Archive for Online Marketing
Adding Whitelisting Instructions Increases Email CTRs
Posted by: | CommentsRetailers are often reluctant to include whitelisting instructions in the email pre-header, but a recent case study shows that including them – at least in the early stages of the relationship – can increase both click through rates and transaction rates.
Click here to get the full story about the value of whitelisting text.
Free New Tool Shows How To Know If Your Prime Web Real Estate Is Viewable to Visitors
Posted by: | CommentsGoogle Labs has a nifty tool that shows you how much of your web page is viewable to your audience without them having to scroll. If you know what percentage of people can see which parts of your page, you can improve the layout of the page. Now THAT may just be the key to increased response and revenue.
Watch this video and learn what I discovered as I used this new tool to evaluate my site.
What – EXACTLY – is a Conversion?
Posted by: | Comments“Conversion” is a key email-to-website metric, but what exactly is it?
A new article by Marketing Sherpa shows us that there are many definitions of “conversion” among marketers. B2B marketers usually support a long and complex sales process. So, they tend to define it as someone completing a registration form. B2C marketers have a simple and short sales cycle. A conversion for them is someone who purchases a product online.
There is no right answer, but there are many opinions! Read the original article to see which user defined events prevail.
A Very Flexx-able WordPress Theme
Posted by: | CommentsThe first step is to admit you have a problem, right? My name is Deborah and I have just enough technical know how to be dangerous – to myself and others! That said, I struggled with my old WordPress theme for months trying to match up attractive presentation with the ever-more-complex functionality I required. Sometimes I succeeded after hours or days or weeks of effort. Sometimes I just had to throw up my hands and surrender.
Thankfully, those days are gone. No doubt you’ve noticed the change in the look and feel of my site recently. I’m still tweaking the “beauty” aspects, but I’ve never been more pleased with my functional options.
Join me while I show you what I’ve learned.
Leverage Time and Money for Entrepreneurial Success
Posted by: | CommentsPick 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
Aspirational vs. Value-Oriented Email
Posted by: | CommentsNot only should we carefully choose our words when creating content of all kinds (ad copy, web content, email, etc.) – we should also consider whether or not words are the correct medium for the job. A picture CAN BE worth a thousand words, and it’s up to us to know which approach is called for in a given situation.
In a recent blog post by Chad White, we learn why high-end experiential brands often choose pictures over words. However, he also sites examples from these same high-end brands where words are a more effective approach.
Read Chad’s post to learn more about the secret language of sales.
Bye for now!
~ Deborah
The More Keywords the Better?
Posted by: | CommentsTimes have changed regarding keyword strategy for your business. Less is now more.
Here’s a nicely crafted article that explains the new reality regarding keyword strategy and research.
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
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
