Your Search Advisor, LLC » Blog

CallTrackingBlog.com Launched

2010-06-09T15:30:30Z

Just a quick post from the self-promotion category. A couple of weeks ago I launched a new blog at CallTrackingBlog.com.

To get things started, I’ve begun a 5-part series on creating and optimizing Google AdWords click-to-call ads for mobile devices. I have tons of good content ideas in the hopper so please subscribe to the RSS feed or sign up for the email newsletter to get updates!

Why this? Why now?

The goal is simple: de-mystify phone call tracking for marketers. Nobody is really talking about how to measure phone calls from online sources and most online marketing books and blogs gloss over the subject if they even mention it at all. Even Avinash Kaushik, analytics evangelist for Google and author of Web Analytics 2.0 only devotes 1 page (out of 475!) to the topic.

Given that more than 50% of leads and contacts generated by websites are phone calls, I was amazed that more people are not using and discussing call tracking as a necessary marketing analytics function.

It boils down to 2 things:

Call tracking is vital for anybody buying online ads or trying to generate leads through a website. Without it, more than 50% of leads are not calculated into ROI metrics or conversion optimization and testing!
There is no centralized, unbiased site for best practices, vendor reviews or industry news…unless you want to believe the hype coming directly from the vendors’ blogs.

If you have a moment, please check out the site and let me know what you think. Want to submit a case study, question or post? Please leave a comment here or contact me.

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Words Without Numbers

2010-05-30T18:43:11Z

Today’s thought-provoking nugget:

“Words without numbers are as meaningless as numbers without words – you need the right balance, so that eloquent arguments are backed up by reality as depicted by numbers.”

From Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow’s Big Changes by Mark Penn and E. Kinney Zalesne. (Introduction, p. xix)

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Siri: Mobile Search, Apple Style

2010-05-19T15:24:18Z

This looks cool. Is Siri a Google-killer? Probably not, but if you step back to read my review of 4 other voice-activated mobile search engines, it’s pretty clear to see that Siri is a great leap forward.

What does this mean for your business?

Underneath the slick iPhone UI and the powerful voice recognition programs, Siri is just another search engine for proactive search marketers.

It means you need to make sure your business, products and services are listed in the right places. Got a restaurant or local shop? Tidy up your Yelp listing. Have you claimed your business listing on Google and other engines?

Look for more API integrations from other mobile and web search engines to make task completion easier for mobile users. People search differently on mobile devices so many of the web SEO best practices need to be retooled for the new platforms and results page listings.

Now, more than ever, 3rd party apps are starting to grab a foothold in the search industry. Just when you thought you had SEO all figured out…

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PPC in 5 Years: An Intractable Problem

2010-05-18T15:54:14Z

Every now and then I like to get out my crystal ball and think about where I see the search industry heading. It’s impossible to predict because every day brings new changes, but there are certain trends that are likely not going away.

The way I see it, there’s an intractable problem between the breakneck pace of innovation in the search marketing industry and advertisers’ abilities to take advantage of the new hotness. I’d love to know if you agree, disagree, or have any thoughts to add in the comments!

PPC Advertiser Challenges

Ad targeting options are becoming so varied and complex that less sophisticated advertisers are missing a lot of opportunities to improve efficiency and are unable to effectively compete. Given the inherent complexities, the vast majority of advertisers will not be able to remain efficient even with more advanced and automated bidding optimization tools at their disposal.

Less sophisticated advertisers will be slowly wither away at the hands of geekier competitors.

The primary disconnect is lack of conversion data. In a mathematical model where profit margin and Cost Per Conversion is critical, less sophisticated advertisers will either slowly bleed to death or decide to advertise elsewhere.

The Intractable Problem

Here’s the rub – the PPC space is going to be so competitive and saturated that only the smartest mathematicians and analytics gurus will be able to turn a profit. Why? They are the only ones that can effectively manage a PPC campaign to a target Cost Per Conversion that allows for a predictable, manageable profit margin. Everybody else is paying too much for customers and that is not sustainable in the long run.

If you think click costs are expensive now, just wait until adoption rates are higher and more advertisers are using more advanced tools to squeeze your margins.

Sure, more advanced and automated bidding tools are becoming available every day, but the level of understanding and experience to configure and manage them is still high. No matter how smart the black box is, it will still always require a human to make decisions based on the data provided and factor in offline inputs.

Who Should Be Worried?

PPC advertisers have the most to lose by spending money with little to no hope of generating a positive return. That’s a lesson quickly learned (hopefully) and marketing dollars can be reallocated to a more profitable channel.

Secondly, I believe Google, Yahoo/Bing and other PPC advertising engines have to do a better job of keeping a level playing field. Their real-time auction pricing models and profitability depend on having a steady stable of advertisers bidding on as many keywords as possible to drive up prices.

Just as water always finds its level, fewer, more sophisticated advertisers will eventually find the “ceiling” price for a click and would be forced to find operational efficiencies and higher conversion rates to improve their margins.

Am I Right?

Who knows? The PPC industry will be different in 5 years, that’s a given. But if these trends continue to hold, I think that only the smart will survive.

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New Site Launch – Colonial 1st Mortgage

2010-05-10T15:02:34Z

I am pleased to announce a new client site launched last week: RVAMortgage.com. The site supports Colonial 1st Mortgage‘s objective of capturing more qualified leads and we’re pulling out all the stops to support the site and increase traffic:

Pay Per Click advertising
Organic Search Engine Optimization
Content Marketing

Dan Dougherty and his team of mortgage brokers are some of the finest people I’ve met in the industry. Their customer-focused process insures that they find the best deals for their clients by comparing mortgage and refinance offers from multiple lenders. This saves the home buyer time and money. The next time you need a mortgage broker in Richmond or have questions about refinancing your home, please give them a call. You’ll be happy you did.

Lead Tracking Capabilities

It’s not just a pretty site, it’s also a lead tracking powerhouse. The hand-coded site is brimming with analytics and lead-tracking tools, including a highly customized Google Analytics installation, a phone call tracking solution and a custom lead database that allows the client to “close the feedback loop” by signaling which leads eventually convert.

We evaluated several content management and CRM systems but ultimately decided to build our own to allow for the fine-grained analytics and landing page optimization coding required to fine-tune the site and supercharge conversions.

Need a Custom Solution?

The site was built, coded, and optimized in partnership with Rick Whittington Consulting. Contact us and we can talk about how custom solutions like this can supercharge your lead generation efforts.

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What is RVA Searching For? 4/30/10

2010-04-30T16:21:36Z

There are already sites that mention what Richmonders are blogging and tweeting about, but I could not find any sites that mention what people in Richmond are searching Google for.

Why would you care what people are searching for? A search query box is about as close to divining the needs and intents of the masses as marketers and sociologists can get. It turns out that search queries, when viewed in aggregate, are a great indicator of trends and real-time thoughts. You know, the “hive mind”.

Without further ado, here are the top search queries on Google for the week of 4/22/10 – 4/29/10 in Richmond, VA:

Navigational Searches

The bulk of all web searches are “navigational” in nature, meaning people substitute the Google search box for their browser’s address bar. Some of these definitely have a local intent, while others are location-agnostic.

Here are the top 10 most frequently searched terms in #RVA this week:

facebook
you tube
games
google (really? people google Google? I thought that was supposed to break the internet!)
youtube
weather
yahoo
craigslist
map
vcu

Breakouts

The top 10 searches don’t change that frequently but many “long tail” keywords will experience spikes in search volume due to seasonality, mainstream news coverage or viral trends online.

The top breakout search terms in Richmond this week are:

bret michaels (in critical condition after suffering a brain hemorrhage while competing on The Celebrity Apprentice)
nfl draft (a multi-day excuse to watch sports coverage, similar to The Masters, Olympics and World Cup)
nfl
nfl draft 2010
weather.com (you have to admit it has been beautiful here this week)
gmail (possibly navigational, possibly because of a Google service outage on Thursday)

Source: Google Insights for Search

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Google AdWords Certified Partner

2010-04-28T19:36:23Z

Just a short self-promotional post to announce that I am now a Google AdWords Certified Partner. The AdWords Certified Partner program is for Pay Per Click consultants that pass a 120-question exam and manage more than $10,000 of client ad spend in the most recent 90-day period.

I still have a few $100 Google AdWords credits if you are 1) a new Google advertiser, and 2) thinking about how to build a profitable Pay Per Click advertising campaign to support your other marketing initiatives.

For those of you keeping track, the Certified Partner program is replacing the Qualified Individual program.

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