary, but resources, expertise, focus, and funds are scarce? They find the answer in outsourcing.
What are the values and benefits of outsourcing?
1. Tap into additional expertise in marketing strategy and implementation, as well as design. An in-house team may not have developed the skills you need. Outsourcing to an experienced team that integrates seamlessly into your infrastructure will infuse your organization with new energies and ideas. You’ll introduce fresh and innovative marketing and sales approaches to your customers and business partners.
2. Get an outside perspective on your business. Sometimes you can get too close to your business and not see your marketing strategies, programs, or materials from your audience’s perspective. Even though you may know your business inside and out by living and breathing it each day, your perspective is still one-sided. To market successfully to your current audience – and capture new markets – you need to step out of your shoes and into your audiences’. You need to BECOME your customer. Having a group on the “outside” supporting your needs helps to give you the customers’ perspective, not just your company’s.
3. Minimize the impact of marketing staff reductions. You need to continue with projects, but your resources are limited. Don’t give up! By outsourcing, you can find qualified, experienced resources that can come in and support your marketing needs so that the effort, money, and energy you’ve already invested don’t go to waste.
4. Draw on outside experience with “what works and doesn’t work” scenarios. Whether it’s planning, copywriting, or design, the right outsource team will have had experience with a variety of different marketing and communication strategies, techniques, and tools. You can rely on their lessons over the years to find the correct solution for your business challenge.
5. Maintain the momentum with critical projects – they’ll never fall to the wayside, drop down the priority list, or become forgotten. With the way the economy is today, people change jobs – or are hit with lay-offs – in the middle of projects. When those people leave the company, they will most likely take the project assets with them (in the form of knowledge). When you outsource your marketing relationships, you have one centralized team as your partner, and your knowledge assets remain protected and archived for future use.
6. Hire only whenever and wherever you need resources. Hiring full-time staff can be very costly when you add up wages, insurance coverage, office equipment and supply needs, training costs, etc. Finding an outsourcing partner allows you the flexibility to bring on talented, knowledgeable experts exactly when and where you need them. And you don’t have to manage or train the entire team – the ‘outsource’ firm does that while you focus on the daily needs of running your own business and generating revenue!
Everything I need to know about Marketing I learned from Google (Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:42:44 +0000)
by Aaron Goldman
For the full article, click here: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/index.cfm?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=112292
10 lessons Google taught me — and the rest of the world about marketing.
1. Relevance rules. The reason Google became so popular is simply because its search engine displayed the most relevant results. For marketers looking to leapfrog to the top of Google or have your product earn Google-like market share, the key is make your brand relevant. Apple is one company that manages to stay relevant — read: build a cult-like following — by continually releasing products that operate best when used with other Apple products, or simply work better than previous versions. It also aligns itself with its audience’s passion points like music and design.
2. Tap the wisdom of the crowds. How does Google achieve the most relevant results? Its proprietary algorithm looks at the number and quality of inbound links for every Web site it indexes — essentially tallying votes cast by other webmasters. Similarly, it ranks paid search advertisers not just on CPC but on click rate, among other factors — essentially tallying votes cast by its users. One marketer successfully leveraging the wisdom of crowds is Doritos, with Super Bowl spots created and voted on by consumers. Threadless is another company that gets the power of the community — printing T-shirts suggested and voted on by consumers
3. Keep it simple, stupid. Some people — namely MediaPost publisher, Ken Fadner — assert that Google’s dominance from a usage standpoint is due not so much to relevance as simplicity. During a time when the trend was towards cluttered portals, Google stood out with its clean white page and clear call-to-search. So, too, must marketers use simple and overt calls-to-action (e.g., tell a friend, buy now, ask your doctor) and de-clutter the environment to which they drive people (e.g., store, Web site, phone). Although it’s not as easy as, say, Ford just telling people to “Drive One.”
4. Mindset matters. Google’s been so successful because it allows advertisers to reach people when they’re in a commercial mindset — that’s commercial as in looking to spend money, not watch commercials. Sure, sometimes searchers are just looking to be entertained or conduct academic research — but many are looking to find a place to eat, shop, or otherwise transact. Marketers take heed! The reason your ads on social networks don’t drive direct ROI is because people aren’t thinking about buying stuff when they’re stalking their high school classmates or poking their friends. Although the same could be said for airport security — but Zappos made it work, so it just goes to show that strong contextual relevance can sometimes change the mindset.
5. Be where your audience is. Toolbars, desktops, third-party sites, docs, spreadsheets, email — you name it, if you’re online, Google’s watching… I mean, available. For marketers, the lesson here is that you can’t just “build it and they will come.” You have to get guerilla and seed your brand into the conversation wherever it’s happening — blogs, social networks, coffee shops, bathrooms, etc. This was something the Obama campaign did brilliantly.
6. Don’t interrupt. Even though Google is as omnipresent as that other Big G, it very rarely interrupts people from what they were doing to push a message for one of its products or one of its advertisers. Google, and search in general, is very much a pull-marketing channel. For marketers, it’s important to remember that there’s a fine line between seeding the conversation and disrupting it. Best Buy is one company that’s showing signs of understanding the difference.
7. Act like content. Part of not interrupting is not acting like advertising. Acting like content — which is, ironically, a phrase I cribbed from Brian Morrissey’s blog post making a case for interruptive advertising — is what search engine optimization is all about. And Google certainly rewards it. Create compelling content — and, by compelling, I mean relevant and link-worthy — and you’ll stand out not only in the Google index but by winning over customers. Make people feel like you’re giving them what they want and not selling them, and you’ll earn their business. American Express does this well, with its Open Forum initiative acting as a resource for small businesses.
8. Test everything. If there’s one thing that Google’s obsessive about, it’s testing. This is a company that tries 41 different shades of blue on its toolbar to see which drives the most clicks. And as any search marketer can tell you, testing — new keywords, new copy, new landing pages, you name it — is part of the daily SEM protocol. The ramifications for broader marketers are clear — take nothing for granted. A little thing like the background color on the last frame of your TV spot can be the difference between recall and relapse. Malcom Gladwell wrote the book on this, citing brands like Airwalk and institutions like “Sesame Street” and “Blue’s Clues” for their attention to detail.
9. Track everything. Of course, the yin of the testing-yang is tracking. There’s no question Google gets how important tracking is to marketers. That’s why is bought DoubleClick and Urchin — or is it? The bottom line for marketers is that as more and more media is delivered digitally, it’s inherently trackable. These days, it’s a sin to not know which half of your advertising is working. The classic examples here are your direct marketing advertisers like Kaplan who tack unique identifiers — unfortunately sometimes a bit clumsily — onto their TV spots to track response.
10. Let the data decide. This could easily roll up into either of the last two points, but it’s worthy of its own spot on this list. Too often, marketers use testing or tracking merely to prove an idea to which they were already married. In other words, they — or their agencies — come up with a concept that sounds spectacular and “just feels right” and then set up some experiments — read: focus groups — and manipulate the data to help push their idea through. Not Google. Per Marissa Mayer, Google “let(s) the math and the data govern how things look and feel” — some would say to a fault. There’s certainly a spectrum from “going with your gut” to letting data decide, but when it comes to being accountable to your boss — or your shareholders– doing what the numbers tell you is certainly the most defensible position — especially if that data is highly targeted.
SEM or SEO; What is Best for Your Auction Event? (Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:41:51 +0000)
5 Instances Where SEM Works Better Than SEO
By Heather Fletcher, senior editor, Target Marketing
http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/5-instances-where-sem-works-better-than-seo-411646_2.html
Sep 2, 2009
Indebted consumers searching Google for “financial freedom” and a chance to reduce their bills were 101 percent more likely to convert to 800-number callers of San Diego-based debt settlement firm Fidelity Debt Solutions after the company optimized its paid search landing page.
The triple-digit conversion lift came about because various elements of the fidelitydebt.net landing page could be tested and changed in the search engine marketing space much faster than it could in the organic arena. Then those SEM findings could be added to search engine optimization tactics, says Brian Lewis, vice president of San Diego-based search marketing firm Engine Ready, which designed the FDS paid search landing page.
Below, five instances where SEM results lord over SEO abilities are enumerated by Lewis; Rich Kahn, chief executive officer of Middletown, Del.-based search marketing firm eZanga; and Matt Kain, chief revenue officer of Santa Monica, Calif.-based search marketing firm The Search Agency.
1. SEM is faster than SEO. Testing and ranking can happen in real time. Lewis says his firm optimized the FDS landing page items such as the call to action, 800-number location and legibility, contact form, and a 32-second, explanatory video.
“If you put up a campaign with search engine marketing, you can put up a bunch of tests, a bunch of different campaigns, test them all—and you can do that all in the first day,” Kahn says. As for the most obvious ranking aspects, he adds, SEM always ends up with the top rankings, no matter how high the SEO results are. And beyond that, paid search has access to more than Google.com. Google teams with other sites, so paid search customers also have access to those sites, Kahn says.
In addition, Kahn relates an example where a client ranked for keywords simply by pursuing an SEM strategy before redesigning its company Web site. The client provided eZanga with 35 terms “that they should’ve ranked pretty well for,” Kahn points out, but only one of them provided a 400-level ranking. None were on the first page of organic results, he says. Six months into the SEM contract with eZanga, without the company having changed a single word on its site, about 26 of those terms were on the first page of organic results. “It just makes sense,” Kahn says. “I mean, if you’re a paid customer of Google, Google wants to take care of its customers. So whether it’s one of their algorithms that they use or it’s some other issue that’s happening, every time I see a company just add in search engine marketing, their SEO ranks, over time, increase.”
2. Marketers have more control. The Search Agency’s Kain says control extends from ad copy to linking that copy to a landing page optimized for sales conversions instead of SEO. Then marketers have the advantage of employing paid search editorial guidelines that encompass trademark protection while also having the ability to change their SEM scales and volumes at will.
Lewis agrees, pointing out that SEO favors content-heavy pages. But “let’s say, for instance, we found out that our target market doesn’t like to read more than a line of text, and we want a real strong headline and one line of a benefit-selling bullet and then the form. And that’s what’s going to convert the best. Well in [pay per click], we can do that. With SEO, we know that that page is not going to rank.”
3. Clickthrough traffic is more likely to convert. Engine Ready’s study updated in July, SEO vs. PPC—The Final Round, found that “paid traffic converted at a 54 percent higher rate and experienced an average order value 10 percent above that of traffic from organic listings.” Lewis hypothesizes that the 2 percent SEM conversion rate, vs. the 1.3 percent SEO conversion rate among the 26 companies studied, is accounted for by landing pages optimized for SEM and by one other reason. SEM visitors tend to have a greater intention to buy, probably because they’ve already done their research in SEO in order to not encounter marketing, he believes.
4. SEM guarantees placement “no matter how competitive the sector is and no matter how difficult it may be for you to otherwise rank on the phrase,” Kain says. “And so, for a very competitive area like credit cards, if you’re not CreditCards.com … or one of a handful of sites that happen to rank very well, organically, for search, you pretty much have no choice other than to participate in paid search for those sorts of keywords. So American Express, Chase bank and Wells Fargo who don’t come up above the fold on the front page for the word ‘credit card,’ if they want access to all of those leads, then they have no choice other than to buy those sorts of searches.” (Chase was both the final SEO and SEM result on the first page of results on Google during a search for “credit cards” last week, while American Express held the second-highest SEM result on the right side of the page and the second from the last SEO rank on the first results page. Wells Fargo didn’t rank, and CreditCards.com held the top SEM and SEO rankings.)
5. It’s simpler than SEO. “SEM is easy,” Kain says. “You don’t need any particular technical skills. You don’t need to do any coding on your site. You pretty much just need 15 minutes of time and a credit card, and you can go to Google and sign up for AdWords and be advertising your campaign in no time, which is a significant advantage over SEO, which is a long-term process.”
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