Pay-Per-Click: Work or Waste?

So I just came from a sales call and the prospect is a very successful business man who runs a very successful business. He’s tried his hand at online marketing, namely Google Adwords pay-per-click (PPC) and was “soured.” He claimed the leads coming from these two campaigns weren’t converting and the ROI just wasn’t there. I truly believed him. But I was there to change his mind. Don’t get my wrong. I don’t want to sell anyone anything that isn’t right for them but I am a PPC evangelist and to answer my own question, IT DOES WORK!!!! It works well……………if it’s done right!

Everyone from Verizon/Idearc to Yellow Book to ATT are getting into the Google Adwords space (because their products are dying and they have no choice) but I’ve found none of them do it “right.” I’ve also found that very few (okay, I haven’t found one yet) business owners who try their hand at it or have their nephew run it for them do it “right” either. Thus, their budget is quickly exhausted by unqualified clicks. Don’t mistake “clicks” for leads! They’re not the same.

So what does “done right” mean? Here are a few key measurements that I use to deliver a positive ROI to my PPC clients. 1) Track conversions. Conversions are not leads they are actual people who clicked through and took some sort of action (filled out a form, called, requested a quote). 2) Set positions. Your ad shouldn’t appear in a position below #3 on the first search page. 3) Quality score. Drive your traffic to pages on your site that are highly relative to your keywords. 4) Dayparts. With limited PPC budgets, use phone numbers in ads to reduce clicks (this is the only form of marketing where impressions are FREE). Also, turn campaigns on and off to fit the times/days/week/months of your sales cycle as well as when most of your audience is online. 5) Geotarget. I constantly see ads for companies that are in California that clearly don’t service my area. WASTE OF MONEY! 6) Trim the fat. Your keyword list will shrink over time. Eliminate keywords that are not converting and have limited overall traffic. Focus your budget on keywords that convert. This will increase the frequency of your ads and fuel what’s working. In the end, all of these steps will optimize your budget, increase qualified leads and return a positive ROI.

Yes! PPC does work - when done “right!”

Have you run a campaign that was a bust? Let me hear about it. How about those of you out there seeing positive return? What’s the highest return rate you’re seeing?

Importance of relationships in business but especially in marketing!

Marketing a is a fast paced business and at the height of the economy any schmuck could call themselves a marketer.  Today the economy has tanked and clients want to KNOW what they are getting and more importantly if they can trust you with their hard-earned money.  When they are spending money on a marketer they are investing in you and your skill set.

This goes beyond customer service which is important too; but building a relationship with a client means each of you have agreed to put your faith in each other.  For example, I was just asked the question, how do you (Vision House) measure success as a company. My answer: We measure success by our client’s success. If our clients invest in us and trust in us to spend their marketing money wisely, we are compelled to turn a positive ROI for them. When we do, the bonds of the relationship strengthen.

It takes a skilled marketer to know what to do with a client and that knowledge grows over time.  So get to know your clients, focus on doing more than meeting their expectations—exceed them by demonstrating that you view the relationship as important– business-wise of course– but also because you are a firm of integrity and anything less than quality service to clients you value would be unacceptable.

Clients will know the difference between a firm that provides good customer service and one that builds client relationships.  Think about the companies, or organizations that you come in contact with and I’ll bet you can tick off right away those that work harder to let you know your business matters to them in the long term.  And in this economy that is the key to keeping business.

The world moves round in a circular motion…..right?

RIGHT! Motion stays in motion.

So you’re looking to dip your toe into social media? Or maybe you need a pay-per-click lead generation campaign? Or maybe you care about your natural page rankings? So you look for a company that specializes in exactly what you’re looking for. Instead of looking at these as ala carte, it’s not only more economical but a better strategic move to integrate a full circle online program that is all encompassing.

Think about this. You want to implement a search engine optimization campaign to increase your website’s page rank. In order to truly do this, you want to consider article and press release directory submissions. Well, if you’re going to create articles and press releases, might as well spread those messages through you social media campaigns - a one-two punch. And while your social media and SEO campaigns are gaining traction, let’s drive traffic immediately to your site(s).

Everything we do, every ounce of effort has impact on your entire marketing strategy - or at least it should. You should be thinking like this when looking for a marketing firm and when executing a marketing strategy. Even if you truly are looking for a piece of the pie, ask how that marketing firm intends to integrate their efforts into your existing marketing initiatives.

Full circle marketing is the new black! Continuity is key to your message, efficiency and ROI! Motion stays in motion.

Let’s here from you out there! What have your experiences been? I know there are some SUPER smart subscribers to this blog. Share your knowledge!

SEO vs PPC

Ahhh, the old search engine optimization (SEO) vs. pay-per-click (PPC) debate! Love this one. Let’s put it this way, if you’re a marketer and you’re telling people that pay-per-click (PPC) you have no idea what you’re talking about. It’s clear you have no idea how PPC works or the benefits of it and if you claim that it’s "expensive" that just solidifies my point.

PPC, if done right (and that’s the key) can be one of the most effective forms of direct response marketing out there. Think about it. Someone is thinking about buying your product. He/She sits down at the computer and searches relative keywords. Your ad appears (among your competitors). Because your ad has been positioned within the top three spots, its visible to the. They read it and because it is a keyword rich ad with a strong call to action, they click through to your site. Now, that person who sought you out is on your site! Now, your site has to do its job and convert that person into a lead/sale. With conversion code tracking, you track that person from the keyword they searched to find you to the ad they clicked on (because you should be rotating and testing ads with different calls-to-action) to the final lead or sale. Now, if you narrow your keyword list over time based on the words that are coverting into sales and leads and eliminate those just costing you money, how could you not produce a positive ROI?! So, again, if you’re running a PPC campaign the RIGHT WAY, it WILL work!

SEO’ers….while I believe in SEO as a form of marketing as well (when done right), you cannot argue that your form is less expensive and more effective. It’s not! It can be as effective as PPC but we both know the time and money investment it takes so stop kidding yourselves and small businesses and give them the right solution. Not the one that is most comfortable to you! If you don’t offer PPC. Call me. If you do, make sure you’re doing it the RIGHT WAY!

Would love to hear from you SEO’ers! Love a great, professional debate. Everyone wins from it. Let me hear from you!

The fine balance between technology and people.

I had a conversation this weekend with a Navy colleague, a reservist, who owns his own business. He was asking me how to get his new website listed higher in the search engine rankings. I explained multiple ways from natural seo to pay-per-click as well as some easy, obvious things he can do. First I mentioned to pick a URL that is descriptive of the types of services he offers. He responded that his URL was his firstlastname.com. He went on to say that as an artist (he is a photographer) that he was told people resonate more with the artist than general terms like "photography," etc. This brought me to an interesting point that I feel compelled to explain.

While it is true that people (his potential clients) might respond more to the artist’s name, search engines don’t care what his name is. Not to be harsh but the lesson here is to understand the balance between people and technology. Of course you want to give your potential clients what they want and deliver it in the way they want it. But you also need to give the search engines what they need to deliver your content to your audience online.

He can have his cake and eat it too! I told him to keep his firstlastname.com URL and put it on his business cards, etc but buy another URL, for example, GreatPhotography.com and redirect it to his current website. This way, he can brand himself with the potential clients he meets and can give the search engines what they need to help his website rankings.

Keep in mind, this is one very small thing he can do and it won’t guarantee great results but its a start. Investing in PPC or natural SEO is well worth it. Marry that with social networking and pick an online marketing vendor that does it well and you can’t fail!

Would love your comments or experiences! Comment her or feel free to contact me directly at meg@vhmarketing.com.

Until next week, this is Meg Ferguson from Vision House Marketing saying have an effective and efficient day!

Pay-per-click ROI

So I’m still on my rant about the correct way to run/manage a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign and I’m finding that the majority of businesses that have a campaign running (either run internally or through a firm) not only don’t understand how the campaign should work but they don’t know what good looks like.

If you view a PPC campaign as a way to just driving traffic (aka: clicks) to your website, you’re probably spending money you don’t need to! If you’re happy with "just driving traffic to your website," then you’ll be satisfied with the big media moguls (Verizon, Idearc, Yellow Book, ATT, etc) out there offering this service and claiming to run an effective campaign for you.

I will say, that the big media moguls running these campaign do charge less in management fees but don’t get too excited. Even though you’ve set a monthly click budget with them, and they’re staying within it, I guarantee they’re not optimizing your campaign to maximize your budget.

What I mean by that is that they’re not tracking "conversions" - which are actual leads and go beyond just tracking clicks. They’re also not analyzing your data in such as way to determine which keywords are not only driving clicks but are actually converting into legitimate leads versus which ones are just costing you money in clicks.

I am classifying most PPC campaigns as DEFCON Alpha because these campaign basics are not being employed and PPC is getting a bad rap as a result. There are the nay-sayers out there - that PPC just costs you money for something that should be free. But let me tell you emphatically. I have over 15 years in strategic marketing experience and this could be the most effective and efficient form of marketing a company runs IF IT’S RUN RIGHT!  (I welcome comments from SEO’ers though)

Review your campaigns. Challenge the agency running it or revisit how you’re running it and remember I’m always available for questions. You can reach me at meg@vhmarketing.com

This is Meg Ferguson from Vision House Marketing, LLC saying "Have an efficient and effective day!"

Google Pay-Per-Click DEFCON Alpha!

If you have run, are running or are thinking about running a Google Adwords pay-per-click (PPC) campaign (or any PPC campaign for that matter), pay close attention! This could save you a lot of money!

I’d take the time to introduce myself but there’s no time. We’re in DEFCON Alpha and a lot of you out there are being affected!

As more and more “traditional media” based companies are getting into the PPC marketing space, I feel the utter frustration from business owners first-hand. I’m frustrated as well! There are just too many companies out there wasting your money! And I feel obligated to challege the PPC wannabes and rid the marketing world of those that are just out to collect your money.

Look, don’t get me wrong. We’re all out to make money and I don’t blame the large companies losing market share to online marketing to try to compete in this space. What I do take issue with is that they are bastardizing what could be one of the most effective and efficient forms of direct marketing out there (despite what natural SEO guys are saying - I’ll get into that debate later). So how do you know what a good Google Adwords PPC campaign looks like? Next time you sit down with a rep trying to sell you on an online PPC marketing campaign, ask them the following:

1. Can you tell me the estimated amount of clicks on a daily and monthly basis on a list of keywords relative to my business within the specific geographical area that I service?

2. Can you tell me the average cost-per-click that I’ll pay on a list of keywords relative to my business?

3. How do you determine what days/times to run my campaign?

4. To what pages on my site do you direct traffic to?

5. How do you measure the success of this campaign?

6. How often to I receive reports?

7. Do you disclose all the keywords, costs, and ads to me?

8. What is your set-up and management fee and how much of my budget is going to clicks?

9. Can you guarantee that when my ad appears, it will appear in the top 1-3 positions?

10. How do you choose the keywords for my campaign?

These are just 10 of MANY questions you should ask but a great start. Any company trying to sell you a PPC campaign should be able to answer every single one of these questions in detail. At no point, should the answer be “we can’t do that!”

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting answers to these questions and explaining what a successful PPC campaign looks like. Check back with me regularly! If you’re a small or medium or even large company running one of these campaigns, you don’t want to miss this!

This is Meg Ferguson from Vision House Marketing, LLC saying “Have an efficient and effective day!”