Anthony P. Zarro - Digital Marketing

New Blog Location for Anthony P Zarro

2011-01-27T13:35:00.000-05:00

My future blog posts can be found at Anthony P Zarro - Digital Marketing. You can also find my posts our the company website located here at Drive Action Digital. Thank you for your interests! APZ

LinkedIn: Best Kept Secret?

2010-02-24T12:23:00.001-05:00

Top 5 Ways to Market Your Business With LinkedIn | Social Media Examiner

"LinkedIn is the most powerful social networking site to help you grow your business. It makes Twitter, Facebook and YouTube seem like social networking sites for kids.

If you want to hang with the big players—a place where connections are made, leads are generated, and deals go down—then you need to spend more of your time on LinkedIn." Written by Lewis Howes

Many clients have asked for my help lately with social media. Each having significantly more questions than answers which is to be expected. However, it wasn't until I read this article that I realized just how overlooked LinkedIn is with most if not all of my clients and prospects. Everyone wants to talk about Twitter and FaceBook but should we be spending more time with LinkedIn?

I have always had a theory that when people come to work in very casual clothing, that they are not as focused on their job. It kind of feels like working on a Saturday morning... I know for myself, when I dress in my best I have a different mind set. Much more intensely focused and determine. Does that same psychological affect apply when I am networking in LinkedIn vs. FaceBook? Do I have my business hat on when I am in LinkedIn vs. my social hat in FaceBook?

I'd be very interested to gather opinions on this. Quite frankly, I'm not sure what my stance is on this yet but I can tell you that I plan on elevating my activity level in LinkedIn. Thoughts?

Building a Customer Community

2009-10-30T13:14:00.000-04:00

I gave a presentation recently to a client on social media when I was confronted by an interesting question. My presentation was designed to educate the group on the concepts, technologies and behaviors that prevail in today’s social web. I wanted to lay a foundation to help us brainstorm ideas on leveraging social media to make an impact in their business. About half way through the presentation, when most of the foundation had been established, I was asked: “So what?”

It is a fair question. Let’s face it; we don’t need to know that someone plans to nap during his train ride into the city. There is a lot of zero value information being shared in the social spaces. But what marketers must not ignore is the changing behaviors. We are all sharing much more information, thoughts and opinions with our networks and communities than we ever have before.

While you take this behavior into consideration, think about your own resistance to sales tactics both online and off. Think about how frustrated you get when you hear a sales pitch. Do you really want to hear the salesperson’s opinion whether or not this new TV is the best on the market? Why do you have to buy this car today? Your agent keeps telling you this insurance is a good fit - but how can you be sure? Wouldn’t it be nice to hear a few customer opinions to help you make an informed decision? Not references. Just to hear what a wide range of experienced customers have to say.

My clients often hear me say, “Nothing sells a product better than a happy customer.” If you believe in the quality of your brand or service, then build a customer community and allow your customers to share their experiences. Will there be a range of opinions? Yes, and that is okay. A blend of both positive and negative opinions will give the conversation greater credibility. In addition, your existing and potential customers will become even more loyal to your brand as you show your willingness to accept criticism.

Depending on your product or service, your customers can also serve as a valuable resource to one other. They can share different uses for your products, assist one another with technical questions, and offer opinions and guidance. These are all benefits of building a user community. The Open Network by American Express is a great example of this - and there are many others. By building a community in which people can share their thoughts and opinions about your products and services, you can gather the information you need to take action. Assisting an unhappy customer by using a public forum can, in fact, build enormous brand loyalty.

Another benefit to building a community is the emergence of brand ambassadors. As the community develops, you will find some customers love you even more than you thought. They will want to share their experiences with many more people than you imagined. These brand ambassadors will help your customers solve problems and encourage the undecided buyers to select you. Without realizing it, you have just expanded your sales force.

So what do you need to know before building this customer community? Again, first do remember that this is a conversation. Don't use this forum as a podium for sales. Make your strategy one of offering assistance by volunteering useful information. Answer questions.

And be transparent. If you make mistakes, admit them. If you do, your customers will feel better about doing business with you.

Finally, if you are a thought leader in your market space, this is a splendid place to showcase your forward thinking. The ideal strategy is to offer thoughts and opinions that encourage a dialogue with your audience.

Social Media vs. Email Marketing

2009-10-02T12:17:00.001-04:00

I have often said that eMail newsletters will eventually be replaced by company blogs. While that has not yet happened to the extent I thought it would, I definitely do see the trend moving over to social media in the form of company FaceBook, LinkedIn & Twitter pages.

The reason for this should be clear to anyone who opens their email client on a daily basis. Competition for the inbox is fierce. Because we’re all faced with so much clutter, we are forced to delete or ignore many of these communications. How many times have you said that you’ll come back to read a newsletter when you have more time – and never did so? The messages that once were getting through, loud and clear, are now getting lost in the spam filter or are simply being ignored.

While I am not advocating that you stop sending email newsletters, this strikes me as the perfect time to test the utilization of your company communication in social media. Building a company profile page on FaceBook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are quick and easy tasks. Once they are live, all you have to do is post the same content that you would ordinarily have posted to your newsletter.

There are additional benefits to using this medium for company communications. The social media channels are easily indexed by the search engines. Content that was once sent via email and never found by the engines now appear in the organic search listings potentially exposing your thought leadership to a much larger audience. If you begin looking for social media listings in all your search activity you’ll notice a growing presence on page 1 for sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and FaceBook.

Posting your content in the social spaces is significantly more effective if you have an audience. So I highly recommend sending an email to your existing list letting them know where they can find you in the social spaces and encourage them to become a FaceBook fan, a LinkedIn connection, or to follow you on Twitter. It is also sound business practice to include the appropriate icons on your Web site as well as links in your eMail signature. Just remember, social media is about dialogue and is a great venue for sharing your thought leadership. Encourage your audience to participate in the conversation, ask questions, request information and share their thoughts.

By utilizing this marketing channel, not only will you be able to easily keep your clients, prospective clients, vendors, friends, and others updated, but you will also expand your network via exposure to the friends of your fans. Spending a few minutes each day on these tasks will greatly expand your reach beyond the size of your eMail list.

The FaceBook Phenomenon

2009-01-17T15:25:00.006-05:00

It was only last October when I finally got around to creating a facebook profile. My sole intention for doing so was to learn the intricacies of this social networking site for business purposes. As I grew my network of friends, many of them took the opportunity to break my chops about being late to the party. One of my friends even said, “Welcome to 2006.” OK, so I was a bit late to embrace but I am a quick study so I’ll get moving and catch right up.

I started doing searches for friends, colleagues, old classmates, etc and found that many of they were not yet on FB. I wasn’t as far behind as I thought. Well over the last 3 months I have been blown away by the number of people that have just started their profile and are beginning to accumulate friends and build their network. And the demographics are really expanding. This is not just a teen thing like MySpace. Just goes to show that grow ups can play too.

So what’s the phenomenon? In my opinion, the growth numbers are really impressive. According to the statistics found in the FB press room, they have over 150 million active users (defined by logged in within the last 30 days). More than half the users are outside of college and the fastest growing demographic is over the age of 30. The average user has 100 friends and there are over 3 billion minutes spent on FB each day. Here is the stat that surprised me; over 70% of the FB audience is outside the US. That tells me that the growth rate will continue as the US audience gets onboard. So I really wasn’t that late to the party…

While these numbers are pretty amazing, my favorite part of FB is the behavior. I have connected with friends from elementary school, high school, college and of course, my business colleagues. And no matter what our relationship was then, now it is nothing but pleasantries and genuine excitement to connect. Seems like everyone is on their best behavior and why not, it’s all public and we all want to be liked! We are organizing reunions, sharing pictures of our kids, telling old war stories and, here’s the kicker, doing business. Yes, I said it. We are using FB to find business & job opportunities. We are connecting with influential people and using this public domain to ask for help in advancing our careers and businesses.

Don’t believe it? Fine by me but at least I did my part in sharing my opinion. In the words of Judge Smails from Caddy Shack, “The world needs ditch diggers too.”

Companies are going to have to really start embracing FB and its power. I’ll begin sharing some of my thoughts and ideas for business marketing on FB in the weeks to come. As always, comments welcome.

Learning Social Media

2008-06-13T14:47:00.003-04:00

I've always relied on my marketing experience to help navigate new emerging technologies and hot trends within interactive marketing. But over the last few month I have worked closely with some of the internet's greatest minds in social media. And for the record, while they don't always sound brilliant, they are!

The experts in social media today have really grabbed hold of the web and turned it into this powerful social tool that many believe it was designed to be. So much so that I have been inspired to start witting again and this time, I'm going to learn how to do it right!

Why? Simply put, it is powerful marketing.

So where am I going to start? Well I have finally opened a Twitter account and I have started tracking the blogs of people I think are smart. Over the next few weeks I'm going to start looking into apps to help me be more efficient and looking for ways to bring greater visibility to this blog. But even more on point, I am going to solicit the thoughts and ideas of a community that I want to build. After all, isn't that really the point of this?

More to come...

The Evolution of the Sales Person

2007-01-22T08:12:00.000-05:00

Collectively, sales people are often victims of our own behavior. The barrier to entry to become a sales person is often low because companies can place a significant portion of compensation tied to performance. Employers can take a chance on sales people hoping to find that diamond in the rough. As a result, most sales people are either not very good or highly mediocre. In the business community many of the buyers are resistant to sales people. I believe this is a result of the way sales people approach their work. Most fall into 2 categories. There are those who apply the "show up and throw up" method which is an obnoxious way of saying that they show up in your office and talk about their product during the entire meeting. I refer to the second group as the "greeters". The greeters bring in a subject matter expert (SME) and after handling the introduction, they sit back and hope the SME can make the sale. Neither of the two is very effective.

In my seventeen years of selling experience, I have been both. Success for me, as for many others has come from hard work, determination, persistence and often the ability to just not take "no" for an answer. However, in my quest to avoid being lumped into the general stereo type of all other sales people, I believe I have learned a few things that are well received by the majority of high level decision makers in the business buying community. In fact, I believe that the high level executive buyers are demanding a higher quality sales person. One that doesn't actually act or feel like a sales person. So how do you take your game to another level? How do you effective sell to high level executives at big brand companies?

Here are several principles that I try to follow myself and teach my team. Hopefully, they will get you closer to being that sales person you desire to be.

1. Be a subject matter expert. If a sales person is truly an expert at their product or service, the conversation will be filled with quality content and not sales speak. Sales people have a way of phrasing things that make them sound like a sales person. This typically creates a barrier between the sales person and the buyer. If you want to be treated and perceived as a sales person, then act like one. But if you want to be treated like an expert or a trusted advisor, then remove the sales speak from your meeting and focus on the content. This is a great opportunity to express your views and thoughts about the marketplace, your prospect's business and even share similar experience from other clients. Engaging in such a dialogue will lower barriers and your prospect will share more about his business and challenges. In this conversation is where you will find your hot buttons as opposed to asking the question, "What keeps you up at night?"

2. Bring something to the table. High level executives are busy and often own more responsibility than they can actually get done in one day. Therefore, the hours in the day are too precious to waste on some sales person who doesn't come to the meeting prepared. This doesn't have to be a custom presentation or a solution to a problem in your first meeting. I have found that some of my best first meetings have been done with a pen, blank sheet of paper and well thought out questions. Smart business people want to have partners, vendors and suppliers that will make them and their company better. This is also where being a subject matter expert can really help. You should be prepared to share a potential solution to a challenge that your prospect is facing. This will only be effective if you have asked effective questions and exposed a need or challenge. It is difficult to anticipate what the challenges may be, but if you are truly a subject matter expert and stay close to your clients, you will have lots of experience to draw from. This leads me to my next principle.

3. Stay involved with your clients. I realize that many companies try and get the sales person out of the process as quickly as possible. I have never been a fan of this thinking. The motivation for this philosophy is sometimes driven by the desire to not pay commission on recurring sales. In my business, we look to develop a long and fruitful partnership with our clients. The strategy is to build upon a solid relationship forged at the time of sale, then service the client with excellence and add valuable complimentary services. The sales person loses the credibility to sell additional services that solve for business challenges to existing clients when they only show up at contract time.

4. Focus on your clients, not on your commission. This theory often flies in the face of conventional sales thinking. Companies pay on a commission as a method for keeping their sales people hungry for new sales. But clients can smell commission breath a mile away. Great sales people must resist the urge to sell something just because the client will buy it. Ask yourself whether or not you would buy the product or service if your job was on the line for its success. I have had numerous experiences where I have convinced my customer not to buy for the sole reason that I didn't think it was in their best interest. And while some short term sales may have been lost, there were many more long term gains as a result of developing an alternative. The ability to sell something of greater value became much easier as a result of the credibility I built with the client.

5. Be confident. There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Nobody likes an arrogant sales person but people gravitate toward confidence. There are several opportunities to display your confidence. One of my favorites is the silence that you master before your answer a question or after asking one. I can't even count how many times I have watched sales people ask a great question and proceed to let the person off the hook from answering it by continuing to speak. Yes, this sounds a lot like listening, but it is much more than that. Your posture, ability to maintain eye contact, facial expressions and ability to not be the first to break the silence will help instill confidence. A pause before answering a tough question will have a similar affect. Ask any average sales person a tough question and you will witness several nervous reactions. Fidgeting, looking down and senseless babble are just a few of the signs the person lacks confidence. The most comical reaction is when the sales person turns the question back to the client without giving an answer. The confident sales person makes sure they understand the question, pauses to organize their thoughts, maintains eye contact, develops a smile that says "I have the answer", but most of all, is confident with the silence that fills the air before delivering a well thought out answer.

6. Have an opinion and don't be afraid to share it. Most sales people are concerned about expressing thoughts or opinions that might be in conflict with their client or prospect. Some of my healthiest client relationships are with people share their thoughts and expect me to do the same. We don't have to agree on everything to develop a solid relationship. In fact, a difference of opinion followed by a healthy debate will often result in each person leaving the conversation with a new perspective. I'm not advocating an argument with your client, but instead, deliver your opinion in a professional manner and encourage questions and comments.

7. Be humble. This is an important principle especially if you are going to express your opinion and be confident doing so. A humble sales person is willing to be wrong, willing to be challenged and most of all, willing to learn. Show me a sales person not willing to improve and I'll show you one that just got beat. Don't ever let yourself believe that you are the best or that you can't lose. Those fears will help keep you hungry and driven toward getting better every day.

I truly hope these ideas have helped influence your desire to improve your skills as a sales person. If nothing else, I encourage you to dedicate your self to constantly improving your skills and don't take your eye off the basics. Happy selling!!!

Let's Get Local

2006-03-26T09:25:00.000-05:00

Google Seeks Patent for Targeting Ads on Wi-Fi Hotspots:
"Location-based search, especially for mobile users, has broad implications for content providers and advertisers. Geographically targeting users at such a precise level could benefit local advertisers especially, or those that have products that might be available locally. Marketers could also use profiles of the neighborhood as a basis for targeting ads. "

Geo-targeting is beginning to play a role in more and more of my client's marketing campaigns. This idea from Google gets the wheels spinning with multiple possibilities. Not only can you geo-target by the access point, having the ability to target someone specifically at a Starbucks or maybe even someone at an airport. This capability really gives you the opportunity to hit primary demographics.

This capability may also encourage more companies to offer free or discounted Wi-Fi. Franchises like McDonald's and BK should maybe consider creating an atmosphere that encourages customers to hang out more and sit a while. Have that second bag of fries and surf the web.

Why You Don't Rank on Search Engines

2006-03-24T09:21:00.000-05:00

Why You Don't Rank on Search Engines:
"'Why would anyone want to link to my site?' Be brutal. Write down as many reasons as you can about why other sites should link to you. If you can't convince yourself another site would want to link to you, you seriously need to question what your value proposition is and how your site promotes it (or not, as the case may be)."

As someone responsible for bringing in new business, I find myself conflicted when sitting in front of a prospect who is telling me that they want to rank high in the search engines. This article is really spot on! What do you have on your site that would make someone want to link to you? Just because you sell more widgets than the next company is not compelling. Not only that, it is not a web strategy either. Why don't more organizations build their web sites to contain the same type of information that we all want to find when we surf the web?

How Not to Work With an SEO/SEM Firm

2006-03-18T14:23:00.000-05:00

I read this article a while ago and wanted to blog on this topic for some time. I love this part of the article where the prospect actually believes they have the right to be listed on top of the SERP due to their brand strength.

How Not to Work With an SEO/SEM Firm:

"I once asked a prospect if he felt entitled to be on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Los Angles Times every day -- without the need to follow any publication guidelines. Unfortunately, he said, 'Of course I do. Who wouldn't?' I chose not to work with this person. If he had unrealistic expectations about appearing in major newspapers, he had unrealistic expectations about appearing in major search engines."

Believe it or not, this is extremely common. Some companies actually believe that search engines should rank them first just based purely on their market leadership. While I don't also agree with this author, I do agree with the statement that rankings have to be earned. I also believe that if you are in fact a market leader in your vertical, your behavior in terms of how you represent yourself on the web should reflect as such.

Achieving success in natural search (SEO) continues to be a moving target and requires dedication, especially if you want to stay on the first page. Working closely with your IT department is critical and as a marketing person, you need to have some pull when it comes to getting your SEO recommendations implemented as a priority.

Search engine visibility plays a role in almost all business and consumer buying decisions these days. Marketers need to embrace this and develop a strategy to get on Page 1 and stay there. My company recently won a piece of web development business which all started by appearing on the first page of Google for the key phrase "natural listings".

Never under estimate the power of SEO!!!

How to Cope With SEM Staffing Shortages, Part 1

2006-01-18T08:59:00.000-05:00

How to Cope With SEM Staffing Shortages, Part 1: "If you opt to build an internal team to manage search, you probably won't be able to find one person with all the skills necessary to execute a best-of-breed campaign, even with help from the search engine account staff. "

Yes, this article is written by the CEO of a company that provides search services. And yes, his company as well as mine, will profit from the outsourcing of search. That said, please go ahead and read this article and I am sure you will recognize the issues if you have tried to do search in house. For 3 years I have been saying that it is more than just technology. People make the biggest difference. I even wrote on this a few months ago on my blog Click Here

The shortage of talented search professionals will be growing issue in 2006. Better find that SEM firm before the management fees start rising. APZ

TV Advertising, Search, and the Google Cube

2006-01-18T08:41:00.000-05:00

TV Advertising, Search, and the Google Cube: "TV and search are inexorably linked and may become more so in the future."

This is one of my favorite topics lately. The impact of TV advertising on search. I have seen numerous instances of search programs being effected significantly by television. This article brings up a few good points on the need to make sure your search program is aware of the media schedule for television.

Integration will be more than just a buzz word in 2006. If you are an interactive marketing manager, you would do well to make sure your search program is sync'd up with your company's offline advertising. Good luck... APZ

An SEM Diet for the New Year?

2006-01-18T08:26:00.000-05:00

I was attracted to the article (link below) mostly due to the title. Something about the new year that makes me feel like I can start fresh and improve on the areas of my life and forget all my past mistakes. I wish it were that simple.

If you are thinking about making 2006 the year you get your act together and leverage search engine marketing, please DON'T start by reading this article. The author sends you right to your log files to see what keywords are driving the most traffic to your site. Chances are, this is a very limited sample and if it isn't then you probably don't have effective search marketing on your news year's to do list.

I would use a few other tools for keyword analysis. In addition to the suggestion tools at the engines themselves, I would like at the searching being done on my site for keyword possibilities. What are users looking for when they get to your site? The rest of the ideas in the article are pretty basic but you won't get much out of this unless you are just starting out. APZ

An SEM Diet for the New Year?

Click To Call

2005-12-07T19:24:00.000-05:00

Well I guess it was only a matter of time before Google got into this game. Many of my clients are realizing the power of adding an 800# to the landing page from paid search adds. The key, of course, is to be able to track the results back to the keyword for optimization purposes. One step at a time I guess. APZ

Welcome to BtoBOnline.com: "Google is testing yet another part of the search engine field with a new system, click-to-call,that relies on the telephone to connect advertisers with potential customers. "

The Pendulum Theory

2005-07-01T00:25:00.000-04:00

At some point in my sales career I was introduced to “The Pendulum Theory”. It is a vicious cycle that most sales people fall victim too. The concept is significantly easier to understand then finding a solution.

If you are in sales you are well aware that every aspect of the sales cycle is tracked and measured. When a sales person begins their career or starts a new sale job, the first thing they do is pound the pavement and speak to as many prospects as possible to fill the sales funnel with new opportunities. These prospect meetings ultimately produce opportunities to deliver a proposal which in turn will result in a number of sales. The pendulum swings and reaches a high point. As the sales person begins to spend more time writing proposals and closing new business their attention moves away from prospect meetings. It is extremely challenging for the sales person to maintain a high number of new prospect meetings during this stage of the sales cycle. As a result, the funnel begins to dry up and the pendulum changes direction and begins a down swing. Depending on the length of the sales cycle from prospect meeting to close, the sales person finds themselves at a point where they need to increase the level of prospect meetings again and the cycle starts all over.

Needless to say, this is a frustrating cycle to the sales person and has significant impact on a small to midsize organization. Wouldn’t we all love to have a steady incline of sales performance? Nirvana is not as easily attained as it sounds.

So what can a sales person do to reduce the effects of “The Pendulum Theory “? Here are a few disciples that can be followed but they are far from easy. My first suggestion is to respect the sales cycle and make every effort to add balance to your sales approach. Sales people should establish a goal of new meetings with prospects each month. The goal set should be attainable under the busiest of work conditions. No matter what is in the pipeline, a high priority has to be placed on reaching your new prospect meeting goal.

Another key discipline is the dedication to time management. It is so hard to block out time to prospect and conduct new meetings when your opportunities are in the final stages of the sales cycle, but if you are going to avoid falling victim to the pendulum theory, it is a must. Defining true sales activities from non sales activities is a critical piece of the puzzle. Client and prospect interaction should be done during business hours. Presentation and proposal development can be done before and after business hours.

Pursuit of the right type of opportunities is also critical to defeating the pendulum. Make sure that each opportunity has a high probability to close. I know, easier said than done but the effort must exist.
The final disciple I’ll share in this post is patience. Some would say that a patient sales person is not going to meet their quota. I disagree! Sales people should be aggressive with their client in an effort to close the sale but if that becomes the focus of all your efforts, something will suffer. That something is usually the filling of the funnel.

In summary, add balance, good time management skills and patience to your sales efforts and you will reap the rewards of a successful sales career. I hope the readers of this post will consider contributing their experiences.

My Technology Is Better Than Yours

2005-03-13T18:33:00.000-05:00

I read an interesting article today from Mediapost. The writer basically mocked all the SEM firms about how each thinks their technology is better than their competitors. He is totally right! Bid management is bid management. It is a must have in the industry but it is really all the same. I mean really... how much different can your bid change be from my bid change? And the best is watching clients try to figure out who has the best bid management technology.

The article did say one other thing that I believe hits the nail on the head.

"...the best SEM firms live and die on the same value proposition that the best agencies live and die on - the relationships they attain and nurture with their major clients. If you want to find a great SEM, talk to the brands you respect that work with them."

Hire and SEM based on the people working there and you will find your program performing at the level it should. Go with the company with the cool technology presented by the president of the company and you will find yourself on hold waiting for someone to talk to that might understand your business. Good luck...

SEM and Site Usability

2005-02-27T14:02:00.000-05:00

SEM and Site Usability: "Unfortunately, many SEM firms are more focused on top positions than on building user-friendly, persuasive sites that convert visitors into buyers. They don't want to worry about usability and conversions. They only care about positioning. Perhaps if their technical staff had more design and usability skills, agencies wouldn't worry so much about search marketers ruining site design."

There finally seems to be more of a move toward building usability into a site redesign project. But this article talks about adding usability for purposes of better search engine optimization. GREAT POINT!!!

As paid placement costs continue to rise, marketers need to find more of that great traffic that converts. The savvy ones are willing to invest time and money in usability but maybe now the rest will follow if they can see the impact in natural search.

That sounds like a new sales angle for usability... I know my usability expert will be happy.

Blog Advertising: Right for You?

2005-02-20T12:27:00.000-05:00

Blog Advertising: Right for You?:

"Ads That Work Successfully on Blogs"

"Blog ads must have a human voice; they must connect with people. Ads focused on special offers or incentives won't work on blogs because they lack substance and humanity. 'Recycling creative from campaigns run on MSNBC.com or MTV.com is a mistake,' cautions Copeland."

I have been slowly working on my blog all the while not exactly sure what role this will play in my business or for my clients. There have been more than a few times where I have wondered how we could leverage blogs from a marketing and advertising perspective. This article actually brings out a few good ideas.

If your blog traffic gains some momentum, there could be enough traffic to begin placing ads on the site. My initial thoughts are to use text base ads such as Google's Ad Sense but I won't put boundaries on this just yet. I will be interesting to see how this develops.

Nonconverting Keywords and the Search Continuum, Part 1

2005-02-12T17:30:00.000-05:00

Nonconverting Keywords and the Search Continuum, Part 1:

"What if I were to tell you the majority of online purchases from search advertising happen after a searcher has conducted at least 12 nonconverting searches? Imagine, 12 searches on keywords that don't produce a single transaction. But these eventually led to a search that does.

What would you do differently? How would you change your pay-per-click (PPC) bidding strategy?

A recent study conducted by comScore and sponsored by Overture suggests exactly that. If you believe the data, it has broad implications for search advertising campaigns. "

We have been working diligently to expand search programs by finding more keywords that produce conversion. As I meet with my clients to discuss strategy, the one topic that keeps coming up is to look at the search programs from a higher view point. It is my belief that searchers will conduct more searches and respond to more ads before they buy. This forces us to look at those non-converting keywords differently.

An example is my recent quest for a wireless mini mouse for my laptop to use when I am away from my desk. My search started with general terms such as wireless mouse then moved to more specific terms like Targus mouse and then eventually a model #. I clicked on several ads and am now ready to purchase. If the advertiser was not there for the general terms, I would not have found the term that will ultimately lead to conversion.

Focus too heavily on the terms with conversion and your overall sales will drop. Sure, your conversion rate will be high, but the volume will suffer.

Search Engine APIs: Right for You?

2005-02-06T11:13:00.000-05:00

Search Engine APIs: Right for You?: "It's great the engines recognize that when billions of dollars a year flow through an auction marketplace, automated control APIs are a necessity, as they are on Wall Street. But like Wall Street, technology alone won't make you a millionaire. The right strategy, information, calculations, timing, and knowledge combine with technology to create winners."

The level of sofisticaiton in search engine marketing has increased significantly over the last 12-24 months within service providers as well as marketers. This article brings out a few good points but I caution the marketers on getting caught up in the appeal of such technologies.

It is my first hand experience that marketers have started to become more reliant on the technology and have abandoned the fundamentals. This applies not only to the new API's but also with bid management. It is first and foremost critical to a campaign's success to know the metrics. Business objectives change frequently and too much automation can work against a shift in business goals.

Of all the successful campaigns I have been a part of, there are a few commom traits between them. Sticking to the game plan is one of them. Rapid changes in direction based on what a competitor is doing with their bid strategy can send a campaign off course.

Find more of what works!!! Rather than engage in a bid war over a handful of keywords, use the results of your program to identify new opportunities. Expand the keywords to longer phrases, use mis-spellings, leverage more content... If your campaign relies too heavily on a small subset of keywords, you are very vulnerable.

More to come on this topic... APZ

SEO and Paid Search Campaigns: Share the Data!

2004-09-14T10:08:00.000-04:00

Here is more on the stance that companies should hire 1 vendor that can handle all 3 aspects of search (paid placement, paid inclusion and natural). There is also a little shot against the traditional agency who typically handles the paid placement and treats it like a media buy.

SEO and Paid Search Campaigns: Share the Data!:

"Companies often hire multiple vendors to manage SEM campaigns. One firm, often a traditional agency, manages the paid search advertising spend; another executes an SEO or site-side optimization campaign; and in some cases, a third firm manages paid inclusion feeds into Yahoo!'s OSMX program. There's nothing wrong with this strategy, except these companies often don't -- or won't -- share information."

Using Paid Search Engine Advertising for Better SEO Campaigns

2004-09-14T10:01:00.000-04:00

Yet another article that indirectly supports the position that your search provider should not just do natural SEO but also have the ability to do paid placement and paid inclusion programs as well. There are so many key findings from one aspect of search that will another.

Using Paid Search Engine Advertising for Better SEO Campaigns:

"SEOs know most search engines display up to 70 characters from a page's HTML title tag in search results. Smart SEOs write title tags that contain targeted keyword phrases people type into search queries that are also a call to action (CTA), such as clicking on a link to the Web page. Accomplishing both goals in only 70 characters isn't always a simple task.
One site we're currently redesigning uses the words 'find' and 'search' throughout the site. These are great keywords not only in terms of optimization but also because they're CTAs.
We came up with two samples of title-tag content:

Find payroll accounting software from XYZ Company (48 characters)

Search for payroll accounting software from XYZ Company (55 characters)"

Yes, Virginia, There Is SEM Brand Lift, Part 1

2004-09-14T09:48:00.000-04:00

I have been meaning to post this article for weeks and now that I am finally getting around to it, I have additional thoughts on Search as a branding tool.

The article talks about the branding lift a marketer can receive with paid placement search marketing. That is great news but there is a down side. Beware... Search is addicting! I have some clients who started doing business with my company with the objective of increasing traffic to the site and giving their brand increased awareness. When we reviewed the early results of the program, the client became obsessed with search's ability to do more than brand. This awareness and visibility campaign is now turning into e-commerce, which is fine but not the original intent.

Whatever makes the customer happy is fine with me...

Yes, Virginia, There Is SEM Brand Lift, Part 1:

"This week, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Search Engine Effectiveness Committee published a study on the brand lift of textual paid search results. The results will knock your Christmas stockings off. Search can cause brand lift to soar!"

MediaPost Advertising & Media Directory

2004-09-14T08:58:00.000-04:00

This is becoming one of my favorite topics. I have accumulated tons of agency contacts over the last few years but am still reluctant to call on them simply because many of them just don't get it. Dana Todd is exactly right in her statement below. But why don't they get it? This is the part that baffles me. A recent IAB study told us that 40% of the interactive budget is going to paid placement search marketing. The agencies are famous for chasing the money so why are they not better at this.

My theory on why agencies don't get it is because this is dirty work. Any good SEM firm will tell you that they work their butts off and are accountable for results. Hard core accountable for results. Most agencies measure success not by actual results but rather by awareness or visibility or some other fluffy metric.

I do have a couple of agency clients and although this is self serving, they have made the decision that I am their SEM guy. They do their thing and I do mine. The end result is a successful campaign and a happy client.

MediaPost Advertising & Media Directory:

"Dana Todd, co-founder of SEM firm SiteLab, said that this out-of-place feeling gives agencies something of an inferiority complex when it comes to SEM and SEO. They want to feel like they hold dominion over the entire campaign, and that outside firms are mere facilitators of that process. But Todd argued the reality is that the agency gets in the way of a campaign by unconsciously trying to over-exert its authority. 'You can't control what you don't understand,' she said. "

Search, Bigger Means Smaller (B2B Relavant)

2004-08-23T08:30:00.000-04:00

I thought the analogy to TV with all the cable channels is not a new one but still very possible. I have actually used this analogy myself when referring to the advertising networks accross the web. This marketplace is so far from maturity in my opinion.

The part of the article most interesting to me is the B2B piece. It drives me crazy when I hear B2B companies say things like, " We can't use the web to drive new business in our industry..." Well guess what Mr., be prepared for the day when a more forward thinking competitor comes by and eats your lunch!!!

Search%3A Bigger Means Smaller:

"By smaller I mean I see search fragmenting into specialized niches. Hypersearch growth is channeling into increasingly more specialty and niche search players and opportunities. Just as three TV networks can't satisfy advertiser demand for inventory, or their need to reach very targeted niche audiences, a small number of generalized search engines can't be all things to all advertisers' marketers' or users."

Behavioral Targeting Study Reveals CPM Lift

2004-08-23T08:00:00.000-04:00

Everyone hates the pop up ads and rightfully so... they are annoying. But the pops served through companies that specialize in behavior targeting are producing fantastic results. Why? My answer is execution. Do it right and make the ad relevant and it will work.

Behavioral Targeting Study Reveals CPM Lift:

"Researchers at AOL's Advertising.com found a definitive link between behaviorally targeted online ads and click-through (CTR) and conversion rates. The study, comprising 500 million impressions, examined three separate ad campaigns with the results indicating that users were most responsive to ads that drew upon their online behavior. The company declined to divulge specifics about the advertisers or their business categories. "

Why Won't Local Search Carry Its Weight?

2004-08-22T12:55:00.000-04:00

Local search may not be all that effective today based on the way people use search. However, isn't it conceivable that the way people search will change. One of the biggest arguements against local search is that local advertisers are not present. Many local companies will never embrace the web but there are many successful companies that do. I think it is a little too soon to rule this out or call it a failure.

Why Won't Local Search Carry Its Weight?:

"What can the engines do to make this market grow more quickly? They must make lots of changes. They have to build the local databases so I can find all the bike shops in my neighborhood. And they must find a way to drive offline leads to local advertisers."

Search Engine Friendly or Search Friendly?

2004-08-22T12:27:00.000-04:00

I happen to agree with the author in particular article. The primary point I come away with here is that agencies have much more of an image focus rather than a focus on results. As a marketer, I do believe there is a happy medium. User experience is key and giving the user what the want in a few clicks as possible almost always yields the best results. Sites can have a very graphically pleasing site while still generating great ROI from their marketing efforts.

Search Engine Friendly or Search Friendly?:

"Search-friendly design doesn't only make Google, Yahoo, MSN Search and Teoma happy. Search-friendly design focuses on user experience. That's a win-win situation. Create a site where visitors can easily find what they're searching for before they arrive%2C via the spider-based search engines. And create a site where they can easily find information after they arrive. All on the same site."

Bringing Search Down to Earth

2004-07-25T11:05:00.000-04:00

Here is an article written by a true agency guy. Although very bright and experienced, his comments on the search listing miss the boat completely in my opinion. If you read his article, he compares the impact of a creative message delivered through rich media to a 40 word search listing. Well of course the rich media will be more impactful than a search listing. But what he fails to recognize, or at least talk about, is the experience the user will have after clicking on the search listing. How would you compare the brand impact of a site visit to a content rich web page versus a rich media ad. Add in that the user is actually looking for your brand. In my mind, this is a typical agency reaction and supports a recent post on how agencies view search marketing. It is not a media buy!!!!!

Bringing Search Down to Earth:
"Don't get me wrong. I fully believe search engine marketing (SEM) and paid placement (via text-based communications) should play a role in most interactive marketing plans. Yet to make SEM an integral part of a brand advertiser's media plan to drive preference, favorability, and purchase intent seems a little overzealous."

Should Agencies Do SEM Themselves

2004-07-22T09:51:00.000-04:00

Most of the postings on my Blog have been clips from articles I thought my clients would like to read. As a slight change of pace, I’d like to share my thoughts on a topic that I feel strongly about.

I’d like to give you some background on this topic before I appear to sound off against ad agencies. In my prior career, I sold an ad serving technology primarily to traditional and interactive agencies. As I trained these agencies on how to leverage the technology, I became increasingly frustrated with their lack of interest or desire to implement best practices for campaign optimization. What I learned was that the agencies just didn’t have the resources necessary to effectively monitor and optimize these campaigns.

Fortunately for me, I have moved on to a company that manages interactive marketing campaigns for our clients. So now I can see things from the agency perspective but the difference is that my company actually works hard to optimize and manage our client’s interactive campaigns. This happens to be one of the major reasons why we have done so well for our clients in the search engine marketing space.

OK, so what’s my point? If you are following the industry news, you will be aware that paid placement search marketing is growing at an amazing pace. The IAB has recently announced that as much as 40% of the interactive budgets are being spent on paid placement. So who is going to plan, implement and optimize these campaigns? Yes, the ad agency, and the worst part is that are going to treat it like an ordinary media buy. “Hey Google, here is $60K, buy some keywords for me will ya!” For those of you lucky enough to be on the inside of the Google IPO, that is just fine with you. But for the rest of us, that just won’t cut it. Want to know the worst part? Compared to other interactive advertising previously provided by this agency, this search campaign will still do well. That is the power of search.

What the advertiser will never know is just how good this campaign could have been. At some point, like all other online advertising vehicles, the competition will catch up and if you want to be successful, you’ll have to do it right.

So here is my plea to the agencies. Please don’t try and do this internally. This is not banner advertising. This is not buying the first position on Google regardless of price. This is not about writing a few generic titles & descriptions and using them for 2000 keywords. Paid placement search engine marketing is about doing the dirty work. It is about daily ROI tracking and being so in tune with your client’s marketing objectives that you know exactly how to bid on keywords. Paid placement search engine marketing requires technology, expertise, market intelligence and most of all; it takes a commitment to truly be successful. Most agencies are just not set up to do this right. It is time to find a partner and make them an extension of your agency. Don’t be tempted to get in this game. You will protect the ownership of your client by making sure that this critical piece of the interactive mix is cared for properly. If you embrace this relationship with your SEM partner, the rest of your campaign will benefit as well. The independent research shows that all interactive programs need to compliment each other.

Thank you for reading and I truly hope you comment on my thoughts. APZ

Affiliate Marketing and SEM Revisited

2004-07-18T20:32:00.000-04:00

I encourage you to read through this article. My company is currently doing SEM as an affiliate for a major brand and the working relationship is fantastic. We share critical information to make sure that the brand is protected by their agency and that our campaign is a success with the end result being a big win for the client. Bottom line... it can be done.

Affiliate Marketing and SEM Revisited:

"In the first round of interviews, I discovered all my initial assumptions were wrong. My position was if you ran an affiliate marketing program, you should prohibit your affiliate network from engaging in any paid search advertising. It would drive up bid prices. You'd end up competing with yourself, effectively, for a finite number of paid search positions on a finite universe of keywords. What I learned convinced me I was wrong. To review, the merchants I interviewed taught me three things:
Affiliates extend your paid search advertising budget.

Competing with affiliates on the same keywords is valuable because they help you dominate the page.

If your affiliates are restricted from paid search advertising, they'll simply switch teams and bid for the same keywords on behalf of your competition."

The Bricks-and-Mortar Edge in SEM

2004-07-18T20:06:00.000-04:00

I have started to see the offline impact of a search campaign. Clients with multiple ways to interact with thier customer have a huge advantage on the web and especially when their product has a longer sales cycle such as a large dollar purchase, a financial product and especially a B2B sales.

Are you set up to handle offline business from your search campaign?

The Bricks-and-Mortar Edge in SEM: "Do traditional businesses that use SEM in all the right ways have an edge over pure-play Internet businesses? A brick-and-mortar merchant very possibly has a killer advantage if we consider buyer behavior. Paid-placement SEM may be tailor-made for multi-channel retailers and businesses with both on- and offline presences.
For almost every e-commerce business you can think of, each customer has a preferred way to interact with that business, even if the merchant has several options available. Multi-channel marketers didn't evolve to become leaders in their industries by accident; they listened to their customers' needs and reacted with flexible ways of doing business. By providing catalog, phone, Web, and store access, for example, JC Penney came back from nowhere to become a major online retailing force. Some Internet pure plays now mail catalogs to their best customers. They've evolved into multi-channel marketers."

Local and Regional Search: A Primer

2004-07-16T12:28:00.000-04:00

Here is an article on the developments of local search.

Local search is steadily improving, but who should use it? My dilemma revolves around the size of my clients. Many of them are just launching national campaigns which is primarily a result of their size. However, I do see my company taking the campaigns to another level and rolling out local search. Still a lot to be determined but it is great to see this continue to develop.

Do you think your company could leverage local search? Please give me your thoughts...

Local and Regional Search: A Primer:

"Recently, many IYPs embraced the auction-style pay-per-click (PPC) search listings. A sample of major players includes:
Verizon SuperPages. SuperPages listings are purchased from Verizon and powered by customized FindWhat.com technology. The tiered results are syndicated to other portals, including MSN, but the PPC listings are not.

Switchboard.com. Switchboard.com (recently acquired by InfoSpace) sells listings directly by category. It's partnered with Google to show relevant ads to searchers. However, my tests indicate the Google ads shown aren't locally targeted based on search query but instead are national directories for the category searched.

Yahoo! Yellow Pages. The Yahoo Yellow Pages uses a tiered approach. Monthly fees are based on the tier and category. Yahoo's yellow pages don't (yet) use Overture's local targeting or paid placement results.

YellowPages.com. This service sells listings directly by category and is partnered with ePilot.com (Interchange Corporation) to show relevant ads to searchers.

YP.com. Like Switchboard.com, it sells listings directly by category and is partnered with Google to show relevant ads to searchers. I did see more instances of geotargeted Google results at YP.com."

Microsoft $100m search push

2004-07-15T13:53:00.000-04:00

So we already know that Microsoft wants to be a big deal in search. The key piece of this that I believe is more significant is the part about Yahoo's paid inclusion. Not only is it not going away... I believe we are still just scratching the surface of it.

Anyway, would greatly appreciate your thoughts.

This is the entire article so there is no link.

Microsoft makes $100 million search push

By Richard Karpinski

In a move that echoes back to its aggressive takeover of the Web browser market, Microsoft Corp. in late June began testing a significantly enhanced version of its own search service and pledged to invest $100 million to push it to the top of the search industry heap.

The question for currently dominant search engines—especially market leaders Google and Yahoo!—is whether Microsoft can overtake their lead in much the same way as it gobbled up Netscape’s lead in the browser market in just a few short years.

Analysts note Microsoft has a significant, but not insurmountable, hill to climb. As of February of this year, 30% t of Web searches were performed on Google, 28% on Yahoo! and just 15% on Microsoft’s MSN. Unlike the browser market—where standardization actually helped push the Web to the next plateau—advertisers like having multiple search vendors. So while market share fortunes may change, it is unlikely any of the big three search companies will disappear as did Netscape.

The upgrades to MSN include a new MSN Search home page (search.msn.com) that among other enhancements better integrates MSN services such as Expedia (travel) and Encarta (online encyclopedia).

Perhaps the most notable change from a b-to-b perspective was the decision to more clearly separate algorithmic search results (still delivered by Yahoo!) from paid results links. Microsoft also chose to do away altogether with Yahoo!-enabled paid inclusion, wherein advertisers pay to be in the main search results. Analysts estimate the decision could, at least in the short term, cost Microsoft $50 million or more annually in search revenue.

Microsoft said it hasn’t made a final decision on paid inclusion and will continue to evaluate consumer response. The move may have less to do with Microsoft’s aversion to paid inclusion in the long term than in the phasing out of its dependence on third-parties such as Yahoo! for crucial search tools, according to Jupiter Research analyst Gary Stein. In a blog posting, Stein characterized Microsoft’s move on paid inclusion as "a recapture of control, and a moving away from partner-reliance," adding that industrywide, "I don't think paid inclusion will go away."

Microsoft said it would invest more than $100 million to upgrade its search capabilities over the next year, including rolling out its own algorithmic search technology. It has already delivered a test version of the technology, which will eventually compete head to head with search technology from Google and Yahoo!

Search: A Brand Campaign Tool?

2004-07-12T13:35:00.000-04:00

Finally, someone realizing that search engines can be a branding vehicle. I would greatly appreciate other view points on this. Enjoy the article...

Search: A Brand Campaign Tool?:

"The current argument is search has branding value. Some publishers and core search agencies push this thought to ensure they participate in the current surge of major brand marketers converting TV dollars to online efforts. I applaud their salesmanship. But this thinking seems to put the cart before the horse. Just because a client is reallocating its media mix to better reach its target doesn't mean a good set of keywords will help replace a few gross rating points (GRPs).
Does a client's name or product name in a search box constitute a 'brand moment'? On some level, everything we do for a client supports the brand, even direct response efforts such as search. But it's degree and level of connection, large or small, varies by tactic. So, yes, search does affect a brand. Question is: How much?"

SEM Firms: Search Engine Friend or Foe?

2004-07-11T12:12:00.000-04:00

I am still amazed at how many companies are willing to trust the search companies with their budgets as opposed to hiring an agency or firm. Money is tight, still... but of all the places to cut cost, that is not one of them. OK, so I'm biased but it really does make sense. This article hits a few of the key points.

SEM Firms: Search Engine Friend or Foe?:

"Case Study: Yahoo!
Although this case study doesn't involve PPC search engine advertising at Yahoo, it does involve keyword purchases. Specifically, it involves banner advertising campaigns rather than text ads.
Yahoo came out with a new feature. When we contacted our client about it, we learned an overzealous Yahoo sales rep had already contacted this client... before the news was released to the general public. Needless to say, it was embarrassing to us as long-term Yahoo supporters. We had to do damage control because clearly the sales rep wanted to steal our client.

Fortunately, we kept the client. Here's why:

Though search engine sales reps have search data SEMs don't, they aren't always the most knowledgeable search experts. A newbie sales rep's knowledge is no match against a search engine marketer who's analyzed user behavior and tested for years.

The search engine sales rep is devoted to the search engine, not the advertiser. Search engines make money every time a user clicks on an ad. Therefore (understandably), their reps encourage as many clicks as possible.

Search engine marketers focus on conversions, not clicks. At least, the good ones do. An ad can receive lots of clicks but have a low conversion rate. Or, it can receive few clicks and enjoy high conversions.
In this instance, the Yahoo rep wasn't a graphic designer; she couldn't design banners. Thanks to her lack of search experience (she was a newbie), Web analytics and behavior tracking experience, and graphic design skills, we were able to keep our client.

But we no longer trust that rep. We switched to a Yahoo rep in a different state, one we find more trustworthy.

The moral? When we found a sales rep to work with us rather than against us"

Portfolio PPC Campaign Management, Part 2

2004-07-11T12:05:00.000-04:00

Much of this article states a few obvious facts about ROI. Once you get through it, the rest talks about taking you search campaign to a higher ROI. Many of the companies I meet with make the mistake of summarizing the results of their campaign. In other words, if their entire campaign has a positive ROI, that is good enough. Few companies really work hard at finding an optimal ROI for each specific keyword.

Portfolio PPC Campaign Management, Part 2:

"Failure to achieve optimal profit levels is portfolio-style campaign management's greatest risk. Unfortunately, too many agencies, internal campaign managers, even search engine reps don't understand the best portfolio has each keyword listing at its optimal ROI all the time. Campaign managers unaware of best practices often allow some keywords to cross into negative profit. Ouch! To add insult to injury, performance reports hide the negative profit in a successful average ROI metric. If you can't see the individual results of a campaign at the most granular level, you'll never know the real deal.
Another common failure occurs when you use the same short-term ROI metric (CPO, CPA, or ROAS) for the entire campaign to simplify it. Don't oversimplify your business."

Yahoo! Reawakens the Paid Inclusion Debate

2004-07-11T11:47:00.000-04:00

Interesting article on paid inclusion. Naturally, Google doesn't like it yet Yahoo finds it incredibly valuable to the user. Regardless, if you are going to market via search engines, you can not ignore this channel. The costs are low, the content is relevant and the results work. Marketers across the board are seeing great ROI from Paid Inclusion.

Yahoo! Reawakens the Paid Inclusion Debate

Is Your Search Marketing Campaign Lopsided?

2004-07-11T11:19:00.000-04:00

Good article on what type of demographics click on natural vs. paid listings.

Is Your Search Marketing Campaign Lopsided?:

Women find paid search advertisements more relevant than men. Of female respondents, 43.1 percent choose a paid search advertisement, where just 34.6 percent of men click on a search ad when asked to choose the most relevant search result to a sample query.
If your products or services target a female demographic and the majority of your traffic and conversions come from 'natural' search results, you may miss a significant opportunity by failing to buy search ads. According to Jupiter Research, site categories most visited by women include personal care, cosmetics, home fashion and toys.
Marketers competing in these online markets would be wise to begin testing a paid search advertising program and devoting more resources to Overture and Google AdWords campaigns to attract some of that missed audience."

When to Kill a Keyword Listing

2004-06-04T11:30:00.000-04:00

When to Kill a Keyword Listing:

"Imagine you trade stocks on margin. You'd never buy stock on margin if you weren't convinced transaction earnings would exceed your margin interest. Similarly, some keywords deliver revenue, but at a cost higher than you're willing to pay. Poorly managed listings also have a good chance of resulting in a loss. These dog keyword listings don't belong in your portfolio."

This is just a small clip of the article but it really nails my personal belief on how to run an effective paid placement program. If you manage your entire keyword list based on how it performs collectively, all you are doing is taking the easy way out. With statistical data available real time on a keyword basis, why not have every keyword in your program set at the level of positive ROI. OK, I'll buy the time issue... wait, no I won't!!! There are plenty of other choices. When you chose a financial planner, you must weigh the cost vs. benefit of their expertise. If it will result in an overall greater ROI, then you hire him. But how do you know what the results will be.

Time to take the plunge and get some help!!!