Top 5 PPC Pitfalls

March 25, 2010 by Kevinharlow · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Digital Lead Generation, paid search 

I just read a great article on Pay Per Click in the Multichannel Merchant about the top 5 things marketers get wrong in PPC campaigns… thought you would find this interesting – especially if you attended our Google AdWords Webinar.  If you missed this Webinar, just view our on-demand library to get the basics on starting your own PPC campaign. 

Check-out these 5 pitfalls to help you to…

  • drive qualified prospects to your site
  • improve click-through rates
  • be more strategic about your bidding
  • lower your costs-per-click

Triggered Communications Webinar & 5 Tips for Success

I’m sure you’ve heard by now that Triggered Communications is a great way to increase your email marketing’s timeliness, relevancy and ROI.   To help get you started, we’re hosting a Webinar on April 15, 2010 at 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. EST — “How to Use Event Triggered Communications to Increase Email Relevancy, Response and Sales.”

We’ll show you how easy it is to set-up behaviorally triggered email messages that deliver the right message to the right subscriber at the exact moment he or she is most engaged and likely to respond using Listrak’s automated event triggered messaging solution.

You will learn how to:

- Add a powerful, automated email responder system to your integrated marketing mix

- Trigger specific email responses according to your customer’s behaviors or targeted events

- Have one-on-one conversations with each of your customers and prospects

- Increase your email’s relevancy, open rates and your sales

Participation in this webinar is free, but space is limited. So, reserve your seat today.

While we’re putting the finishing touches on our webinar, here are five tips from Target Marketing Magazine for Triggered Communications success.

  • Thoughtfully defining your triggers – this is the heart of your program
  • Prepare your sales team to handle these leads – without making customers feel like “they’re being stalked.”  You want to your customer to be loyal to your brand and feel, “Hey, this company really gets me and understands my needs.”  That’s a big difference from a creepy, “I’m-being-watched feeling!”
  • Put contact frequency in your process so you don’t bug your best customer and burn-out your sales team
  • Continually improve your triggered-based program using feedback from your best sales people

I’m excited about what Triggered Communications can do to grow our clients’ businesses and I’m looking forward to meeting you online on April 15 for the Webinar!  I hope you can join us!

Hot 2010 Marketing Trends Getting Hotter

Targeting Measurement Channel Integration Prospecting  

These four trends are what ICS is all about and what we’ve been preaching for increased sales lift, better Marketing ROI and overall business growth.  Now, direct marketers across the country are finally starting to see these four tenets as "hot trends for 2010" according to Deliver Magazine.   

Targeting — With our advanced analytics, data management tools and direct marketing experience, you can target on a one-to-one level with specific customers and prospects using a tailored offer at the right time in the customer’s preferred channel.  Plus, you can focus your marketing dollars on targeting your most valuable prospects. 

Measurement/Analysis – Data not only gives you the clearest view of your customers for targeted marketing, but collecting and analyzing data is critical in matching-back sales to specific marketing efforts.  Now more than ever, marketers are on the hook to prove that every dollar you spend is growing the business. 

Integration –  Marketers who execute cross channel campaigns experience a 50 – 400% better response rate than singularly focused campaigns.  To learn about integration trends and what leading companies are doing in multichannel integration, view our on-demand webinar:  "Transforming Practices in Integrated Marketing Communications."

Prospecting — I like the quote in this article, "Today, everybody at every stage of life is open to marketing."  However, you can’t have great sales lead generation without well-honed targeting AND channel integration.  Lead generation is where it all comes together… in my opinion, this is where this article misses the 2010 mark BIG TIME.  Plus, online lead generation didn’t even get a mention!   SEO, SEM and paid search (where customers are actively searching your product/service) are only getting hotter in 2010 and beyond.

Tips & Tactics for Launching a Google AdWord Campaign

Click on the following link to few the first 10 minutes of ICS’s webinar on Tips and Tactics for launching a Google Adword Campaign.  If you like what you hear, give us a call for a copy of the full webinar detail … as well as professional and experienced advise in this area. 
 
http://www.youtube.com/icsMarketingSupport#play/uploads/0/hL-w8y9iCzs
WEBINAR OVERVIEW:
Joe Ford from Netvantage Marketing (who is also ICS’s strategic partner) and I will show you how to successfully use online paid search to generate qualified sales leads.  Unlike any other form of advertising and some forms of direct marketing, paid search connects you with people who are already actively seeking your product or service — not the other way around!  
 
We will cover everything you need to know: 
  • How to use online paid search to generate qualified sales leads
  • How you can :
  •                  –         Target geographically
                     –         Control your budget
                     –         Qualify Website traffic
                     –         Pause, resume and edit your campaign anytime

  • Tricks for choosing the right keywords, ad text and URLs
  • How to track your traffic and ROI
  • How to put it all together and ensure success                

ROI-based Search

Here’s a DMNews article about setting-up a paid search budget based on profitability.  I found it interesting for two reasons.  1)  We just broadcasted a webinar on paid search and discussed budget setup and controls and 2) We just happen to be strategizing on how to expand our own marketing success in paid search from one area of our company to other areas – all, of course, while keeping profitability in mind.

It struck me that the author overlooked some important points to keep in mind when setting-up a profitable paid search budget.

In many cases – including ICS’s – the company has a diverse product / service mix.  So when thinking about what to spend on key paid search terms, don’t just look at the price tag of the search term and the profit margin of the product / service you’re marketing.  Consider search terms that may provide cross-over sales opportunities as well.

Also, ask yourself if you’re using the best possible search term that would provide the highest quality sales leads at the best price… and if you can get some cross-over marketing into other areas of your products and services, then even better.

Chances are there are some lesser cost (and higher sales value) alternatives to that high price search term that could blow your budget’s profitability.

And don’t forget to keep a close eye on your paid search program.  Don’t just set it and forget it.

The great thing is… if your initial keyword selection isn’t giving you the results you thought it would, then you can always adjust your program immediately based on what your response data is telling you.

http://www.dmnews.com/Set-your-search-budget-to-be-based-on-its-profitability/article/139312/