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.

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. 

It seems like one of the first things an organization looks to cut during a soft economy is marketing. With probably one of the hardest ROIs to measure, the target on the back of marketing never really goes away...it just gets bigger and smaller depending on other economic/market conditions.

iMedia Connection, has a good article today on how to manage your search and internet marketing efforts during a recession (if, in fact, we are in a recession.  Warren Buffett says we are so who am I to argue?).  The great thing about search is that more than TV, print, radio, direct mail, and most other marketing mediums, the ROI measurements on online marketing are extremely scientific. Analytics and various tracking tools allow an organization to directly determine if their online marketing efforts are having a bottom line impact.  The CFO is happy.  The marketer is happy.

So if the CFO has got you in trim mode, go ahead and cut your mass media budget, throttle back your direct mail volumes, and skip the Vegas tradeshow. But cutting out your search marketing and overall online marketing efforts? Think long and hard about that one.

Internet penetration is something I get asked about all the time - specifically as it relates to South Dakota (many people are under the impression that SD just got electricity a few years back, thus, the "world wide internet" is something we only see in picture shows). 

Before diving into an online marketing campaign, good marketers want to know what their reach and frequency will be using the web as a communication vehicle.  eMarketer's daily goodness today was in regards to internet penetration by state in the US.  I've always had difficulty finding good data on this, but the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has a tight little report here that summarizes broadband penetration by state.  The report puts good ole' South Dakota above the likes of Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, and Iowa in terms of broadband penetration. Yee haw, little doggies!  A business marketing strategy must include a web component, and understanding the technical capabilities of your audience is important to any internet marketing plan.

Here are the highs and lows...props to eMarketer for the charts.

The Sioux Falls marketing landscape - as well as on the national scene - has been shifting in recent years, with traditional agency models (being all things to all people) giving way to specialized shops (we do this, only this, and do it very well). There is a great WSJ article here from 2007 on this very topic that is worth the read. 

While claiming to be leaders in all mediums is bold, fulfilling on that promise is nearly impossible. Social media is a perfect example. AdWeek had a great article recently on online marketing / social media and how the traditional agency model of "placing ads = placement dollars" does not jive with social media concepts.  Social media and traditional media are very, very different and trying to apply blanket principles to both can potentially do more harm than good.  Heck, faking a social media profile can get you jail time in Morocco.

At Click Rain, we have our niche, and it's online marketing. Not branding. Not print. Not broadcast media.  We know online marketing and how it relates to a business marketing strategy. If you want something outside of our core competencies, we'll be the first to tell you it's not a fit. In the meantime, we'll keep sharpeing our axe on what we do best. 

Have you ever used a search engine from your mobile phone?  Asking that question four, three, even two years ago would have gotten you a resounding number of no’s.   However, we are now in the days of the Treo, i760, Pearl, BlackJack, BlackBerry, iPhone….mobile search as component of an online marketing strategy is taking flight.  I recently read a great article over at eMarketer on mobile search and the advertising spending that is being realized on this growing medium.  A quote from the article:

 

eMarketer forecasts that mobile search spending in the US will grow from $34 million in 2007 to over $1.4 billion by 2012

 

That is some mad growth. Search marketing no longer means targeting the people sitting at a PC ready to make an online purchase or perform product research.  It now means getting in front of users looking for a restaurant while riding the subway, researching florists while pounding the elliptical, or making household purchase decisions while riding shotgun on the way to Target. The opportunity to cash in on mobile search as part of an overall business marketing strategy is there, and several are diving into the game here, here, here…..it will be interesting to see who grabs the brass ring.  You gotta love internet marketing.