SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 16, 2008

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Making Your Search Campaigns Work Harder During The Economic DownturnEven in this challenging economy, paid search will continue to be one of the best-performing marketing methods out there. Search marketing has […]

on December 16, 2008 at 4:59 pm | Reading time: 6 minutes
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Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.

From Search Engine Land:

  • Making Your Search Campaigns Work Harder During The Economic Downturn
    Even in this challenging economy, paid search will continue to be one of the best-performing marketing methods out there. Search marketing has weathered economic storms of the past. In fact, Google and the entire industry was born out of necessity, during the dot-com bust. When times are tough, marketing needs to work hard and prove its value—and that’s what search does. While other forms of advertising (TV, print, display) are facing cuts, search is surviving because it’s extremely measurable and enables advertisers to easily tie revenue and ROI back to the ad level. But as paid search becomes ever more crucial, it’s also becoming more complex—and the stakes to wring every last dollar out of your search marketing spend are higher. As a serious search marketer, you need the right tools and applications to run your campaigns efficiently and effectively. Just as you wouldn’t set out to landscape your garden with a plastic shovel, you shouldn’t try to manage your crucial, revenue-driving search campaigns with a hodgepodge of spreadsheets and online tools. To help you get the most out of your search programs—especially in these challenging economic times—I’ve put together some meaty tactical tips that serious search marketers can use to help generate the highest returns out of their search dollars.
  • Small Businesses Struggle With Search Marketing
    Microsoft just released results of a survey of 400 small businesses (SMBs) that shows they continue to struggle with search marketing (how to think about it, how to do it). This is consistent with what I and others have observed about the majority of SMBs, even those with websites.
  • Google’s Countdown To 2009 Promotes Products & Services
    Did you know Google has a countdown to 2009 calendar? It is available at google.com/countdownto2009/ and it basically is a dressed up calendar with ways to use Google for the holidays. Each day of the calendar has a new Google tip for the holidays. There is also a mobile version and it can be added to your iGoogle home page.
  • AdWords Landing Page Quality Refresher
    “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” This gem from heavyweight boxing legend Iron Mike Tyson also applies to AdWords account strategy, especially when starting a new account. Beginning in 2006, some advertisers in the affiliate marketing, Made-for-AdSense, and other spheres have referred to harsh quality score treatment — especially treatment caused by poor landing page and website quality scores — as the “Google Slap.” But “slap” was never the appropriate terminology. I know Google won’t like being compared with Mike Tyson, but it’s the only analogy I have in the jar. So, let’s be clear. Slaps are for sissies. If your landing page and website quality are really bad, you’ll probably take a Google Punch in the mouth. With regard to landing page quality score hits on your keyword quality scores, “it tends not to have a small impact,” Nick Fox, Director of Business Product Management (and a primary architect of the Ads Quality system), told me in an interview last week. When it comes into play, “it usually causes a fairly significant hammer in an account,” he added.

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

Business Issues

Local, Maps & Mobile

Link Building

Paid Search & Contextual

Searching

SEM Industry

SEO & SEM

Social Media

Video, Music & Image Search

Web Analytics

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About the author

Barry Schwartz
Staff
Barry Schwartz is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land and a member of the programming team for SMX events. He owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry can be followed on Twitter here.

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