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Pick the Right Keyword Type for Cost-Effective PPC Campaigns
Posted by: | Commentsbaseball card values
“baseball card values”
[baseball card values]
Do you know the difference between these three variations on the same keyword search phrase? You should. That is, if you want to conduct a cost-effective pay per click campaign.
Broad Match Type (baseball card values)
When creating a Google AdWords campaign, this is the default keyword match type and the one that will probably give you the most impressions. That’s not necessarily a good thing. Using this match type means that your ad will appear whenever a user searches for any word in the phrase, in any order. In this example that means your ad will appear if someone searches for “baseball card values” or “baseball hall of fame” or “stock values” or “card shark,” to name a few.
I doubt that you’d be targeting all four of these example phrases with the same ad, so you need a way to minimize the irrelevant searches. Enter Negative Keywords. By putting a minus sign in front of a keyword, you tell Google that you don’t want your ad to appear when that word or phrase is used in a search. In this case, you’d probably want to add “-stock values” and “-card shark” to your negative keyword list.
Phrase Match Type (“baseball card values”)
Now we’re getting a little more control over the situation. By putting your keyword search phrase in quotation marks, Google will only display your ad when a user types in that phrase and in the same order.
So, for example, your ad would appear for “baseball card values over time” or “i want to know my baseball card values” or “are your baseball card values declining.”
Exact Match Type ([baseball card values])
This is where the rubber meets the road and you have the most control over who will see your ads. Brackets around your keyword search phrase tell Google that you only want your ad to appear when that exact phrase is entered.
For instance, your ad would appear for “baseball card values” but would not appear for “rising baseball card values” or “baseball card values declining” or “baseball bats” or even “baseball.” It will only appear for the exact phrase “baseball card values.”
Now that you know how to control your keyword search results you’re one step closer to creating a high performing AND cost effective PPC campaign.
Bye for now!
~ Deborah
Creating the Right Conditions for Entrepreneurial Success
Posted by: | Comments
I was devouring a recent issue of Discover magazine (yep, I’m a bit of a nerd) when I ran across an article about how the U.S. government is spending $4 billion to launch an expedition to Europa – one of Jupiter’s moons. This is “quest for life” stuff, and NASA seems to think that this icebound moon could be the best place to find life in our solar system. There are two theories: one that makes it highly likely conditions are ripe on Europa for the beginnings of life and one that would make it highly UNLIKELY that we’ll find life there. It’s all about having the right conditions.
In the case of Europa, the “right conditions” hinge on the thickness of the ice that makes up its fractured and frozen surface and the amount of heat generated beneath that ice by its unusual orbit. If the heat is intense enough and the ice thin enough, the ice might be melted almost to the surface – allowing sunlight and organic matter to penetrate to the oceans below and create a very promising biological soup. If the heat is less intense, we might find a thick layer of warm ice that would behave much like glaciers here on Earth and that would provide a much harsher environment for beginnings of life.
Probes will begin launching in 2020, so it’ll be a while before we get our answers.
What’s a Moon Got to Do With My Business?
Ok, you say. What does this have to do with the price of tea in China? Or, better yet, how can this help my business?
It has to do with the ability to influence your environment.
The conditions on Europa are what they are – and will either promote life or not. YOU, on the other hand, have much more control over the conditions impacting your business efforts. But are you exercising that control? Are you treating your business like a business or just an expensive hobby? Are you constantly learning and seeking the advice of more experienced business leaders in your industry? Do you have a business plan or are you just flying by the seat of your pants? Are you enthusiastic about your business – and do you convey that enthusiasm to your customers or clients?
Europa will reveal her secrets in due course. YOU can make changes on a daily basis – and for considerably less than $4 billion – to improve your business prospects. Are you following through on your “quest” for a business life?
Bye for now!
~ Deborah
Understand Intention to Build a Profitable Keyword List
Posted by: | CommentsWhen someone types in a keyword or keyword phrase in a search query they’re asking a question – and unless you can figure out what the REAL question is your keyword list will miss the mark and won’t be a source of viable leads. Since dialing 1-900-PSYCHIC isn’t a realistic option (for most of us anyway 
) figuring out what question is being asked and, perhaps more importantly, which question(s) are being asked by people looking for what you’re selling requires some thought and analysis.
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What’s the Real Question Your Keyword Is Asking?
Start with a keyword or keyword phrase that’s relevant to the category you’re investigating. We’re in the throes of the play-offs as I write this, so let’s look at the keyword “baseball.”
Using your web browser (Firefox and Chrome work well for this) start typing in a search for “baseball.” The browser will throw up a list of suggestions before you type in the entire word. Let’s take a look at that list:
Think about the mindset of the person typing in each of these baseball-related terms. Someone typing in “baseball” is fishing; they don’t really know what question to ask so they’re looking for ideas. On the other hand, someone investigating “baseball card values” is probably looking to buy or sell a card – or maybe they’re thinking about starting a collection and want to know if it’s something they can afford or if it would be a profitable endeavor.
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Using Negative Keywords
Even within a long-tail keyword like “baseball card values” there are a variety of questions that are important to understand, particularly if you buy or sell sports memorabilia. Is this person looking to buy or sell a card or are they simply researching in order to write a school paper about the declining value of baseball cards? If I sell baseball cards for a living I’m probably NOT looking to attract the person writing a research paper, right?
This is where negative keywords can play a valuable role. Let’s search again for “baseball card values:”
If I don’t buy or sell “Topps” brand baseball cards, I should probably include “topps” as a negative keyword. “Database” seems a bit too research oriented, so I’d probably include it on my negative list as well.
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It’s All About Effective Keyword Strategy
Think strategically and understand these three things to begin building an effective keyword strategy:
- - Know what questions are being asked.
- - Decide which questions are relevant to your business.
- - Decide which questions are irrelevant to your business.
Include keywords or negative keywords based on these results and you’re well on your way to creating a profitable keyword list.
Bye for now!
~ Deborah
Listen and Compromise for Project Success
Posted by: | CommentsI’m about to reveal a time when I fell head first into the slop and still managed to come out smelling like a rose. By ultimately thinking like an entrepreneur, I was able to get my way as a small fish in a very large corporate pond.
A few years back I was the e-business manager for a business group within a Fortune 50 corporation. In addition to wearing all of the Internet and e-commerce hats for my group, I was also part of a global interactive marketing team whose members shared space (and a content management system) on the corporate web site. The site was organized in a very product centric way, but my business needed to add some customer centric content aimed at each of the vast array of vertical markets we targeted (construction, education, health care to name a few). Because of the way our content management system worked, I needed buy-in from all the groups before we could proceed.
We All Know What Happens When You Assume
Within my group this was a golden idea and I was receiving high praise for suggesting we put this project in place. Consequently, I assumed this was a slam dunk, no brainer idea and didn’t take the time to “test the waters” with the key stakeholders OUTSIDE my business group. Big mistake.
I also had the supreme arrogance to simply put this idea forward as something we were going to do during a global conference call with probably 50 participants on hand. A bigger mistake.
I was now oh for two and decided to step out of the batter’s box to collect myself.
Listen Up
After licking my proverbial wounds I took a tentative step back into the fray. THIS time I actually had one-on-one conversations with key stakeholders – or I had chats with very small groups.
Here’s what I discovered when I listened: People actually liked my idea!
Huh? I had to be hosed off to get rid of all the metaphoric rotten tomatoes heaved my way during that original conference call.
People liked the idea, but instead of seeing it as an opportunity they saw it as more work on already overflowing plates. There had been many rounds of layoffs in recent years and everyone was understaffed and overworked. My idea, as originally presented, was adding insult to injury.
Compromise
Now we were getting somewhere! I knew what the problem was and simply had to find a solution.
It was actually fairly simple. My group had quite a bit of suitable content already prepared. The other groups had similar products targeted to different tiers or perhaps slightly different verticals. I offered to work with them to help tweak our content to suit their needs – and I offered a more relaxed time line for publishing the content.
Happy days!
The Moral of the Story
These things hold true whether you’re an entrepreneur working with colleagues and customers, a marketing maven getting the word out via social media, a corporate employee, or a work from home Mom:
- Never assume. Get all the facts. Talk to all the stakeholders before you put a plan together.
- Always listen. Even if you can’t include their ideas, people appreciate having a voice. And the bonus is that you just may hear your next best idea!
Bye for now!
~ Deborah
Raise Your Hand If You Do NOT Use Web Analytics
Posted by: | CommentsNever mind. Don’t embarrass yourself, just get with the program!
As you can see from the latest Marketing Sherpa chart below, virtually EVERYONE – large or small, B2B or B2C – is using web analytics.
According to their recent poll, 85% of the search analytics users surveyed use Google Analytics; that’s a 29% increase over the year prior.
Read the complete web analytics article.
It doesn't matter if you're a small or large business, web analytics is mandatory.
Bye for now!
~ Deborah
The Art and Science of Keyword Research
Posted by: | CommentsMy personal experience certainly confirms the alchemic nature of keyword research, whether it be for content enhancement for better natural search results or a quest for the best converting keywords for a PPC campaign.
According to this recent Marketing Sherpa survey, long-tail keywords convert at a slightly higher rate than shorter keywords. How long is long? Six words or less, according to 95% of respondents.
How about you? Does your experience mesh with these survey results?
View the original keyword research article at Marketing Sherpa.
Bye for now!
~ Deborah
Blah to Bodacious: Be That Person People Remember And Seek Out
Posted by: | Comments“How are you?”
It’s a question we all hear every day, right? (In some circles here in the South you might hear “How’s your Mama and all them?” instead of the plain vanilla “How are you?” – but the meaning is the same. 
) And most of us typically provide an automatic and standard response – something along the line of “Fine” or “Good,” along with the requisite “And you?”
Generally speaking, do you really care what their response is to your rejoinder? Do you think THEY care about YOUR response? Probably not. It’s an automatic gesture, like saying “please” and “thank you.” Or maybe it’s being used as an icebreaker to get a conversation started when you don’t want to bring up the weather.
Are You A Leader?
Now, here’s another question: Do you want people to remember you and want to spend time with you? If so, you have to come up with a better answer than “Fine” or “Good” – and you absolutely must emphasize the positive.
Having a bad day? Did that business deal fall through at the last minute? Dog just died? Things generally not going your way? No one wants to hear about it except, maybe, your family and close friends. (And they don’t REALLY want to hear it either, but it’s in the “family/friend” contract.) If you are a pessimistic wet blanket, people may remember you but they certainly won’t want to spend time with you. Or hire you. Or conduct business with you.
Help Yourself With A “Perfect”ly Productive Response
I’ve heard a few pretty good responses to the “how are you” question. My personal favorite: “Best day of my life!” A very upbeat answer that people will probably remember, but is it totally honest and accurate? Not really, especially if your dog just died. But it certainly says something about your attitude toward life if you respond this way and actually mean it.
Perhaps a better answer is simply “Perfect.” No need for an exclamation point. “Perfect” is honest, positive and always accurate. No matter what is going on, isn’t your life always “accurate, exact, or correct in every detail?” Mine is – even when things aren’t necessarily going the way I want.
I think “Perfect” will be MY new response to this age old question – at least until I come up with a MORE perfect way to be both memorable and remarkable!
Bye for now!
~ Deborah
Can Using Twitter Make You A More Efficient Marketer?
Posted by: | CommentsTwitter is just a fad, right – peopled by a herd of sheep who can be categorized into two groups:
- Those chasing their own tails looking for the next great get rich quick scheme
- Those who have nothing better to do than to broadcast the minutia of their lives in boring 140-character snippets.
Wrong.
Sure, there’s a certain percentage of the 40 million folks on Twitter that may fall into one of these categories. There’s always at least a little truth in any stereotype. However, in the right hands, Twitter can be a powerfully efficient tool for business. And, if you’re smart enough to be reading this, I’m certain you fall into the latter group!
It’s all about connections (social media)
Every business has goals to strive for and problems to address that can be placed into two broad camps – both of which can be ably addressed via Twitter:
- Connect with potential customers
- Stay connected with existing customers
Connecting with potential customers
Feedback. Want to know why people aren’t buying your product? Ask them!
News. Get the word out about that new and improved product that they WILL buy. Tell people about the new store you just opened in their neighborhood.
Trends. Following potential customers (or even competitors) can provide valuable insight.
Your Product. By carefully selecting the people you follow, you can focus directly on those who need your product.
Stay connected with existing customers
Feedback. Got a burning question you’d love to get answered right now? Who better to answer than your existing customers?
Loyalty. Strengthen your bond with customers by providing a virtual “face” to talk to, confide in, get advice from.
News. When you have news to share you want to spread it far and wide. Twitter friends not only get the news from you immediately, they also love to share with THEIR friends.
Trends. Your current customers can show you what’s hot – and what’s not – immediately.
Your Product. Customers know what they want and, if you’re willing to listen, they will happily tell you.
And the answer is….
These are just a few ideas to get your thinking started. All of them can be done better/faster/cheaper via Twitter than via traditional channels – and we all know that better/faster/cheaper translates to more efficient.
Goal achieved. Problem solved. Burning question answered.
Bye for now!
~ Deborah
The More We Change The More We Stay The Same?
Posted by: | CommentsThere’s an interesting study out by the Pew Internet & American Life Project that says the Internet may not be changing our patterns of behavior as much as we expected. For instance, the well-to-do and well-educated are more likely than those less well off to participate in online political activities such as emailing a government official or signing an online petition.
On the other hand, there is evidence that civic participation via blogs and social networking sites may break some long-standing differences based on socio-economic status. Some 19% of internet users have posted material about political or social issues or used a social network site for some form of civic or political engagement – and they are not segregated by strong socio-economic differences. Is it because the young people who make up the majority of participants in such sites have yet to achieve their full earning potential – or does this signal a true change?
Learn more by reading the full report.
Bye for now!
~ Deborah
Marketing Tools: JUMBO Keyword
Posted by: | CommentsExperienced and novice users of pay-per-click Internet marketing campaigns know that a complete and well conceived keyword list is crucial to making money online. Home business entrepreneurs will find this free keyword cleanup tool a valuable part of their online arsenal. There are basic applications for less experienced campaigners as well as a full complement of advanced features for seasoned pros.
What This Tool Is NOT
Looking for additional keywords for your online marketing campaign? Want to explore new territory by developing wide terms or more long-tailed keywords? If so, you need to look elsewhere. There are many tools available, both free and for a fee, that can help you develop a keyword list.
A Quick and Easy Way to Handle the Mundane
Once you have your keyword list, however, JUMBO Keyword helps tackle all the editing and housekeeping duties that come with the creation of a complete and successful Internet marketing campaign.
Cut and paste your keyword list into the tool and with a single click you can:
- Automatically lower case the list
- Find and eliminate duplicates
- Sort alphabetically
- Create “Phrase”, [Exact], and Broad match lists – or any combination thereof
- Create Negative match lists
More seasoned marketing entrepreneurs use the Advanced features, which include:
- Find and Replace
- Sort by URLs or bids
- Delete bids, URLs, or position preferences
- Delete spaces or add hyphens or commas or line breaks
Create Text Ads
Finally, the Ad-Maker function allows Internet marketers to create and download text ads – right from the tool. The setup is reminiscent of Google’s tool, right down to the character counter for each line of the ad. You can create a small ad or a wide ad, and once an ad is created marketing entrepreneurs have the option of duplicating it as a small ad or a wide ad. It’s also possible to erase an ad or delete it. As soon as you’re satisfied with the results, save your ads as a text file.
The price is right – and the full suite of features makes short work of the tedious but important cleanup required to create a complete and successful online marketing keyword list.
Bye for now!
~ Deborah
