Webhead Interactive

Top 10 Most Common AdWords PPC Mistakes: Part 2

September 8th, 2009

In my previous posting, I outlined some of the most common mistakes I see people make when they run their AdWords accounts (Read “Top 10 Most Common AdWords PPC Mistakes: Part 1″). If you plead “not guilty” to all of those common mistakes, you’re not necessarily in the clear yet! Here, in part 2, are five more common Adwords mistakes which can be absolutely detrimental to your account, and ultimately, your bottom line:

Mistake #6: Sending all your Ads to your Home Page
I am constantly amazed by companies that spend thousands of dollars per month in Adwords, and send every single one of these clicks to the home page of their website. When you are paying per click, you need to make every click count. And if you’re sending all your ads to your home page, you are simply not doing this. Invest in some conversion-targeted landing pages specific to each ad group you are running, where it’s easy for your searcher to become a customer, client or solid lead in one click.

Mistake #7: Refusing to Let Go
It is just as if not more important to know when to pause a keyword – or group of keywords – as it is to choose your keywords in the first place. If you have optimized for conversion and tested for months and you still have not had one single lead from your #3 most clicked keyword, get rid of it. The more you can let go of the areas that are not making you money, the more funds you have to allocate toward the keywords that are…the more quality leads you get!

Mistake #8: Not Testing Enough
So you think you know exactly the best ad to use to get that click through rate up right? Or the best layout for your landing page to convert your customers? Wrong. As an experienced marketer I am humbled every day when I am proven wrong by consumers. But I love being proven wrong. Because the only way you are going to know what appeals to your consumer, is to test. And test again. Test, test, test. And Google makes it easy for you to test ad variations, landing pages…you name it! You just have to do it. And do it again. And again…get it?

Mistake #9: Set it and forget it!
So you’ve set up your campaigns, ad groups, researched your keywords thoroughly, created multiple ad variations, have targeted landing pages…and now you can put the thing on auto pilot. Right? Wrong!!! This is by far one of the biggest mistakes I see people make with their AdWords accounts. You need to be making adjustments several times a week at least – and some accounts should be adjusting several times per day! This sounds like a no brainer but I am constantly amazed to see accounts that haven’t been touched in months. Months!! No reports run, no keywords adjusted, nothing filtered out. For months. A successful AdWords campaign takes work people. And this brings me to #10…

Mistake #10: Doing It Yourself
I know, I know this is a little tough to swallow coming from a professional search marketer. But seriously, if you are going to get the most from your ad spend and consistently improve your bottom line, you need to be dedicating hours and hours per week to your account. This list just scratches the surface of the many different elements that comprise a well-run AdWords account. If any of these items came as a surprise to you, or if you or your account manager is guilty of these, chances are you need help. Ask for it. You may be amazed at the increased ROI you are able to get from your account when you do. Contact Webhead Interactive today for a free analysis of your account: 877-220.4469.

Posted in PPC Strategies | No Comments »

Top 10 Most Common AdWords PPC Mistakes: Part One

August 31st, 2009

Paid search, also know as PPC or CPC marketing, can be a great way to instantly reach your customers. Google AdWords, the most popular PPC platform, can put you on the first page of Google for the keywords you bid upon, and if set up and managed correctly, can be a cost effective and targeted form of marketing. Unfortunately, as search marketing professionals, we see clients come to us every day with mismanaged accounts or accounts that have not been optimally set up – businesses who are wasting hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars per month in unwanted clicks or penalties assessed by Google for poor account performance.

While there are many factors that go into to an optimally set-up and effectively managed AdWords campaign, these are 10 of the most common – and most costly – mistakes I have witnessed when businesses (or even – gasp – self-professed SEM professionals!!) have set up their own accounts:

Mistake #1: Misuse of Keyword Match Types
So you’ve made your keyword list and you’re ready to bid, right? Wrong – if you haven’t given thought to the Match Types of those keywords. Match Types determine what variations of the keyword phrase you are bidding on will display your ad. The default match type is Broad Match, which is the keyword without brackets or quotations around it. Running keywords in their broad match form can display your ad for any search query with nearly any part of that keyword phrase included in it, as well as key phrases which Google may determine “related” to that keyword. As a paid search marketer, I never use broad match keywords. Ever. I also see many people bidding on the same keyword in two different match types (for example, broad and exact match) at the same time. The broad form will always override the more targeted form, so this is ineffective.

Using match types improperly (or not using them at all) can cost you big money in wasted clicks, and can also cause your overall Quality Score with Google to take a hit as it will cause you to have a lower click through rate and conversion rate. Take the time to learn the proper usage of keyword match types – or you are simply flushing funds down the drain.

Mistake #2: Not Using Negative Keywords
This goes right along with #1. Negative keywords are used to filter out commonly searched variations of the phrases you are bidding on which are NOT targeted to your business. This is one of the easiest and best ways to filter out unwanted clicks and impressions, so I am constantly blown away by how many companies use very little of these – or fail to use them altogether. If you are using any keyword match type besides exact match, you MUST use negative keywords in conjunction.

Mistake #3: 100’s of Keywords in…2 ad groups??
One of the beauties of AdWords is that you can be as targeted as you can imagine. Unfortunately very few businesses running their own campaigns (and, again, some marketers too) take advantage of this fully. Each ad group should have only a very closely related set of keywords – that way, you can target the ad and the landing page that the ad directs to as closely as possible to the search query that brings it up. The better targeted you are, the more likely your ads are to convert (i.e. produce the lead, sale, etc.), the more money you make. Plus, the better targeted, the more Google “likes you.” The more Google likes you, the less you spend for good positioning…the more money you make!

Mistake #4: Not Being Selective about Content Network Sites
Ok so to be honest I normally will not recommend running the content network at all; for the vast majority of clients I have seen a drastically lower conversion rate from content network clicks – even after optimization of the account. However, if you are going to use the content network, you absolutely need to be going through the sites that Google is placing you on and filtering out the bogus ones. While Google claims to show you only on sites that they deem “relevant” to your keyword, I would say 75-80% of the sites that I have seen clients displayed on are completely off base. And then of course you have to think about your brand. There are many sites out there that you just don’t want your name associated with. So filter, a lot. Or just turn the Content Network off altogether.

Mistake #5: Setting the Same Max Bid for all your Keywords.
There can be a big difference between what you competitors are bidding on for one keyword versus another even closely related keyword. You need to be setting bids for individual keywords so that you get the best positioning for your more expensive words, and get the best pricing for those where you don’t need to bid quite as much. Yes it’s more work, and yes you need to change bids frequently (daily even for some accounts) – but the money you save by optimizing your ad spend is well worth it.

So how do your search marketing efforts match up so far? Stay tuned for Part 2 and the next 5 mistakes commonly made in running AdWords PPC accounts.

Think you might need some professional help? Contact us today to get a free analysis of your PPC account performance from our PPC Management Specialists, and see how you can improve your ROI and bottom line immediately.

Tags: Add new tag
Posted in PPC Strategies | No Comments »

Want A Successful SEO Strategy? Stop Chasing Shiny Objects!!

February 16th, 2009

Just about everyone knows something about Search Engine Optimization. Whether you’re a self-proclaimed “SEO expert” (side note: I truly believe anyone that’s really worth their weight in SEO will argue that there are no true experts in this ever evolving field - but it takes true experience to admit that), or the owner of an ecommerce site who is struggling to make the most of their marketing dollars in a plummeting economy, you’ve probably been sold on the value of top search engine rankings and have an idea or two about how to achieve them. You’ve read the SEO blogs, the newsletters…each one with a new buzz word, a new point, a new must-do. “It’s all in the title tag!” “You need more links!” “Blog, blog, blog!” With so many pieces to the SEO puzzle, it’s hard for clients and marketers alike not to fixate on one or two of those pieces. The problem is, if you spend too much time trying to place one or two pieces of a 40,000 piece puzzle, without paying attention to where, why and how they fit with the other 38,000 pieces, you’re not building the big picture.

Here are just a few examples of SEO tactics I’ve seen overused, misused…or both! We’ll call them the “shiny objects” of SEO, distracting marketers from the end goal and ultimately hindering their strategy:

Shiny Object #1: The Meta Keyword Tag

So many arguments out there…does the Meta Keyword tag help? Does it hurt? Should it be eliminated altogether? How many keywords should you have, if you have one at all? Can you have the same Meta Keywords tag on more than one page or does this mean instant SEO death in a fiery meta tag inferno???? AHHHHH!!!

Listen, I’ve struggled with these questions just like any other SEO professional. But the thing is, you have to start out by asking yourself “What is the purpose of the Meta Tag in today’s SEO world?” Answer: it should act as a summary of your page’s content. It is the first thing the search engines see and every element - from the super important Title and Description tags, to yes, even the keywords tag - need to align with the content.

Does using the keywords tag hurt? Not necessarily…as long as you don’t misuse it with the expectation that cramming it with as many keywords as possible will automatically get your site on the road to #1 rankings for all of them. It won’t. And if you bloat the tag, it’s just one more extraneous piece of back end crud for the search engine spiders to wade through on the way to your content. They don’t put value on it, so don’t let it eat up your valuable back end real estate.

So why use it at all? I use it as a guideline for myself in structuring a keyword focus for the page. In it I include the main keyword which is relevant to the page, and it’s very close variations (like 3-6 maybe). If a page doesn’t lend itself to a keyword focus, I don’t use it. Plain and simple. Now for goodness sake…move on!

Shiny Object #2: Font Manipulation to Emphasize Keywords

Many marketers use bolds and italics or ALL CAPS or bold and italics or BOLD AND ALL CAPS or ITALICS AND ALL CAPS or BOLD AND ITALICS AND ALL CAPS to emphasize their KEYWORDS.

Looks a little ridiculous doesn’t it? Guess what? Your user thinks so too. Guess what else? So does Google.

I can’t tell you how many clients’ sites I’ve “inherited” from other SEO companies where one keyword is bolded, one italicized, and back and forth without any rhyme, reason, or respect for the content. Can it help to use strong font or italicizing to emphasize key phrases? Yes. When you use either bold or italic. From time to time. Where it makes sense. Like there, how I used italics to emphasize parts of speech to make a point.

Rule of thumb: if you think you’re overusing it, you are. Stop it.

Shiny Object #3: Blogs

Yes, blogs are great. Yes, they are search engine friendly. Yes, they can be a great way to interact with your target audience.

Does every site need a blog? No.

This one is a big, huge, immensely distracting shiny object for many marketers. Because you know blogs are content rich, you know they get picked up quickly by the search engines. So what could be better for SEO right?? Wrong. Blogs are only as good as their content. And not every business has the means to develop the kind of content that others will feel is worth reading, commenting on, blasting out to their friends, and linking to on their own sites and blogs.

Before you insist that your client needs a blog - or start one on your own site, for that matter - ask yourself these questions:

1. Why am I writing this blog? A blog should be a means by which you interact with your online market. It should enlighten and inform. It should be a resource for your consumer that builds their confidence in your service or product. So, if you answered simply “to get search engine rankings,” put your money in a press release.

2. Do I have the time and resources to keep the blog fresh with content? This should be a pretty simple “yes” or “no.” If every minute of your day is already dedicated to maintaining a crucial aspect of your business to the point that you can’t even organize your inbox, you don’t have time to maintain a blog by yourself.

3. Would I find this blog interesting and informative even if I have no intention of buying this product or subscribing to this service? And, more importantly, am I ok with people visiting my blog that have no intention of buying from me? If the answer is no…you guessed it. Move on.

Remember, effective Search Engine Optimization is ultimately about relevancy. It’s that 40,000 piece jigsaw puzzle that works best when you lay out the edges first, and build on them, bit by bit, paying attention to how each one fits together to make that satisfying, successful, top ranking, consumer attracting picture.

Posted in SEO Strategies | No Comments »

Targeting SEO: Long tail vs big fish

January 29th, 2009

When our potential clients are in competitive industries and not ranking in the top 50 to 100 for their TOP keyword before partnering up with us, a lot of SEO experts would suggest targeting the long tail keywords immediately while working on the big fish at the same time as a longer term strategy. For those of you not familiar with “long tail”, it typically refers to more specific keywords, which typically have lower search volumes. For example, the keyword “top destination weddings in the US” is considered long tail compared to the keyword “destination weddings” which is considered the big fish. The long tail keyword is much more targeted and easier to rank more quickly, but the big fish will drive more traffic when your clients rankings move inside the top 10.

Suggesting the long tail strategy to your client serves two purposes. First, it gets their eyes off the big fish so they don’t get discouraged. This helps them set more realistic short term goals. Second, it will get them ranking well for at least SOME targeted keywords that will drive some traffic and sales. This is GENRALLY a very good strategy. The reason for this post, however, is to inform you that targeting the bigger fish immediately CAN give you exponential results by getting rankings more quickly, and saving time and money for your client.

We have a client named Reel Job Fishing that is a fly fishing business in Northern Georgia. They have a fly fishing blog that was ranking ok for their blog keywords, but not getting as much traffic as they would like. Below are their previous Google rankings for three of their blog relevant keywords:

North Georgia fly fishing blog - Ranking #3

Georgia fly fishing blog – Ranking #8

Fly fishing blog - Ranking #80

Every article I have read would tell you to increase rankings through aggressive link building by starting with the easiest keyword first attempting to move it from #3 to #1. After achieving results, you would then target the 2nd keyword and move it from #8 to #1. Finally, target the big fish at #80, trying to move their ranking up as quickly as possible.

What we did as an alternative to this well known strategy is to ignore the first two, and hit the big fish first. By link building toward the top keyword, we were able to move all 3 at once in under 3 weeks. Not only did the two long tail keywords jump to #1, they ALSO got indented Google listings on both of them. (Please see screenshot at bottom of post) At the same time, the big fish moved 55 spots in 3 weeks up to #25. We will continue to work on this ranking as well, and move it in the top 10 over the next 4 to 8 weeks.

So, how do you know WHEN to go after the big fish, and when should you target the long tail? The rule of thumb is that the keywords MUST be related, and you always must keep cost/benefit in mind. In this case, all three keywords were all related to the word “fly fishing” and the word “blog”. Naturally an increase in one will also help the others. Secondly, common sense will tell you that “North Georgia fly fishing blog” probably doesn’t get that many searches, but that “fly fishing blog” would. In order to give the client the best value, we would not recommend putting 3 to 5 hours of link building work into a keyword that won’t significantly increase their traffic. On the other hand, putting 5 to 10 hours of link building toward the big fish and getting them to rank in the top 10 makes financial sense.

Bottom line is that rather than lazily following the advice of all the SEO experts out there and targeting the long tail immediately, consider focusing more effort on your master link building strategy. Sometimes it makes sense to target the big fish immediately. The results will pay off IF your on-site SEO and aggressive link building strategies are well thought out and executed properly.