Friday, October 31, 2008

Google Tweaks AdWords To Reward “Quality” (And Juice Revenue)

Google is ready to make some more changes to way they are currently ranking Adwords ads. What does this mean for advertisers? It means you really need to be sure your keywords in ad groups are very relevant, along with your ads and landing pages. We know that is important but now it is crucial that you ensure your keywords are grouped together as tightly as possible so that your ads become that much more relevant!

read more | digg story

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Marketing Through Tough Economic Times

Typically the first reaction to a market trending downward is to cut marketing spend. In these tough economic times savvy brand, and search marketers alike are seeing this time as an advantageous opportunity. Well how can THAT be, you ask!?

When things get quiet in the world of our competitors opportunities may present themselves in a way you have not thought about. Think about it, if you are considering cutting back on marketing spend what do you think your competitor is thinking, potentially the same thing, right? Therefore, continuing your marketing efforts as you were, or even increasing your spend, to gain more exposure can open a door of opportunity to increased brand awareness and higher profits in the end when all is said and done. As a business owner you just need to be wise in how you spend those marketing dollars. Tune into your customer base and present a message that will stick as well as make sense in these tough economic times.

Now you might ask yourself, well what do you mean by “stick” or “make sense”? If you are running a Paid Search Campaign in Google, Yahoo! or MSN, now is the time to be creative and test new ad copy that could have a positive affect on your traffic and overall sales. Change your call to action to something like, “Shop Online Now” vs. “Buy Now,” if you are running a special promotion try, “Save Now,” instead of “Shop Now.” Get it? You can also call more attention to your products or services by stating they are more “efficient” or “provide a better value.” These slight variations can really hit home with what consumers “want” to hear instead of what you want to tell them.

The bottom line is to be innovative, don’t be afraid to try new things, stand strong through tough times. Tailoring your message to consumers can really grab their attention and make a difference in your success. This is the time to be more visible, and emerge with a stronger brand when things get back to normal. Spending money wisely is the key, and focusing more on your consumers needs is crucial. But please be careful when you begin to ask untrained employees to make critical decisions for your business just to save a buck. Be smart, yes these are tough economic times but that does not mean you need to lose sight of your business goals. Plan ahead with thoughts to replace companies that probably won’t survive this economy, this should make your pain a bit more manageable don’t you think?

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

The 10 Truths Every CMO Should Know About Search Marketing

Last week I attended Search Engine Land’s SMX East show in New York City. What a great time of year to be in New York. My first day there I attended a couple of seminars, day one was not the best for me, but the one that really stood out to me was The 10 Truths Every CMO Must Know About Search Marketing.....
What amazed me about this track was how trivial it was...if you are a CMO, Chief Marketing Officer, I would think you should already know what those 10 truths are.
1 - SEO is an ongoing process – as an executive in a company please don’t ask for miracles, you cannot just optimize your meta tags and think everything is “A OK,” now where are our rankings!!!???
2- The #1 position is not always everything and sometimes not even possible--- NO KIDDING!!! Multiple positions can and should be a blessing...
3 - The long tail is your friend --- if you are a CMO and do not know what the long tail is and that it can bring in extremely qualified traffic then maybe you should not be a CMO! Sorry just my opinion.
4 - Both paid and natural search are equally important. Ask yourself, do you want to increase brand awareness??? Well being seen more often will allow that and then some....
5 - Customers -- hear “their" language not "yours" -- yes by golly darn you betcha -- you should be speaking to your customers telling them what they WANT to hear not what YOU want to say!!
**SIGH** half way through what a CMO should already know!!
6 - Web pages are not the ONLY assets you need to optimize -- come on folks there are Press Releases, blogs, articles so much MORE than just the web pages which should be optimized and even bidded on at times in paid search arenas.
7 - Integration is a must! -- if you are NOT sending the same message in print, that you are on the web there is a serious issue, get it together!
8 - Tools simplify everything -- well I was hoping to get some golden nugget from this statement, and well I didn't, yes tools simplify everything and yes you should be using them to make your life easier, but is there a new one, a better one????? I didn't get anything from this one other than if you are able to utilize tools to make your life easier and it does not have a negative affect on your consumer then good for you ... I already knew that – **SIGH**
9 - Bid on brand terms - if you are not doing this you are completely missing the boat ....enough said..
FINALLY – Number 10!!!
10 - Set goals -- ya think??? All CMO’s should know that goals need to be set, but you need to understand what you are trying to accomplish before you set those goals, be clear, and don’t be unrealistic, please!
Someone told me there were 11 things a CMO should know but I didn't buy it, this pretty much covers it unless someone else can think of something I might have missed. If so, please do chime in!!!