Pay Per Click StrategiesBetter Search Engine Marketing / Pay-Per-Click Results Start Here – We Guarantee It!

If you’re struggling to increase your AdWords profits, then you can’t afford to miss the upcoming AdWords Advantage Online Seminar. The AdWords Advantage faculty will share the latest mission critical secrets to pay per click advertising success during 18 expert-led classes May 10-19, 2011. Read on to find out how you can learn the Top 10 Most Effective AdWords Strategies to Improve Your Conversion Rates and Maximize Your AdWords ROI, plus find out details about the FREE preview webinar on April 28th…

The AdWords Advantage experts include the industry’s best: Craig Danuloff, David Szetela, Dennis Yu, Fred Vallaey’s, Justin Cutroni, Kevin Lee and many more. These experts will help you learn the quickest ways to get ahead of your AdWords competition with improved website rankings, better Quality Score and lower keyword Cost-Per-Click.

Top 10 Reasons to Attend the AdWords Advantage Online Seminar, You’ll Learn How to:

1. Setup an effective AdWords campaign and grow your business 
2. Apply proven PPC techniques that yield higher conversions
3. Leverage social media to improve your AdWords campaign performance
4. Personalize your keywords to meet the needs of your specific market
5. Utilize the top tools and solutions to save time and cut ad costs
6. Control costs and improve conversions on content campaigns
7. Optimize AdWords and track your campaigns using Google Analytics
8. Develop an effective AdWords and Social Media marketing plan
9. Improve your Quality Score and combat costly mistakes 
10. Properly measure AdWords beyond the last click

Here’s Your Sneak Peak Pass to the FREE Preview Webinar on April 28th 1 PM/EST: PPC Beyond AdWords – Reach More Targeted Customers with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – join David Szetela, CEO of Clix Marketing, covering the Top 10 Simple and Effective Techniques for Getting the Most Out of Social Media Advertising!

This is a great training seminar for all marketers who want to grow their business using AdWords. You can reserve your spot and Save 50% Now–and don’t forget to check out the free preview webinar!

1. It’s the first major online seminar covering conversion rate and optimization for landing pages and websites!

2. No other online seminar connects you with 22 internet marketing authorities - expert knowledge at your fingertips.

3. Learn top secrets from online marketing pioneer Bryan Eisenberg on how to Master the Conversion Trinity.

4. Get the inside scoop on the Top Website Design Tips proven to increase conversion rates.

5. Gain valuable insights from real-world case studies -  Conversion Optimization Testing Increases Lead Generation Success.

6. You’ll learn how the experts avoid the Most Common Conversion Rate Killers.

7. It’s your chance to learn  Keywords & Site Optimization: How to Translate Queries into Conversions.

8. Copyblogger’s Brian Clark will uncover Landing Page Copywriting Tips that Turn Traffic into Money.

9. You’ll discover how to Reduce Your AdWords Spend and Increase Your Quality Score.

10. Learn How to Develop and Execute a Successful Conversion Optimization Strategy.

11. Start Producing High-Quality Content that helps you achieve your conversion goals.

12. Understand Why Your Website is NOT Driving Sales and how you can drastically improve your conversion rates.

13. Discover Marketing Optimization Secrets-Your Landing Page Is Just One Step by Jim Sterne, Targeting.com.

14. Gain immediate sales results from the strategies learned and boost your bottom line profits.

15. Kip Bodnar from Hubspot dishes on Driving and Measuring B2B Conversations, Leads and Sales with Social Media.

16. Hear first-hand from Google’s Trevor Claiborne on How to Really Use Website Optimizer.

17. Did I mention this event is completely online – view it live at the scheduled class time or at your leisure!

18. The direct interaction with the Conversion Experts – ask your questions and gain immediate answers.

19. Take your company’s online marketing to the next level with these optimization secrets revealed.

20. You can’t afford NOT to optimize your website and landing pages and convert more clicks to customers!

These are just a few of the huge benefits you’ll gain from attending the Landing Page Success Seminar on November 30-December 16, 2010. Check it out today!

Hurry, there are only a few passes left– Register and Save 50% NOW!

We hope to see you there,

The Landing Page Success Seminar and PPC Summit team

Did you know that Google can help you design a better landing page? One that converts at a much higher rate? They can, via their Website Optimizer program for business.

Why Trust Google to Help You Build a Better Landing Page

Google is by far the number one search engine. In August 2010, it delivered a 65.1% share of search results, compared to 13.1% for Yahoo! and 13.9% for Bing (MSN) [Source: NielsenWire Blog]. This highlights the need to think about what this search engine thinks is important in terms of landing page design and optimization.

Now that you know why, let’s look at some of the ways Google helps you craft a higher-converting landing page.

Landing Page Design Elements Google Can Help You With

It’s the Little Things That Count: Small changes like color, font and design layout can lead to big conversions. You can test all of these with Website Optimizer. And, speaking of running tests . . .

Testing, Tweaking and Retesting: In internet marketing, you know the name of the game is testing, tweaking and retesting. With Website Optimizer, you can run split tests on your landing pages — on everything from “individual copy blocks and images to complete page layouts.”

Data Mining: After you run tests, then it’s time to comb through the data to see exactly what the numbers mean. Website Optimizer goes a step further; it provides you with what Google calls, “Intuitive Reporting.” Via this tool, you can see exactly how the changes you make to your landing page design affect the bottom line.

If landing page design is new to you, or you’re not getting the results you want, check out Google’s Website Optimizer for some help to get on track.

Interested in learning more about landing page optimization? Check out the Search Engine Marketing Insider email newsletter to learn quick tips for improving your customer conversion rates. Also let us know what you would like to learn in landing page optimization and we’ll cover your top picks on our blog. Feel free to post your comments, questions and ideas.

Your landing page is as critical to the success of your online marketing efforts as keywords. For, they are the first place prospects “land” when they click on your ads. Now that you’ve done all the hard work of getting them to click through, following is one thing you can do to make sure they take the action you want them to take.

Often landing pages are conceived, written, proofed and studied by professional internet marketers – or fellow comrades (eg, a copywriter). We point this out to say, it not likely to be looked at by someone who doesn’t know anything about landing pages. Hence, it doesn’t get the “fresh eye, first look” perspective it may need to be improved.

One thing you should always do is get someone who doesn’t know anything about internet marketing, or at the very least someone who had no input in designing the landing page, to look at it and give feedback.

You may be pleasantly surprised by what you’ll discover, ie:

How a concept you thought was clear was in fact very confusing;

How the action you thought you were asking a prospect to take was not very clear (or was too involved/intrusive);

What was left out that you thought was implicitly understood;

Etc. 

Remember, your landing page should be written from the point of view of your visitors. Too often in internet marketing, knowledge you think your prospects will have is something they simply don’t possess. This is because internet marketing is a fairly new phenomenon.

If you spend your days discussing click through rates (CTRs), conversions and calls to action statements, then it’s second nature to you. But your prospects may not have this type of knowledge; hence, a lot of what you have to say may be a foreign language to them.

Recognize this, and optimize your landing pages so that they’re crystal clear – and your prospects can take the action(s) u want/expect them to take.

To learn more about Landing Optimization and other online marketing strategies check out the Search Engine Marketing (Pay Per Click) Insiders email newsletter.

The continued growth of search and social media marketing is creating new opportunities, but Marketers are challenged on how to effectively integrate social media into their search marketing efforts. To address this challenge, PPC Summit presents an all new conference this year “Search & Social Media Success” which will be held at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel on Sept. 21-22, 2010. 

The new sessions will teach expert, trusted strategies, and provide the tools and resources to Marketers searching to improve their campaign results. Registration is open and parties can register now before the full agenda is live to get the $400.00 early bird rate.

The ALL NEW 3 Tracks and 27 ‘How-To’ Sessions cover step-by-step instructions for creating and managing successful search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO) and social media marketing (SMM) campaigns.

Over the last five years, PPC Summit has trained thousands of internet marketers how to be smarter and increase their ROI using search engine marketing. Results from a recent attendee survey sent to 3500 Search Marketers, revealed the growing need for further advanced training in these areas: Google AdWords, Quality Score, Keyword Targeting, Pay Per Click, Blogging, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, SEO tips and tools, Landing Pages and more.

What Marketers Will Learn:

• Leading-edge SMM (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube), SEO and SEM (Google AdWords, Microsoft AdCenter, Yahoo Search Marketing) instruction, content and actionable strategies that can be implemented right away to boost ROI.
• Which SMM, SEO and SEM tools, solutions and resources to utilize to achieve higher profits, and take-away comprehensive reference guides to build an effective search and social marketing plan.
• How to get on the fast-track of successful search and social media marketing–gain answers direct from the SEM/SEO/SMM experts and build lasting relationships with peers

 Register today for the two-day pass, only $995–includes three tracks and 27 in-depth sessions, networking, breakfast, lunches, breaks, 2 comprehensive training manuals and more. For more information, visit the
PPC Summit website or call 800-507-2958.

Social media marketing has grown to such an extent that many companies are abandoning other types of marketing altogether. Proof? Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream was the first major company to announce that it was abandoning email marketing to focus more on social media marketing.

The real “story of this story” though is not that they did this, but why they did this. As the article states:

“ . . . the iconic Vermont-based premium ice cream maker is dropping its regular email newsletter . . . after customers aired their preference to be contacted via social media channels [emphasis added].”

Only you can decide if social media marketing is the only form of marketing you want to engage in. But, it should definitely be a part of your marketing mix – for it’s a direct line to what your customers want. Following is the number one thing you can do to generate traffic – for years to come.

The #1 Social Media Marketing Tip Every Business Can Use to Get the Most Traffic

Make useful content creation the foundation of your social media campaigns. Following is why.

There are many ways to generate traffic online, eg, commenting on other blogs, article marketing, pay per click, etc. Some are more time consuming than others. But great content will always drive traffic – immediately and in the future.

This is because web surfers look for information. Two hours spent writing an in-depth blog post that answers a lot of questions those in your niche might have will get linked to over and over and over again. This generates traffic for years to come.

How Content Marketing Via Social Media Outlets Saves Time

Once you create great content and make others aware of it via social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, you can spend much less time marketing because it becomes viral. Social media users love to promote great content – for it makes them look good. This is akin to having a social media marketing sales force on payroll.

And it’s why great content – whether it’s a series of videos or a standalone blog post – should be the cornerstone of every social media marketing strategy.

Have you heard about PPC Summit’s upcoming Seach & Social two day conference coming to the Omni Los Angeles Hotel in Sept? It’s the event for marketers to learn actionable strategies for effectively integrating search and social campaigns.

One of the benefits of social media marketing for micropreneurs and small business owners is that they can level the playing field — big time — by investing in this medium. In fact, it’s a perfectly suited medium for the entrepreneur with no budget or a small budget to compete with the big boys. Why/how?

One advantage that small businesses have over larger companies is their ability to really know their customer. When you know, you can engage more readily and effectively. This is a powerful advantage that many forward-thinking entrepreneurs are leveraging.

By putting just a small amount of effort into using social media marketing, your firm can stand head-to-head with larger companies — at least in this realm. And, it works! Proof? According to a post on Emarketer.com, a noted research firm that reports on digital media and marketing:

“. . . a February–March 2010 survey from office services firm Regus, smaller companies see the most success [with social media marketing], with nearly half of small businesses around the world having acquired a customer through social networks. . . . Overall, 40% of businesses studied had acquired a customer through a social [media] site, 35% of US businesses said the same.”

So, not only is social media marketing effective for small business, it appears to be a MORE effective outlet for them.

Is your firm leveraging this powerful outlet? If not, why?

Did You Know? PPC Summit’s next conference will bring the top minds in Social Media and Search Engine Marketing together during two days, three tracks and 27 expert-led classes in Los Angeles (Sept. 21-22, 2010).  The educational sessions cover all aspects surrounding: search marketing, search engine optimization, and social media best practices and strategies. You can’t afford to miss it!

Ben & Jerry’s recently made what some would consider a ballsy move? They abandoned email marketing in favor of social media. While arguments can be made on both sides — ie, it was a good move or a stupid move – that’s not the point.

The lesson here is one every business can capitalize on. What is it?

Social media marketing is not a fad; it’s here to stay. And if you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon, you’d better bet your competition has, or plans to very soon. Proof?

50-75% of Businesses Worldwide Use Social Networks (eg, Twitter, Facebook, etc.)

According to a July 2010 post on BizReport.com entitled, Survey: Small businesses find success with social networking” on BizReport.com:

Social networks are now actively used by between half and three quarters of companies worldwide for  various networking functions . . . [and] 40% of businesses globally have found new customers via social networks.

While some may argue that Ben & Jerry’s have gone a little far in their adoption of social media marketing, the argument could be made that pouring a company’s resources into a marketing method that works is just smart business.

Social Media Marketing: It’s Biggest Advantage

Social media marketing provides immediate feedback. While email can be pretty immediate, a newsletter, for example, may sit in a prospects mailbox for days or weeks before it’s read. With social media marketing (eg, Twitter), prospects are primed to respond to tweets immediately – and constantly.

Perhaps the brand manager for the giant ice cream change said it best, ie: “Developing friendship and a relationship is key for us and social media [marketing] is the best place for that.”

PPC Summit is dedicated to bringing you the latest strategies, insights, and techniques for Internet marketing.  Search marketing, search engine optimization, and social media practices are constantly evolving.  Stay up-to-date and learn about special offers with PPC Summit’s monthly email newsletter, and it’s free!

When most business stick their toes in the search engine marketing waters, one of the first things they hear about is search engine optimization (SEO), as it relates to content. Not a lot of talk revolves around images; but it should for, everything on your site (eg, videos, photos, etc.) can help it rank well in search engines. And, this is what search engine marketing is all about.

The first thing you should know is that search engine bots (ie, spiders) can only read (search) text. And this is why things like Flash should be kept to a minimum, or not used at all unless it’s really, really necessary to your industry (eg, you’re a web developer, animator, movie maker, etc.).

Following is a mini tutorial on how to name your site’s images so that it ranks higher in search results.

Name Images Using Keywords: For example, instead of naming a photo photo.jpg1, name it pay-per-marketing-tips.jpg (if PPC marketing is what your firm specializes in).

Use the “ALT” Tag in Your Coding: Piggybacking on the last point, add the ALT tag when you name images. This tag explains what an image file is. A completed coded image with this tag may look like this:
<img src=”images/pay-per-click-services.jpg”width=”250″ height=”135″
ALT=”ABC Firm pay per click marketing services”>

Text Surrounding Images: The text that immediately surrounds your site’s images is valuable real estate from an SEO standpoint. Hence, you should do things like put captions on all of them and use keyworded text (ie, SEO content) in this space.

If you do these three things, your images (just like your site’s content) will increase the effectiveness of your search engine marketing efforts.

While starting a pay per click (PPC) campaign can be as easy as logging in to AdWords (or similar services from Yahoo! or Microsoft), doing it right and maximizing your ROI requires you to pay more careful attention to the choices you make when launching a PPC campaign.  This article will take a look at several settings you’ll want to carefully choose when setting up your PPC campaigns.

 Advertising Networks – Google Search, Search Partners, and Content

Performance across Google’s various advertiser networks can vary dramatically.  Currently, you can choose to have your ads shown on Google’s search network, Google’s search partners (3^rd party sites that use Google to power their results), content pages across Google’s entire AdSense network, or content pages that you specifically choose.  (Note: Google is in the process of rebranding its Content network as Google Display Network).

Choosing your networks

Ad Performance Can Vary by Network

Costs and performance can vary widely across the different networks (example below).  Bids and thus cost per click (CPC) tend to be lower on the content network, as that network generates a far higher number of impressions and lower click through rates than the search networks.  However, looking at the example below, you can see that rates can vary dramatically even within the search networks (Google vs. search partners) and within the content network (if you’re choosing your own placements).

Example of Campaign Performance by Network

Choosing Advertising Networks

So how do you choose which networks to run your ads on?  There isn’t a simple answer – it depends on your goals, spend available, and the topic or keywords of the campaign you’re running.  If you’re unsure of how your campaign will perform, a possible strategy is to setup two campaigns with the same keywords and ads, with one running on the search networks and one on content.  Separating them this way will make it easier to compare data using AdWord’s reporting tools.  Once the campaigns have been running for a while, you can tweak them, adjust the networks they’re running on, or cancel them if need be.