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Whilst Google has spent the last decade taking potshots at all and sundry – from Amazon to Microsoft, from authors and publishers to video content producers, from telecoms to the oil industry – it is perhaps time to wonder whether your business might be next?
The Big Money has an interesting slant on Google in the Noughties. Today, only hours before Google is ‘allegedly’ announcing a smartphone, Nexus1, in the run up to the Consumer Electronics Show, to have a pop at the iPhone as well as mobile operators, it has to be worth pondering just what else may be up Google’s long-reaching sleeves, and how it may affect you in the coming decade.
Whilst Google undoubtedly makes the majority of its revenue from advertisers, is the potential there to accidentally destroy a number of those advertisers in the seeming unstoppable global takeover that some commentators are concerned about? After all, wiping out, or upsetting, a number of big publishers (of whatever type of content) doesn’t necessarily bode well for future advertising revenue…. This trend could extend further if Google takes on yet more business sectors.
On the other side of the coin, there are now only 3 major search engines, and many SEO companies focus almost wholly on Google, particularly for PPC, and therefore a percentage of your profits heads straight into Google’s pocket. Should it be? Could you be achieving similar results but without handing over that cash to Google? Have we all become blinkered into believing that Google is the only player and that the cost to be listed is an inevitable ‘evil’?
Google’s attitude with some of the major players has been to unravel their business models by developing and then offering similar products and services for free (see The Big Money article for numerous examples). Could this work two ways? Could smaller players e.g. you adopt similar tactics with Google to your own benefit? Are there places where you don’t actually need Google, any more than after today, potentially, Google won’t need smartphone manufacturers to deliver Android to the end user?
It would be interesting to see what others think…..
Marketing Pilgrim have just announced the launch of the 4th Search Engine Marketing Scholarship and with a deadline of 22nd June, it is time to start writing!
The competition is open to residents of all countries and the prize is a package worth $10,000. All you need do is write an original and engaging How to article about any aspect of internet marketing and search engine optimisation with a minimum word count of 400 words.
Once the best articles are chosen by a panel of esteemed SEO experts, including Danny Sullivan, Rand Fishkin, Jill Whalen, there will be a period of 4 weeks during which each author can promote their article, with the winner being the one that proves most popular. So, not just a challenge in writing, but also in effective internet promotion!
Last year’s winner, Linda Bustos, wrote on “8 stupid things webmasters do to mess up their analytics” and this article gives you a great example of what the judges and the voting audience are looking for.
So, pick up your quill and start writing your entry today!
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If you are going to experiment, and you need to, then it is interesting to note that the Google ethos of letting their employees experiment with new ideas etc, also includes the sentiment, “Do it, but do it wrong quickly”.
(Sadly, I can’t find the quote for this interview as an internet marketer has just nicked this philosophy/phrase from Sergey, Larry or someone, and entitled his new book that!)
At this time of economic downturn, experiments are somewhat of a luxury. Research and development departments are cutting their budgets, whether in science or internet marketing. Shame really, as knowing what works and what doesn’t is vital to your success. And helps to make that marketing budget go that little bit further.
The point is though that you still need to know what will work for you and your business, and where to best spend your marketing pounds. (Or dollars). However, with careful consideration, you can conduct online marketing experiments that give results, fast, and then act upon those results to increase your leads and sales.
So, here’s the competition. Conduct the experiment below and let us know how it goes! Hopefully, the lessons learnt will be invaluable for others. The closing date is one month from today – 9th January 2009. The prize will be …who knows? Probably something one of us gets for Xmas that could find a better home with one of you!!
So, here goes. Customise the experiment as you see fit but it shouldn’t cost more than a few bob and some moments of your time. And it could make you back far more than you spend! Not just in £££s or $$$s but also in lessons learnt. As well as a surprise present from ClickThrough Marketing!
Pick a product you think will sell great this Christmas or holiday season. It doesn’t even have to be your product, but ideally it should make you some profit. (Or be one that you are seriously considering ditching from your product line in 2009 or need to test on a focus group).
Now, have a quick look on Ebay and Google to see what competition you have. Create a down and dirty landing page for your product – here’s one I prepared earlier! A single call to action. Either “Buy it now”, or “Call today for free to talk to a sales rep”. Or maybe “Give me your email address and I will send you the white paper”. Just one simple call to action with text that encourages people to respond to that call.
Post the URL of your landing page to this blog in the comments section.
Now pick 5 keyword terms that you think are relevant to that product. (Can’t think of any? Try Wordtracker) If it is a highly competitive product, then don’t buy #1 terms because you don’t want to bankrupt yourself in the experimentation process! Create your ads and go bid on them on Google PPC or similar. Don’t forget to submit your landing page to Google if you intend to keep this experiment going for a while. (However, it is possible to get brand new pages indexed within literally a few days under the major keywords on established sites…..)
That’s the basics, but you can add to this (if you want a wider experiment) by doing some standard Web promotion – blog marketing, write an article on the benefits of what you are selling, find a few backlinks, post in forums etc.
Right, now watch your traffic with an analytics tool like Clicky or Google Analytics.
As you see traffic come in, take a long hard look at it. Is it coming in from your PPC terms? Are they working? If not, adjust the ads until they start to drive traffic.
What is your bounce rate? Are people lookin’ an’ leavin’? If so, adjust your landing page so it starts to get responses to the calls to action. If necessary add a ‘Call me Now’ button or run a competition or survey to encourage people to interact and give feedback.
Run each tweak for a couple of days or so so you can actually measure what works and what doesn’t. If something isn’t working, CHANGE it.
If you aren’t getting any traffic at all, that may tell you something about your product as well as your PPC ad.
If you are getting traffic, but no responses, then your product may be desirable but something else isn’t. This could be your text and style, your call to action, your terms and conditions, your price. You need to consider all of the factors leading to your failure.
If people are starting to respond to the call to action but then drop out – work out why this might be so. Does your shopping basket actually work? Are you not offering enough choices for payment? Do they need to give too much information? Is it browser unfriendly? Is the price wrong, or are there shipping costs which would put potential customers off?
Anyway, you get the idea. Let us know how it goes, and add any comments for others who have entered the competition.
