Search Engine Marketing Posts from the Internet Marketing Blog
RIP Clickable, Inc.
In case you missed it, Syncapse yesterday announced that it had acquired Clickable, Inc.!! (Go to clickable.com for additional details!)Clickable had been at one point been a direct competitor of WordStream, but much less so in the last year because:Clickable changed their product direction away from PPC /AdWords/Search Engine Marketing and instead focused more on Social Media and Facebook Advertising.
Clickable changed their target market away from small and medium-sized businesses towards larger, up-market companies.I don't know much about the Clickable acquisition -- I'm just as surprised as everyone else! But here’s what I do know:We've seen a growing flow of customers who were ex-Clickable users in the last 6 months. SMBs need help with paid search / AdWords and we are laser-focused ... > Read more
Build Credibility & Increase Conversions with Branded PPC and SEO
Branded PPC and SEO strategies pay tremendous dividends, but few companies cash in. On the PPC side, marketers often think it’s a waste of money to bid on branded keywords, to essentially pay for what they already own. On the SEO side, firms may not even realize branded strategies exist – let alone why they matter.
But branded PPC and SEO offer three benefits every company in the world loves: control, credibility and conversions. Let’s take a quick look at why branded strategies make these things happen.Gain Control with Branded PPCBy ceding the PPC turf to distributors, affiliates, generic merchandisers and competitors, brand owners suffer on two fronts:First, they don’t even compete for clicks they could probably win.Second, they open the door for a poor brand experience on ... > Read more
Online Marketing News for October 9-12, 2011
Apple’s iOS5 Is On Its Way!People are getting geared up for Apple’s iOS5, expected to launch later today! In anticipation of iOS5, Apple released iTunes 10.5 and its new iCloud service earlier this week in case you couldn’t possibly wait another second to download some Apple updates.Facebook Gets Friend.
lyFacebook recently acquired the social Q&A company Friend.ly, not to be confused with Friendly’s, my New England childhood eatery that is sadly going out of business.Cone head sundaes and waffle fries aside, Friend.ly describes their app as a way to meet new people and foster friendships by answering questions. The app offers you a list of questions which you can choose to answer, or simply compliment other people’s answers by letting them know that you find their answer oh-s... > Read more
Blend Your SEO and PPC for Better SEM Results
The recent infographic from pay per click company WordStream depicting the most expensive keywords in Google AdWords got me thinking about the true ROI of SEM. If Google is making $50 per click, what kind of value is that keyword producing for your company? If your business goes after keywords outside of the top 20 most expensive, how does that impact your ROI? Big brands can afford to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on a PPC campaign, not really worrying about the cost per click and how that impacts their bottom line, but what about the rest of us?One of the biggest advantages of running a PPC campaign is that it is relatively quick to launch and easy to test.
If the final cost per conversion is too high, than you simply drop that particular keyword and target a variation that i... > Read more
Marketing Profs Virtual Conference: This Friday (It's Free!)
Got plans for Friday, May 13? Now you do! Join us for Digital Marketing World: Search Marketing, a FREE virtual conference presented by MarketingProfs. Three Info-Packed Sessions Today's Top 5 SEO Essentials Integrated Search and Social The Future of Search: Top Trends to Watch Check out the complete program and session times here.
More Good Stuff Register now and get access to: Live Q&A time with the speakers Search marketing resources Professional networking opportunities On-demand recordings (available for the next three months) You'll also have the opportunity to meet search marketing experts and participate in virtual roundtable discussions with your peers in the Digital Marketing World exhibit hall. As one of this month's sponsors, we'll be there ... > Read more
Seller Star Ratings in AdWords Ads: How Reviews Impact Your AdWords Account
People are writing books about the increasing importance of the way you interact with your customers and the power of social media. There's a different, more democratized sort of voting going on. Social blogging platforms that aren't Twitter are exploding. Google is pushing more and more personalization and socialization into their SERPs.
The first real introduction of social signals outside of click-through rate in AdWords SERPs are contained within rich snippets, and specifically product reviews. What's the Status of Rich Snippets in AdWords? Google updated their data requirements for Google Product Feeds. Product feeds are a great way to get some additional real estate for your ads in many cases: Note the confidence-inspiring five stars: good stuff for the advertiser! If we click... > Read more
Quality Traffic Sources That Aren't Google or Bing: 2nd Tier Search Engines & Networks
The lead generation space is extremely competitive. Bids are high, CPA’s are low and everyone wants the highest margin possible. To combat this, many lead generation companies will utilize all internet marketing channels available – specifically SEM, SEO, email, social and affiliate marketing. For companies in this space, ROI is what matters.
How many leads you generate is not the deciding factor – it is what those leads are worth and how much profit you are making. Google and Bing are great sources of quality traffic, but they are also very competitive and can get very expensive. This has made SEM managers and lead generators into extremely resourceful traffic generators. By utilizing second-tier search engines and different ad networks, SEM managers are able to generate similar qu... > Read more
Check Out the New SEO Dojo Radio iPhone App
So the crew over at SEO Dojo are at it again and have created a sick, new iPhone app called SEO Dojo Radio.Here's the iPhone App Description:SEO and all forms of internet marketing are our topics. We discuss industry news, SEO techniques and interview the top names in the SEO Game!Here are a couple of screenshots of the SEO Dojo Radio App too:Now, I'm a huge fan of SEO Dojo Radio.
And how can you not be with kick ass guests such as Jill Whalen, Debra Mastaler, Garrett French and former WordStream Director of Marketing and Measured SEM consultant Tom Demers.So if you're a fan of SEO news and insights, you're definitely going to want to download the new SEO Dojo Radio iPhone App.You can download it here: SEO Dojo Radio iPhone App ... > Read more
Malware Hack Attack: When Bad Things Happen to Good Sites
I wanted to share an experience I've been going through after one of my sites was infected with malware. I've been involved in search marketing for the past six years and have been lucky enough to have never had a site hacked. But, alas, all good things must come to an end. About two weeks ago, one of my sites was the target of malevolent hackers.
I became aware of the security breach when I visited the SERPs and saw that Google was displaying the toxic "This site may harm your computer" warning, which looks like this (NOTE: this is NOT my website listing...it's just an example): When users click on "This site may harm your computer" link, it leads them to a Google support page. If you miss the warning and click on the actual site listing, you're redirected to an inte... > Read more
Step 4: Analyze and Monitor Your Campaign Results
This is the final excerpt from our free white paper, Seven Steps to a Better Search Campaign. Click here to download the full white paper including the last three steps. You've done your research and organized your keywords. You have a system in place for ongoing keyword management and growth. This provides a strong foundation for your paid and organic search marketing campaigns.
But until you have a good understanding of which keywords really work for your business, you can't learn from your campaigns and improve your results. The next step is to use keyword analytics to analyze your keywords and monitor results. Keyword analytics allow you to drill down to the level of the keyword group or the single keyword to see which terms drive the most traffic and conversions, as well as... > Read more
