Top 5 PPC Pitfalls
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
All Aboard the SEM Bandwagon!
Filed under: Direct Marketing, Email Marketing, General Marketing, Lead Management, Search Engine Marketing, analytics, integrated marketing, paid search, search engine optimization
A recent Forrester study shows what all of us already know. Marketers will continue to shift dollars from traditional media and traditional direct marketing to online direct marketing.
I like Target Marketing Magazine’s research summary overviewing the growth factors in SEM, SEO, online advertising (a.k.a., Pay-Per-Click) and Email Marketing which are among the listed 16 online marketing trends.
More than 80% of marketers are using paid search and SEO and plan to expand search into more segments. As consumers search more online, Google’s AdWord inventory continues to grow. All music to marketers’ ears as you expand your paid search and SEO efforts.
Online advertising, “performance-based” media buys and integrated email marketing are also slated for substantial growth through 2014.
Hot 2010 Marketing Trends Getting Hotter
Filed under: Data Cleansing and Enhancement, Digital Lead Generation, Direct Marketing, Email Marketing, General Marketing, Lead Management, List Strategy, Search Engine Marketing, analytics, integrated marketing, paid search
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.
Why digital makes sense in your marketing mix
Filed under: General Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, integrated marketing, paid search
Sometimes the most targeted campaign is still missing something.
By: Adam Henige
While more and more organizations have at least begun to dip their toes into the world of search marketing, some still fail to see how it will fit into a traditional marketing campaign or precisely how it supplements more traditional methods.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have this discussion in-person with a variety of audiences. It’s been well documented how successful email marketing and direct marketing campaigns can be, particularly when built on excellent lists.
Add onto your mail/email marketing with traditional media buys in print/radio/television with highly targeted demographic ads and you’ve really covered your bases, right? Well, from a push marketing perspective, you sure have (and we’re not even getting into newer media like blogs, Twitter, and Facebook).
But, what about those people whom you just can’t seem to target?
There will always be a group of people who want what you’re selling, but either don’t know they can get it, or don’t know that you provide it. But when they finally decide to look for a solution, how will they find you?
Well, think about it yourself. How do you find things? Conservative studies have shown that from a retail perspective over 42% of people find Web sites by using search engines. More importantly, compared to the other forms of advertising, a Web site provides you with a stationary audience.
The more complex, innovative or differentiated your product is, the more important it is to provide a detailed and immersive Web experience. Companies who get this have integrated their marketing strategies - using traditional media as a vehicle that often supports a strategic Web experience that captures and maintains the interest of potential customers, hopefully for multiple visits.
So while traditional media can certainly be an effective tool to finding your target audience and generating leads and sales, online search helps widen the net.
Especially in this day and age — it’s just not an option to leave money on the table by missing customers who may literally be heading to Google and asking for your product, which is why digital marketing makes more and more sense as a piece of the marketing mix.
Adam Henige is Managing Partner of Netvantage Marketing, a Strategic Partner of ICS located in East Lansing, Michigan.
Tips & Tactics for Launching a Google AdWord Campaign
Filed under: Digital Lead Generation, Direct Marketing, General Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, integrated marketing, paid search
- How to use online paid search to generate qualified sales leads
- How you can :
- 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
– Target geographically
– Control your budget
– Qualify Website traffic
– Pause, resume and edit your campaign anytime
ROI-based Search
Filed under: Digital Lead Generation, General Marketing, Lead Management, Marketing Technology Solutions, Search Engine Marketing, integrated marketing, paid 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/
