Archive for ppc marketing

15 Aug 2012
internet marketing • ppc marketing • seo • small business • social media

I Want More Visitors To My Website!


The BusinessInsider.com has a great article for small business owners about SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

The main concept of SEO is that the listings are organic, natural.  This is in contrast to the PPC (Pay Per Click) listings on the right hand side which are paid listings.  Of course, the SEO listings cost much less than PPC but they are harder to attain simply because the search engine rules apply to them (and believe me, there are MANY rules!).

The article gave 5 very good tips for small business owners about what it takes to get higher SEO status.

1. Build your site for users

The idea here is to make the website as user friendly as possible.  I know, it’s “more fun” and “more unique” to make your website look different from other websites.  From an artistic point of view, that is very true.  But when was the last time you re-visited a website because it looked different?  Aesthetics are important, absolutely.  But usability is more important.

Of course, if you’re a small business that is in the business of aesthetics, then of course, the colour scheme and graphics on your website will be very important.  But if you’re an attorney, or a plumber, or a doctor or a million other “business type” of industries, your visitors aren’t looking for artwork or colour schemes.  Your users are searching for what you have to offer, your prices and how qualified you are.

Stick to what your potential clients want and give it to them.  Market your website to that.  Don’t spend months focusing on just the right background colour.

2. Become a subject matter-authority

I say this to everyone, clients, potential clients, people who ask me “What can I do to get more visitors to my website?” – the answer is simply, “Showcase yourself as an expert in your field.”  The way to do that on the Internet is with information.  The more information you put out, the better.

I just had a client tell me the other day that he doesn’t want to put out too much information, he would rather that the visitor see his site and then call him.  That may have worked years ago but these days, it’s just too easy to click the button and look for the information elsewhere.  And the user will find it.  Internet users for the most part want to engage via the Internet.  They want to email or make the purchase.  They want the easiest method possible.  And as a side note, as mobile usage gets bigger and bigger, this scenario will become even truer.

3. Do stuff to attract links

This goes in conjunction with the #2 tip.  If you have information on your website that is unique, that is relevant, that is important – others WILL link to you.  Just like I’m linking to this article.  I can’t say it any better than they did in the article so I’m just going to quote them.

The easier answer is that to attract links you have to do stuff. You have to give people a reason to talk about you. And on the Web, talking about you means linking to you.

“You have to give people a reason to talk about you. And on the Web, talking about you means linking to you.”

4. Increase social and be social

One of the most difficult things these days, for small business owners, is to become involved and to be consistent about social media.  (I know I struggle with it as well).  But the fact is that these days, social media is your online Chamber of Commerce, your online Networking Groups.  It’s simply part of doing business.

5. Think about performance

The final tip they gave is a great one.  It’s one that I argue with clients over almost every day.  Website Performance.  I literally have to beg some clients to remove huge flash movies or slide shows from their websites so that the site loads faster, content is seen easier and of course, it’s more mobile friendly.  I argue about buttons that aren’t seen easily (hard to read) and colours or patterns that make it difficult to read the content.  I argue about placement of buttons and size of graphics.

My goal is to get visitors TO the website, I have to do that first.  Then I have to get them to convert.  As an SEO webmaster, that’s my entire job.  But, in order to do that job, there are some features that have to be sacrificed.  Again, this loops back to the #1 tip.  Usability.  And not only usability for the Internet user, but Usability for the search engines as well.  If your large graphics or flash movies impede the search engines from scanning your site, then what’s the point?

A business website should be bringing in business.  Period.  If it doesn’t, stop fighting with your SEO webmaster, listen to them.  Hopefully they’re giving you these 5 excellent tips!

 


Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported.

eckweb | No comments | Tags: , ,
21 May 2012
internet marketing • ppc marketing • seo • small business

Which Is Better, SEO or PPC?


A very common question asked by small business owners, “Which is better, SEO or PPC?”.

The answer can be a little complicated but it doesn’t have to be. Let’s see if I can help you make the best decision for your business.

First, let’s make sure we’re both on the same page as far as understanding the difference between SEO and PPC.

1) SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – is the process of working on the website content and coding in order to help it come up in the search engines for specific searches.  These results are on the left hand side of your Google search.

2) PPC (Pay Per Click) – is the process of bidding on keyword phrases and creating advertisements for these keyword phrases (which point to your website of course).  These results are on the right hand side of your Google search.  Sometimes you’ll also see PPC ads at the very top of the left hand side as well.

Now, what can each of these give your small business?  Knowing their differences will help you make the decision as to which one is better for your bottom line.  We’ll go through these with some FAQ.

1) How Long Before I See Results?

SEO will always take longer than PPC.  You can create a PPC advertisement and within 15-20 minutes, that ad will be showing up (depending on your settings of course).  But we can work on the SEO for a website and we may not see the results of that work for several weeks or months.  It depends on the amount of competition for the keyword phrase that is being marketed.

2) What Can I Expect To Spend?

SEO marketing is usually fixed to a certain extent.  Eckweb’s monthly marketing is $210.00 per month and that includes adding 1 new page to the website (clients provide the content and graphics).  So, it’s much easier to budget what will be spent with SEO marketing.

PPC marketing is fluid.  You may begin your marketing campaign bidding $2.00 per click on a specific keyword phrase but your competitors will begin upping that bid to gain ground so by the end of 2-3 months you may end up paying $5.00 per click.  That’s just the nature of PPC marketing.  The only way to avoid this is to keep changing keyword phrases (to go after keyword phrases that can bring you traffic for only $2.00 per click).

3) How Much Time Will I Be Spending On This Campaign?

SEO marketing inherently involves adding content to your website, on hopefully, a regular basis.  Daily, weekly, monthly, whatever – it’s up to the business owner.  Of course, the writing can be outsourced to someone else in the company or to a professional SEO Copywriter.  So, the amount of time spent on this aspect will depend on how the business owner wants to manage it.

Most business owners do not participate in the actual coding and website development process – so this is not an issue as far as time spent.

PPC marketing, if managed by an Internet Marketing firm will take very little time away from the business owner.  Once the parameters are set up in the PPC account – it’s just a matter of making the decision to spend more dollars or change keyword phrases every now and then.  Of course, if the business owner is managing his/her own PPC campaign then the amount of time spent can vary greatly, depending on how much knowledge he/she has and how much time is needed on the research.

Both marketing programs will require time to be spent reviewing the analysis of the campaigns.  It’s extremely important to keep checking if the campaigns are working or not.  And to make changes to the aspects of the campaigns that are not working.

The Bottom Line, Which Is Better, SEO or PPC?

The conclusion is that IF you have a limited budget, you will want to go with SEO marketing.  IF you absolutely need traffic to the website immediately, then you will want to go with PPC marketing but be prepared to pay.

I do hope this information was helpful.  If not, or if you have other questions about Internet Marketing, contact me at Eckweb.  I’m here to help.


Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported.

eckweb | No comments | Tags: , , , ,
27 Oct 2011
ppc marketing • seo • small business

Guarding Your Domain From .xxx


Well, it was just a matter of time I suppose.  “Earlier this year, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved the .XXX top-level domain. The new .XXX top-level domain is expected to be big business for domain registrars and of course the entire adult entertainment industry.” (Original Article)

Basically, to business owners this means that someone can purchase your domain name with .xxx after it.  It may not turn out to be harmful at all  (to your business I mean) but if you’ve worked hard to brand your business name, do you really want it associated with an “adult entertainment” industry?

If you are concerned about this and want to “block” others from purchasing your domain name.xxx then purchase it yourself.   GoDaddy has a page set up just for that.

I know, it’s at least $100.00/year – it sucks.  What can I tell you?  The price of doing business just went up a bit!  But if it’s worth it for you to keep your name out of that XXX industry, then do it.  You won’t be sorry.  Cause, if someone does purchase it, it’ll cost you much more than $100.00 to get it back.


Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported.

eckweb | No comments
05 Dec 2010
internet marketing • ppc marketing • seo • small business

Get Ready For 2011


If you haven’t been keeping up with the changes in the Internet Industry – let me be the one to tell you that 2010 brought about MANY, MANY changes.

In 2010:

1) Google changed their algorithim 300 times.  That means they tweaked and changed the rules of how websites are indexed 300 times.  They plan to continue this process.
Read More

2) Social Media has exploded and if you don’t have a Facebook or Twitter account, well, you won’t be able to compete on the Internet.

3) Video has exploded.  Youtube traffic has increased to the point that it’s the second most used search engine on the planet.   With the integration now of Internet TV Boxes, it’s just a matter of time before Internet video marketing grows even more.

4) QR codes began hitting the mainstream.   Wrapping paper made of QR codes linking to videos.  A gift wrapping a gift!

It’s intense, I know.  So much happening, so little time to keep up and even less time to actually implement the changes!  Believe me, I know!!

But, with all that being said, I’m very happy to be able to say that I am taking my company, Eckweb, through this storm!  We’re determined to continue providing affordable Internet marketing services for small businesses and in today’s economy, that’s saying alot!

Our goal in 2011 is to work closer with small businesses and help them to understand all these complexities!  As a small business owner, you don’t have to know the details of every change that has to take place on your website, or your Internet marketing campaign, but you do need to understand the concepts.  It’s this fact (understanding the concepts) that can help you make educated decisions on where to take your Internet marketing campaign.

That’s our goal, to make Internet Marketing Clear and Simple.

Check out our new site at eckweb and keep on checking as we begin the process of streamlining each section of the website to make the entire Internet marketing process for you simpler.


Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported.

eckweb | No comments | Tags: , , ,
01 Aug 2010
internet marketing • ppc marketing • small business

PPC for Small Businesses


PPC (Pay Per Click) for small businesses can be an excellent, effective tool if it’s used right.  The mistake, in my humble opinion, that many small businesses make when it comes to PPC marketing is that they don’t do their homework and they don’t properly maintain the campaign.  For these reasons, they can often spend much more money than they need to.  So, here are some tips on how small businesses can use PPC marketing.

1) Have a realistic budget.  I know some small businesses will want to stick with 10.00/day budget.  Okay, let’s say you do this.  If your average cost per click is $1.00 that means you’ll get 10 clicks. Now, think about your average conversion.  Are you able to convert 1 out of every 10 visitors?  If so, then you’ll average 1 new lead per click.  What is the average number of leads that you can convert to a customer?  This “math formula” will help you identify what your true daily expenditure should be.

2) Don’t just “set and forget”.  What I mean is, don’t just follow the guidelines or recommendations that Google gives you when you’re setting up your account.  Those recommendations are for the benefit of Google.  Investigate, test, re-investigate and re-test each setting.  Just because Google recommends $50.00 per day budget doesn’t mean that’s the best budget for you.  Just because Google recommends using the Content Network doesn’t mean that’s right for you.

3) Many small businesses forget to target a specific geography.  Don’t.  There are not many small businesses that can do transactions with every single country on the planet.   Let Google know where you want your ads to show.

4) Another thing small business owners tend to do is create one campaign and/or one ad.  This will never work.  You need multiple ads (at the very least) and you should have multiple campaigns.  I know, it means more money but make no mistake, PPC is not for small businesses with empty pocket books.  It’s like a casino.  If you don’t have money to spend you shouldn’t be going into a casino hoping that you’ll come out with more money.  You should only be spending money that you can live without.

5) Keywords!  It’s all about the keywords.  If you can pick the right keyword phrase you’ll do so much better than if you don’t.  How to do that?  How often to change them?  How to emphasize them?  There’s much more to PPC than writing an ad and just throwing it up and waiting for the calls to come in.  You’re essentially entering a race with your competitors.  If they’re driving cars with more powerful engines and you’re riding a bicycle well, it’s no wonder they’ll beat you every single time.

For more tips here’s a great article with some excellent ideas on ppc marketing for small businesses.

PPC marketing works but only if you know how to work it.


eckweb | No comments | Tags: , , ,
 

Switch to our mobile site