South Central Media
by Marcus Snyder
2012 is certain to come with a lot of changes in the way that search engines work. More importantly, we’re going to see a lot of changes to the way that search results that show up. I’ve collected a few things that I think we’ll see (or in some cases, see more of) in 2012:
Search algorithms will continue moving toward personalized results.
by Daniel Hadaway
If you’re planning to begin marketing your business online, there’s a chance you’ve got a plan laid out for all the different types of marketing you’d like to utilize. It’s important to note, however, that while most businesses will see success from all online marketing channels, different types of online marketing lend themselves more favorably to specific vertical markets.
Filed under: Display Advertising, Marketing, Online Reputation, Paid Search, SEO, Social Media, Web Design | Tags: ad, advertising, audience, click-through, conversion, conversion rates, convert, display, google, Marketing, Paid Search, SEO, Social Media | View Commentsby Marcus Snyder
Consider this: When potential customers look up your business online and see your Google Maps listing, they’re hit with a promotional ad for your services. Genius, right? Well, maybe.
This hypothetical can easily become a reality as Google Adwords recently extended their reach to include their Google Maps service. It’s time to gather your marketing team because with the right approach, there’s a lot of potential here for your business. However, while you’re doing that, you might want to gather your public relations team, too.
So, what could possibly go wrong? The short answer is: everything. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Marketing, Online Reputation, PR, Paid Search | Tags: advertising, controversy, google maps advertising, Marketing, PR | View Comments
by Daniel Hadaway
In September, Google announced a new factor for landing page quality score that they will be considering when serving up paid search ads. This new factor is whether or not the website for the advertiser is mobile-optimized.
If your website is mobile-optimized, Google is more likely to show your ad higher up in the paid search listings. Google will be determining the quality of your site’s mobile experience based on several factors including: Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Landing Pages, Paid Search, Web Design | Tags: ad, advertising, conversion, google, landing page, mobile, user experience, Web Design | View Comments
by Daniel Hadaway
Search Engine Land just posted an infographic based on some research they recently wrapped. The 2011 State of Digital Marketing Report provides some key insights into how marketers are viewing the roles SEO, Search and Social Media play in effective marketing:
SEO currently has the biggest impact on lead generation. Marketers (both B2B and B2C) currently view SEO as the most effective tool for generating leads, which isn’t surprising considering the positive perception and emphasis the digital marketing world has placed on it during the past 5 years. But, the current emphasis and “trendiness” of social media as a marketing tool is driving change on this front… Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Marketing, Paid Search, SEO, Social Media | Tags: advertising, display, Marketing, Paid Search, SEO, Social Media | View Commentsby Marcus Snyder
As crazy as it may seem, the holiday season is almost here. Right now, advertisers everywhere are getting ready to blast consumers from every angle, including online search campaigns. So, what does this mean for us?
The Skinny: It means that now is the time to optimize our campaigns to make sure that our ads aren’t lost in the impending barrage of our competitor’s campaigns. What has traditionally worked well in the past may not be good enough to compete during the holiday madness as the cost of bids are driven up, which can potentially push an ad’s page position down.
The Fatty: Saving a campaign begins and ends with smart campaign management and optimization. Here are some things to watch out for as well as some possible resolutions:
Filed under: Landing Pages, Marketing, Paid Search | Tags: advertising, click-through, conversion, conversion rates, convert, how-to, Landing Pages, Paid Search | View Commentsby Daniel Hadaway
TechCrunch has an interesting article (and accompanying video) about some of the behind-the scenes info from Google on what goes into providing search results and constantly revising the algorithms to make results more relevant.
You should definitely take four minutes and check out the video, but here are a few key takeaways:
Filed under: Paid Search, SEO | Tags: analysis, display, google, Paid Search, story | View Comments
As a small-to-medium business, effective paid search marketing is all about trimming the excess fat from your campaign to achieve maximum results, i.e. spend smarter to acquire more customers.
I would encourage all business owners, whether just dipping toes into the proverbial PPC pool or savvy veterans of the PPC realm, to reconsider how you approach campaign setup and focus more on understanding your customer’s needs and how to capture demand by offering highly relevant ad copy and smart PPC management.
Filed under: Paid Search | Tags: effective paid search marketing, ppc campaign setup, smart PPC marketing | View Comments
Are you ever on a webpage, and out of the corner of your eye you notice an ad that seems to be custom made for you? You might be on a website that shares great recipes, but the ad is for toothpaste for dogs. Toothpaste for dogs may be strange enough in its own right, but what really intrigues you is that you were just searching for some doggy toothpaste the other day. How do they know you’re interested in toothpaste for dogs?
Google recently added the ability to search by location to its ever-growing list of search-sorting options. This will be a groundbreaking shift for local business owners taking part in paid-search.
Consider the following scenario:
You’re a dry-cleaner serving a metropolitan city and its surrounding areas, including suburbs, 2 or 3 counties, and countless incorporated town names. If you wanted to only advertise to people living in those areas who are searching for the term “dry-cleaner”, you’d have to guess what else they might type in (as it relates to their location). If your shop is in the city limits, and your customers are j
ust across the county line, they may not see your paid-search advertising.
But thanks to the change Google recently made, it won’t matter anymore.
Filed under: Paid Search | Tags: ad, advertising, google, links, Paid Search | View Comments
