If search engine marketers are only using AdWords Placement Performance reports to exclude sites, they’re seriously under-utilizing the information Google is giving them. Read on for additional ways to leverage the goldmine of data in placement reports. The basics: add site exclusions & managed placements The AdWords Placement Performance report is available in the Reporting tab in AdWords. The primary purpose of the report is to provide data on the performance of display network (aka content targeting) sites in Google’s AdSense network. AdWords advertisers can see impressions, c [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Search | How To: SEM | In House Search Marketing

If you had the time and resources to personalize every sales pitch, every piece of marketing collateral, every special offer, how would that affect your bottom line? If your customers told you, "I don't want that, but if you offer me this in a different color, I'll buy three," you would listen, right? Onsite behavioral targeting enables you to customize your website to create the most welcoming, enticing destination for your visitors, ultimately engaging them more deeply in your site. So-called machine learning engines provide a means to automatically offer the most relevant content to [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | How To: PPC | How To: SEM

The typical process that an SMB will go through when building an online marketing campaign usually begins with defining their target audience, performing keyword research, analyzing which words bring the most traffic and conversions, and utilizing keyword research tools such as Keyword Discovery. Upon taking these steps, SMB owners will wait to see their results on search engines, make the necessary tweaks, and eventually reach a higher position in online search results. If you do your homework, the process seems fairly straightforward. Here’s an example of a plumber in Chico, CA who c [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | How To: SEM | How To: SEO | Small Is Beautiful

Not so long ago, there were only a few companies out there that bothered to customize their websites for foreign markets. Those who chose to do so made minimal effort—they simply translated their English copy into the local language and started doing business. Their incentives to create more sophisticated, tailored offerings was minimal; with so few companies doing it, there was no competition for e-business or Google rankings. This, however, is no longer the case. In the past, only the big players could afford to invest the time and strategic resources needed to localize their w [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Search | How To: SEM | Search Marketing: Multinational

Getting a prospect to your website is only half the battle. Successful B2B search marketing programs must also focus on the "post-click" experience. Here are five proven ways to improve B2B landing pages and increase your search marketing conversion rate. 1. Support your brand. Build trust. Landing pages that are aligned with your brand demonstrate credibility and strengthen customer loyalty. Your search marketing landing pages should be consistent with corporate logo, color, font and language standards. For example, a landing page logo should be prominently located and in the same rel [...]

Related Topics: B2B Search Marketing | Channel: Search | How To: SEM

In marketing, we divide the customer experience into several tasks: Awareness, consideration, demand and purchase. Advertising campaigns are put into buckets of awareness (isn't this cool?), consideration (here are your options if you decide to buy this kind of thing) and demand (take advantage of this special offer!). The messaging is geared towards one or the other task. And the writing is different as well: Awareness is supposed to be impartial because potential clients are somewhat skeptical. Consideration adds the kind of detail customers need when making decisions about purchasing, witho [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Search | How To: SEM

Google’s Export tool was developed to help businesses identify overseas market opportunities for expanding their business. While not perfect, it does allow companies new to international marketing to discover potential markets by leveraging multiple Google tools to translate keywords then weigh market potential based on search volume and average cost per click data.

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | How To: PPC | How To: SEM | Multinational Search

Last week, SMX London graduated to SMX Advanced status. We in the UK eagerly anticipated the fresh new tips and tricks which are usually left until several beers later in the networking bars! And we certainly weren't disappointed. I thought it would be useful to share with Search Engine Land readers the top ten advanced search marketing tips which I gleaned from the show. Link building: Offer a student discount. Among Kelvin Newman's excellent 17 ways to build university and government links, the one I found most thought-provoking was for e-commerce sites to offer a student discount. Thi [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Search | How To: SEM | SEM Industry: Search Marketing Expo - SMX

Never before has it been easier for local business to generate leads for their businesses. There are many, many resources available to help businesses get customers in the door and on the phone. Many advertising options—online and offline—are performance-priced including pay-per-click, pay-per-lead, and pay-per-call. From search engines, traditional yellow pages publishers, newspapers, local ad agencies to national entrants such as ReachLocal, Yodle, MerchantCircle and others there are numerous options to help local businesses generates leads. However, despite all these resou [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Search | How To: SEM

After doing all of your research, you now have a pretty good crop of data to sift through. Remember, during the Research Phase, we collected every keyword we found during our various investigations. Check out this article for a comprehensive recap of Research Phase posts from this column regarding PPC research. Some of sources used for the initial keyword research were: The kickoff meeting with the client A preliminary search of the major engines Previous (or current) paid search campaigns The advertiser’s site(s) and competitor sites The advertiser’s site level web analyt [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | How To: PPC | How To: SEM | PPC Academy

Forrester Research, Inc. recently released their Interactive Attribution Q4: 2009 report, a 44-criteria evaluation of interactive attribution vendors. The report opens with a statement of why accurate, interactive attribution is so crucial: "The de facto industry standard of measuring the value of campaigns or media placements by the most recent click or interaction is ripe for change." The report continues by defining interactive attribution as "the practice of measuring the correct partial value of each interactive ad that drove a desired outcome." Reading the report will give you an un [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Analytics | Credit Is Due | How To: Analytics | How To: SEM

Despite indications that the U.S. economy is starting to turn around, low consumer confidence will undoubtedly have an impact on retail sales this holiday season, making every consumer's online search, browsing and buying experience more critical than ever. The challenge for online retailers is not only to get shoppers to your site, but keep them there and entice them to make a purchase. Niraj Shah recently gave helpful search marketing tips for the holidays, and Stephan Spencer shared advice on SEO during the upcoming shopping season. Both stress the importance of strategic search engine m [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Search | How To: SEM

Can you apply the spirit of social media to other marketing channels? At this year's SMX East, after my presentation on Landing Page Usefulness—emphasizing a "usefulness" mission over "usability" tactics—it struck me: great landing pages can bring many of the ideals of social media to paid search marketing campaigns. Here are five principles of social media marketing that can energize your landing page program: 1. Engage in specific conversations, not generic one-size-fits-all talk. When a company engages in social media, the worst thing it can do is echo canned, cut-an [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | How To: PPC | How To: SEM | Search Ads: General

Although it's been around for years, pay-per-call advertising may be finally hitting its stride. Greg Sterling, a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land, recently wrote: We've long known that calls are much more valuable than clicks to small businesses in particular, but also to many larger entities with call-center sales operations. However... it's taken PPCall much longer to get going than I originally anticipated. Sterling sees pay-per-call growth in traditional media and mobile. He also notes that pay-per-call programs are now increasingly being used in print Yellow Page dir [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | How To: SEM | Search Ads: Pay Per Call

Google's Sidewiki is here and it's not hard to see that it could be big, that it could change the way we use the internet. However, it has some frankly scary implications for website proprietors. People can visit your pages and leave messages, whether you want them to or not. Dell Homepage with Google SideWiki - Image credit: Flickr I think the best description I've seen to date was on Econsultancy, describing it as "a way to graffitti websites." How can we web marketers respond? Have we lost control of our own websites and those of our clients? There have already been several inst [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Features: General | Google: Sidewiki | How To: SEM

There are quite a few testing techniques available in the market. In this post I will dwelve into the two commonest testing methods: A/B tests and Multivariate tests. What is the difference between them? How can you choose which one best fits your needs?

Related Topics: Channel: Analytics | Google: Website Optimizer | How To: SEM | Search Marketing: Landing Pages

Dynamic Number Insertion (DNI) technology allows advertisers to track the specific search engine, web page or keyword that generated an inbound phone call using tracking numbers. Advertisers are using DNI to measure the performance of their online advertising campaigns and the impact on call volume. At the most basic level, DNI seamlessly replaces select contact phone numbers on a web page with call tracking numbers, which allows advertisers to measure volume. Combined with pay per click programs, DNI can help complete the online advertising performance picture by clearly outlining the results [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | How To: SEM | Search Ads: Pay Per Call

All landing page tests are not created equal. What you test on your pages—and what you learn from those tests—can better inform tactics and strategies throughout your entire marketing program. Here are four kinds of landing page tests that can help you learn about your market. Beware butterflies and magic bullets How much can you learn from landing pages? Some landing page optimization experts will warn you about reading too much into the results of a particular landing page test. There are often multiple factors at play in a given experiment, and it can be difficult to pr [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Analytics | How To: SEM | Search Marketing: Landing Pages

The rise of the web has revolutionized the simple press release, which has gone from being copy you post to journalists to being yet another form of online information, accessible by both the media and the public. However, while this means press releases can be extraordinarily useful, it also means the world is utterly swamped with them and it can be hard for them to rise above the general clamor. That's true despite the huge number of sector-specific online magazines and news sources that include press releases in their offerings. If a company succeeds with a sound online press release [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Search | How To: SEM

Are your landing pages feeling tired? Is your conversion rate stagnant? Not quite sure what to try next? To re-energize your post-click marketing, it can help to step back and evaluate your approach from several different perspectives. Here's a quick exercise, the Landing Page Wonder Wheel—as in, "I wonder how to improve my landing pages?"—that can give you fresh inspiration. The Landing Page Wonder Wheel consists of eight dimensions on which you rate your current landing page creative and management capabilities, on a scale of 1 to 10. A 1 means you're not doing very well there, [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Analytics | How To: SEM | Search Marketing: Landing Pages