Ran across a great article from e.Marketer this morning regarding the growth of online ad spending within the realm of online marketing.  Nothing fancy here, just a couple of charts demonstrating the shift advertisers are making in their business marketing strategies.







Jeff Meuzelaar
Click Rain | Sioux Falls Marketing

In a previous post, I mentioned the concept of the quality score that Google places on each keyword within an ad group.  This blog post will shed some additional light on how the quality score is calculated and why it should be important to your business marketing strategy.

The concept of the quality score is to ensure that the most relevant content/ads receive a higher score, which in turn will help the ad become listed higher and cost less. 

The formula for the quality score is two-fold as it influences both the keyword's minimum bid and the keyword-targeted ad's position in the search results.  The precise formula for the quality score is a mystery; however, Google does give us a list of the basic components used - summarized below.

Optimizing for a keyword's minimum bid

• The keyword's historical clickthrough rate (CTR)
• Relevance of the keyword to the ad
• • For example, if you are targeting the keyword string of Sioux Falls Marketing but your ad copy does not contain this keyword string - you will receive a poor rating for this component
• Quality of landing page
• • Relevant content, navigability, load time, etc
• Historical CTR of the entire ad group

Optimizing for a higher ad position

• Historical CTR of the ad
• The ad's display url
• Matched keyword(s) on Google
• Relevancy of the keyword and ad
• Account history
• • Google actually takes into account the CTR of all the keywords and ads in your account

I'd also like to make another special note on the importance of relevant keywords within the ad copy.  If you're targeting the keyword string of business blogging, it is pertinent that this appears at least one time in the ad copy.  It seems very simple, until you begin accumulating an expansive list keywords!  The solution? Ad Groups.  
For more information straight from Google pertaining to AdWords, click here.

Happy PPC'n!

Jeff Meuzelaar
Click Rain
Sioux Falls Marketing

I ran across another great article from eMarketer today that detailed the growing number of baby boomers turned senior citizens who are frequent users of the internet. Such an immensely large demographic group promises to present rich internet marketing opportunities for a variety of businesses.  eMarketer suggests that a company's online business development should begin to also focus on creating a niche website that offers an eclectic blend of products that senior citizens have difficulty finding in the local store.  The graph below details the current and projected growth of internet users aged 62+.

 

Jeff Meuzelaar
Click Rain
Sioux Falls, SD

It's everywhere.  From adolescent teenagers to retired grandparents, Facebook has become one of the most recognizable terms in the internet culture.  With nearly 29 million users worldwide, Facebook presents an internet marketing opportunity too large to overlook.  In November of 2007, Facebook opened their doors to the online marketing world with the introduction of their ad system.

Target your Internet Marketing
Did you know that there are 843,500 Coldplay fans, 100,000 nursing graduates, and 137,320 sushi lovers on Facebook?.  What's the significance?  Organizations embracing Facebook have the ability to micro-target messaging to a very specific audience.  Ultimiately, advertisers should begin to see a more qualified leads through this micro-targeting technique. So next time you're promoting a concert for Coldplay, hiring nurses, or starting a Japanese restaurant - you know where to start your campaign.

Jeff Meuzelaar
Click Rain | Online Marketing
Sioux Falls, SD

According to a recent report by Piper Jaffray gas prices are having a significant influence on online consumer spending.  Rather than making a trip from the suburbs to the local mall, many consumers are purchasing on the web.  What does this mean for small business online marketing?  All businesses need to get their act together and develop an internet marketing and e.marketing campaign.  Without online business development, you won't be able to take advantage of this shift in consumer spending mediums.  Drop us a line and we'll help you start the process.

It's undeniable that an internet marketing strategy is critical; however, it is also very important to have traditional marketing channels to support your online strategy. How do users find your website?  The experts will tell you that 2/3 of the time offline marketing channels drove them to the web.  All in all, online business development is important but don't forget to support these efforts with offline channels.

After all, what good is peanut butter without jelly?

In the broad spectrum of internet marketing, paid search has become a fundamental element of a well balanced campaign.  Nearly every Jo Schmo business out there can utilize paid search as it is one of the most accessible forms of small business online marketing that exists.

However, what many of these users don't realize is that there are ways to optimize your ad ranking (i.e. position in the sponsored listings).  Google Adwords, for example uses what they call a "quality score" that plays a very significant role in where the ad is displayed.  Long story short...optimizing your paid search ads will ultimately lead to higher rankings, more leads, and a lower cost per click.  So next time you're thinking about increasing your bid amounts, consider improving your quality score instead and keep that money in your pocket.

If you peruse the web these days, I'm sure you'll notice how interactive websites and even advertisements have become.  As the world wide web continues to shape our society, it is critical that businesses develop internet marketing strategies to boot.  Quite a few social media applications exist to help develop your online business presence.  Whether you're a large or small company, utilizing these widgets will definitely add an interactive element to your online marketing presence.  Not to mention, they're super fun to use.

Check out some of our favorites.

Sproutbuilder
Makes flash ad and even website design accessible to anyone with internet access.  Easy to embed and share with others.

Twitter
Some say it's a waste of time, but we contend that it can be used to strategically market certain aspects of your service offerings. Similar to updating your status on facebook which actually has its own twitter application.

del.icio.us
A great way to share online bookmarks with friends and complete strangers.  Easy to organize and manage.

ChaCha
Ask a question via a text message from your cell or on the internet...get a response delivered to your phone or e-mail mailbox minutes later.  Maybe not the most relevant application for small business online marketing, but its such a neat application we had to share it with you.

Blogging for business is a topic that I am hearing more and more about in the online media realm.  In addition, blogging transparency (being who you say you are) in blogs, forums, etc. seems to go hand-in-glove with the topic.  I have had the opportunity to get several blogs off the ground recently for clients in a variety of industries, all of whom see blogging as a critical partner of crafting their brand personality as well as boosting SEO efforts.

If blogging is not part of your business marketing strategy, we should talk.  Look for more on this topic to come shortly. 

Your online marketing partner,
Paul

I recently read a great report put out by Forrester on social networking, who's doing it, why they are doing it, where it is headed, and all kinds of other data goodness.  Below is a very interesting chart from the report.  For a small business online marketing strategy, social networks can plan a very cost effective role. More good news?  The household income of social network users is quite appealing, making them a great target for online marketing efforts.  Bombs away.

The recent Yahoo acquisition of IndexTools is not unlike the Google / Urchin partnership that happened several years ago.  And the cat is out of the bag that Yahoo will be offering IndexTools free to clients:

Yahoo! currently intends to provide the IndexTools Web Analytics service FREE of charge to clients and partners who accept the standard Yahoo! agreement.

Search giant buys analytics company, search engine offers analytics free to clients as a value add, search engine hopes free analytics lead to use of more paid services (i.e. search).  Not a new story.

Google has to be a bit sweaty over this one.  I have had the chance to use both and must say that the real-time, enterprise level features of IndexTools are quite snazzy.  Whether or not all these features will remain gratis remains to be seen.  However, this does put an interesting wrinkle in the Google world domination plan given the extreme importance that a robust analytics package plays in an online marketing program.  Yahoo ain't dead yet, folks. Let's watch this one unfold.

Another solid article today from eMarketer, this time on the importance of appearing on the first few pages of a search engine results page (serp).  While that is a very obvious statement, the numbers they share in the article reinforce how, more than ever before users attention span beyond the first serp is waning. The first paragraph of the article says in best:

Online search has become so efficient that most Internet users are now impatient with anything less than great results.

I would dare say that search engine optimization is the most important piece of a successful online marketing strategy.  Business blogging, paid search, social network marketing, and other internet marketing strategies are still pieces of the pie; however, if this article doesn't drive home the importance of a strong SEO strategy, well....

I have been doing some research regarding an upcoming online media buy and am becoming increasingly frustrated by the numerous models that sites use for selling their space. Specifically, I have been researching the online outlets for newspapers and TV stations (many of which are Sioux Falls marketing channels). Pay-per-click, cost per impression, cost-per-thousand, weekly rates, monthly rates, buy this/get that - there seems to be a lack of universal standards developing in online advertising models.  I guess the reason is obvious - those with higher traffic can monetize that traffic, while those with lower traffic can only attempt to monetize their brand, targeted audience, etc. Different sites, different types of visitors, different models. Unfortunately, it ends up being a big mess for the advertiser.

I can't help but wonder when performance based advertising will become the online advertising standard. It's Google's PPC model, and it works. You have to assume that (in most cases) advertisers are developing online ads in order to spur some action.  That being true, a performance based model provides the ultimate win-win for both advertiser and vendor. Plus, I wouldn't have to juggle 30 different online rate cards, all with different pricing structures, all geared towards lining the pockets of the media outlets vs. doing what's best for the advertiser.  The power of online marketing is targeting (compared to blanket media buys in radio, TV, print, outdoor, etc.). However, when online inventory is sold the same way as offline, you are stripping away what makes it great. 

While it is becoming increasingly common for an organization to begin blogging for business, it's no shock that teens are bloggers too. It's also not a huge surprise that according the Pew Internet, approximately 35 percent of all online teen girls blog, compared to only about 20 percent of teen boys. If children are our future, then digital communication is their food.  Here are some other interesting findings from the Pew report on teens and social media (you can check out the full report here...it's quite good):

• 70% of teens say they talk on a cell phone
• 60% send text messages
• 54% instant message
• 47% send messages over social network sites
• 46% talk to friends on a landline
• 35% spend time with friends in person (This seems low. Or, a sign of the times?)
• 22% send e-mail daily.
• 19% of online teen boys post video (girls are at 10%)

Teens turn into college students who eventually turn into adults with jobs and disposable income. Start reaching them via these mediums now if you want your piece of the pie.

Craigslist was recently valuated at a cool $5 billion.  That's $5 billion for a site that looks like this.  Silicon Alley Insider covers puts their spin on the recent valuation here and does a good job at applying some science to the numbers. 

2007 Est. Revenue: $55 million
2008 Est Revenue: $81 million
Monthly Pageviews: 9 billion
Monthly Job Listings: 2 million   
Monthly Ad Listings: 30 million
Employees: 25

You may recall that YouTube sold for $1.7 billion to Google not long ago.  Is Craigslist worth three times that?  Debatable.  Their old-school classified engine format is still working, but for how long? If I was Craig Newmark, I don't know how long I could keep looking at those valuation numbers and not open things up to the highest bidder. There's got to be another online marketing challenge he can tackle with that much startup cash.

If you are not a fan of Facebook, you will love this article. Sean X Cummings takes off the gloves and points out everything that he feels is wrong with the social networking giant.  Some points he makes are more valid than others (i.e. "Stop throwing sheep at me, and for Pete's sake stop poking me!") but the truth of the matter is that what makes Facebook great is that it is run by the people!  A true online marketing democracy. 

While I agree that Facebook has some issues, spamming me with useless widgets is something I will gladly put up with in order to stay connected to people that five years ago, I had no clue how to contact.  Now if you will excuse me, I have a free piece of flair that I need to decline.

Ask most businesses owners who their ideal clientele is, and chances are somewhere in their response will be a reference to deep pockets (for obvious reasons).  While many businesses want to get in the minds/wallets of those with high levels of discretionary income, targeting this demographic is an entirely different story.  The affluent are a sharp and savvy group who have been accustomed to being marketed to on a nearly constant basis (you need this Lexus....your TV is only 57"?.....take this trip to Ireland and wash your cares away with a pint of Guinness).  The increasing pressure (self-inflicted?) in our society for "more stuff" is an entirely different topic, so I'll try to stay to the point at hand. 

Online trends show that the best methods for reaching the affluent have shifted in recent years, which makes sense considering the growing number of affluent Internet users.

This demographic segment – defined as people with annual household income of $100,000 or above -- represents a large and growing percentage of the US Internet population. In 2007, an estimated 25% of US Internet users were affluent, up significantly from 16% in 2001. eMarketer projects that this percentage will increase to 27% in 2011. - eMarketer

Social media is not just for the afluent kids.  It's for their parents too.  Savvy marketers need to seriously look at shifting their online marketing efforts to the social media scene if they hope to get into the pocketbook of Mr. Drummond.

You can read the entire article on this subject from eMarketer here.