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

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.

In B2B search marketing, getting backlinks can be twice as hard when compared to B2C marketing. The primary reason is that there’s a smaller pool of prospects. But, that doesn’t mean that B2B marketers can’t be just as effective at link building.

One of the easiest ways to create backlinks is to create a company blog.  Following is an overview of how to create a blog that becomes a backlinking machine.

Update Your Blog Frequently to Get the Best Results

Many B2B search engine marketing experts lament over just how inefficient some companies are when it comes to updating their blog. Some companies do it once or twice a month, others every few months.

If you’re trying to build backlinks, your company’s blog must be updated much more frequently – a few times a week at minimum. The reason is, you want to keep visitors engaged.

Think of it this way, if you were a retail store like Macy’s and updated your windows every few months, how many new shoppers do you think you’d pull in? Not a lot.

But, if they passed the windows every day or every few days and saw a new outfit, it keeps passersby intrigued. Many will wander in – and buy.

Same concept applies to this B2B search marketing concept. Blog frequently to keep passersby engaged and interested – interested enough to stop and read what you have to say, then perhaps leave a comment, or link to the post, or recommend it to a friend.

B2B search engine marketing is not difficult. It just takes doing what’s necessary – day in and day out – to be successful. And this is where so many fall down. Don’t! Create your company’s blog, update it frequently – and start reaping the fruits of backlink success that much sooner.

Learn more about Search Engine Marketing and Social Media strategies at the B2B Search Strategy Summit (June 23) or PPC Summit Presents…Search & Social Media Success (Sept. 2010).

Many online businesses spend a lot of time and money on getting more traffic. But, B2B search engine marketing is not about traffic. Traffic is just a means to an end. What the focus should be on is conversions.

Conversions should be every online marketer’s obsession. For, it’s conversions that put money in your pocket; it’s conversions that can lower your marketing costs; and it’s conversions that can leave your competitors in the dust.

How to Forget about Traffic and Focus on Conversions

Getting more website traffic is a mindset that can cloud your vision when it comes to the most important B2B Search marketing statistic (conversions).

For example, you may not use negative qualifiers when devising your pay per click campaign. As negative qualifiers are phrases which filter out prospects (which means less traffic), you could be getting more website traffic, but fewer actual conversions. Don’t fall prey to this.

To construct a B2B search marketing campaign that is conversion driven, as opposed to traffic driven, do the following:

Define Conversions: Conversions can be an actual sale, a newsletter signup, a request for more info, etc. Whatever it is, make sure it is clearly defined so you can . . .

Mine Data: Analytics allow you do dig into your B2B search marketing campaigns to see what’s working and what’s not. By using the data you find via your website’s analytics, you can . . .

Do Split Testing: By running split-test campaigns, you can actually see which methods work best to get the desired conversion you want.

This is B2B search marketing that works! For more on what works and what doesn’t in B2B Search and Social Media, join the B2B Search Strategy Summit coming up June 23 in San Francisco, CA.

B2B search engine marketing is all encompassing. It includes everything from pay per click (PPC) to search engine optimization (SEO). One of the fastest growing niches of B2B search marketing is social media. Sites like Twitter and Facebook sign up tens of thousands of new users per day and drive massive amounts of traffic to online businesses.

Hence, it’s essential to not only have a presence on a few of these sites, but to also pay attention to how your business is perceived via them.

Following is some insight into how to use social media sites – the right way – to brand your business.

B2B Search Marketing & Social Media: Don’t Sell, Inform
Have you ever known someone who talked about themselves incessantly? They never ask others, but are always divulging what they want, what they need, what they’re doing, who they met, etc.

Annoying, isn’t it?

People do the same thing in social media. For example, they always tweet their latest blog post or product/service offering, but never bother to retweet content from others.

While it’s perfectly fine to use social media to market your products and services, remember that most people look for information before purchasing. So share relevant information – pertinent to your niche — with them. This builds a relationship, which leads to sales.

Once you set up a social media account – whether it’s on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, etc. – stay active on a regular basis. Otherwise, you run the risk of making your business appear “flaky,” which is never a good thing in business.

Social media is an ideal B2B search marketing strategy to build a relationship with prospects. And when they’re ready to buy, your firm will be front and center.

To learn more valuable strategies on B2B search marketing and social media, join top B2B Marketers June 23 in San Francisco at the B2B Search Strategy Summit and “Discover the Top 7 Ways to Increase Your B2B Search Marketing Profits.” We look forward to see you there!

If you offer only one way to access information on your site, you could be losing customers. B2B marketing in a multi-media world means paying attention to how your prospects like to receive information – not how you like to offer it.

B2B Marketing: Something to Think About When It Comes to Multimedia

Have you ever visited a site and wanted to access some content, but it wasn’t in the right format for you? For example, let’s say a site offers a free report you’d really like to have, but it’s a video. What you want is a pdf file because you want to print it out and read it while you’re taking the train on your evening commute home.

B2B Search Marketing Tip: Diversify to Capture More

While multimedia formats have been around for years, many businesses are not up to speed when it comes to integrating these choices into their website offerings. This could be because many businesses still grapple with what it really means to do business online.

Many have just gotten around to grasping the basics of B2B search marketing. So thinking ahead of the curve is not a consideration at this point.

In order to effectively compete online though, it’s critical to stay in tune with what your customers want – even if it forces you to play catchup.

One easy way to increase your site’s traffic is to offer info in a variety of multimedia formats. By giving your site’s visitors options, you put them in control of how they receive and process information.

And that’s what B2B search marketing is all about – giving customers what they want – how they want it.

One of the easiest ways to stay front and center with your prospects is to blog.

Blogging is free, it’s easy to start and you can personalize your brand via this medium. For these reasons, it’s one of the most effective B2B search engine marketing weapons in your online advertising arsenal. But, it can be time consuming.

And if you’re a small business without a dedicated blogger on staff, it can eat up a lot of your time. However, it doesn’t have to. Following is one way to make sure you use this B2B search marketing weapon frequently and effectively, but also time consciously.

B2B Search Marketing: Contact Prospects Daily without Being a Nuisance

Have you ever belonged to any kind of mailing list where you got daily tips? This could be anything from a link to a useful industry website, to a link to a relevant news article, to a daily joke about your niche.

In today’s world, we’re all programmed to consume in small bites, ie: 15-second news bites, 30-second promo videos, 140-character Twitter tweets, etc.

Hence the groundwork for a blog that dispenses compact daily tips, tricks, ideas and/or jokes has already been laid. A blog like this is quick and easy to update, and it keeps your brand in front of customers.

And, this is really what B2B search engine marketing is all about – staying top of mind so that when customers need what you have to offer, you’re the first one they think of.

All B2B marketers know the importance of keywords to their online marketing initiatives. But, many make a common mistake when it comes to keyword usage. Following is what it is and how to fix it.

Are You Using Keywords That Are Important to You or Your Customers

There’s an idiomatic expression in marketing that goes, “What’s in it for me?” Marketers are supposed to answer this with their customer in mind. In other words, they should be using keywords that reflect what’s important to their customer, NOT what’s important to them – which is exactly what many do.

While many offline marketers have embraced this line of thinking, many online marketers haven’t. One reason may be that for many B2B marketers, they use applications, processes and marketing procedures that their customers don’t know anything about.

All a customer may know is that they land on a site, it has what they want – at the right price – so they purchase.

But what if your customer is not landing on your site, but your competitor’s site? Are you using the right keyword phrases – keyword phrases that likely prospects would use to find your site?

In B2B search marketing, one of the most difficult things to do is divorce yourself from high-tech processes and procedures and think like your customer. When your customer sits down to conduct a web search, what will they type in? It may be very different than the terminology reflected in your marketing that you “think” they’ll type in.

While B2B marketing reflects a 21st world, the foundation of what works is as old as marketing itself, ie, “What’s in it for me?” And, in this case “me” is your customer.

Did you know – The b2b Search Strategy Summit will bring 150 B2B senior level marketers together to hone their seach marketing skills and increase their campaign results on June 23, 2010 in San Francisco. Will you be there? Check it out at http://www.b2bSearchStrategy.com

When you advertise, you don’t do so in a vacuum. Smart B2B search engine marketing reflects what’s going on in the economy at large. If it doesn’t, the retailer runs the risk of being out of step with their customer. This can be a death knell for any business owner.

With this in mind, following are three ways to ensure that your B2B search marketing efforts not only survive a recession – but thrive during it.

I. Use Keywords That Reflect Savings

During an economic downturn, consumers focus on saving money. Are your online campaigns doing the same? If not, they should. Many internet marketers use a “set it and forget it” mentality when they run pay per click campaigns, for example.

When was the last time you reviewed yours? In a recession, your customers are likely using slightly different keywords to shop online. They may be pairing main keyword phrases with words like “discount,” “free,” and “coupons.”

So go back and change the headlines in your PPC ads and tweak the landing pages to make sure this lingo is reflected.

II. Update Product Offerings

Piggybacking on the last point, can you package several products/services together and offer savings? Can you offer a “two for one” deal? A “frequency savings” card where you get a free latte on your third visit?

III. Reach Out More Often

When the economy is in the dumps, it’s a problem. And like any problem, it requires more communication – not less. So reach out to your customers more. You can do this by starting a blog, distributing a newsletter, doing “savings tip of the day” emails, etc.

Smart B2B search marketing is mercurial. It changes with the wants, needs and desires of the customer. And that’s how you not only survive a recession; it’s how you thrive during it.

Tell us how you are surviving the tough times. What search marketing methods are working for you?

One of the leading mistakes many online marketers make is having sparse sites with little or no useful information. And, while from a design standpoint this can be aesthetically pleasing, it does little for the web surfer.

Following is why many B2B search engine marketing experts say sites need more content.

B2B Search Marketing Advice: The Way Web Surfers Search

When web surfers log onto the web, most of them are looking for information. This is particularly true of those who are looking to buy. Information helps them to make informed buying decisions, so when it’s down to Company A’s product or Company B’s product, the more information a consumer has at hand, the easier it is for them to click the “Buy Now” button.

More Content Leads to Better Search Engine Rankings

More content is also good from a ranking perspective in that search engines use content to help discern what a product/service is all about. And, if this content is written with SEO in mind, it will not only be informative, it will be keyword rich – which will drive it up in organic listings. This makes it easier for web surfers to find. The easier a site is to find, the more visitors it has. The more visitors it has, the more sales it is likely to make.

A Top B2B Search Engine Marketing Tip: Content Creates Authority

One of the easiest ways to get more online sales is to create an authority site in a tightly defined niche. Search engine optimized content – lots of it – does this. If your site has a well-developed bank of informative content on a specific topic, the more search engines are to view it as an authority site.

And that, say B2B search marketing experts, is like money in the bank.

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