In their PPC marketing efforts, small, local businesses hardly ever use Google AdWords to its maximum potential. Writing for Search Engine Watch, Howie Jacobson has highlighted three ways in which local businesses can benefit from AdWords.
Here is just one of those aforementioned three ways suggested by Jacobson, in a summarised form:
Test Messaging For Other Media – AdWords can be used to test for the best possible ad copy for other platforms – such as print ads.
Jacobson states: “It’s not unusual for one a to perform two to five times better than another.” As most offline advertising is “of the ‘interruption’ variety” it is possible to use the Display Network, AdWords’ interruption arm, to test other ads.
According to Jacobson, the Display Network generates around 10 times the amount of traffic yielded by search and the clicks are considerably cheaper. He concludes: “So the Display Network is the perfect place to find messages, offers, and calls to action in offline media.”
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In PPC marketing, the majority of conversations – regarding reports and updates – take place over the phone.
Joseph Kerschbaum, writing for Search Engine Watch, claims that there are a number of tactics that can make these meetings extremely productive.
Here are just a few of the tactics he suggests for a successful PPC phone conference, call or meeting:
Invite only those who are needed – There isn’t any point in inviting those whose presence isn’t necessary – remember you’re just going to be wasting their time. Decision makers and those people who “absolutely need to know” should be at the top of your invite-list.
Why is the meeting taking place? – If you can’t answer this questions, there is a good chance that the meeting doesn’t need to take place. Kerschbaum states: “Don’t just focus on topics; what should everyone get out of the meeting?”
Pull up statistics before the meeting – Going into a meeting blind simply isn’t good enough; you need to spend a significant amount of time reviewing your performance.
While it might not be possible to answer all queries that come your way, don’t be afraid of saying “I don’t know,” provided that it is followed up with “But I’ll find out and follow-up.” Remember though, this shouldn’t be an excuse not to at least try to anticipate the questions or concerns that may be raised during the meeting.
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New research has suggested that Facebook is offering marketers a significantly reduced rate on PPC advertising campaigns, providing that the ads don’t direct traffic away from the social networking site, according to an article published by New Media Age.
The report, released by TBG Digital, stated that advertisers could receive a discount of up to 45 per cent on PPC marketing campaigns; this strategy has proven to be successful, with ad revenue increasing by 23 per cent – when compared to figures released at the start of 2011.
The Q4 Global Facebook Advertising report also displayed that the top five industries to utilise the ads were finance, retail, games, entertainment and food and drink.
CEO of TBG Digital, Simon Mansell, commented on the results.
He said: “The potential cost savings available by maintaining traffic within the Facebook environment is particularly compelling and demonstrates its effectiveness as an advertising channel and also as a ‘destination,’ with more and more clients investing heavily into their Facebook presence.”
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The best PPC marketing managers are able to maintain a good level of communication with their clients, according to John Lee, writing for Search Engine Watch.
Lee suggests that all other elements of a PPC strategy are rendered null-and-void if there isn’t a good level of communication in place – regardless of the medium.
To achieve the best possible results he recommends the implementation of a communication plan. Here are just a few of Lee’s recommendations in a summarised form:
Schedule regular phone calls – A conversation over the phone can be great for building up a rapport and a significant level of trust; ideas can also be traded and issues raised.
For the first month of engagement, Lee recommends speaking on a weekly basis before then eventually moving towards a bi-weekly call. If your clients are comfortable with it, Skype and iMeet can provide the benefit of face to face video communication.
Responding the calls and emails – When one of your clients calls to register a concern or query, you should always try to ensure that you respond in a relatively quick manner.
If you choose to be tardy in your response you’ll most likely create a point of negativity in your relationship with your client.
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An investigation, carried out by the BBC, has found that search engine giant Google is profiting from PPC adverts that have been posted by illegal resellers of tickets for London 2012, according to an article published by Search Engine Watch.
Since the introduction of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games Act 2006, the resale of tickets on an open market has become a criminal offence in the UK.
The BBC found a woman who had purchased tickets from a fake site, LiveOlympicTickets, which she found from an AdWords advert at the top of the SERP (search engine results page).
Google has since removed the adverts – as well as those for fake passports, identification cards and cannabis – and told the BBC: “The company keeps any money it might make from companies advertising illegal services before such adverts are removed.”
Any remaining links to illegal resellers are set to be removed – following a request by the police.
Google has previously been scrutinised for profiting off PPC marketing initiatives promoting the illegal sale of prescription and non-prescription drugs by Canadian pharmacies.
In a statement, Google commented on the issue: “We have a set of policies covering which ads can and cannot show on Google. These policies and guidelines are enforced by both automated systems and human beings. When we are informed of ads which break our policies, we investigate and remove them if appropriate.”
The statement added: “Our aim is to create a simple and efficient way for legitimate businesses to promote and sell their goods and services whilst protecting them and consumers from illicit activity.”
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PPC marketing is likely to play a significant role in many businesses’ digital marketing strategies during 2012. Writing for Search Engine Watch, Joseph Kerschbaum has created a list featuring a number of tips that could, if employed, keep PPC campaigns operating effectively.
Here are just a few of Kerschbaum’s tips:
Use Campaign Automation - In the world of PPC marketing, things can get extremely hectic – there is little, if any, time to lay off and enjoy a period of being unproductive.
Therefore it is important to ensure that you take advantage of the features in AdWords – such as automated reports, alerts and conversion optimiser.
Having automation in play will also allow you to focus on the areas of your campaign that require more of your time and attention.
Energise Your Creativity – Kerschbaum suggests that a loss of drive and enthusiasm when managing a PPC campaign can lead to accounts becoming stale – ultimately resulting in a poor return on interest (ROI).
To combat this, he states that the workspace should be altered, exercises undertaken and frequent short “brain breaks” scheduled. He also suggests that you should read anything that doesn’t have anything to do with PPC strategies during periods of downtime to keep enthusiasm levels at an optimum level.
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Having become a popular platform for publishing SEO copy, WordPress has revealed that it will be launching a PPC ads feature for its sites, according to an article published by The Drum.
WordPress has partnered with Federated Media to create the feature, which will be accessible to users of WordPress that meet a number of preset requirements.
It has also been revealed that the service will be accessible through a specifically designed application for the blogging platform.
Ads lead for WordPress, Jon Burke, writing in a post published on his blog, spoke about the upcoming introduction of PPC ads to WordPress.
He wrote: “Over the years one of the most frequent requests on WordPress.com has been to allow bloggers to earn money from their blog through ads.
“We’ve resisted advertising so far because most it we had seen wasn’t terribly tasteful, and it seemed like Google’s AdSense was the state-of-the-art, which was sad. You pour a lot of time and effort into you blog and you deserve better than AdSense.”
Burke concluded by stating: “If you’re going to have advertising on your site, it darn well better be good and beginning with our partnership with Federated Media we’re ready to start rolling out WordAds here on WordPress.com.”
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Christmas is once again nearly upon us – marking that period of year in which people spend a huge amount of time doing their gift shopping online; because of this, it is also a great time to implement PPC marketing initiatives.
To ensure you get the possible results from your PPC adverts, John Rampton, writing for Search Engine Journal has produced a checklist, specifically covering the festive season.
Here are some of the items featured on Rampton’s checklist in a summarised form:
Give them an incentive with deals – Deals attract people; it can encourage them to buy when they hadn’t originally had any intention to. Offering something like “free shipping or “50 per cent off everything today only” in your PPC ads, Rampton suggests, will have people rushing to your site.
He concludes by stating: “You will get millions of low cost clicks to your site that should convert very well.”
Change your ad text – Altering your ad text everyday can seem to be something of chore. However, different ad text will, if done properly, help potential customers have a greater understanding of their questions.
The text should specifically cater to the intent of shoppers and how they go about making purchases online, Rampton adds. He also states that you should try to let consumer know what you’re selling and how much you’re selling it for.
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With today (November 24) being Thanksgiving in the US, many eCommerce sites will be making their final preparations ready for tomorrow’s ‘Black Friday’ sales.
A notoriously busy day, it is vital that everything goes accordingly to plan.
Writing for Search Engine Watch, Frank Watson has produced a basic checklist that contains all of the elements likely to benefit a ‘Black Friday’ sale.
Here are some of the best in a summarised form:
Are your social media channels prepared for a possible increase in traffic? Be sure to keep a thorough eye on each one of your social channels. Consumers are bound to use these channels as a guide for recommendations and offers – making engagement extremely important.
Offer them links and advice and answer their questions when required – this is likely to make your business’ ‘Black Friday’ much more of a success.
Do you have a plan to implement for your PPC marketing efforts? Throughout the day bidding on adverts is likely to increase, so be sure to have an automated alert in place – this will allow you to easily monitor whether or not your bid needs to upped.
Promote your deals on your homepage – It doesn’t matter where your traffic is coming from, you should always ensure that when they get to your homepage they can see your special offers. Strategically you should push the items that will make the most amount of money, Watson states.
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Google has announced that the PPC adverts, previously positioned on the right side on an SERP (search engine results page), will now appear in some instances at the bottom of the page, according to an article published by Search Engine Watch.
Click-through rates for adverts positioned at the bottom of an SERP are said to be higher than those displayed at the side, Google has stated.
Although the change itself is unlikely to impact PPC marketing campaigns, it has resulted in some changes to Google AdWords.
These ads appearing at the bottom of the page will now fall under the “Other” category when classified in an AdWords account – a category used to cover experimental impressions.
Whilst it isn’t clear whether the change from side to bottom will be fully implemented in the near future, Google has stated that ads will be displayed either at the side or at the bottom – but not both at the same time.
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