Pay Per Click Marketing News

Report: online PR increasingly driving offline purchases

2010-03-12 00:00:00

The potential for online marketing to drive offline sales has been highlighted by a new report that shows 97 per cent of people in the US currently use search engines, comparison sites and other web-based media to research products and services they then buy from nearby stores.

Pay per click and other search engine marketing techniques could be particularly useful in boosting local sales, the study by BIA/Kelsey and ConStat suggests, as 90 per cent of these consumers do their research via sites such as Google, Bing and Yahoo!.

On average, the study found that consumers use 7.9 different sources of media when shopping for local goods or services. This is up from 6.5 sources in 2009 and 5.8 sources in 2008.

Online PR campaigns such as offering money off vouchers can also boost offline sales, with 58 per cent of consumers saying they had used one of these coupons in the past 12 months.

Yahoo!'s retail category director Nicola Ibberson recently said that Christmas sales in 2009 were "a lot better than expected" because online marketing services had helped to drive in-store purchases.

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Balancing SEO and PPC marketing

2010-03-10 00:00:00

Organic and paid search often require very different skill sets and approaches, but with a mixture of the two, firms can develop a successful marketing blend, according to one expert.

Kevin Gibbons of Search Engine Watch said that a search engine optimisation (SEO) expert will generally take a more "holistic approach" to developing a website than a pay per click marketing whizz.

They will produce content such as blogs, social media material and landing pages all aimed at supporting the long-term evolution of a site.

PPC marketing specialists tend to be more analytical, poring over search term data to find the keywords that will wring extra returns out of a budget. They also "love the thrill of a risk that pays off".

Successful online marketing will often depend on getting a blend of these approaches from people who are strong in particular areas, rather than being "merely acceptable" across the skills sets, Mr Gibbons noted.

According to recent figures from Econsultancy and ExactTarget, spending on digital marketing is set to increase by 17 per cent in 2010.

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Google introduces national click-to-call for PPC marketing

2010-03-04 00:00:00

National advertisers can now include click-to-call phone numbers in their ads for mobile devices with full internet browsers.

Google's pay per click marketing service AdWords had previously offered clickable numbers to firms that connected customers to their nearest store.

Writing on the Inside AdWords blog, Katrina Kurnit said that the new phone extensions feature allows businesses to include a contact number that will appear wherever their ad is triggered, "regardless of the user's location".

"This enables customers to connect with your business by phone directly from the ad and can be especially useful if you have a call centre to handle customer enquiries," she added.

To set up click-to-call, marketers need to add their number and ensure they have selected to display their ads on mobile devices with full internet browsers in their campaign settings.

AdWords allows users to review the number of calls they receive for each keyword, ad group and campaign.

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Research and relevance 'key to PPC marketing'

2010-03-03 00:00:00

Website visitors brought in from sponsored links are more likely to make a purchase than those from organic search, but how do firms ensure their paid ads get clicked in the first place?

Diana Ransom of the Wall Street Journal said carrying out research both before and during a search engine marketing campaign is crucial to achieving higher conversion rates.

When selecting the keywords for pay per click marketing, it is important to keep an open mind, she added.

Programmes like Google Analytics and Yahoo! Web Analytics will give an idea of the phrases being used by potential customers, as well as the keywords competitors bid for.

Once keywords have been selected, it is essential to continually monitor their performance, Ms Ransom noted.

Another key element of successful PPC marketing is relevance - ads should get straight to the point, while landing pages should be closely linked to the product advertised, she added.

Online marketing could be set for substantial growth this year, after figures from comScore showed the global search market grew by 48 per cent last year.

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Twitter 'plans move into search engine marketing'

2010-03-02 00:00:00

Social network Twitter is planning to launch its own search ad platform and could have a system ready to go live by the summer, an expert has claims.

Writing on the Wall Street Journal's AllThingsD blog, Peter Kafka said like Google's original approach, ads on Twitter will only be linked to searches.

"So a search for, say, laptop may generate an ad for Dell," he added.

Ads will stick to the site's 140-character limit for messages, although they will not appear in regular Twitterstreams.

Although the plans for the platform are "still evolving" and no launch date has been pencilled in, Mr Kafka said it looks a "very safe bet" that the system will be up and running in the first half of 2010.

He added that the main hurdles Twitter needs to clear before launching its online marketing services include developing a pricing model for ads, refining its searches and gathering enough user data to enable effective targeting.

Figures from comScore show Twitter's unique visitor numbers rose by nine per cent between December and January to 21.79 million.

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Companies 'need mix of search, social media and PPC marketing'

2010-02-26 00:00:00

Any successful internet marketing campaign will involve a mixture of search, social media content and pay per click (PPC) services, as each can bring their own particular strengths to increasing a company's online profile, it has been claimed.

Writing in the Journal, Lisa Forster said deciding the exact focus on elements like search engine optimisation (SEO), PPC marketing and blogging will depend on the intended audience for the campaign.

The starting point for developing a marketing mix is "finding out where your targets hang out", she noted.

For example, only eight per cent of Twitter users are aged between 12 and 17, while 71 per cent of under-29s log in to Facebook every day.

Looking at the elements of the marketing mix, Ms Forster said SEO services are good building "solid, long-term" foundations, while PPC marketing is good for generating highly-targeted traffic in a short space of time.

Social media boosts customer communication and helps to build a brand. It also helps to drive traffic because search engines "love frequently updated content" from blogs, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Harvey Raybould of Compila recently said that blogging remains the most effective social media tool for boosting SEO.

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Google offers tips on mobile search engine marketing

2010-02-22 00:00:00

Google has offered pay per click marketers some tips on targeting the growing number of consumers that access the web via a mobile handset.

On the Inside AdWords blog, Emily Williams said pay per click marketing campaigns for users of on-the-go internet services need to be tailored to the most relevant audience.

A crucial element of this is ensuring that ads are only displayed on the right devices.

"For example, if you sell iPhone accessories, your ad is likely not relevant to Android device owners," she wrote.

Google AdWords allows users to specifically target their marketing at particular handsets, as well as individual networks such as AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

With Google Analytics, Ms Williams said marketers can also see where mobile traffic is coming from, which could boost in-store sales.

If there are a lot of visits from an area where a company has an outlet, they can include click to call phone numbers in their ads that will directly connect users to their nearest location.

Google introduced its location-specific click to call numbers in January.

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AdWords certification 'can boost search engine marketing'

2010-02-19 00:00:00

Both new and experienced users of Google AdWords could see their online marketing efforts improved by gaining the service's professional certification, it has been claimed.

Melissa Mackay of Search Engine Watch said the qualification is not required to manage an account on the pay per click marketing service. Instead, the online training is designed to enhance the performance of those accounts, which of course is in Google's best interests.

Even seasoned AdWords users may discover new features they had not previously looked at and to pass the exam, they will need an understanding of all facets of the service.

Furthermore, as Google's certification expires after two years, users will need continuing education to ensure they stay on top of their game.

Jeff Muendel of Practical Ecommerce said AdWords is a useful tool for both pay per click marketing and search engine optimisation, as its analytics data is drawn from actual searches entered into Google, the "one engine an ecommerce site should concentrate on".

News brought to you by ClickThrough - experts in Search Engine Marketing & Internet Marketing.

PPC marketing 'still vital to online retailers'

2010-02-18 00:00:00

Savvy online marketing has been a crucial element in helping some online retailers to not only survive the downturn, but increase their profile and business, according to one expert.

Writing in Chicago's Daily Herald, Jim Kendall highlighted the case of Shadesavers.com as an example of how pay per click marketing services have become an invaluable tool in ecommerce.

The site, which was established in 1998, specialises in selling designer sunglasses and its online nature meant it avoided the slump on main street.

Owner Andy Hortatsos said: "Folks aren't visiting brick and mortar malls. They're going online to do searches. Search tools have gotten better, which makes pay per click more important."

Shadesavers.com has expanded its pay per click marketing by adding keywords as and when it introduces a new brand, which makes it important to have someone managing the process, he added.

To maximise its marketing - and to add a "degree of sophistication" - the site has also set up dedicated online stores on Amazon.com and eBay.

The boost to profits has been accompanied by increased interest in the site from suppliers and a steady flow of repeat business, Mr Hortatsos added.

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Google moves to improve analysis of PPC marketing

2010-02-15 00:00:00

Google has introduced a new analysis toolbar for the Campaigns tab of AdWords accounts to help marketers assess the performance of their ads.

Writing on the Inside AdWords blog, Dan Friedman said the application brings together key functions from the Filter and Views and More Actions menus.

It allows users of the pay per click marketing service to apply filters to or customise the columns of data tables, while also allowing them to segment performance across different networks or time periods, he noted.

In addition, the toolbar has controls for showing or hiding information on paused or deleted campaigns.

Google has previously integrated AdWords' Search Query reports, which show users every search term that resulted in their ad being triggered and clicked, with its Placement Performance list, which show the URLs where pay per click ads are displayed.

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