Marketing

Pay Per Click, simply explained.

A common small-biz rule of thumb is to set aside 10 percent of total expenses for advertising.

Are Scrappy Upstarts really doing this? How do you promote your product, get your company and its great services in the public eye without spending a ton of money?

Pay per click is a familiar and viable option, that you might not totally understand if you’re just starting out.

Pay per click lets you advertise your product or service online and only pay for what brings consumers to your business site. If you put a pay per click ad on the Web and no one clicks on that hyperlink to come to your site and buy your products, you don’t pay for that ad. If they do click, you do pay.

Google AdWords is probably the best known and largest volume pay per click advertising program. It’s also extremely easy to start and it gives you total control of your advertising campaign’s budget.

For its Starter Edition just decide what you are going to say in your AdWords ad (it’s all text), go to the Google site and sign up, write what you want to say in your ad and note the ceiling you will spend each month. Your ad will appear next to the search results of relevant keywords (that you note) when someone searches on Google. You only pay for those who see the ad and click on to your site. And you stop paying when you’ve reached your stated budget for the month.

These ads appear along the side of search related results they can also appear on sites that have agreed to show google ad words, often related to the ad’s content.

While pay per click cannot guarantee results – no advertising can do that – what it can do is guarantee that you won’t spend more than you can afford.

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Using SEO in Your Blog

Your small business blog needs to constantly be refined for maximum pull through. There are certain topics your blog can cover, and even certain keywords you can use to attract more people to your blog. The trick is in knowing which keywords to use and how to make the most of them. This process is commonly known on the internet as SEO, or Search Engine Marketing. It might sound complicated, but all you do is research keywords relevant to your industry, add them to your blog titles and topics, and the traffic will generate itself.

How do I know what words to use?

That’s the easy part. First, you have to think like a consumer. What would they search for? If you have a real estate business in the Atlanta area, for example, you would focus on what a person would look up if they wanted to find homes in Atlanta. If you can’t think of them on your own, there are keyword search sites where you can find the most popular phrases and keywords based on your subject. Using words like ‘Atlanta real estate’ or ‘Atlanta homes for sale’, for example, would be much more relevant to consumers than choosing phrases like ‘real estate for sale in Atlanta’ or ‘homes Atlanta for sale’, and so on.

Ok, I’ve got my keywords. Now what?

Now, you create a blog, or add to the one you have. Give it an SEO-friendly title, and make sure each post title is relevant, as well. Then, in your content, take the keywords you’ve found and use them 5-10 times, depending on the length of the blog. Just remember, with SEO, less is really more, so don’t overstuff it. That will actually have an adverse effect on your website, because it’s bad practice and frowned upon by search engines.

Having a blog is going to be a big part of your success in today’s online market. Making sure that blog is seen by optimizing it with SEO practices will only help to drive traffic to your website. Even in a slow economy, people are still buying, so you need to make sure you’re doing everything you can to get them to buy from you. One of those crucial elements is using SEO in your blog. For more information, the SEOBook offers detailed insight.

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Holiday Shopping Sales Fell 3%

According to comScore - holiday e-commerce was down 3% year-over-year - spending totaled $25.54 billion, from $26.33 billion during a similar period last year.

First time since 2001 when they started tracking this.

Some winners: HP site visitors jumped 28%; Amazon’s traffic increased 7%.

Ebay was the most visited site but was 4% down from last year.

No surprise Circuitcity.com visits were down 21%, and Dell dropped 17%

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“The Great Disruption”

The Great Disruption. Is this how we will be referring to our current economic times?

Scott Anthony poses that question at Harvard Business Publishing.

He goes on to discuss how to Thrive in the Great Disruption stating it requires a particular breed of innovator.

Specifically, innovators should look to master three disciplines:

1. Placing a premium on progress.
2. Mastering paradox.
3. Learning to love the low end

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I only care about doing.

I don’t care about Steve Jobs or Michael Dell.

There I said it. I don’t even care about the guy who just secured $9 million in venture funding. I don’t care about Tim O’Reily waxing philosphical about online serendipity. I don’t care that TechCrunch says Google and Adobe are great places to work.

I care about the guys (and women) in the long tail of it all. Not making a million bucks, but making it. Cashing a $2,000 adsense check? Good for you! How? Getting by on 8 new customers a month? Great! How? Figured out how to make a living without going into an office? Fantastic! How? Moved your brick-and-mortar successfully online? Awesome! How?

Look there is a tremendous amount to learn from the analogs of Steve and Mike and the rest - no question - I’ll watch, I’ll read - but for the love of God, stop letting internet media stay at the 30,000 foot level - You want to succeed? DIG DEEPER!

Philosophical diatribes won’t help you succeed in the trenches. Vague predictions about “new media” or “social marketing” aren’t going to put food on the table.

Tactics, execution, dedication - How are you doing it? Be specific! Speak up!

[Author's note: No one is going to respond to me. I know it. Either no one is listening (possible, this site is only a month old), no one cares - that too, then you might as well go back to solitaire, or no one has any idea how to really do it...Then tell me that.]

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No Budget Advertising

Oh no! You’ve invested all your cash getting your business started but you failed to set aside a budget for advertising. You could have a cure for the common cold and still die broke if people don’t know you have it. Fortunately there are still ways to get your business off the ground. The key is you have to start today, and you have to continue everyday.  

Oh, I can hear you now. What could I possibly do with a budget as low as $10? Well I’ll tell you just to give you a few ideas. Of course like I said above you will have many more options once your account grows but for now let’s assume its your first month in business and that is literally all you have $10, period. So you work with what you have. Sit down with paper and pen and start thinking. Make a list of any ideas you can come up with to spend those bucks to get you even one or two new customers this month. As I write this I am doing that right now to come up with a few ideas for you. How about… Getting as many flyers as you can copied advertising a sale of some kind. Then you could distribute them on weekends at car shows or even on car windows at flea markets and places like that.

How about having a bunch of simple business cards printed up. Instead of just your name or phone number, they can offer a new buyer discount. If you have the equipment you can even print them yourself. Then just leave those cards everywhere you go. On counters when you stop for coffee. In phone booths, all over in nightclubs, in men’s rooms and any place else you happen to be in your marketing area. Get the idea? Getting any other ideas now?

As your budget grows so will your options for advertising. You will also find that now salespeople will be calling on you because they saw your ad or promotion somewhere. You’ll be getting offers to advertise and most of these will be fairly expensive. Here’s an easy way to remember what to do: forget em! When you’re just starting out investing a large sum of money in a single place is just not the smart way to do things. Right now you should be placing smaller bits of advertising in as many places as possible. The objective here is to find out what mediums work best for you. As results come in you then invest more in the most productive ones. By working in this fashion you are always building from a position of strength and knowledge. That is always more desirable than experimenting.

Do it and watch your business grow every day. Anyone else have any “no budget” ideas?

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SEM in a down economy webinar

The people over at ‘Target Marketing‘ magazine are hosting a webinar entitled 18 Ways to boost your SEM Performance in a down economy. Its January 13 at 2pm EST.

They plan to cover:

• How to increase your ROI even as CPC costs continue to clim
• How to beat your competitors‚ keyword rankings with lower PPC bids
• How to increase your campaign’s conversion rate
• How to save money on testing by utilizing past data

You’ll be able to submit questions directly to their speakers for a live Q&A session during the hour.

Click here to register.

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5 tips for effective blog optimization

Lee Odden over at TopRankBlog has a great new article outlining 5 tips for successful business blog optimization.

After writing the Virtual Ad Agency blog for just a little over a month - I have to agree with this point wholeheartedly:

Without proper planning, oversight and passion for the topic, blogs implemented purely for SEO objectives are doomed to fail. Additionally, social media referrals and recommendations are becoming a notable competitor to search traffic which can place SEO as a secondary promotional effort in some situations.

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Find a niche now.

“Anyone can use my product/service” - If I had a nickel for every time I heard a business owner say that…I’d have about $7 and that would be enough for about 6 targeted ppc ads. As a marketer I am repeatedly asked to broaden a concept or add items to reach a wider customer base. Kitchen sink marketing - pack in everything in order not to lose anyone, when in fact they really are losing everyone.

As a scrappy upstart now is the time to really think about your target audience, your niche.

If you continue to market to everyone your ad dollars are likely to be wasted. You need someone to engage with what you’re saying, only those truly interested in your product will spend the time and money on them. It’s not enough to say your target is “Fishermen” You want to get it down to “lake fishermen…who use lures…and are likely to just fish on weekends”

Target your limited ad dollars to those publications and web sites your niche use while honing your message to speak directly to them, no more shotgun blast marketing. Get targeted.

Define what your customers want to hear - how will your product or service benefit me? Be specific. Talking to weekend-only lake fishermen? Don’t just say “You’ll catch more fish” get in their heads, “More fish in less time!”

Do some research and determine what other interests this audience might have. Get to know them. Join a fisherman forum, not every single one, just where you can be most effective. Remember, targeting. Eventually you can start directly asking what their needs and concerns are, make sure the dialog is two-way, let them know what you plan to do next with the information.

When your efforts are targeted and more focused its easier to gain conversion and in this economy every dollar counts. So stop trying to be all things to all people and target yourself to those you really can reach. And when you think you have a target drill down some more, don’t be satisfied until you know exactly who your customer is and what they want - only then are your limited ad dollars going to do the most good.

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The 2008 Election - In Marketing Dollars

As a marketer I am often asked to analyze the potential ROI of a particular campaign or marketing venture. This can often be a lot harder than it looks. Many parts of the ROI are embedded deep under the skin of the consumer and don’t show up on a dollar and cents spread sheet.

If you look at the 2008 election in terms of return on investment there is something deceiving about the numbers.

Looking at the dollars spent and votes cast we see McCain spent about $3.50 less than Obama. But in the end we know the net result and the brand that Barrack Obama has built.

Among the things not factored in is the general intangibles - in this case Obama’s win plants him not only in the White House but firmly in the American zeitgeist as well. How do we measure that? If that were a point on the metrics when establishing the ROI what dollar figure would be appropriate?

In the end marketing investment metrics need to not only ask what is the “sales goal” but what is the intrinsic value to the brand? The hardest part will be quantifying that.

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Google SEO Starter Guide

Last week google released a very helpful 22 page SEO guide. Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide.

The guide discusses everything from optimizing your page titles for better organic results to decoding the search results page. It spends a disproportionate amount of time discussing the value of creating fresh, unique content. Certainly that goes without saying. But it struck me as odd - if my content was so phenomenally unique and this alone assured perfect google attention - then why clutter my thoughts with all I need to do to optimize search, certainly I could just focus on being a genius pontificator. Alas this is not the case, I still need to be found, an judging by the lifeless works that come up with most of my searches, I think those of us that take time to craft our prose or discuss a topic thoughtfully should be more mindful of our SEO. Download the PDF here.

The guide does a great job of touching on all the important points including effective use of robot.txt file, site maps, and page structure.

It also mentions a webinar video back from this past June. The Google Trifecta - a great discussion on how to improve your site. The Trifecta Video is embedded below:

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Keyword research tools

Search engines use countless methods to sort, rank and deliver results. Some are highly controllable others can feel like a combination of dumb luck and voodoo. Keywords are a great place to start your SEO process. The following tools will help you discover the best keywords for your site. A good starting process includes, building a master list of key words then separating them into groups. For example an e-commerce site would separate specific product keywords into different groups. Doing this can help you start to optimize your site structure and create linkages you never knew existed

Keyword Research Tools:

Google: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

MSN: http://adlab.msn.com/Keyword-Research.aspx

Wordtracker: http://www.wordtracker.com/

Keyword Discovery: http://www.keyworddiscovery.com

Submit Express: http://www.submitexpress.com/keytracker.php

Keyword suggestions: http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/

Keyword List Generators and Misc:

Google: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

SEOBook.com: http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-list/generator.php

RustyBrick.com: http://www.rustybrick.com/keyword-phrase-tool.php

For Local keywords: http://5minutesite.com/local_keywords.php

Google Sets: http://labs.google.com/sets

Tag Clouds and keyword definitions: http://searchradar.webaroo.com/

Related Terms: http://www.kwmap.net/

Related Terms: http://www.urbandictionary.com/

Keyword Aggregators:

SEOBook: http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/seobook/

Source: Website Magazine. Get a free subscription.

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BtoB Event Advertising

My scrappy upstart, VirtualAdAgency.com, has secured a print ad spot in SES Magazine, being distributed at the SES Chicago conference this December. For those of you not familiar with SES shows, they are really a top-notch opportunity to soak up information about search engine optimization, attended by thousands of marketers and small business owners.

Advertising opportunities like this are cost-effective, targeted and perfect for scrappy upstarts who provide goods and services to other businesses. Events and BtoB publications offer outstanding outlets to get your message in front of your potential customers. Even if you don’t plan to attend the conference, reach out to the hosts and find out what opportunities there are in terms of print ads, or even sponsorships.

The event guides that are handed out to every attendee at these conferences provide great ad placement. The audience tends to be well engaged and in a purchasing mode. Also, sponsoring a lecture or segment of the event offers an added element of prestige to your organization.

If you are running an ad, try to offer a specialized discount code for attendees, or instead of driving them to your home url - try a custom landing page instead. In this tight market, BtoB conference advertising is a great, cost-effective opportunity any small business should consider.

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A decrease in ad spend is good news?

Sometimes its hard to pick out the good news from constant bad news but I think for the most part us Scrappy Upstarts have a significant advantage in this down time, we just need to be aware of it in all the ‘bad news’ data.

A very recent 42 page analysis from Morgan Stanley, “Internet Advertising Trends” reports ad spend could decline as much as 4% next year. While its bad news for google, LinkedIn, Facebook, and my 9-to-5 employer, Incisive Media, it can mean good things to a scrappy upstart.

Rapid inventory combined with CPM should make for low cost online ads. In other words, decreased ad spend overall means lower cost ads for you

Also measurability - Ad publishers will be forced to make sure their customers ads are performing. Expect to see more robust metrics and easier to use analysis letting you know if your ads are performing.

We’re seeing ad impressions increase with a significant CPM decrease

1) Internet usage growth remains strong

2) Search share gains remain relatively robust

3) Performance-based advertising seeing success

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New banner ad distributor

BuySellAds offers a fantastic Ajax interface and easy way to buy ad space for your web site. While still in beta - its a great place to start advertising on sites specific to your content or service, that tend to be more in the long tail of the web.

You can also sell ad space on your site. Their commission in my opinion, is rather high at 25% but could be a good place to market your site to advertisers looking for inexpensive monthly ad subscriptions.

And yes that photo and link promote this site…what? You would do it too!

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