Over 60% of American adults are now using either Facebook or Twitter, according to a Pew Research report, and Experian Hitwise shows that Facebook alone had over 1.6 billion visits for the week ending October 27, 2012. With this kind of traffic, it’s no surprise that businesses are quickly launching social media campaigns to grab their pieces of the social network pie.

While engaging in social media can be great for branding, it is important for businesses to strategize their campaign just as one would go about preparing a Thanksgiving feast. Here are a few tips when considering using social media for your business.

Plan your menu first.
As businesses eagerly jump on social media to sell their products and brand messaging, it can be easy to get carried away, just as if you were to walk into the grocery store before the holiday without a list. Have goals and long-range plans in mind before initiating a social media campaign. Too much too soon can be hard to control and lead to burn out from both you and your customers.

Communicate with your guests.
You work hard to please all of your guests and visitors, giving them personal attention to make your gathering enjoyable. It can be tempting to mass-produce our social media messages, but whether it’s sending out canned responses on Facebook or using automated programs to constantly Tweet to our followers, you pose the risk of running all the life out of your social media campaign. It’s the genuine interactions that will pay off more than the pre-loaded responses.

Serve at the right time.
Just as you aren’t likely to serve the pumpkin pie before the turkey and stuffing, each social media network has its own peak times for follower response. Rather than sending all your social messages out at once, investigate patterns of interaction and make sure to post when times are the most ideal.

Set your table.
There is nothing like the moment when the table is set, decorated, and laden with gastric delights. Just as your table and its offerings define your party or gathering, your social media campaign becomes a voice for your business; it is the “face” that your customers can interact with directly. Make sure the messaging you promote on social media integrates well with the other mediums you are using.

Social media is an incredible vehicle for communicating with our customers, clients, and communities, but we need to know how to use it responsibly. Get your voice out there and be heard, yet keep an eye on your long-term goals and plans for future growth. If you are interested in using your social media campaign to its full potential and get your piece of the pie, contact the SEO consultants at EverEffect! We wish everyone a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

The post Get a Piece of the (Pumpkin?) Pie – Talking Turkey About Social Media appeared first on Evereffect Blog.

In recent months, Google has continuously released new features which can be utilized to optimize our Display Campaigns. In the past, the Display Network has proven to be a bit confusing, and deciding on an appropriate strategy for your campaigns could be even more of a challenge. The release of these new features, I think, makes developing a good strategy and implementing that strategy a little easier. I, for one, am a huge fan of the new features, and hopefully after reading a few tips on how to set up your campaigns for success, you will become a fan too.

Strategy & Structure

Defining your goals: Are you looking to increase your branding or are you more interested in Lead Generation? Understanding what you want to achieve and how you are going to measure the results will go a long way in planning your campaign. In addition, taking note that potential customers may not be searching for your services on the Display Network will help you target your campaign more effectively.

Targeting: Determine whether or not you want broad reach (automatic placement) with your Display Network ads. Targeting gives you several options that allow you to narrow the focus by setting limitations based on topics, categories, keywords, etc. If you want to advertise on a smaller scale, you will need to add Keywords and Placement choices into your Campaign (managed placement).

Making it a separate Campaign: Your Display Network campaign (because it functions differently than the Search network) should always be a separate campaign from Search. Give it a separate Budget, separate Ad Creative, and separate Bidding Strategy. With this distinction, you will be able to market more effectively to potential customers and track the performance of your campaigns more efficiently.

Creating tightly themed Ad Groups/Keywords: Before Google decides which of your ads to show in the Display Network, all of the keywords in that Ad Group (along with your Ad Text) will be evaluated. Therefore, having tightly focused Ad Groups is essential to maximum the performance of your ads. You want to select 5-20 Keywords that are closely related, and use only the Broad Match type of the Keywords. When it comes to Branding, even fewer Keywords can be selected.

Example: if your ad group contains keywords for party supplies and wedding decorations, Google will try to find a page containing both, and this can greatly reduce the number of pages in which your ads will show. You should have one ad group around party supplies and another around wedding decorations to maximize performance.

Creating Multiple Types of Quality Ads: The types of ads that can be displayed on webpages across the Display Network varies depending on the size and shape of your ads. Certain webpages allow all types and sizes of ads, while others have more strict limitations. This is important to remember when creating Image Ads. You want to create different sizes for testing purposes to determine which style appears more attractive to potential customers.

Dynamic Keyword Insertion can be used; again, it may be worth creating one to test against a standard text ad to see which performs better. Also, keep in mind that your ads should be relevant to the Keywords being used, and should highlight any offers/sales/etc. you have in order to grab the attention of people visiting the webpage your ad is displaying on. Background color of Image Ads and color of Ad Text is something to be mindful of because you always want to make sure that your ad is easily readable.

Bidding: Ads displaying in top 3 Ad Position will have greater success on the Display Network, so adjust your bids accordingly. Whether you are using automatic or managed placements, it is always best to bid higher on the well performing sites. You can also adjust bids based on Gender and Age Demographics, so if you are targeting a certain age range or specific gender, then adjusting your bids accordingly can lead to greater success.

I hope the information provided will help you on your journey into advertising on the Display Network. Stay tuned for an upcoming post that expands upon New Targeting Options & Tools, and on Optimizing Your Display Network Campaigns.

The post Google Display Network: Improved or More Confusing Than Ever? appeared first on Evereffect Blog.

The more I looked, the more confused I seemed to get. Then it hit me! Many businesses have the same problem expressing things about themselves. While being great at what they do, they often find it hard to explain what sets them apart from others. So how do I cleverly slide in the idea of harnessing the power of video content to compliment your online presence? Oops, I just did.

Two things come to mind when new clients want to approach adding video content.

1. How much does it cost?
2. Does it work?

As with any investment, there are no blank checks when it comes to creating your video. I want to be very clear with this next statement. Inexpensive doesn’t have to mean boring or of poor quality; expensive doesn’t necessarily mean good or effective.

Yes, of course it works! If it didn’t, I wouldn’t have the success I’ve had with repeat business and referrals, YouTube would be irrelevant and you wouldn’t be using your smartphone as a video camera.

So how much does it cost? Well, over my 16 year career I have personally written, directed, shot and edited videos ranging from $350 to $45,000. In each client’s opinion, those videos were affordable, i.e. cost is a relative term.

Speaking of dollars, let me show you an example…

Try this quick test to show the power of video versus written words:

1. How does the idea of a “dancing storm trooper” make you feel?
2. Now, how does this video of a “dancing storm trooper” make you feel?

Now ask yourself these questions:

1. How much did each of these descriptive efforts cost?
2. Were both of these examples effective? The description of a dancing storm trooper; did it get the point across?

What about the gyrating storm trooper? It was both visually interesting and engaging. It evoked a physical and emotional response from me. I laughed; it made me happy. So, how much did it COST? Nothing! Even better, since its debut in 2007, it’s had over 50 million hits on YouTube. Not too shabby.

So what do I hope to accomplish as the newest member of EverEffect? I hope to continue showing that video marketing can be both inexpensive and effective, and I hope to use my skills in video production to bring a whole new level of service to our clients.

Got something to share? We would love to hear from you. Comments are welcome below.

The post Inexpensive Video Is Not Boring; Expensive Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Effective appeared first on Evereffect Blog.

Here are a few tips when searching for…

Search engine optimization, as life in general, is a road best travelled with a companion. Find your match in EverEffect. We strive to get results for our clients by working together to make your website perform more competitively with fresh content, optimized keywords, and realistic goals. We’ve made the first move, so give us a call and set a date for your personal SEO consultation.

The post Starting the Client – Consultant Relationship appeared first on Evereffect Blog.

We really shouldn’t have to make this inquiry, but in a world of “self-publishing” through Twitter, blogs, Facebook, etc…is it really important to be “edited” in today’s world?

The answer is a huge, resounding “YES”!!

Remember what your grandmother used to say: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all!” I believe the word “nice” here, could easily be translated as “quality” and applied to internet content.

Sure, sometimes it’s intimidating to have your work edited, but it always comes out better on the other side. It helps to guarantee your content is not only worth something to your clients, but in turn, worth something to you.

Here’s why you should always have a 2nd set of eyes check your work before you release it to the general public:

1.  If you are a professional writer, sometimes you get lazy

Let’s face it, we all have those days. Are you bored with the topic? Do you have too many other things going on? Are you stressed over difficult clients and not putting as much work into your blog as you should? That’s okay, we all have those times. But that is exactly why you need a good proof read! You never know who is reading your blog and you don’t want to let one bad post be the deciding factor for a potential client!

2. Some people still appreciate good grammar

You never know who is reading your blog, or who is considering using your services. What if that potential client is a real grammar-stickler? Forget the sticklers, some people just appreciate that the English language is not a lost art. You wouldn’t want lose a potential client over a badly written piece, so take a little extra care and have somebody check your work! Think this sounds extreme? As a writer, I pick and choose my services based on the quality of their content. If they have grammatical mistakes, I will search for another option. That may sound harsh, but I figure if they can’t spell, I may be able to find better service elsewhere.

3. Word-of-Mouth Advertising

You never know what business you’re missing out on because of your bad writing. For example: one of your clients wants to share what you do with their friends, but after reading your blog, they are not as confident in your abilities. They might even feel a little embarrassed that they use your services when there could be a better option. Take advantage of word-of-mouth advertising by giving clients some fantastic content to recommend, and by assuring them that their confidence in you is not misplaced.

4. Giving Away Too Much

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s a lesson we’ve learned the hard way from a client. One client we had literally provided step-by-step tutorials on his blog about how to do his job. By the time I was done reading his articles, I genuinely felt like I would never need his services, because I was pretty sure I could have done his job by myself. Handing out information and helpful tutorials is fantastic, but giving away too much information can really hurt your business. Having someone edit your work will help you make sure you’re balancing the fine line between giving helpful information and giving away too much information. Maintaining a sense of mystery can be a good thing, especially when you want clients to think they can’t live without you!

“Why am I writing this blog”, you ask? Shouldn’t I be taking my own advice and convincing you that you need EverEffect to handle your content marketing strategy? Well yes, I should. That’s why I only gave you 4 tips instead of 15.

Just remember one thing for me: If you want people to think you know what you’re talking about, give them information that proves you do. Better to release nothing than to release content of low quality. Google, your clients, Abraham Lincoln, and your grandmother all agree.

The post Content Editing – What Would Your Grandmother Think? appeared first on Evereffect Blog.

They’ve done studies, you know. 60% of the time, it works every time.

Even Ron Burgundy understands that doesn’t make sense. This is the feeling that we come away with in about 1/3 of our initial meetings with potential new clients. No one has asked them directly about their current business and/or marketing outcomes before. We have received many answers that are similar to Brian Fantana’s study on Panther Cologne.

Businesses who do not have e-commerce websites, but rather are setup for lead generation have a tougher job evaluating successful outcomes and return on investment. Your investment and work in search marketing does not end when you see increasing traffic and conversions to your website, that’s only the beginning.

What happens to leads after they have converted online?

• Are they quality leads?
• How long is the sales cycle?
• What is the average sales close rate?
• How many leads turned into sales last month?

These are questions that need to be shared (and asked) continuously from your business partner. Measuring the outcomes is not easy. It’s a commitment of time and resources to truly understand if your search marketing efforts are working.

Don’t tell us how much you want to spend; Tell us how much you want to make!

Our approach has always been to understand the goals first, then re-engineering the search marketing game plan to best achieve these goals. It all starts with the simple question, what are your business goals? Do you want to grow revenue from $5m to $7m? Do you want to grow market share by X%.

Give us a shout out about your thoughts…..You stay classy Indianapolis

Chris Bross

The post Sharing Outcomes is Key to Search Marketing Success appeared first on Evereffect Blog.

You can see the headlines everywhere, screaming across the internet: “How To Get More Hits! Increase Traffic Instantly! Guaranteed Visitor Increase!” With so many articles, websites, ads, and businesses devoted to this subject, it would appear that increasing clicks on your advertising and bringing more people to your website is one of the most popular goals of PPC advertisers. I’d like to throw a wrench in all of this, though, and argue that getting more traffic should not be a goal.

Sure, having ads that float along on search pages without any clicks shouldn’t be a goal, either. Obviously we all want users to click on our ads and visit our websites. However, getting that click isn’t doing you any good on its own, and has only served to increase your advertising costs. It’s what happens after that click that really matters: the actions taken by users once they arrive at your site. The conversions are what you’re really after, since that’s what will ultimately bring you what you want—sales, form submissions, phone calls, information requests, etc.

So, what does this all mean for the management of your PPC account? It’s simple: don’t aim for higher click volume alone. Set your sights on conversions, and look to raise your click volume with that separate end goal in mind. Check out your statistics on a regular basis, and if you’re knocking it out of the park in click traffic resist the urge to relax and let it ride. Make sure that those clicks are working for you, and if they aren’t, it’s time to make changes.

• Use plenty of negative keywords to weed out irrelevant traffic.
• Don’t rely on broad match keywords alone: phrase and exact match may bring less traffic, but, provided your keywords are relevant, they’ll bring more qualified traffic.
• Check your ad text: it should be relevant to your keywords and website, enticing and attention-grabbing, and include a specific call-to-action for users.

Yes, if you implement some of these suggestions there’s a good chance your traffic numbers may go down. This is not necessarily a bad thing: it’s much better to have less click volume and more conversions, than to have higher volume with fewer conversions. If you do the math you’ll soon discover that the former results in a much higher ROI, and your campaigns will be more successful overall.

Do you have any more suggestions for increasing conversions, or information about increasing or reducing click traffic? We here at EverEffect would love to hear it!

The post Increasing PPC Traffic Should Not Be A Goal (Alone) appeared first on Evereffect Blog.

The Marketing Technology Blog was founded by Douglas Karr of DK New Media, LLC in 2006.  It’s mission is to expose Marketers to information that can help them improve their marketing results.  Practical information, tools and technology for Marketing Professionals, Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs.

Marketing Technology blog discusses the latest news, best practices, products and services for online marketing, search engine marketing, social media marketing, mobile marketing and more.

EverEffect has had the privilege of being a regular contributor to the blog for the past few years.  Below are some of our posts:

• Invest in Your Brand with a PPC Brand Campaign
• Google AdWords Policy – Follow Those Rules!
• PPC Automation: Keywords Gone Wild
• Conversions, Content & Rock Operas
• PPC vs. SEO; Spy vs. Spy
• Who’s Your Search Engine Marketing Villain?

In addition to a great line up of blog contributors, The Marketing Technology Blog also has created MTB Radio.  MTB Radio interviews various industry leaders on such topics as search engine optimization, pay per click, inbound marketing, conversion optimization, analytics, email marketing and social media marketing strategies.

Some of our favorite MTB Radio shows:

The post Marketing Tech Blog – Top Online Marketing Resource appeared first on Evereffect Blog.

Much like Brendan Fraser in Journey to the Center of the Earth (btw thumbs down), you may find yourself struggling to survive in this seemingly strange world of online advertising – especially if you only have a few clues to help you on your way.  It occurred to me that when it comes to PPC advertising, there are two groups of people involved in this journey:

• The company; who is on the journey to conversion optimization and searching for ways to not only get traffic to their site,  but to also get those visitors to stay a while and convert.
• The consumer; who is on a journey to find what they are searching for with the hopes of not falling into the dark abyss of endless websites that end up having absolutely nothing to do with what they were searching for, or worse yet, finding a site where the information is hidden.

In an attempt to help the second group, the first group must have the information they need to be successful in their journey.  Being a member of the first group and handling day-to-day ppc account management, I have provided few more clues to help my fellow man on their journey to the center of conversion optimization.

Warning, Danger Ahead:  do not bid on Keywords that have nothing to do with the product/service you offer:

Visitors to your site will not stay if  they can’t find relevant information to what they were searching for.

If a visitor has been tricked to your site due to keywords that really have nothing to do with what you offer, they will not only leave your site but they will be frustrated as well since you just wasted their time.  Therefore, bidding on irrelevant keywords is not only detrimental to your conversion goals, but when those visitors are looking for a product or service you actually DO offer, they may choose to stay clear of your site due to their previous experience.

Getting good, quality traffic to your site is half the battle.  The other half is providing your visitors with good, quality content and creating a Landing Page template that is synonymous to achieving your goals (obtaining more conversions).  When a visitor finds a site that seems to contain information they are looking for, but the Landing Page is set up like a Where’s Waldo book, they will leave…quickly and without converting!

Warning, Turn Back Now:  Do Not put Sign-up Forms, Newsletter Guides, or anything you are wanting to track as a conversion…..at the bottom of the page

The truth is that while consumers are on a journey to find what they are looking for, you want to make that journey as easy and stress free as possible.  When creating landing pages for your products and services, keep in mind that visitors to your site need to be guided to what you want them to do.  You want to put any forms, sign-ups, or downloadable guides “above the fold”.

Follow these two essential clues when creating or re-evaluating your website and you will be well on your way to successfully making your journey to the conversion optimization.

The post Journey to PPC Conversion Optimization appeared first on Evereffect Blog.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about The End Of The World. Just check out a few Google search results on the topic. I blame Harold Camping, and his May 2011 Rapture predictions. Either way, there appear to be two distinct camps battling it out: those who believe on some level that something disastrous is coming our way; and those who feel as though that first group is totally nuts. Regardless of which side you’re on, if you’re in the PPC game you might find some credibility in one of my favorite ‘the end is coming!’ quotes:

It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark.

The meaning is pretty clear for those considering an underground backyard shelter. But for PPC? When it comes to online advertising—and more specifically, the spending of your hard earned dollars on advertising—it’s probably best not to sit around and wait for something disastrous to happen. Take it from the boy scouts, and Be Prepared.

1. Do your keyword research!

You don’t need to be a PPC expert to do a little bit of introductory keyword research. Never assume that you can throw a few phrases together that describe what you do or what you sell, use those as keywords, and watch the revenue come rolling in. Google has put together tools that are fairly simple to use, that will help you identify keywords that a.) have healthy search volume, and b.) don’t cost an arm and a leg. The Keyword Tool is a great place to start. You can begin with a word or phrase that accurately describes your business, and the tool will populate with additional keyword suggestions related to that original term. Don’t be surprised if there are a lot of duds. This is an automated tool, after all, and algorithms aren’t always known for their subtlety or understanding. Don’t write these off, though, without first considering using them as negative keywords to weed our irrelevant traffic. The bottom line? You want a balance of high search volume (i.e. actual folks out there looking for what you’re offering), and low cost (CPCs).

2. Create plenty of ads

Now that you’ve got a decent keyword list in the works, you’ll want to make sure that you’ve got good ads to go along with them. One common mistake made during the ad creation process is putting together one really great text ad for each ad group, and letting that ad do all the work. Poor ad—that’s a lot of pressure! Not to mention the fact that if for some reason your ad is disapproved or comes down for editing there will be no ads left to show in its place. Add to that the fact that you’ll have nothing else to compare it to stats-wise, and you’re not in a very good position. You always want to have at least two ads per ad group at all times. This way—provided they’re not identical—there’s a good chance that if one of your ads gets disapproved you’ll still be in the game with the other. And if you need to edit them, do it one at a time so that you continue to run. You’ll also be able to get a better idea of what users are responding to, and make better ads because of it. You can measure your stats, see which ad is performing better, and use that information to optimize your ads…but remember, do it one at a time.

3. Brush up on policy

Yeah, it’s no secret that I’m a bit of a stickler about the Google AdWords policies. And I completely understand that policy isn’t all that fun to read about. So I’ll keep it short and sweet…as I’ve said many times before, while you may not be able to memorize all of the policies, at least make an effort to know those that govern your industry. You should also probably have a basic understanding of things like editorial policy for text ads, to avoid getting disapproved for something simple and preventable. No one likes having their ads come down for not following the rules, only to spend hours researching online and calling support to get them back up.

4. Analytics is your friend

I won’t lie—Google Analytics isn’t the most user friendly program for those new to PPC. However, if you have the ability to get the tracking code on your website, and understand enough about the reports to get a basic idea of what’s going on, it will help you—I promise. Even if you don’t intend to do super in-depth analysis of your traffic patterns, visitors, and goals, Analytics will help to show you where people enter your site, where they navigate, and where they drop off. Why is this important? Imagine for a moment that you’ve been running PPC campaigns just fine for a little while now, and all of a sudden the calls just stop coming. You check your Analytics reports to see what’s going on. You notice that the bounce rate on a key page just prior to your conversion page has jumped immensely in the past few days. You check out your website, and—voila!—the very page that Analytics pointed you towards is now showing a 404 error. Who knows how it got there, but now that you know why people are leaving your site, you have the opportunity to fix it, ASAP.

So there you have it. None of this is rocket science, or even as drastic as stocking up on a year’s supply of filtered water and dehydrated meals. But with a little bit of preparation and time spent up front on your PPC account, you’ll fare much better in the face of unexpected difficulties. By no means is this a comprehensive or complete list of things that one can do before or during the creation of PPC campaigns, but it is a start, and could help save you some dollars down the road.

The post PPC Disaster Preparedness appeared first on Evereffect Blog.