Great Infographic on Email Best Practices

Great Tips For Improving Your PPC Campaign..

The good folks at Ispionage had this gem today from Ashley Cummings..

Are you tired of running into the same problems with your PPC campaign, and looking for a little expertise to help you make your next one shine? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Here are the top 7 tips for running a PPC campaign in 2014. Each of these guidelines will help you fine-tune your paid search campaign to help you get better and quicker results.

Tip 1: Start Using Ad Extensions Immediately

If you’re not seeing the results from your PPC campaign that you know are possible, one reason may be that you are not utilizing all of the tools currently available.

Many advertisers use basic sitelink extensions to increase conversions, but there are so many more ad extension opportunities you can utilize in order to get your target audience to click through to your landing page. Consider the following ad extensions that are all available in Google AdWords.

- Social Extensions – Google+ is becoming a huge leader in social media these days, and you can use that to your advantage. If you have a large following on your Google+ page, with a lot of +1s and good reviews, add a social extension to your AdWords ad.

- Image Ad Extensions – People respond extremely well to images, and it’s true that “an image is worth a thousand words.” If you own great images that really tell your brand’s story, consider adding them to your ad. This may work especially well for a travel destination, hotel chain, car company, or any other industry that thrives on visuals.

- Ratings Extensions – Seller rating extensions show a star rating from Google Product Search right on your ad. If you have great reviews from customers, then use it to your advantage. People want to purchase products that have good ratings. If you have good ratings, tell people about it in your ad.

- Newsletter Extensions – Did you know you are able to ask someone to subscribe to your newsletter right on your Google AdWords ad? Not only is this a great way to advertise, but also it’s an exceptional way to acquire more direct leads.

- Live Chat – Maybe you have a complicated product and people are often utilizing your customer service lines and live chat technology. If you feel like a live chat box would benefit your target audience, ad a live chat box to your PPC ad.

These are just a few examples of ad extensions. Of course the extensions you use will need to be well researched, thought out, and tested, but ad extensions are a great way to capture the attention of more potential customers.

Tip 2: Expand your negative keyword list

One of the truly best ways to refine your PPC campaign is to make sure that your ads are not showing up for keywords that are often paired with your target keywords, but really have nothing to do with your advertisement. For example, you may sell shower parts, and you don’t want your ad to show up for someone who is looking to throw a bridal shower or a baby shower for their best friend.

The more you are able to discover negative keywords and eliminate them from your potential search impressions, the more relevant your paid search ads will be. This is good for a couple reasons. First, it improves your quality score, and second, it gets your ad in front of the right people.

Here are a few tools that may help you with negative keyword discovery and expansion.

- Keyword “broad match” data that will show you semantic similarities, allowing you to then weed out keywords that don’t’ make sense for your ad.

- WordStream’s negative keyword suggestion tool will help streamline the process, so you don’t have to try and think of every negative keyword yourself.

- A tool like AdWords Editor or http://www.jumbokeyword.com/ will help you make bulk changes, instead of having to make them one-by-one. AdWords Editor is awesome, because it allows you to make these changes offline, save them for later, and upload them when you’re ready.

Tip 3: Test and analyze your keywords again

Be honest. When is the last time you went in and actually looked at the data surrounding your keywords? While you may have keywords that were performing well during 2013, the beginning of 2014, or even the beginning of this month, and you have started to experience a slump, it may be time to take a gander at the data again.

Consider using these tools to help you with your research.

- Keyword suggestion tools – There are tons of keyword research tools on the market that will help you come up with new keyword suggestions. The most popular keyword tool is probably Google’s Keyword Planner, and is often sufficient in order to give you basic keyword ideas, and basic data.

- Competitive research tools – Are you constantly getting beaten out by one of your competitors and you can’t figure out why? Well, now is a good time to figure out exactly what it is that they are doing. The good news is with tools offered by iSpionage.com, SpyFu.com, SEMrush.com, and KeywordSpy, you can find out what your competitors are doing, and adjust your strategy accordingly. Take the time to do your research, but keep in mind spying only works to gather data and make inferences. What works for one company may not work for yours.

- Generate new keywords – You never know when a new industry buzzword may appear, or your campaign may have simply just been missing a popular keyword. Consider checking out a keyword generation tool in order to get more ideas.

Tip 4: Sign up for a customer reviewer site

I mentioned before that one of the best ways to get a new customer is to leverage positive reviews. If you get enough positive reviews on Google, then Google often will automatically add this information to your ad. However, keep in mind that Google is not the only place on the Internet where people go to review products.

In order to produce more reviews, consider signing up for a free customer review site that take measures to only allow for genuine user feedback. If you are confident that your customers like you, then this can only work in your favor, especially if you can use those seller ratings in your paid search ads. Trust factor goes a long way in the advertising world. Use it.

Tip 5: Separate your bidding strategy based on device

Before mobile devices and tablets were a big deal, you could get away with just monitoring your ads that show up on computers. Now, there tends to be a great deal of variation depending on whether someone is searching on a mobile phone, tablet, or computer. This means in order to get the most from your advertising spend, you will want to segment your keywords by device type as well. You never know when you can spend a lot less for a keyword that shows on a mobile device, or on the other hand, when you may need to spend more on a keyword that shows on mobile device. Adjust your bids accordingly.

Tip 6: Geo Targeting

It’s possible that geo and targeting are two of my favorite words in the wonderful world of online marketing. Geo targeting is brilliant and should be used in every campaign. Just like you don’t want your ad impression spent on keywords that aren’t semantically related to what you offer, you also don’t want your ads showing up in locations where it doesn’t make sense.

On a small scale, you can simply run your ad to target searchers from a certain location. For example, if you are a dentist in McLean, VA, you can target your ad to only be visible to people searching within a geographical location that makes sense to you. You’ll save a lot of money and get the right customers by geo targeting locally.

On a larger scale, if you have a much larger, national clientele, you can refine your targeting to set more competitive bids for areas that produce a higher ROI for you, and set lower bids for areas that typically don’t perform as well for you. Just make sure that you audit your geo targeted results daily in case there are any huge shifts in the data.

Tip 7: Take some time to schedule out your ads

Making sure your ads show up at the right time is another spectacular way to make sure you are getting the most out of your PPC campaign. There really is no one size fits all solution to when the best time to run an ad is. This means it’s important to do some industry research, demographic research, and also testing in order to see what times your ads will perform the best.

The good news is you can view all of this information in a tracking platform like Google Analytics. You can sort all of your data by day and time and then see the amount of impressions, the amount of clicks, the click through rate, the average CPC and more.

Once you have gathered all the relevant information, you can schedule out your ads in Google AdWords.

Summary

These are just a few suggestions to really help you refine your paid search campaigns. If you additional need help, consider hiring someone to help manage your paid search campaigns for you.

Author

Guest Author Ashley R. Cummings

Ashley R. Cummings is a freelance writer, specializing in online marketing, education, and travel. Connect with Ashley on Facebook or on Google+, and learn more about her on LinkedIn.

Twitter Ads... The new frontier...

I agree with this blogger.  I believe Twitter Ads can give you great bang for your buck.  They are extremely targeted and efficient.

http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/m/discussion?id=1970539%3ATopic%3A529345

AdWords Funnel: Showing Up When You Search Your Name Is Only A Start

"When I Google my business, I show up on page one and my AdWords ads are in the top 3."  I hear this phrase, or a variation thereof, at least three times a week.  In my role at Level 5 and Team Velocity, I talk to a lot of prospects.   Inevitably someone has convinced them, or they have convinced themselves, that as long as they Google their name and they show up on top, that they are good to go in the digital world.

I always say that bragging that you show up when you Google your name is equivalent to the Los Angeles Lakers bragging they beat a junior high basketball team.  (Although with the season the Lakers are having, beating a junior high team may be tough for them.)  None-the-less people who are searching for you by name are just a small part of the digital picture.

There is a hierarchy of Google searches.  At the top of the funnel are people who search for you by name.  These people tend to be repeat customers simply looking up your name like they used to do in the phone directory.  They tend to be service calls, question calls and research calls in nature.  For medical practices they tend to be existing patients wanting to book another appointment.  For home improvement companies they are people calling for you to fix/adjust something on a project you did for them.  

There are a lot of things top of the funnel calls could be. What they aren't, is a good source of new revenue.  New customers tend to come from the middle or the bottom part of the funnel.  In the middle funnel people have a need or want for your vertical.  Patients who desire dental implants. Homeowners who want a new kitchen floor. They are looking to form a relationship with someone to advance their need or want.  That person could be you or it could be one of your competitors.

The best source of new revenue comes at the bottom of the funnel.  Searches for a specific product or service are low hanging fruit in the digital world.  Patients who Google Lumineers have made a decision to have dental implants and have decided on the product that is right for them.  They are simply searching for someone to perform the procedure.  A homeowner who Googles Bruce Flooring knows what type of floor they want, and are simply looking for a great deal.  These people are the easiest to sell with solid, creative, informative ads.

So back to the prospect who says when I Google my name I come up.  If you are one of those people or trying to help one of those people, ask them how they show when someone searches their vertical. Ask them how they appear when someone Googles their top 10 products or services.  Ask a cosmetic dentist how they show when someone searches veneers, Zoom, or teeth whitening.  Ask a flooring company how they show when someone searches carpet, tile, or Armstrong.  Ask a car dealer how they show when someone searches Honda lease, Honda deals, or Honda Civic.  Then you get the true story.  

Consumer searches are more sophisticated then ever.  If you are not ahead of the curve then you are leaving money on the table. Consumers know what they want, and smart business owners find a way to give it to them and  let the consumer think it was all their idea.  So stop bragging about beating a junior high team and step up against a pro.  Your wallet will thank you...

Another reason why Pay Per Click is important. Check out this research study.

40% of consumers don't know that Google Adwords are paid ads. Check out this recent study of people who bought insurance online.

http://www.bunnyfoot.com/blog/2013/02/40-of-customers-dont-know-that-google-adwords-are-adverts/

Is there a still a page one on Google?

While watching the Red Sox this afternoon, (Yes I'm one of the 5 people in America watching spring training baseball today instead of March Madness) I saw a tweet on my timeline that read, "Is there still a page one on Google?"  I clicked the linked and it dropped me into a LinkedIn Group discussion on the value of page rank in the modern SEO world.  

(Disclaimer 1: I am an unabashed SEM guy, who does not believe in paying for SEO.)  

That said I had to admit I was fascinated by reading how the other half lived.  SEO analysts complaining that clients had unrealistic expectations about their services filled my screen. No one however was talking about the big elephant in the room.  That elephant comes in the form of smart phones and tablets.  No one was addressing the fact that on a smart phone or a tablet, most consumers choose from the first three links on their screen.  Two of those links on a smart phone and all three on a tablet are paid positions.  SEO on mobile searches is like the kid who sits at the end of the bench and only gets in the game when his team is too far ahead or too far behind to care.  

(Disclaimer 2: I was that kid, so please do not think I am making fun of anyone other than myself.) 

I took this screen shot several months ago on my Galaxy Note 2, which my wife says is as big as an iPad...... it's not. In fact it is not even close to the size of an iPad mini. (Yes I have checked.) Even with my unusually large screen, SEO's impact on this search would be extremely limited.  At best your site is in the #3 position.  The two links above, complete with their call now links, will get a majority of the clicks.  I have read studies that estimate from the time someone speaks or types in their Google search term, on a mobile device, until they click a link a mere four seconds elapse.  Four seconds is not enough time to scroll down the screen and read through 20 different organic listings to find the one listing that you were looking for.  No, most people just hit the call now button and away they go.

I sat in on a presentation recently where the speaker used this graphic to demonstrate the new mobile search

paradigm. On mobile searches people either simply click to a well optimized mobile friendly landing page or they hit the call now button.   They don't take the time while driving, shaving, riding the bike at the gym, watching American Idol or any of the other 1 million things people do while on their mobile phone, to scroll down the page. You are either there and get the conversion or your not and don't. There isn't a whole lot of gray area on this issue. 

John Koestier reported in January that over 50 million smart phones were activated the week between Christmas and New Year's 2013.  Industry leader Netsertive, states that the number of mobile devices in the United States has tripled since Q2 2012.  Forrester Research points out in their new report, "The Future of Business is Digital," that by the end of 2017 74% of the US Adult online population will own a smartphone, and 46% will own tablets.  

Look the mobile revolution is here whether you choose to participate or not.  It's no longer acceptable to simply be on the first page of Google.  You have to be at the top of the first page.  They used to say that the best place to hide a dead body was on page two of a Google search.  Now you can simply drop the body off at the bottom of the first page, no one is going down that far anymore.

So the answer is "YES" to the question that interrupted my ballgame watching experience, "Is there still a page one on Google?"  Just like there are still cassette players, black and white TV's, and the occasional Ford Pinto floating around out there.  The question that they should have asked is, "Is it simply good enough to be on Google page one?"  The answer to that question is a much easier "NO." The game takes place at the top of the page. You need to be there.  Unless you enjoy watching your website die a slow and painful death, in which case SEO away. 

Your Company's Phone Number and Address are Listed Wrong Online

People access your company's information on 1000's of websites, apps, and navigation devices. For example, suppose you wanted to find a Kitchen Remodeler. You might start you search by looking on Google or Yahoo. Or maybe you would go to YP.com, Superpages.com, or Dexknows. Perhaps you're on the go, so you check Yelp on your mobile phone. But then you remember your bank balance and decide you want a deal, so you check Groupon. Finally you find a showroom that interests you, so you type the address into your TomTom, Garmin or Car Navigation System. 

Each of these sources of local information has its own database of listings. The database stores basic information like business name, address, phone number, and categories. And often it contains enhanced information like photos, descriptions, hours, specials, videos and more. Since each source has its own database, that means there are actually 1000s of databases out there. But the problem is, they are totally disconnected, and whenever anything changes, they fall out of sync. 

In fact, 6% of business listings change every month. This happens as businesses open, close, move, offer new specials, launch new products, hire new employees, change their hours, and more. So information falls out of sync everywhere pretty quickly. The end result is very frustrating for consumers, who get the wrong information returned in a local search 20% of the time.  

There are multiple companies out there that can help you manage and correct your listings. The firm I work for, Level 5 Advertising, helps our clients with this every day.  Whether it's with Level 5 or someone else, you need to get your data corrected and streaming or you are leaving massive amounts of money on the table.  

Level 5 has a free scanning tool that can show you which listings are wrong and which are correct. You can access the tool by clicking here.  Finding good customers is hard enough, don't lose them because they are looking for you in an address you haven't been in 5 years. 

FIND OUT WHICH WEBSITES AND DATABASES HAVE YOUR COMPANY'S INFORMATION WRONG BY CLICKING HERE.       FREE SCAN.

Stating The Obvious

In my role at Level 5 and Team Velocity, I look at 100's of Pay Per Click ads every week.  It always amazes me that people will spend big bucks on Google AdWords, and say absolutely nothing. Take for example this ad...

This ad was served by google in response to a "transmission repair" inquiry. Look at the text below the phone number. "Our Mechanics Are Highly Qualified." As opposed to what? "Our Mechanics Are Highly Unqualified."

Chris Rock had a comedy routine that made fun of people who would go around saying, "I take care of my kids." He used to say, "Do you want a medal for doing something that you should be doing?"  The same holds true for business owners.  Consumers should be able to assume that a transmission shop employs people who are qualified to perform the repair. Why waste valuable ad space and marketing dollars stating something so obvious?

These guys get it..

A quick glance at this ad lets me know I can save $100 and be protected from coast to coast.  

There is a science to good PPC ad writing. Verbs, much more effectively than nouns or adjectives, will move your message past Broca’s Area, that part of the brain that rejects the mundane and ignores the predictable.  After all, you aren't trying for an impression or even a click.  The sole purpose of your ad is to get someone to pick up the phone or fill out an online form.  Those who bore Broca are condemned to mediocrity. Those who stimulate Broca will find themselves generating serious AdWords ROI.

So if your Google AdWords campaign isn't making your phone ring. Before you start tweaking bids or adding budget, take a glance at your ad copy. Make sure you aren't wasting everyone's time by stating the obvious.