Google ads used by 1.5M US marketers, websites.
Google's Internet advertising network attracts more than 1.5 million US marketers, websites.
Associated Press, Tuesday May 25, 2010
So, now you know. A lot of people are using Adwords in the USA for lead generation, sales and branding. And many of them want the same search terms you want.
With Adwords and other paid search tools like BING, your real competition isn't just your real direct and indirect competitors for goods and services in your markets. Not at all. When it comes to paid search, especially Adwords, your ads appear and compete in a vast, virtual universe where competition for your search terms and keywords can be intense and costly.
Companies in entirely different markets with completely different target audiences can target the same keywords you want. For example, the search term "Lab" can mean many different things - - R&D laboratory, clinical laboratory, math class, puppy dog, etc.? Very broad terms, if used, mean that you'll compete against many others and attract many clicks from casual or confused visitors who will not be your customers.
This ad 'clutter' and 'noise' can frustrate your efforts to reach your audience, unless you take intelligent steps to focus on your market niches and filter out the rest. There are many resources to help you acheive this and reduce or even eliminate competition for money-making search terms. These include using negative search terms, long-tail search phrases, avoiding search terms that are too broad, use of technical vocabulary, selective ad showing by schedule, location and language, analytics and more.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Useful Research and Article on the Value of Google Result Positioning
This is great information for people who strive for Search Engine Optimization. If your using Search Engines for lead generation these two articles are a must read!
1. The Value of Google Result Positioning:
"How much is the top spot on Google actually worth? According to data from the Chitika network, it’s worth a ton – double the traffic of the #2 spot, to be precise."
http://chitika.com/research/2010/the-value-of-google-result-positioning/
Daniel Ruby, Research Director, Online Insights, Chitika, Inc.
Search Engine Watch article: http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/100525-160427.
A special thanks to Brian Geddes of http://www.bgtheory.com/ for posting this valuable information on LinkedIn. By the way, Brian teaches an excellent set of classes devoted to advanced Adwords training. If you can ever take one of his classes, I highly recommend it. http://www.linkedin.com/in/ewhisper
1. The Value of Google Result Positioning:
"How much is the top spot on Google actually worth? According to data from the Chitika network, it’s worth a ton – double the traffic of the #2 spot, to be precise."
http://chitika.com/research/2010/the-value-of-google-result-positioning/
Daniel Ruby, Research Director, Online Insights, Chitika, Inc.
Search Engine Watch article: http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/100525-160427.
A special thanks to Brian Geddes of http://www.bgtheory.com/ for posting this valuable information on LinkedIn. By the way, Brian teaches an excellent set of classes devoted to advanced Adwords training. If you can ever take one of his classes, I highly recommend it. http://www.linkedin.com/in/ewhisper
Monday, May 24, 2010
Take Advantage of Google Adwords Local Search Features
Google has added some very useful campaign setting options for localized ad targeting. This can be effective for campaigns where you want only local leads. "Local" targeting can be as large as a country or state, or as small as a town or city.
I'm using both local and multinational campaigns (where appropriate, as I run global campaigns which target multiple countries), but one local search option that really caught my eye is the "Phone Extensions" feature in the "Ad Extensions" section of each Adwords campaign settings page.
With "Phone Extensions", you can add a 'click to call' feature for smart phone users. As more and more people use their smart phones for web browsing, our search engine marketing efforts need to be in synch with this trend.
Depending upon how your campaigns are set up (Country, State, City), Google allows you to list a local telephone number a visitor simply has to click on their smartphone to call you with a business leads.
Directions are straightforward:
1. Go to your Campaign Settings page.
2. Go to Ad Extensions > then go to Phone Extensions.
3. See "Display click-to-call phone number on iPhones and other mobile devices with full Internet browsers:"
Add Your Numeric Telephone Number Here.
Google allows only numeric number listings for now, no alpha 'vanity' alternatives allowed yet.
This works for me, as alpha phone listings can be irritating to the caller compared to simple numeric dialing.
I've just started to use this Phone Extension feature. It is best for targeted campaigns where one phone number can be listed. Like anything else with Adwords, it will take some time and experimentation to see if the new click-to-call helps bring in leads. I suspect it will.
Best Regards;
Erik Holladay
I'm using both local and multinational campaigns (where appropriate, as I run global campaigns which target multiple countries), but one local search option that really caught my eye is the "Phone Extensions" feature in the "Ad Extensions" section of each Adwords campaign settings page.
With "Phone Extensions", you can add a 'click to call' feature for smart phone users. As more and more people use their smart phones for web browsing, our search engine marketing efforts need to be in synch with this trend.
Depending upon how your campaigns are set up (Country, State, City), Google allows you to list a local telephone number a visitor simply has to click on their smartphone to call you with a business leads.
Directions are straightforward:
1. Go to your Campaign Settings page.
2. Go to Ad Extensions > then go to Phone Extensions.
3. See "Display click-to-call phone number on iPhones and other mobile devices with full Internet browsers:"
Add Your Numeric Telephone Number Here.
Google allows only numeric number listings for now, no alpha 'vanity' alternatives allowed yet.
This works for me, as alpha phone listings can be irritating to the caller compared to simple numeric dialing.
I've just started to use this Phone Extension feature. It is best for targeted campaigns where one phone number can be listed. Like anything else with Adwords, it will take some time and experimentation to see if the new click-to-call helps bring in leads. I suspect it will.
Best Regards;
Erik Holladay
Friday, May 14, 2010
Trade Shows Still Work - -
Trade Shows and Conferences can bring great value in the Age of the Internet - -
Ignore them at your Peril.
No argument, when it comes to lead generation and filling the sales pipeline, trade shows can have a reputation for being inefficient, wasteful, and costly... with high-cost-per-lead when compared to effective online marketing. When web-marketing is done right, every day is a successful and global 24/7 trade show, and million dollar leads may just cost pennies to acquire!
But trade shows still have tremendous value. If done right, with strong planning and guidelines, companies can still greatly benefit with face-to-face trade shows and conferences. These industry events are an important way to meet potentially valuable customers face-to-face and get the pulse of the industry. Trade Shows spark conversations that otherwise would never have happened, develop new business relationships, and reveal latent business needs during extended discussions. Business needs which your company can fill at a nice profit. On-site trade shows help fill out B-to-B marketing and business development campaigns. We need them. Depending upon the venue and the clientele capturing even one good lead may result in business which will more than justify the investment made in a trade show.
My major complaint about trade shows is the risk from waste and low productivity. Trade shows, if done in a casual way, really waste people's time, resources, budget (money), and impose the penalty of high opportunity costs (i.e., I could have been doing something else which was far more productive with my time.).
BUT if one manages the time, goals and costs, and maximizes the opportunities, then trade shows can have a strong positive bottom-line effect on business. It can even be game-changing, such are the strategic business development opportunities available. You can strike gold at a trade conference. For smaller business in particular, it is vital to choose and manage trade shows very carefully, your budget and your limited resources cannot handle too many 'waste of time' conferences.
Here is some advice on Trade Shows, based upon my years of successful experience in planning, managing, working and manning exhibits at conferences, large and small, on three continents and across a multitude of cultural, regional and industry niches.
Choose Conferences and Trade Shows Wisely:
Determine if your customers and potential customers will attend the event. Ask clients and your industry peers about the event, and industry events they like to attend (and why). If your potential customers are going to these events, then these conferences are candidates for consideration.
Be careful with your budget... and prioritize. Trade shows can suck up a huge amount of costs (show space, rentals, power, construction, booth design and fabrication, booth transport and assembly, customs and brokerage fees, graphics, hotels, meals, travel, client entertainment, promotional items, etc). Whatever you do, don't let trade shows steal funding from your web marketing efforts... this would be self-destructive to your lead generation on balance, and very harmful.
Pick Your Trade Show Team Carefully:
1. Pick personable, outgoing and knowledgeable staff. Pick professionals who have high-energy, are team players, know how to apply consultative selling techniques, follow directions, don't mind putting in marathon 16 hour days or worse, and can stand being on their feet all day.
2. Take a select team and limit participation - - avoid over-staffing, and don't bring people who treat a trade show like it was a semi-vacation. Bring the focused talent appropriate for a specific event. Even if you have to fly the right person to that conference, instead of using a local person, the ultimate lead generation results produced and the subsequent ROI is worth it.
3. Train your team and cross-train them. Have 'cheat-sheets' available for all team members. They should be familiar with the range of services and products on display - - not just select niches.
4. Work the Conference:
Keep the 'off-duty' team members out of the booth to avoid a crowd. The booth 'off-duty' folks can a play an extremely important role - - roving the conference and making additional contacts. Some of the best trade show leads come from prospective clients escorted to your booth by your 'off-duty' people.
Promote Your Participation at the Event:
Companies benefit from promoting before, during, and after an event to let clients and potential clients know they will be exhibiting at a targeted conference. If you have personnel presenting papers or are on panel discussions, this is important news you'll want to share with your potential and current clients.
Promotional tools which can be used include:
a. Webpage promotion (at least one month ahead - - get listed in search engines)
b. Adwords and paid search promotion (at least one month ahead)
c. Targeted email promotion before the event (the week before). Consider a print mail promo as well.
d. Press release (just before, or the first day of the event)
e. Targeted email promotion after the event (Obtain or buy the conferee attendee list)
f. Effective and decent promotional items for giveaway - - pick things that will be used by the prospective client, things not thrown away, not easily broken and not given away. (Look at novel items which will be popular and create a 'buzz' at the event and beyond. Also look at functional items like calculators, timers, pens, memory sticks, etc. Include your logo and website domain on the giveaway.)
g. Have a conference promotional give-away for a higher value item, with booth visitors having to register to have a chance to win.
h. Booth Graphics, Layout, and Multimedia should be optimized to grab a conference attendee's attention. Customize your booth to fit the event, if possible. Target your audience. Don't use 'generic' unchanging vague booth messages and images. Having your booth tailored to that event is more effective at getting people to stop at your booth.
i. Exploit the Conference Event's website and print program as much as you can. Make sure your company name, description and booth location are listed. Use every available show online tool available. Some conferences are getting more aggressive with social media type applications... use them also ahead of the event to connect with attendees and even set up meetings.
j. Use social media to broadcast your participation at an event. Sites like LinkedIn and Twitter can be effective for this. Some conferences are starting to 'tweet' on-site during the event.
Follow-up on the Leads:
Extremely important. It seems obvious but very often busy or distracted people jump into the next big thing and let these contacts become stale with age. Don't let the priority contacts made at the event grow old, follow-up immediately. Use the attendee lists obtained at the booth and from the event management, put them to good use. Follow-up with 'thank you' emails with key links to services the visitor has interest in. Make phone calls. Business Development should own the promising contacts that justify additional follow-up. Track and nurture the leads, to help determine if the event is worth returning to the next year.
Trade Shows are a Work in Progress:
Successful trade show management is a constant challenge... there are hundreds of books and many experts out there who make a living training their clients how to optimize trade shows for better results, and with good reason! Every trade show is a learning experience, with lessons learned, opportunities sighted and improvements identified for the next time.
Don't sacrifice your online marketing budget in favor of trade shows, but exploiting industry trade shows can enhance your online efforts, and help ensure you capture as much business as possible. You need both.
For more resources on trade shows, go to Google and search for "Trade Show Consultant" and "Trade Show Coach".... there are plenty of resources out there.
Managing International Trade Shows bring special challenges, which can be managed with success.
Don't forget 'cheap and cheerful' promotional give-away items. Promotional Items Attract Quality Leads At Trade Shows and Conferences. They work hard for lead generation!
Ignore them at your Peril.
No argument, when it comes to lead generation and filling the sales pipeline, trade shows can have a reputation for being inefficient, wasteful, and costly... with high-cost-per-lead when compared to effective online marketing. When web-marketing is done right, every day is a successful and global 24/7 trade show, and million dollar leads may just cost pennies to acquire!
But trade shows still have tremendous value. If done right, with strong planning and guidelines, companies can still greatly benefit with face-to-face trade shows and conferences. These industry events are an important way to meet potentially valuable customers face-to-face and get the pulse of the industry. Trade Shows spark conversations that otherwise would never have happened, develop new business relationships, and reveal latent business needs during extended discussions. Business needs which your company can fill at a nice profit. On-site trade shows help fill out B-to-B marketing and business development campaigns. We need them. Depending upon the venue and the clientele capturing even one good lead may result in business which will more than justify the investment made in a trade show.
My major complaint about trade shows is the risk from waste and low productivity. Trade shows, if done in a casual way, really waste people's time, resources, budget (money), and impose the penalty of high opportunity costs (i.e., I could have been doing something else which was far more productive with my time.).
BUT if one manages the time, goals and costs, and maximizes the opportunities, then trade shows can have a strong positive bottom-line effect on business. It can even be game-changing, such are the strategic business development opportunities available. You can strike gold at a trade conference. For smaller business in particular, it is vital to choose and manage trade shows very carefully, your budget and your limited resources cannot handle too many 'waste of time' conferences.
 |
| Trade Show Exhibiting captures new high value prospects and allows valuable opportunities to re-connect with old and loyal customers. |
Choose Conferences and Trade Shows Wisely:
Determine if your customers and potential customers will attend the event. Ask clients and your industry peers about the event, and industry events they like to attend (and why). If your potential customers are going to these events, then these conferences are candidates for consideration.
Be careful with your budget... and prioritize. Trade shows can suck up a huge amount of costs (show space, rentals, power, construction, booth design and fabrication, booth transport and assembly, customs and brokerage fees, graphics, hotels, meals, travel, client entertainment, promotional items, etc). Whatever you do, don't let trade shows steal funding from your web marketing efforts... this would be self-destructive to your lead generation on balance, and very harmful.
Pick Your Trade Show Team Carefully:
1. Pick personable, outgoing and knowledgeable staff. Pick professionals who have high-energy, are team players, know how to apply consultative selling techniques, follow directions, don't mind putting in marathon 16 hour days or worse, and can stand being on their feet all day.
2. Take a select team and limit participation - - avoid over-staffing, and don't bring people who treat a trade show like it was a semi-vacation. Bring the focused talent appropriate for a specific event. Even if you have to fly the right person to that conference, instead of using a local person, the ultimate lead generation results produced and the subsequent ROI is worth it.
3. Train your team and cross-train them. Have 'cheat-sheets' available for all team members. They should be familiar with the range of services and products on display - - not just select niches.
4. Work the Conference:
Keep the 'off-duty' team members out of the booth to avoid a crowd. The booth 'off-duty' folks can a play an extremely important role - - roving the conference and making additional contacts. Some of the best trade show leads come from prospective clients escorted to your booth by your 'off-duty' people.
Promote Your Participation at the Event:
Companies benefit from promoting before, during, and after an event to let clients and potential clients know they will be exhibiting at a targeted conference. If you have personnel presenting papers or are on panel discussions, this is important news you'll want to share with your potential and current clients.
Promotional tools which can be used include:
a. Webpage promotion (at least one month ahead - - get listed in search engines)
b. Adwords and paid search promotion (at least one month ahead)
c. Targeted email promotion before the event (the week before). Consider a print mail promo as well.
d. Press release (just before, or the first day of the event)
e. Targeted email promotion after the event (Obtain or buy the conferee attendee list)
f. Effective and decent promotional items for giveaway - - pick things that will be used by the prospective client, things not thrown away, not easily broken and not given away. (Look at novel items which will be popular and create a 'buzz' at the event and beyond. Also look at functional items like calculators, timers, pens, memory sticks, etc. Include your logo and website domain on the giveaway.)
g. Have a conference promotional give-away for a higher value item, with booth visitors having to register to have a chance to win.
h. Booth Graphics, Layout, and Multimedia should be optimized to grab a conference attendee's attention. Customize your booth to fit the event, if possible. Target your audience. Don't use 'generic' unchanging vague booth messages and images. Having your booth tailored to that event is more effective at getting people to stop at your booth.
i. Exploit the Conference Event's website and print program as much as you can. Make sure your company name, description and booth location are listed. Use every available show online tool available. Some conferences are getting more aggressive with social media type applications... use them also ahead of the event to connect with attendees and even set up meetings.
j. Use social media to broadcast your participation at an event. Sites like LinkedIn and Twitter can be effective for this. Some conferences are starting to 'tweet' on-site during the event.
Follow-up on the Leads:
Extremely important. It seems obvious but very often busy or distracted people jump into the next big thing and let these contacts become stale with age. Don't let the priority contacts made at the event grow old, follow-up immediately. Use the attendee lists obtained at the booth and from the event management, put them to good use. Follow-up with 'thank you' emails with key links to services the visitor has interest in. Make phone calls. Business Development should own the promising contacts that justify additional follow-up. Track and nurture the leads, to help determine if the event is worth returning to the next year.
Trade Shows are a Work in Progress:
Successful trade show management is a constant challenge... there are hundreds of books and many experts out there who make a living training their clients how to optimize trade shows for better results, and with good reason! Every trade show is a learning experience, with lessons learned, opportunities sighted and improvements identified for the next time.
Don't sacrifice your online marketing budget in favor of trade shows, but exploiting industry trade shows can enhance your online efforts, and help ensure you capture as much business as possible. You need both.
For more resources on trade shows, go to Google and search for "Trade Show Consultant" and "Trade Show Coach".... there are plenty of resources out there.
Managing International Trade Shows bring special challenges, which can be managed with success.
Don't forget 'cheap and cheerful' promotional give-away items. Promotional Items Attract Quality Leads At Trade Shows and Conferences. They work hard for lead generation!
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