Google Adwords listings can provide an effective PPC program

PPC Advertising Does Not Depend On Having A Top Ranked Website For Good Results

Yes, we’re accustomed to hearing good things about Search Engine Optimization (SEO). If done well, SEO can boost your website to high organic search engine rankings. Of course, a lot of good things must happen over an extended period of time… as you develop informative articles, blog posts, pages and YouTube videos for your site, along with highly optimized keyword strategies. But there’s no guarantee your content marketing will pay off. Google’s famous algorithm is a complex formula that calculates which sites ranks well for a particular page on a particular search query. First page ranking isn’t a sure thing, by any means.

To speak plainly, your site may never achieve satisfactory rankings for reasons that go beyond your business or organization. Have you ever noticed how often you’ll find Wikipedia entries, or in-depth research articles from recognized universities, foundations or scholarly journals on the first search engine results page? Their content ranks well because these organizations are devoted to producing articles that are purely informational. Additionally, such listings can often fill several pages of organic results for many important keyword categories.

So where does that leave you? If you’re aiming to sell a product you may find pay-per-click (PPC)  sponsored listings can benefit your online marketing program in several ways. Here’s a few important points to consider:

• In SEO the search engines control the rankings through secret algorithms, which are always changing.
• You can spend a lot of time trying to break into the first page rankings with years of organic SEO activity.
• Meanwhile your competition is converting online leads into sales!
• With PPC you can immediately start driving toward the final results you’re seeking. In a broad sense you’re taking a more direct path to the final goal.
• PPC advertising does not depend on having a top ranked website for good results. If your Google Adwords listings are well conceived — with a tight adherence to specific adgroups and landing pages — you’ll establish control over your settings and keywords while methodically testing your ad copy.
• The feedback you gain from PPC is much quicker than SEO. You can succeed faster, fail faster, and subject your assumptions to rigorous testing.
• It make sense to be there now using PPC data to optimize your campaigns, including the SEO rankings you’ll be using for the long term.
• You’ll discover what your customers are thinking, what they’re responding to, and what needs to change. Additionally, you will end up with solid data that confirms your sales premise, or refutes it categorically. Either way, you win!

There’s nothing wrong with SEO from our point of view. However, the benefits of a PPC campaign shouldn’t be dismissed without a fair hearing. Our advice: don’t automatically assume that SEO is “free” because you’ll most certainly have to invest precious resources into the effort, especially if you’re expecting to see good results. Instead, be sure to use both approaches — SEO and PPC — for best results.

Good Content Makes It Much Easier To Boost Your Web Presence

Finding the time to build good content is essential for inbound marketing. It’s the cornerstone of visitor engagement and long term ROI. Yet, it requires a firm commitment by top management. I’ve been re-reading “Smart Content Marketing Relies On Efficient Production,” a useful post by Derek Gordon from Search Insider on 4/27/11. Here’s a quote:

Who has time to do all this stuff? By stuff, marketing professionals are referring to the production and distribution of the variety of content that flows from strategies that are built to engage audiences, improve search rank, and yield better bottom line business results.

Efficient production techniques can help you become more successful at building good content

Which is all very nice but one must come up with the goods, right? It won’t just grow on a tree all by itself. You have to write it, produce it, make all the edits and write, write, write some more, thereby producing the videos, articles & posts, photos, webinars, eBooks, podcasts and tweets. And, you need to attract inbound links from others.

Who said it was going to be so easy and facile anyway? (Okay, I’m indulging a little.)

Most of the clients I know, the ones who have never jumped into blogging, are a little wary of the commitment they’ll need to make in pursuit of content marketing. We work with small organizations. Mostly we’re into a business blogging approach when the idea of content marketing is under discussion. But one could also be looking at photography, online videos and/or webinars as the driving force for establishing an inbound marketing program. It really doesn’t matter. The continued production of interesting information, is a relatively new mindset for many organizations. Unless they’re used to a regular diet of corporate communications and ‘PR,’ the notion of actually developing an Editoral Calendar scares the devil out of these firms. Tell them the advantages of building a website in a blogging tool like WordPress, and using it as a Content Management System (CMS), the marketing manager or owner may perk up a little, but you can feel some of the air leaving the room at the same time because the benefit comes at a price.

Efficient production is extremely important in this regard. You need to go forward with efficiency right off, or you may not get very far. Derek Gordon talks about an interview done by a Bloomberg reporter who asked if he could record the session on his Flip HD video camera. By doing this the reporter said he could edit a brief ‘newscast’ for the video channel:

• then use the transcript to write up the story;
• then use the audio for a podcast:
• then use a few still photos captured from the video for the Title screens;
• and for online display ads to be used on Bloomberg’s web properties.

The formula would seem easy enough: record the session in a no frills manner using a Flip HD camcorder (on a tripod with external microphone works best), return to your office and start slicing, editing and producing the elements into plug & play system that publishes directly to your website and social network.

There is a very satisfying simplicity to this content strategy. The primary road block to this model may be more psychological than physical or budgetary. But of course there’s a learning curve and a commitment curve as well.

You will need to establish a Web Hub to be constructed from your website and blog, your social framework which may use popular tools such as  FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google + and varied bookmarking sites, etc. But once you have established your online presence based on these elements, you will have most everything you may need to capture useful streams of compelling information.

I can feel it starting to happen with the customer at this point. A dawn of recognition. The look of awareness and interest starting to grow.

You have likely been there yourself in your meetings. What do you do to help your boss, or colleague, start taking the next few steps toward the most focus set of goals?

Portrait of a youthful Steve Jobs

How can a golden age of online marketing take place amid turbulent stock markets, high unemployment and a growing European financial crisis that threatens the U.S. Banking system? Maybe it’s premature to say “golden age.”  Just one more dramatic downswing and we may see a double-dip recession. Yet, when I think of all that’s been happening I say quietly to myself, “hey, this may be the golden age of Internet marketing.”

It may be wise to address this issue because the transformational power of technology has grown more quickly than other parts of our economy. Considering the end of an era with Steve Jobs’ passing, one can easily assert that a very special golden era has also passed with him.

Moammar Gadhafi: Brought down by cell phones?

But there’s something about social media and the state of all things digital that keeps me thinking we’re in the midst of a spectacular run, with everything accelerating at Tech Speed.  Indeed, the fall of Moammar Gadhafi in Libya, and the stunning swiftness of the Arab Spring, was sustained by cell phone technology.

With regard to marketing, just take a look at the customer. He/she is an empowered person with Mouse-in-Hand who enjoys enormous and unparalleled freedom:

• Finding great websites and blogs
• Great information on nearly any product or service
• A robust era of social media sharing
• A  host of ways to publish and republish individual passions and ideas
• With everything one could possibly want online everyday

Yet people are not getting into the car, or punching their phone lines as they once did with basic questions. Clearly online content is profuse — as wide as it is deep. The customer has become very savvy and well educated before contacting a particular business about a specific product.

Business-to-business and business-to-consumer, everyone sees the same thing: human behavior has fundamentally changed. Right now people are looking for your product: locally, regionally, internationally. Their quest for information growing. If you own or manage a business, are you taking advantage of everything that’s happening? Are you seizing the day? Or, are you still waiting for something, or someone, to light a match under you so that you can finally take action?

Here’s three big reasons to move:

• Internet Marketing is continuing to grow and evolve.
• The Internet is beginning to mature, e.g. Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin now dominate social media (with Google + on the way up)
• The customer has spoken. They have the mouse, cell phone and tablet in hand. They’re excited by the Internet and it shows.

The time for action is now. You have every reason and incentive to get underway with that next idea or strategic campaign. There’s blogging, content marketing, micro-sites, mobile media, search engine optimization, online advertising and more. These tools are tremendously adaptive and effective. But you should think of them as much more than a random shopping basket of techniques. You’ll need a strategy to make everything work. (Full disclosure: that’s what our business is all about, finding the best strategy and tactics for the company involved.)

So, what do you think? Is this the Golden Age of Internet Marketing?

As always, your comments are greatly appreciated.

Lean Manufacturing Photo by Numerical Precision Inc.

Can internal production teams involved in continuous improvement and lean manufacturing help us discover new marketing ideas? If so, can lean manufacturing provide hidden benefits beyond the shop floor.

As always, by simply looking for new ideas one can often find them.

On 16 November 2011, I attended a Lean Manufacturing breakfast held by the Shah Center in McHenry, Illinois. The Shah Center has been doing these meetings for a few years, thereby providing a place for regional manufacturers to make “lean” presentations on what they’ve been doing to eliminate waste and inefficiency while following up on shared themes such as:

• Value Stream Mapping
• or reviewing the Toyota Production System
• or gaining a greater understanding of the Seven Wastes

As a creative marketing professional I always find the slide shows intriguing and fascinating to behold. Though not so much for the design values or creative impact of the presentation — they often seem much too long, convoluted and amateurish. Yet at times while listening, I’ve said to myself:

Does their marketing department know what they’re up to on the shop floor? With so many innovative ideas and processes the energy level must be high. The ideas flowing. Is there a unique proposition based on the actualities of a particular lean manufacturing practice that be might be moving prospective customers to place new orders? And, if that’s the case, where is the marketing department or creative agency in all of this?

Mr. John Huber, Continuous Improvement Manager for Watlow, a world leader in heaters, sensors and controllers, was the main presenter on this particular morning. He commented on how customers often appreciate lean manufacturing. In particular he referred to reducing those aspects of the procurement cycle where the customer felt the most ‘pain.’ By implication, I assumed he was referring to delivery, quality and/or engineering issues. Additionally when he spoke of value streams, he made my ears ring.

Whenever you have breakthroughs in manufacturing that concern a potential shift in perceived customer benefits, the marketing department should be there actively watching. However, in following up on “lean” benefits the marketer shouldn’t be trying to lead it, or mess with it. Just be there to listen, learn and look for new themes and ideas for Internet marketing, social media, public relations, etc.

In fact, today the Internet is driving something I’ll call “Lean Marketing.” It is a very pervasive world-wide trend incorporating content marketing (or inbound marketing if you will), social media, SEO, online advertising, intelligent calls to action (CTA’s) and landing pages using specialized information transactions.

Okay, so here’s my hypothesis. It’s a simple one:

Lean Manufacturing can help drive Lean Marketing.

It may be too early to be carried away with this idea; it’s just a hypothesis. In my view Lean Marketing is driven mostly by the Internet. But the lean manufacturing movement seems to me as if it’s moving in a parallel universe.

Anyone care to add a few points to this?

Up To 55% More Visitors To Your Website

Here’s some news: you can receive 55% more visitors by adding a company blog to your website. But it will take some work to realize the benefits. As reported by Compucast, according to a recent study by HubSpot of 1,531 customers (mostly small- and medium-sized businesses) showed those with blogs received 55% more visitors, 97% more inbound links, and 43% more indexed pages. (795 businesses blogged; 736 did not.)

By creating engaging content, coupled with proper navigation, good usability and copy, you can drive increased visibility in search engines. We like to call this “Natural SEO” (Search Engine Optimization) because that’s what it is. A beneficial process that occurs from writing interesting content and creating a sustained online dialog with customers, colleagues, friends, prospects and industry professionals. Additionally, you’re building inbound links when you let site visitors reply to your pages or posts. It’s something search engines are programmed to find online.

Explore The Benefits of Using WordPress As A Content Management System (CMS)

In a site powered by WordPress, you receive an attractive, modern site that’s easy to manage: simple enough for beginners; powerful enough for experienced users. Here’s a brief list of potential features:

• Personal administration page
• Ability to add pages, articles, press releases, photos, videos, PDFs
• Multiple user accounts
• Ability to accommodate visitor comments
• Search engine ready: just add content. The system builds useful page URL’s automatically
• Well designed ‘look & feel’ to reflect your Brand

Not Ready For Blogging?

That’s okay. You can still take advantage of powerful Web 2.0 features. By adding new pages to your company website with interesting news, services or products, you’ll get a boost in site traffic. Allow visitor comments and you’ll gain even more. We enjoy building websites that incorporate a content management system (CMS) so our customers can update their own content whenever they wish.

There may be significantly more opportunity than you think in creating informative blog posts, thereby establishing a voice within your industry or market. Take care to do it properly. With a little planning upfront you can create an inbound marketing program that develops strong leads to sales performance.

Please comment below with your thoughts on the subject of business blogging and the benefits of “Natural SEO” for your Internet marketing program.

Best Way To Help Clients Get Underway

We’re introducing a new social media tool kit for clients, thanks to Tom McDunn and his LeptLikeABlog approach. We’ve been working for several months getting up to speed on a versatile way to introduce social media to companies who may be waiting in the wings to get started.

Let’s start by looking at our simple concept illustration, which is very much a work-in-progress. The large oval illustrates a blog centric approach to social media. This means your framework is built on blogging as the core tool. After all, without great content, especially with business-to-business or professional firms, you really don’t have much to be social about… unless, you’re actually demonstrating your expertise, knowledge and thought leadership. Visitors aren’t going to follow you on Twitter unless you have something interesting to say. A blog is the best place to start doing this.

You’ll note as well that above the centered oval you’ll find a smaller oval for “inbound links.” This represents people who comment on your blog. As you may know, Google loves blogs for this reason. Inbound links show people are interested in what your firm has has to say. The more comments on your posts, the better. The more highly ranked your blog becomes, the more authority it will have.

This in turn leads to feeding your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. These are the most popular and “proven” applications in the world of social media. Your blog becomes your content engine. Each post is Tweeted using the headline (with a shortened URL), or sent out to your Facebook presence. Additionally, your LinkedIn account is “fed” post information is well. Though from a technical standpoint it’s not quite the same thing as an RSS feed, which we will get into with subsequent posts.

Finally, your blog can be monitored in TweetDeck, to make it a smoothly running social media system that you’ll enjoy using on a daily basis.

Interesting LinkedIn quote on Mashable that may mean something important for entrepreneurs. Overall, LinkedIn appears to rank in second place among the best, i.e. “top ten” social media sites for up & coming start-ups and highly entrepreneurial businesses:

From hiring to networking with cohorts and potential clients to participating in groups and question threads, LinkedIn is a powerful social network for entrepreneurs and business professionals of all stripes. It’s a great place to both discover and research potential job candidates (with a reported 75% of hiring managers using it over Facebook and Twitter), as well as both keeping up with and extending your network.

Like many other entrepreneurial firms, our Agency is working fast and furiously on social media strategies for clients and ourselves. LinkedIn has been growing exponentially in recent years. However, like other social media choices, it’s not an instant success kind of thing. You need to position yourself as an expert in the LinkedIn Answers domains, particularly in the ones that will best reflect your professional interest. This is a very good way to underscore your credentials and experience in a fast growing professional social media environment. As the aforementioned post on Mashable suggests, you’ll increase your authority and drive more traffic to your website with an effective use of LinkedIn.

Additionally, it’s a good idea to ask for advice on LinkedIn as well. You don’t have to be the oracle of the tribe at all times. It also works well to be asking intelligent questions.

Here’s another good link on LindedIn from a recent post on “Lept Like a Blog.”

Are you making good use of your LinkedIn presence?

As always, we like to hear what you think.

Your Website Can Do More, Cost Less and Pull In Better Traffic

Many site owners fail to realize their website is just the beginning of a larger process. Though they may understand usability, keyword optimization and branding. Often, there’s much that can be done to bring real excitement and fresh results. If you’re passionate about serving your customers and proving what you can do for for them, you’ll enjoy having a website, or company blog, that pulls more qualified inbound leads and customer traffic. Transforming static pages into a compelling inbound program — with blog posts, web video, social media, carefully tested landing pages, new conversion steps and more — requires the ability to look at your product with fresh eyes.

Start re-thinking your website. Ask, “how can we add more compelling content on a regular basis?” Now, you’re getting closer to the real challenge. A website that’s easily updated. A website that pulls in more leads. A website:

• That you can update
• That grows over time with useful news and information
• That offers every opportunity to demonstrate your responsiveness
• That’s very search engine friendly
• That “works for you.”

Building websites using WordPress as a Content Management System (CMS) benefits you because:

• WordPress is the world’s leading blog software
• It is one of the fastest growing platforms for building business websites
• Major Search Engines love blogs
• Using a CMS allows you to think about your content in a more fluid style
• Your site can help you attain more: Energy, Excitement, Opportunity, Sales.

There’s always more to say on the subject of blogging, especially for business. What do you say to your management team? How do you get them to commit to a company blog that drives new traffic and results?

It’s not too big a stretch to think of keywords as fueling a successful website. Keywords are the live coals that feed the online fire. Most search marketers preach the gospel of keywords, and for good reason. Where would we be without a proper keyword strategy to provide some energy?

“To Fuel…”

1. Something consumed to produce energy, especially:

a. A material such as wood, coal, gas, or oil burned to produce heat or power.

b. Fissionable material used in a nuclear reactor.

See http://www.thefreedictionary.com/fuel

Yet there’s more isn’t there? Not to take away from keywords, they’re certainly important.  But, the point can be too simplistic if you don’t think more broadly about why and how keywords should be used. This week, I saw this post by Derek Gordon on MediaPost.Com: Why Content Strategy Matters In Search Marketing. Here’s a useful quote:

What isn’t discussed enough, at least from my perspective, is the need to go beyond keyword lists and strategies to get a long-term, thoughtful content strategy.

In my experience, clients tend to resist the idea of providing a continuous and sustained flow of new and insightful content on their website or blog. Down deep they think it’s too much work. They may try to go along with the idea for a while, yet end up objecting when they realize they have evolved from running a business to becoming a publisher. Inside news, tips and ideas to entice and engage site visitors? Ah, maybe not. That can mean months of original content driven by hours of employee time. It’s a lot easier to think about keywords and not get too emotional about all that writing, research, videos, photos… all that stuff you’ve got to contend with in building an effective web presence.

Yet, the Internet has transformed marketing in a compelling demonstrable way. You can’t argue with success. So here’s another way to think of it…

“You can’t have really good SEO without really good content (in all it’s forms)…” (ibid).

I like this a lot and shall plan to use it more. Good SEO, strong keywords, and good content, are one. Try this with your boss or manager when he starts cutting back on the content commitment. Tell him the SEO strategy can start to unravel if it’s just about keywords. When you get right down to it, he’s not going to fool anyone, especially the more celebrated search engines, without content. You can play with keyword phrases; do the meta tags and meta descriptions, but you won’t gain traction until you put up some good, engaging, readable, interesting posts, videos, white papers, eBooks or amusing games.

What do you say when the commitment to publishing excellent content softens up? Does the energy level go down? Is the tank a little bit empty? Do you need a little more… fuel?

You can’t just string the keywords into a daisy chain and wear them. No matter how becoming they might be. Content is what you do with those keywords.

Please share your thoughts. Do you see the same tendency to justify strategic keywords and phrases with less time devoted to substance? Do you have any easy answers for clients who hesitate on committing to content?

Thanks to all who read and comment.

Best wishes…

Online Marketing Awareness Map™

If you’ve been reading this five part series “Thinking Outside The Box On Marketing,” you’re acquainted with The Online Marketing Awareness Map (if not, please see part III published earlier in this space). We developed the Map as a visual aid to enable client discussions of online methods and media. Here, in Part IV, we would like to continue our brief survey of techniques. In particular, we’re picking up with a review of Social Networking, then with Webinars, Videos and (Email) Newsletters, and finally with a few key thoughts on Landing Pages and Analytics. The final post in this series, Part V, will take a preliminary look into online marketing strategy.

Social Networking

Social Media

Though there’s an abundance of new applications to chose from, for social media we think of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Flickr. The growth rate of these applications has literally defined the participatory Web as a place where users access free utilities which give them the ability to upload and control their own content. Social networking allows millions of users to join online communities, share content, links, ideas, rediscover old friends and new online relationships. It’s fitting to mention that Twitter enjoyed a 93% growth rate in 2009. Additionally, there are more Facebook users worldwide than people in the U.S. It seems hard to believe that Facebook was a mere start up company in 2004. However, Myspace is now worth quite a bit less than the $770 Million that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp paid for it in 2005. Perhaps the shakeout in Social Media is still in the making?

As a result of these and other stories related to surging qualities of Social Media, many established marketers, especially smaller companies, are moving slowly to embrace it. Some national brands have been monitoring their online reputations by responding quickly to customer complaints — a natural arena for real time public relations.

What has most impressed us about Social Networking is it’s obvious popularity. People simply want to socialize and share links, a fact that seems to underscore a basic human need for connection. Additionally, these sites have been referred to as “digital campfires.” The fast penetration of social media into popular consciousness is very significant. Apart from online security or privacy concerns, socializing online is here to stay.

So why not enjoy yourself and jump right in? According to Larry Brauner at Online Social Networking, the social media curve is very steep. His Top 10 social media challenges include the following list of concerns:

• Results aren’t achieved nearly as quickly with social media
• It’s easy to spin wheels and waste lots of time
• Social media is still evolving rapidly and tends to be a moving target

However, there’s every reason to start your engagement with social networking. Just make sure to continue with your traditional direct marketing, in-house sales efforts and direct marketing for the time being.

Webinars, Videos & Email Newsletters

Webinars, Videos and Email Newsletters

Webinars have been enjoying a surge in online popularity. Content marketers often have them in mind as a goal when they begin blogging (of turning out an ambitious website). And, if it’s not a webinar per se, it may be that a mix of content from online videos and photography to email newletters that’s driving their development of special content. Think of this content as a special gift to your visitors, intended audience or current customers. A Webinar is a special form of educational experience controlled by you, as if you had a class in front of you. Additionally, with online videos you lead them through an important subject where you:

• Consolodate important blog posts
• Add sound to your PowerPoint show
• Entertain, teach, surprise, astonish
• Provide tutorials, manifestos, viral videos and exotic demonstrations

And, don’t think email is dead. Quite the opposite. Today, the email space continues to grow, especially if you follow best practices in using double opt in subscription and build your list organically (stay away from paid lists). With a quality email newsletter you can enjoy seamless communications with your best customers, an average open rate of 30% or higher and a click through rate of 10% or more.

Think of webinars, videos and email newsletters as contributing to a larger cycle of persuasion that builds over time, across many different types of people.

Landing Pages/Analytics

Landing Pages

Remember to keep in mind that landing pages for each campaign should mirror the advertisements that bring the traffic to your site. If the wording changes abruptly, or the visual themes don’t match, your bounce rate, or time spent on the all important landing page with fall off disappointingly. This is the place where it’s okay to do explicit selling. The visitor clicked on an ad that represents their interest in your product. Be sure to give them succinct copy loaded with benefits and maintain a warm, friendly tone of voice with a good call to action. Build confidence, desire, trust. Remember, selling is an art.

Regarding the subject of Analytics, the Web Analytics Association has come up with a common definition:

Web Analytics is the objective tracking, collection, measurement, reporting and analysis of quantitative Internet data to optimize websites and web marketing initiatives.

This is the part where clients really begin to see and feel some of the unique benefits to online marketing. Google Analytics is a very popular utility (it’s also free with your Google Account), that gives you the ability to see fresh data from your website domains and online advertising campaigns. It is a very important area for any online marketer. One book we advise you to read if you wish to become more deeply involved in this area:

Web Analytics, An Hour A Day — Avinash Kaushik

That pretty much sums up (in short space) a complex and challenging set of topics contained within our Online Marketing Awareness Map. These last two posts have attempted to introduce the topic of online marketers who may be considering their entry into the online marketing space.

What do you think? Did we adequately represent a useful overview? Experienced online marketers will be looking for more in-depth content. However, we have used the Map in private discussions and found it to be useful.

Please tell us how you feel this visual tool is working. We’d love to hear from you.

Additionally, please note that part V in this series is coming next.

Thanks for reading Infusion Blog.

Best…

GJ