R.N. Johnson Creative Marketing

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.

Consider The Long Tail When Thinking About Strategy (image from Wired Magazine).

As you think about developing a unified strategy for Internet marketing, you may find many points of creative fusion between your traditional advertising program and the emerging possibilities online. When you study unique characteristics, such as the Long Tail, you’ll encounter many transformative new ideas that may completely reshape your assumptions about business. As you get underway please remember:

1. Simply building a website won’t grow your business;
2. You’ll need an effective strategy to be successful online;
3. In fact, your current website may represent only the first step in a larger online program.

Many marketers fail to realize their website is just the beginning of a larger process. The overall purpose and depth of content on your domain may suggest a compelling new strategy. It’s important to have a sense of where the latent energy of your site may be going: to substantiate your credentials? Tell a product story? Generate leads? Or, direct sales?

Marketers Often Become “Stuck” On Strategy

Most people think creativity has more to do with art, music and literature and less to do with business, science and engineering. But that’s not the case!

• Creativity is the act of producing new ideas, approaches and actions;
• Innovation is the process of generating and applying ideas in a specific manner and context;
• Both definitions apply for your business, especially if you’re planning to leverage Web 2.0 applications;
• The Web is all about innovation!

Here’s where it gets interesting, and potentially exciting, especially if you think outside the box. Today, new competitors are rapidly emerging as traditional marketing practices evolve into new online propositions. To ride the waves in today’s economy we need to engage in lateral thinking and divergent thought. Today it is possible to do things we could only dream a few short years ago.

1. If you check out wootwine.com you’ll be looking at a special sale, for one day only. “Woot” is a domain that specializes in daily deals, one item only, at a very discounted price. We learned of them in a recent issue of Inc. Magazine. They build their customer relationships via Twitter. What’s interesting to us is the simplicity of the business model, one sale each day on one select item, a strategy that would be nearly impossible in the traditional retail world.
2. Kogi Korean BBQ, a company with just a little over one year of operations, serves Korean style meat in Mexican-style flatbread (an innovative idea!) in Los Angeles. Kogi designed its delivery system using Twitter to inform customers where their delivery truck is headed during the course of the day, so impassioned customers can enjoy their Korean fast food fix (see kogibbq.com).
3. Ms. Brigitte Dale won Yahoo!‘s Best Internet Personality 2008 for her quirky video blog posts. What’s she selling? Her creative talent of course. Though it may be difficult to envision her approach for business, these charming online videos feature sharp scripts, self-produced on a shoe string with surprising sophistication. Here’s a recent post on YouTube.

Practical Questions Must Be Encountered

Successful strategy is often built from tactical advantages (note our Online Marketing Awareness Map). Whether to build slowly with a focus on Content Marketing or more quickly with Internet Advertising, may depend on whose asking the question.

I. An e-commerce site dealing in branded items sold at discount might focus on:

• Area 1: Websites;
• Area 2: Online Advertising;
• Area 6: Landing Pages, Analytics & Conversion.

II. Whereas a manufacturer or B2B services firm might focus on:

• Direct mail and inside sales;
• Area 3: Content Marketing or Blogging;
• Area 5: Online Video;
• Area 6: Landing Pages, Analytics & Conversion

Start With Small Steps

It helps if you have a strategy. It can make a huge difference. But if you don’t have one (or, it’s just too confusing) you’ll benefit by taking smaller steps. It is hard to go wrong with good landing pages and well designed content featuring important keyword groups and site analytics. Pilot programs make sense. Add a company blog to the mix, or perhaps a Google Adwords campaign. Adwords can work quickly, which is one reason why sponsored search listings are so popular.

Yet, a hasty campaign cobbled together with little planning is unlikely to work very well, unless you’re very lucky. False starts can be demoralizing and damaging due to the possibility of a poor Quality Score from Google, which can take months to overcome. Better to work deliberately and strategically, even with a small beginning. Content marketing, especially from blogging, is designed to build up carefully over time.

Once again, let me suggest an important reminder: We’re striving to keep things simple (not simplistic) to help you in framing your initial approach. What’s right for you will depend on your product and the unique vision you may have for your business or enterprise.

Be Thorough In Developing Keywords

Marketers engaged in their first encounter with online advertising are often surprised at the amount of time they need to develop effective keywords and Adgroups. Using Google’s Keyword Generator can help you create hundreds of keywords. But don’t fall into the trap of letting the software do your thinking for you. Instead, as a first step, take the time to really think about your customers. Stand back, look at them as real people and don’t pigeon hole them. Ask how they might type a search query to find your product or service. Doing this in a candid manner makes you relate to them personally. This is a simple step that can help your website, online advertising or content marketing as well. It is also a great marketing practice for strategic planning in any medium.

There‚ is no end to the possibilities one can use in making the transition to online marketing. This may be a great time to reexamine your business and restart your marketing in a more innovative direction. We can take you through a few current campaigns we’ve done in helping our clients create a smooth transition to online marketing:

• Dorion-Gray Retirement Planning, Inc.
• Numerical Precision, Inc.
• RaueInsider.com

Thank you for taking the time to explore this “outside the box” online marketing series.  If you have any questions on how to get started, contact us, or leave a comment below.

Additionally, please take a moment to share any interesting strategies that you see online!