Welcome back to our series on pay-per-click advertising and the most common misconceptions associated with the practice. As was mentioned in our previous post, there is a snowball effect when misconceptions build up which, ultimately, deteriorates the quality of your pay-per-click campaign.

Today’s post focuses on setting the budget for Google AdWords and what I like to call budget blunders.
 
Misconception#3: The wonderful thing about pay-per-click advertising is that it is for all budgets, large and small. Anyone can tailor a pay-per-click campaign to suit their budget and get results.

Setting a pay-per-click budget can be tricky and this misconception is the larger umbrella under which a number of mistakes occur. To begin with, when a person creates a pay-per-clilck campaign and attempts to stay within a modest budget, they often forget that there is a correlation between their keywords and their budget.

For example, if a person chooses to include keywords with a large search volume and they don’t have a large budget, they run the risk of blowing their budget almost immediately, so their ads will only run for a matter of minutes, or hours. Imagine a keyword like “real estate” which is searched for 101,000,000 per day. If your ad is tied to the phrase “real estate”, your weekly or monthlyad budget can be exhausted within one day because of the number of times people search for this term.

Another common budget blunder is when people choose obscure keywords in order to stay within budget. Contrary to choosing popular keywords that break the bank within a day, these people choose their keywords based on “maximizing” their budget on keywords that are rarely searched for. But if no one (or very, very few people) is searching for these terms, their ads will never be seen! It’s kind of like opening a restaurant in a back alley rather than a busy street because the rent is cheaper. It may cost less, but no one will find you.

What I’ve learned: An ad is only as effective as its weakest link. If the foundation is not strong, poor results will be reflected.

So, when it comes to budget, most people follow two extremes. To avoid the common pitfalls associated with setting your budget, you must consider all angles of your approach. Your customers affect your keyword choices, your keyword choices affect your budget. Are you starting to see how the entire process must be built on a firm foundation of understanding? Pay-per-click may require expertise after all.

In our last blog for this series, we look at how people use their limited space in creating an ad in a pay-per-click environment like AdWords. Did you know that placing your company’s name in the ad is a waste of characters? I’ll tell you why in my next post.

Search Engine Marketing AdWords, adwords budget, keywords, keywords and phrases, pay-per-click ads, pay-per-click budget, Search Engine Marketing

In my last post on SEM misconceptions, I delved into one of the most common errors made by search engine marketing novices (myself included), which is that anyone can create successful pay-per-click (ppc) ads without previous skills or expertise.

Today’s misconception builds on my last post and shows just how quickly one mistaken belief can snowball into poor results. Once someone assumes that anyone can navigate a system like AdWords, they naturally assume that all the components associated with ppc ads, like choosing keywords, is just as simple.

Misconception#2: Keyword selection is based on general terms related to your business.

As we discussed in my last post, there are lots of tools within services, like Google AdWords, that provide the illusion that it only takes a few simple steps to successfully implement your own campaign. The common misconception is that your keyword list takes minimal effort to compile. Just pick words and phrases that relate to your business, so the system serves your ads when someone searches for those phrases, and move on.
 
What I’ve learned: Keywords should be chosen based on how people search and what they are really looking for when they type a query into the search bar.
 
The empty search bar that appears when Google is opened is known as the query bar. Each time a user enters a search term into that bar, they are essentially asking Google a question. Google’s job is to provide the most relevant answer.

In order to work favorably with Google’s system (and yes, we want to make nice with Google), your keyword list should support how users search for your business. That means choosing words that are actively searched for and words that drive genuinely interested consumers (qualified traffic) to your site. A general rule of thumb is that they should not be too broad or too narrow.
 
For example, if you own a boutique hotel in Sarasota, Florida that accommodates honeymooners you might want to avoid using the term “Florida vacations”(unless you have a giant budget). This term is an example of something that is way too broad for your business and will attract unqualified traffic to your site and could blow your budget in a matter of hours. “Florida vacations” can refer to family vacations, Disney vacations and other getaways that are not relevant to a romantic vacation for two in Florida.
 
Conversely, avoid keywords that are too narrow. Using the phrase “Siesta Key Honeymoon Retreat” may accurately describe your business but is way too narrow to attract a substantial amount of eyeballs to your website.
 
Ads should qualify users, using keywords that are not overly searched for, and ones that speak your customer’s language. A fitting term for this hotel might be “Sarasota Honeymoon” or if that is still narrow, expand to “Gulf Coast honeymoon hotels.” Google’s Keyword Tool is an invaluable resource when beginning to compile your list. It lists search volume (which shows you how many people search for this term on the internet) and keyword ideas. But remember, it is only a tool and you are ultimately the best judge of which terms are perfect for your business.

As we proceed through this series, it is important to note that each component in pay-per-click advertising matters equally. When one component is overlooked or done poorly, it affects the results of the entire campaign.

Next up is our post all about budget blunders. Did you know that a mistake you make in the keyword selection phase could be the downfall of your budget? Stay tuned.

Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization AdWords, Google AdWords, how to choose keywords, keyword selection, keywords, keywords and phrases, pay-per-click ads, Search Engine Marketing, text ad

Today we’re wrapping up the four-part series on search engine optimization and the common misconceptions associated with SEO efforts. If you have not had a chance to read the previous posts in the series, you can start by going to Tuesday’s post.

Read on to learn one of the most common ways keywords are chosen and how this method can negatively affect search rankings for more important and profitable terms.
 
Misconception #3: Choosing keywords and phrases for which to target your optimization efforts is easy, simply pick some words related to your website and plug them in.

So, if you’re in the hotel business, choosing words like “hotel”, “hotels”, “vacation” and so forth should work, right? Wrong. But, I’ll get to that in a minute.

I once worked with a graphic designer that had me do this exact thing for a client. Just pick some words that describe the business and go with it. I didn’t know any better so I chose a handful of keywords that seemed relative to my client.

Suffice to say, that client is still not ranked.

What I’ve learned: Keywords and phrases that produce results are not chosen simply based on how they describe a business. User behavior and search volume are vital to a successful list of keywords and phrases.

There is an absolute method to establishing the right keyword list and phrases. Remember, though, that this is only part of the SEO equation. Keywords and phrases must be accompanied with proper coding on the back-end of the website, proper usability standards, links and SEO-focused web content.

From a user standpoint, relevant keywords are chosen based on how a user searches for a product or service. Businesses have to set aside their own assumptions and internal search terms and dig into user behavior.

In some arenas, a certain set of keywords and phrases is searched for in high volume (millions per day) which, in turn, creates a highly coveted set of keywords for businesses to use for ranking purposes.  This also means that competition increases and those keywords with a high search volume may not be the right choice for all businesses.

For example, if you own a small boutique hotel in the Bahamas, getting ranked under the word “hotels” is a frivolous waste of time. Extraordinarily large businesses and large numbers of businesses are all fighting to get premium spots on search engine results pages (SERPS).  And quite frankly, your small boutique hotel in the Bahamas won’t be what most people are looking for when searching for “hotels”, so the likelihood of getting ranked is almost nil.

Remember what I said at the very beginning of this series…Google is trying to provide the websites that are most likely what the user is looking for. So, with that in mind, you realize why your small boutique hotel would not likely get on the first page of Google for the term “hotel.” It’s just not the most relevant site for that broad topic.

Getting ranked under more specific terms like, “boutique island hotel” or “Bahama hotel,” both narrows the pool of businesses vying for that term and is also much more relevant to your business and it will ultimately serve your business better. The people who find you under that term will find what they are looking for, which will help improve your rankings and is good for your business.

There’s so much to know about the world of SEO and I’m sure I’ve only scratched the surface. Hopefully, telling you about some of my misconceptions has helped dispel similar ideas you may have had. Armed with a better knowledge of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to SEO will help you make better decisions for your business and your clients.

Our next series is on Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Learn what SEM is all about and the top misconceptions that can ultimately hinder a business and waste your money.

Digital Marketing, Search Engine Marketing AdWords, adwords budget, keywords, keywords and phrases, pay-per-click ads, pay-per-click budget, Search Engine Marketing

ComScore is reporting that during this holiday season:
The use of work computers has gone up (2.3%), home computer use has gone down (.9%) ….. but more people are actually making their purchases at night (presumably on the home computer).

What’s this mean?
That people are picking out what they want to buy while at work, during the day.
Then they’re going home and buying.

Why’s this important?
Because that will greatly affect direct conversions reported because they’re finding what they want through one computer, and making the purchase on another. So, no cookie.

We’ve been banging the direct conversion drum for so long, it’s getting worn out.

Direct Conversions are not a completely accurate portrayal of purchasing behavior.
It’s so important that marketers know that the effect their SEM efforts have on sales has always been under-reported, and  is even more under-reported now.

By SEM I mean both pay-per-click and organic rankings too. People find products under generic searches at work (like say, men’s argyle sweater). Once they’ve found what they  like, at night when they’re home  they go right to the site (or search for the brand that they liked) and purchase.

They make the purchase on a different computer, which means there’s no trail.

Reporting statistics can only be given so much weight. They shouldn’t be considered an exact measurement of what’s going on.

Digital Marketing, Search Engine Marketing AdWords, direct conversions, ecommerce reporting, holiday ecommerce report, holiday sales, organic rankings

It’s that time of year – the dreaded “pre-holiday” season. It’s when anticipation runs high and sales haven’t quite started to rev up yet.

We recommend that our clients use the month of September to get ready for November and December. That gives us (and them) enough time to check and double check everything. While there are countless items to check off the list, a few things move the sales needle the most.

It’s mid-October, so it’s crunch-time and every day really counts.  This isn’t meant as a comprehensive list. This is a “if you’re going to do a few things to get ready, these are the things to make sure you do” list:

1) Make sure you analyze last year’s numbers.

AdWords, Analytics and sales figures. You need to know what worked and what didn’t, specifically during the holiday season. Use that information to create your AdWords campaigns for this year.

It may seem like an obvious step, but some companies review month over month figures. More than any other time, it’s important to review year over year numbers, because the holidays are such an aberration for most ecommerce companies.

2) Get up to speed with your competition.

Read industry trades. Check your competitors’ sites. Have their websites changed? Understanding where they are right now and what the industry buzz is, can help you understand how robust your competition will be in the coming months.
 
3) Get your email-marketing schedule set now.

Even if all year long you’re able to work a day, a week, or a month ahead, the holidays move so quickly. You have to have a preliminary email-marketing schedule laid out, and get started on the graphics and messaging for these campaigns. The coming days will get busy. You should leave as little to the last minute as possible.

4) Create landing pages that complement your holiday AdWords campaigns.

Landing pages can help improve conversion rates, and are a critical part of the SEM process. Once again, if possible, look back to last year. Learn from what worked and what didn’t. Using the data available should help performance every year, regardless of the economy.

Online marketing is a fast moving industry, even in slow times. During the holiday season, every hour counts. Get in front of the process now, so you can have a successful, profitable, holiday season.

Digital Marketing, Search Engine Marketing AdWords, Ecommerce, email-marketing, holiday sales, Landing Pages, Online Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, sem