Click To Call

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

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

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

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?

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

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?

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!

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

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

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

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)

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

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?

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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."