StraightUpSearch

Hopping Off the Treadmill

Over the years I've helped pioneer our industry, observed the near implosion of the internet, worked with hundreds of clients of all sizes, watched search marketing become commoditized and recently become keenly aware of what it takes to effectively — really effectively — market businesses online today. No, not one of those little realizations — but a poignant, feel it in the gut, epiphany. The kind where the heavens part, rays of sunshine mark a clear path and angels sing. I love these moments and tend to relish in them a bit since they're few and far between.

So what is this earth shattering discovery? It's basic — and sometimes in our world, basic gets lost. For years at Oneupweb, we've preached marketing integration. And during this time, we've helped many businesses make it happen. It leads to a much more effective presence, resulting in a pleasing bottom line. But the difference between integration and truly making everything hum as one can start to look, well, simply like more marketing lip-service and the vision gets lost.

Here's the deal: everyone, globally, is feeling the pinch. And everyone is working desperately to weather the storm. But a change in perspective is what's really needed. Those ideas that you thought were stupid last year — you better be dusting them off and looking at them through a different set of lenses. If you think you know how to market your business — perform a gut check. Those little nagging doubts and unsure direction you have — lay them on the table — shine a light on them and open yourself to some help. Real help and input.

Online marketing has changed forever. Consumers (that's all of us) have permanently changed their buying behavior. They will never be quite the same even after our economy recovers. They have different concerns and expectations, so business as usual won't work for you. Why continue with it? So here's the epiphany — as basic as it is — you have to do whatever it takes (within the bounds of the law).

Let that simmer a while.

Strategies or tactics you have shied away from in the past, look at them. Time alone can change the situation, let alone your financial circumstance.

Here's my advice to any marketer that cared enough to read this far. Don't be afraid. Breathe. Recharge. Rethink. Explore. Let your guard down. Dust off old ideas and explore new ones. Find budget — even if it's small — to test them. And don't make the mistake of thinking you don't need help if you're not sure what you're doing. You don't have time to throw stuff at the wall to see what sticks. The money you spend bringing on a good partner with the vision will help you earn more money, faster. This is a time for a clear plan and decisive action — and out-of-the ordinary partners that can make everything you do hum as one.

Now get going!

Lisa Wehr is CEO and founder of Oneupweb, a digital marketing firm. She has been counseling clients on improving website ROI and search engine marketing since 1996.

Image: Treadmill by yuan2003

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integration
online marketing
search marketing
Oneupweb

The Corn Farmer Parts 3 and 4: Social Media

Okay, yes, I realize I was supposed to write a corn farmer blog yesterday. But hey, I was busy and it's Cherry Festival, and maybe I was struck by a deadly bout of blue skin disorder (yes, it's a real disease) that magically cleared up in one day.

Anyway, it was worth the wait (trust me), because today's blog post is a hot topic right now in digital e-newsletters, print publications and even on tv — social media.

But Maureen, what does social media have to do with How S.E.O. Killed the Corn Farmer? Everything.

Before we ever drew farmer Joe and the hobbity-thing, we sat down and really thought out how we planned to promote this crazy idea. And the answer was simple — we had to take it social. But before I get into the nitty-gritty of how we did that, I want to stop right here and point something out. We had a plan. Now that may seem incredibly simple and obvious, but it's something we all need to think about with social media. Simply setting up a Facebook page because it's popular and everyone is doing it isn't going to get you any kind of results. You have to come up with clear goals, a defined strategy and metrics for how you plan to measure the campaign's success. That's how you bring in true ROI for your company with social media (ROI as return on investment or return on insight).

Okay, so back to the business at hand. We came up with a strategy. And while I can't give away the whole thing, I can tell you that we thoroughly discussed all of the different forms of social media that were available to us (thoroughly=heated discussion). We evaluated each, looking at the user demographics of each individual social channel to ensure we were hitting our target market. And we spent a considerable amount of time looking at how each social channel could work with all of the others. A crazy mind map was created that showed how this social thing could link to that social thing which would link to this social thing, and on and on and on. It's all about integration, and strengthening each piece of the campaign by interlinking it to all the others.

So what did we come up with? Well, we decided to use banner advertising as well as social media marketing. And on Monday, July 6, the campaign went live. E-newsletters in various outlets were launched with the banner ad seen below.

These linked to the now infamous microsite. Announcements were also made on Twitter and Facebook, all linking back to the microsite. And the microsite itself linked to a "Meet the Actors" video that was part of an entire YouTube channel created around the campaign. Of course, every video in the YouTube channel linked back to the microsite, and Oneupweb and the Oneupweb website were also prominently displayed. The last piece of the promotion was an email blast sent to our newsletter subscriber list that linked to the microsite.

And we didn't stop there. We continued to post tweets and update our Facebook page with information and strong calls to action. We even created a custom tab on our Facebook page to promote the campaign, which included some pretty cool graphics that were hand-drawn in house by our very talented designers.

Oh yeah, I should probably mention before they get upset with me, almost every single graphical element was designed and created in-house by our creative team. That includes all of the characters in the story and all of the images used in the flash pieces and videos.

Okay, phew, glad I got that off my chest. Now back to the social element. Another thing I should probably mention is this blog. This was a planned piece of the entire campaign (and thank you for reading it!).

So what about the results? You'll have to check back tomorrow to find out!

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Social
facebook
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Oneupweb

The Corn Farmer Part 2: What Were They Thinking?

I'm sure you're wondering, "what in the heck was Oneupweb thinking when they came up with the title How S.E.O. Killed the Corn Farmer?" Well, we were thinking that SEO had gotten a little boring. Sure, it is vital to any marketing plan, and yes, the results it can get for our clients are amazing, but sometimes the jargon-filled papers and articles about SEO are a little hard to take. We love what we do at Oneupweb, we have fun with it and enjoy getting results for our clients, so we wanted to spice it up just a bit, and get other people excited about it as well.

Honestly, we originally came up with the title of How S.E.O. Killed the Pig Farmer, but had to switch it due to the recent bout of the swine flu (it just didn't seem like a good idea). Someone on the marketing team knew a little bit about seed corn farming (me), so it was a pretty easy switch. But then, of course, we had to come up with the story and really ask ourselves, how do we really make this work?

We decided we wanted people to read the story, which meant it had to be absolutely unpredictable. We threw in things like the Arkansas Razorbacks call (Woo, pig, sooie), a cheap Harry Potter knock-off (Half Blood Prince debuts this month!), Bret Michaels, ET and a whole lot more. The writer still has some allusions that almost no one has picked up on yet — including a few of people at Oneupweb (and I'm not telling!).

But no matter how engaging an 8-chapter story is, no one is really going to read the entire thing on a computer screen in one sitting — if it's just text. So we added audio and flash to stimulate both the sense of hearing and the sense of sight (can you name the other 3 senses?).

But we still had one problem — how does this tie-into the real SEO (as in, search engine optimization)? And then it hit us! Of course — this story is completely unpredictable, changing at a moments notice. And that's exactly what's happening online today. I mean, who knew three years ago that we'd all be addicted to our TweetDecks? Who knew five years ago that the Razor wasn't the coolest phone around — that it would soon to be topped by the iPhone?

The internet, and the world we live in, is changing constantly. To successfully market a business, you need to be able to change with it — staying ahead of the curve, coming up with unique and creative ways to get seen online. And then, you've got to integrate those new ideas with the tried-and-true. It's what we do at Oneupweb, and really, it's what the corn farmer story is all about it.

If you haven't checked it out yet, please do visit our How S.E.O. Killed the Corn Farmer website. And if you're short on time, use the arrow button to skip to the end. Because like any other story, it's the moral that's the important part.

Oh, and don't forget to read yesterday's post on the topic, and look for more coming tomorrow.

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SEO
search engine optimization
Oneupweb

The Corn Farmer Part 1: 1 Man Dead. 2 Lives Ruined.

A northern Michigan corn farmer has been killed. Two lives have been ruined. Oneupweb was able to get the entire story. And it's one your business can't afford to miss.

While incredibly entertaining, this story has an important underlying message: Be Relentless™. It's a term we use quite often at Oneupweb, because you have to Be Relentless™ to succeed in business today. Let me explain.

The internet continues to change and evolve, constantly creating new opportunities for people to connect with your brand. Just stop and think about all the opportunities that are out there — your website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, podcasts, email blasts, landing pages, and a whole lot more. There is opportunity in every click, connection and conversation. But taking advantage of these opportunities to successfully market your business online requires hard work and creativity. And it requires you to Be Relentless™. And that's what we do at Oneupweb.

We're constantly looking for new, innovative, creative and strategic ways to get our clients seen (and heard) online. Doing what every other guy is doing just isn't enough — you have to break through the clutter to get your message heard.

I encourage you to discover the tragic details of one Northern Michigan corn farmer. And when you're done, feel free to contact us to discuss how we can help your company Be Relentless™.

I'll be posting about this topic every day this week, so be sure to check back for more tomorrow.

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Be Relentless
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Oneupweb

The Importance of SEO in Social Media for Your Brand

Social media is a crucial element in order to dominate the real estate on a Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Owning the space relative to your brand on a SERP leaves your company in control of your message. Instead of having competitors or the unfortunate bad review listed on the SERP, your social media networks are there instead.

Note, if you do have negative press/comments in a social media network, it's best to respond to those negative comments in the same network. For example, if someone on Twitter complains about an experience they had with your company's customer service, it would be best to respond to that user directly on Twitter. Also, never attack someone who has negatively commented about your company, this will most certainly backfire. Instead, use the opportunity to let that person know what you are going to do to rectify the situation. Being honest and open about the issue will let people know you are working on the issue. What's cool about social media is that transparency, or being honest and open about your company, will get you a lot more R-E-S-P-E-C-T, thanks Aretha.

Ok, back to the issue at hand. Let's take a look at Oneupweb's SERP when searching for, you guessed it "oneupweb."

Notice from the image that every listing is either our website, or some sort of social media network we control: Flickr, local business listings, Twitter, our blog StraighUpSearch, press releases, YouTube, facebook, LinkedIn and our podcasts. Oneupweb completely dominates the SERP for our branded keywords — and your company should be doing the same.

What is your company doing in social media? The biggest hurdle a lot of companies have is the lack of actual human resources to take the time to spend within these social networks. Uploading photos/videos, tweeting, and changing status updates all take time. This is certainly an understandable hurdle, but one that you can certainly clear when having (shameless plug coming up) an understanding social media agency, like Oneupweb, help you along the way.

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SEO
Oneupweb

Social Media Marketing Works

We just announced today that the 30th Annual Telly Awards has honored Oneupweb with a 2009 Telly for our Oneupweb vs. Sign Thief viral campaign. This is exciting news, especially because this award-winning campaign was executed through social media along — and it has shown some great results.

The entire campaign was built and executed in about one week. It arose out of the fact that everyday before the 2008 Presidential election, we would put out signs in support of now President Obama. And every night, someone would come along and take them down. So we decided to fight back in Oneupweb style: by being relentless.

With a high velocity video projector, we displayed a 30-foot image of now-President Obama dancing on the side of our building. And then we took it social, posting a video of the projection to CNN iReports, CBS Eye Mobile and more. We uploaded a Dragnet-style video we had created in-house to YouTube and Facebook. We started posting updates on various social channels, blogging and more. The entire promotion of the event was done through social media marketing.

And the results? Check this out:

Within one week, the video was viewed by more than 6,000 users and received 113 comments from people around the world.
Visits to OneUpWeb.com increased over 120 percent the day the video was posted to the various social media channels. And they continued to rise.
The video appearing on YouTube and Facebook quickly became one of the leading sources of traffic to the Oneupweb corporate website.
Within one hour of posting on CNN iReports, a CNN reporter was on the phone for Oneupweb CEO Lisa Wehr, eager to get all the facts. And the story ran on CNN primetime the night of the election in front of 5.8 million people.

All in all, the Oneupweb vs. The Sign Thief campaign reached an estimated 10 million people around the world in a little over one week. And we're continuing to see new hits to the videos almost eight months later.

So thank you to the 30th Annual Telly Awards, all of the judges, and everyone out there who made this award possible.

Top 10 Banner Ad Design Tips

I'm a graphic designer at Oneupweb and let me tell you, banner ads are one of our specialties. That's why I decided to create a top 10 list of tips (in no particular order) to help guide your endeavor into banner ad design and to answer some of your questions about why we do what we do when designing a banner.

Less is more. Banners that are too busy and complex will only irritate viewer's eyeballs (and you don't want to do that).
Keep it short and sweet. Avoid the temptation of the cram! A banner needs to be informative, not over-informative. Don't explain it all on three panels. Get to the main point in a general way, but don't beat around the bush. Remember, you want to intrigue the viewer's interest, which will most likely result in a click.
Nothing beats a good punch line. A catchy phrase can go a long way. It should be just a few words that sparks the interest or imagination of the viewers, and entices them to click on the banner.
Make it visually interesting. There needs to be an eye catcher on the first screen that will grab the viewer's attention. Don't resort to a bunch of annoying animation or tasteless irrelevant images. Flickering, blinking or flashing ads and intrusive fake desktop warnings only aggravate viewers. They've even caused web surfers to develop "banner blindness" (the tendency to consciously or unconsciously ignore any type of banner). Also, keep font size in mind. Lots of tiny text will only cause the viewer to ignore the ad.
Give the viewer direction. That's right, tell them what to do! Use action words like "Click here", "Enter", "Go", "Get", etc.
Use the word "FREE" in your banner. I don't think this needs any explanation.
Choose your fonts and colors carefully. Avoid crazy fonts. Use basic, but interesting bold fonts in standard web colors if possible.
Use subtle animation. When creating a flash banner, many designers make the mistake of getting carried away. While animation can be a great way to catch a viewer's eye, it can also have the opposite effect. Make the animation clever, but simple and short. If your animation takes too much time to load — never mind, you've already lost that click!
Keep the kb down. File size is a very important factor on getting a click. A viewer's attention span is very limited; therefore, you want your banner ad to load before the main content of the website loads. This grabs the viewer's attention immediately. Yet, smaller file size obviously has its trade-offs, such as less animation length, number of colors and detail.
Limit the loop. An animation that loops endlessly tends to irritate viewers. The entire banner ad should be no longer than 15 seconds long. It should loop no more than 3-5 times with the main message and button on the last frame.

There you have it! A list (or guide) to consider when trying to create an effective banner ad. I hope this helps, but you can always consult a pro. Give us a call at 877.568.7477 and we'll make things much easier.

Until then, here is some tasteless banner ad humor.

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banner ad design
Oneupweb

Pay-Per-Click Wish List

Today marks the halfway point to Christmas, but I've already started a wish list of things that I would like to see under the tree. Instead of this list being for Santa, it's addressed to the major paid search engines: Google, Yahoo and Bing. If even half of this wish list is granted by the end of the year then it will be a very happy holiday season for PPC advertisers everywhere.

Google —

Change negatives so they work beyond the 10th word in a search query. This isn't something that most advertisers will run into on a daily basis, but it does happen. Currently, negative keywords will only work if the keyword is one of the first ten words in a search query. Take for example the search query : "is there a list of the most popular video games for the xbox". In this case your ad would still show even if "Xbox" was in your list of negative keywords.

Allow the blocking of individual search network partners. The ability to pick and choose which search network sites will display your ads would help to reduce spending budget on sites that rarely or never lead to conversions.

Yahoo —

Release a campaign management program similar to Adwords Editor. If you've ever managed a paid advertising campaign then you will know how time consuming it can be to make a large number of changes through the use of web interfaces. Yahoo still hasn't bothered to create a stand-alone campaign management tool similar to Adwords Editor or Adcenter Desktop. I really wish they would make this a priority because it would make management much easier and more time efficient.

Add phrase/exact/broad match similar to Google and Bing. Standard and advanced match don't offer the level of targeting that comes by using the phrase/exact/broad match methods used by the other engines.

Clean up your sponsored search network. The Yahoo sponsored search network is notorious for being full of made-for-ad sites that drain budgets and reduce your ROI since they very rarely generate conversions.

Increase the limit of blocked domains. Yahoo currently limits the number of blocked domains to 500. Due to the poor quality of the sponsored search network, this limit is often reached in a short amount of time — and there is nothing that can be done once it is reached.

Bing —

Improve the web management interface and AdCenter Desktop. Nothing is more annoying than not being able to adjust bids or pause individual keyword match types without going into a separate screen.

Add capitalization support to dynamic keyword insertion. Google and Yahoo have this one figured out, so it would be nice to see Microsoft add this feature. Proper capitalization improves the look of ads and can help boost click-thru rates.

Improve day-parting targeting options. The current system only allows advertisers to day-part in four hour blocks instead of 15 minute increments like Google, or one hour blocks like Yahoo. Greater control helps to ensure your ads only run when they have the best chance of leading to conversions.

Although the list is short, it's full of things I would really like to see happen before the snow flies. What is on your paid advertising wish list? Leave a comment with what you would like to see changed or improved in regards to paid advertising, and hopefully, the search engines will take note and deliver your wish. Hurry though, only 182 days left until Christmas!

Image: Courtesy of Primitive Surf

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paid search
pay per click
Google
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Bing
Oneupweb

Paid Search: A Catalyst to Grow Your Online Marketing Efforts

You probably haven't heard this expression since you were about 13 years old during some incessant peer pressure to conform, but when it comes to paid search advertising, "everybody's doing it." And for good reason.

It's no secret that paid search can be one of the most effective, efficient and measurable advertising mediums out there. If it were a secret, Google certainly wouldn't be the empire that it is, since about 90% of their net revenue comes from search advertising.

The reason that paid search advertising has grown exponentially, and why marketing budgets previously allocated toward traditional media are shifting more toward this medium, is that you have a unique opportunity to target specific niches who are in an active search to find what you have to offer.

When managed effectively, the inherent flexibility and measurability of paid search allows advertisers to continuously improve upon efficiency and performance. Let me give you an example of how this channel can allow you to make better use of your marketing dollars over time.

Let's say I'm an online retailer that sells trendy womens footwear. In addition to my two retail stores in southern California, I sell all of my product online and distribute throughout the U.S. and Canada. For shipping, however, I'm forced to charge more for Canadian customers.

I've been running a paid search campaign for about 4 months now. I've been pushing all of my product, and I'm targeting all of the U.S. and Canada. I find that I'm getting very few orders from Canada, as well as the Midwestern and Southern regions of the U.S. On top of that, it's apparent that I'm missing out on a lot of orders because of my limited budget and exposure.

After sufficient testing, I've decided to refine my focus. I'm now going to geo-target my campaign to focus on select metros in the East and West, and I'm going to only push 3 of my 5 product lines which correspond with the metros, markets and climates I'm targeting.

After just a couple of weeks, I've found that I'm now capturing a much greater impression share for the smaller set of keywords I'm targeting. In addition, conversion rates and sales corresponding with my paid search efforts have grown significantly. I continue to refine my campaign over the course of the next several months, and based on the data, insight and ROI generated through paid search, I feel I'm ready to begin expanding my online marketing efforts.

As you can see, when it comes to determining the best strategy for reaching your specific audience throughout all mediums, whether online or off, few channels can compete with paid search. It's a channel which offers advertisers a unique ability to optimize their efforts on the fly, and quickly determine how best to both appeal to and capture new customers at the right time, and in the right location.

Given this flexibility, paid search advertising can serve as an invaluable catalyst to formulate other online marketing strategies for channels that are less flexible, less measurable, and which require a more significant investment in time and resources to establish a footing.

While it's undeniably important to establish a presence in multiple channels over the long term, for many organizations, initiating a phased online marketing approach with paid search is a wise move that can provide the intelligence needed to make informed marketing decisions down the road. the road.

Image: Crocodile Shoes by sheilaellen

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paid search
online marketing
Oneupweb

Convert Social Media Marketing Into Business

How do you convert social media to sales? It's a question b2c and b2b companies are asking themselves right now. And that's why we wrote The "Pretty Good" Scenario Survival Guide: Social Media.

It's chock-full of information about the different social networks, including audience demographics. And, it's the best place to learn how to not just survive, but thrive with social media marketing.

At Oneupweb we're always saying that the worst way to get involved in social media is to setup a MySpace or Facebook account (because those are what's popular) and call it a day. You first need to understand and research each social network — find out which your audience is on, and devise your social media strategy. You need to do your homework, and have a complete plan of action that integrates your social campaign into your marketing plan before you really dive in — if you want it to work for you. Because to reap real returns for your company, you need to understand what makes each network, and its users, distinct.

Let's use an example. Say we have a retail company called Deer & Elk (I just made this up. I am in no way referring to a real company that I know of.) This company sells hunting clothing and supplies. The president of the company has heard about social media, and wants to get involved. A young intern volunteers to run the social media campaign.

The intern has prior experience with her own MySpace page, so she sets up a MySpace page for the company.

The problem? The company isn't seeing their MySpace page convert to business and sales.

So what happened? Well, the company didn't do their research. If they had (and if they had read Oneupweb's new guide), they would know that MySpace has slightly more females than males, and is dominated by teens and young adults. If Deer & Elk's target audience are males who are 35+ who enjoy sharing pictures of their prize game (again, just a guess), then MySpace is not the right social media channel for the company. What is? You have to read the guide to find out!

Unfortunately, it isn't an all-encompassing guide to every single social media site on the internet. That doesn't exist, because the internet is constantly changing. What's popular today may be overshadowed tomorrow by something completely new. But before you get worked up into an "I'll-never-get-it-I'm-going-to-pull-my-hair-out" frenzy, take a cue from the cute country bumpkin Faith Hill and just breathe. The "Pretty Good" Scenario Survival Guide: Social Media is the perfect starting point. Then, call Oneupweb at 877.568.7477 to find out more.

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social media
facebook
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Key To Lead Gen Success: Make Room In Your PPC Budget For Landing Page Development

Whether you're beginning a PPC initiative or have an ongoing PPC program, allocate a portion of next month's click spend budget to new landing page development. Doing so will increase conversion rates and lower your cost per lead, turning you into a rock star of online marketing.

"Wait a second. We just went through a website re-design! We can't afford to build new landing pages," is a common objection when making this recommendation to clients. If you're truly committed to lead generation online, you must design and implement specialized web pages for your PPC program.

Let's say you're a marketing research company and your average engagement is $1 Million for a two year contract. Your message needs to be super sharp, focused and extremely credible. Your offering is certainly a highly considered purchase, necessitating extensive research. Using an existing page from your website won't deliver the targeted information the prospect is looking for. You'll be missing out on capturing valuable leads and wasting your marketing dollars.

An effective online lead gen campaign starts with carefully considered keywords, chosen to align with searcher intent. Next is the PPC ad. Copy should be benefit-rich, differentiating your offering from the competition. Your ad must be compelling but qualifying. It must be super-relevant to searcher intent and set the stage for what is to come. Be sure to offer a free whitepaper or case study in the ad for maximum response.

PPC landing pages are the third element of this carefully orchestrated advertising process, and have a very specific purpose — capture the lead. Website pages are rarely designed to accomplish this. Think of it this way; websites are the brochure, landing pages are the infomercial.

I love a good infomercial. They're straight to the point, jam-packed with benefits, but not confusing. You know exactly what they're selling and they are presented in a way that makes it irresistible. There's no doubt what the call to action is and how to order.

C'mon — how many Chia Pets do you own?

Infomercials and successful B2B landing pages have two similarities; they're laser focused on one offering and tell you how to order. They practically reach into your wallet for a credit card and dial the phone for you.

But Wait, There's More!

Effective lead gen landing pages are focused on the offering first encountered in the PPC ad, which ties in to the keywords in the search query. The landing page headline matches the PPC ad title. The page copy expands on the concepts/benefits presented in the ad. They have a three field form to capture the lead and an obvious "Download Whitepaper" button. It's that simple. Order by midnight tonight and we'll double your order. (Sorry-couldn't resist!)

Image: Courtesy of Amazon

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landing page
PPC
lead gen
pay per click
Oneupweb

Did Bing Awaken a Sleeping Giant (or: Anybody Want a Peanut)?

Since Microsoft launched Bing (their new search engine) several weeks ago, the world of internet search has been inundated with news and opinions about this new venture. Statistical analyses have been showing up in droves, although not everyone's numbers exactly match up. However, one thing that all the numbers agree on is that Google is still the King.

Google has succeeded for so long in part because no one really presented a legitimate challenge. Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz says out loud that "we are not a search company," so even with their number two slot they clearly have no interest in taking on the Mountain View colossus. Microsoft's Live Search never really captured searchers' imaginations, and the rest are too miniscule to pose any significant threat.

Recently, Microsoft Binged and Decided that the time was right to assume the role of David to Google's Goliath. A marketing budget estimated in the neighborhood of $80-100 million shows that they're serious.

What Microsoft may have just done is awaken a sleeping giant. And I don't mean the friendly "Anybody Want a Peanut" Andre the Giant; I mean the angry, choke Hulk Hogan until young children cry Andre the Giant. This isn't to suggest that Google has been resting on its laurels over the years, but there just didn't seem to be the immediacy and the urgency that Bing has brought on.

For instance, there's Google Wave, a "real-time communication platform" that will be unveiled to the public later this year. Google curiously started showing off the service right about the time Bing was set to launch. Surely this was no accident. Also, James Doran of the New York Post reports that Google co-founder Sergey Brin "has assembled a team of top engineers to work on urgent upgrades to his Web service," and that Brin "is himself leading the team of search-engine specialists in an effort to determine how Bing's crucial search algorithm differs."

Should Brin and the rest of Google really be so worried? The early numbers for Bing, whichever you choose to believe, are just that: early. It is still too soon to proclaim any kind of shift in searcher behavior. Many are still just hearing about Bing and the advertising blitz will ensure that more people are at least made aware of it, and many more are still likely to give Bing a try. But will they make a permanent switch? Early reviews of the engine seem mostly positive, but many seem to be viewing Bing as an accompaniment to Google, not a replacement.

Personally I think Google has little to worry about. Their search share is still in a fairly dominant position, and I think that after the newness of Bing wears off, people will go back to old reliable Google. Part of the reason I believe this is that Brin and company are obviously taking the Bing threat seriously, which will no doubt lead to more innovations from Google the Giant.

And where does all of this leave the Pay-Per-Click marketers that use Google, Yahoo, and now Bing to drive sales? Nothing internally changed during the switchover from Live to Bing, but the big difference is that a lot more eyeballs are drifting over towards Bing, and now is the time to capitalize on that. With the potential for more traffic, and in turn, sales, marketers should be looking to increase their presence in Bing and strike while the iron is hot. The buzz around Bing may or may not last, so get everything out of it while you can.

Image: Courtesy of Amazon

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Microsoft
Google
Bing
pay per click
Oneupweb

PPC of Pizza Pie

I have always lived by the old adage that there is no such thing as bad pizza. But then the lines get drawn. Hand tossed or deep dish? Chicago style or a New York slice? I'm not taking sides, I just like it hot.

I think about pizza a lot. So I did a quick Google search for "pizza". As expected, the big guys (Pizza Hut and Domino's) jump to the top. But I also got a list of local results displayed on a Google map. Ah, local search pays off. Smaller businesses, like the locally owned Roman Wheel Pizza & Sub shop, are able to get higher rankings this way, and the search results are more relevant to the end user (me).

I decided to take this idea one step further. The recession has hit Michigan hard — massive job losses in Detroit and throughout the state. But I'm an optimist, an optimist who loves a cheesy metaphor — and cheesy pizza. I imagine a new entrepreneurial spirit will rise up from the ashes of Chrysler and GM. Perfect time to open a pizza franchise, right?

Back to Google for a mini super-scientific "experiment." This time I plugged in "pizza franchise" to see if there were any local opportunities in my area. Interesting. Little Caesar's, a Michigan based pizza take-out company, was in the first page of natural search results. FranchiseGator, a popular directory-like site offering industry-specific franchise search options, ranked second. Otherwise, the results are a mix of directory sites and a few random mid-size pizzerias. Surprisingly, Domino's and Pizza Hut do not show up on the first page. And Pizza Hut, one of the largest pizza franchises, was no where to be found on the first three pages of search results.

But take a look at who's on top of the paid search results. Mr. Jim's Pizza, of course. I like to think of PPC (Pay-Per-Click) as the David versus Goliath tactic. The David's (and Jim's) of the world rely on their cunning and innovative strategies to get ahead.

Clicking on Mr. Jim's website takes me straight to a page on current franchise opportunities.

I muddled through Pizza Hut's flash-heavy site and found nothing. All the franchise information is located on the parent site, YumFranchise.com. Not very intuitive, eh?

What This Means for the Franchisor
Growth is the name of the game for a franchise. Currently, sales of new franchises are stagnant. But talk of a changing market is promising. The unpredictability of a changing marketplace creates new opportunities — for those that are ready to take the leap. Online recruitment is less costly than traditional media and has a greater reach.

The big guys — like Pizza Hut and Domino's — have left the door wide open for the smaller business interested in taking advantage of this time of growth. Paid Search paired with relentless search optimization, gives that leg-up on the competition.

Paid Search can seem daunting at first, but the benefits are clear. A quick run down:

Higher visibility, better SERP ranking.

Trackability means accountability; each unique click becomes a digital record.

As part of an integrated digital marketing campaign, PPC drives more traffic and increases lead generation.

Paid Search campaigns are easily incorporated and linked to social media and networking. For example, LinkedIn DirectAds offers PPC options geared towards business professionals.

For more information about online marketing for franchisors, check out this site specifically for franchisors. It's full of information for both franchisors and their franchisees, including white papers on local search.

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Dual Approach to Digital Advertising

These days, increasing and optimizing a company's online presence isn't just about sticking with what worked in the past and hoping it stays the same.

Search is changing into a multi-headed beast capable of performing many tasks and accomplishing many goals at once. The dependence on strictly organic SEO to get your website seen by the most qualified or the most amount of searchers just won't cut it any longer. Social is becoming a huge part of not only ranking well within the engines, but developing a positive and effective online presence as well as cultivating and managing a positive online reputation.

But it's paid search that can most affect beginning SEO efforts.

The advantages of running a PPC campaign simultaneously with a natural project vary greatly, and each brings a unique opportunity to the table of online advertising:

Immediate ROI - SEO is like a garden; you plant the seeds, weed the soil, water the whole thing and over weeks and months all of your hard work and labor put into laying the foundation of the garden pays off. Success may not be immediately reaped. PPC, on the other hand, is like waiting tables; sure you have to give up some extra time (your starting budget) and do some work (testing, writing ad copy, etc.) but at the end of the shift (day or campaign) you get to go home with a nice chunk of change in your pocket (that is, if you don't forget someone's food or spill wine all over some old lady). SEO lays the groundwork for a successful long term investment, allowing you to reap what you sow many times over. PPC lets you test the waters and find immediate returns on the investments you make.

Stay on Target - Paid advertising is customizable in many different ways, one of which is getting down to the nitty gritty on exactly who it is you want to target. You gain the ability to generate instant brand awareness within whatever demographic your business is after, meanwhile your SEO efforts for that demographic are being indexed and picked up by the engines. So as searchers become more familiar with your name, the more they will want to return to a trusted source when your site is returned in the organic results.

Buy Local - More and more consumers are turning to local goods and service providers to help their community's economy. PPC allows you the option to pick a region and find the most qualified leads for that particular region. And as time goes on, more businesses are looking to localize natural search results to rank better within engines, such as Google, that automatically give local results ahead of others.

These are just a few advantages that can come with taming the many-headed beast that is digital advertising. By joining the efforts of SEO and PPC you have a combination of services that can be successful now and down the road.

What are some of the advantages you've experienced with combining PPC and SEO efforts?

Image: Two-Headed Calf by cliff1066

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Microsoft Drops the Hammer on Click Fraud

It looks like Microsoft is taking some action against click fraud, filing its first lawsuit for the crime against three people in Vancouver and a few other unnamed parties.

While the software developer and recent parent to Bing is seeking $750,000 in damages, one of its major reasons for filing the lawsuit is that it wants to be more active on the enforcement side of fraud cases. They want to create a deterrent for would-be participants in click fraud. In a recent NYT article, Tim Cranton, associate general counsel for Microsoft said:

"We think there's a good place for enforcement, basically to say, 'You think this is a game, cat and mouse, back and forth. At some point, once we figure out who you are, we're going to hold you accountable for it, it's going to be expensive, and we're going to deter you from doing it because you're ripping off advertisers and people online.' "

Whoa. He sounds pretty serious. You hear that scammers? Microsoft click-police are on patrol and out to get you! And why shouldn't they? The article goes on to say that there are already stiff legal penalties for wire and mail fraud. Why not click fraud? Good point.

This certainly won't be the last click fraud lawsuit filed by Microsoft, or other search engines for that matter, but it will at least help set a legal precedent.

What does this mean for all those Bing paid ads? It means the streets might be a little safer, at least for those navigating through Microsoft's neighborhood.

While most, if not all, PPC managers run some sort of click fraud monitoring system already, it's nice to see the search engines actively pursuing some click-justice on behalf of its users. They're lending a helping hand to make the online ad space friendlier. It's anything but a "Problem Solved!" type of situation for PPC managers battling click fraud, but at least it's a step in the right direction.

Image: 365_299 - Compute this! by Guin's View

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