Bevelwise Blog

Both Google and Bing (with Yahoo SERP going to be powered by Bing they will really be one in the same) plan to begin indexing Twitter tweets in 2010. That will allow them to show the the tweets within the Search Engine Results Pages (SERP). This will more than likely be the first test for real time, non-paid, content to be indexed and shown on SERPs. That means you should position your Brand for more in depth, relevant, and timely tweeting because you will be able to move the bar on the search engines more quickly.

This will also help move Twitter from the social space into the main stream for business purposes because this will make it relevant on so many levels. Effecting real time search results? That is power. I would see Blogs getting the real time priority next(especially those using Blogger if you are Google) as they already help immensely with index-able content on a site. One would have to think that Facebook posts would be on the short list as well to go real-time

Labels: Bing, blogging, Facebook, Google, online marketing, SEO, SERP, social media, Twitter

1. Non-Business Name Searches: It's great if people searching the internet are discovering your website without typing in the name of your business. Probably most of these visitors were previously unaware of your business. This signifies that your website is ranking well for phrase that describe its location and the type of products or services.

2. Specific Service or Product Searches: If your company offers a exclusive product or service you will definitely want to be found for it. These keywords will point to your website because you have a search engine friendly website well optimized even for its more unique services.

3. Searches by Zip, Street, & City: An important component of Local Business SEO if having your address in the footer or on every page of your website. Your company can even gather online traffic for searches by multiple zip codes across your region. This is also a result of having a well optimized map listing. For example, in your Google Local Business Listing, make use of targeted keyword phrases in your list of services or products.

4. Synonyms for Products or Services: If your website is well optimized, it will be able to draw traffic from multiple keywords describing its services. Optimize for multiple phrases to describe your business's services and products on pages within your website.

Labels: better marketing, local business listings, online marketing, Search Advertising, SEO, web marketing

Marketing to Mobile Devices is here to stay and only going to increase. With the new droids and Blackberry Storm2 and the iPhone, this is only going to be more prevalent and more people move to these data savvy phones. These devices also require you to get a data plan so they are always connected to the Internet as long as they are in a service area - no "hot spot" needed.

Google has deep enough pockets to keep anyone at bay. The interesting part of this deal is it was an all stock transaction - but $750 MILLION worth of stock. The interesting part of this is their sales are $40 and most experts think ad networks should be worth 6 times sales - or in this case $240 million. They received TRIPLE that figure - will it pay off? I think so.

If you are in a consumer oriented market, you need to begin to think about this as part of your media mix. In a lot of ways this will be BIGGER than the social media craze...certainly more valuable and measurable than that.

For a good article about this acquisition of AdMob by Google, visit this Adage Article

Labels: AdMob, Google, Internet Marketing, Marketing Trends, Mobile Marketing, online marketing

Use Google Analytics to optimize your Adwords Pay-Per-Click spending by monitoring your conversion rate, bounce rate, and ROI.

First, link your Adwords to Analytics. Tip, do it from your login account (same admin on both), not a My-Client-Account MCC. Make sure your "cost data" is applied to the correct adwords account number.

Once your accounts are linked, apply conversion tracking/goals. Do this even if you don't have e-commerce. A goal could be a sign-up, contact request, newsletter request, purchase, key page view, etc.

Now, login to Analytics and analyze you data! Find your adwords data by going to Traffic Sources --> Adwords.

• Check the bounce rate. Ideally, a lower percentage is better...especially because you are paying for these keywords. Bounce rate is a visit with only one page view on your site, then they "bounce off" aka leaves your site. If the bounce rate is high, the landing page may be wrong.

• Check average time on site. Usually longer time is better. You may want to improve the look of landing pages with low time on site because it may mean that the searcher immediately doesn't like what they see. Or maybe they can't easily navigate around your site.
  

• Find out what time of day you are getting highest amount of conversions. This can help enable "Day parting" if you would like to lower your budget (or increase impressions for times when people are more likely to buy.
  

Expand on keywords with high conversion rates. Bid aggressively on keywords that are giving you a good return-on-investment (ROI). Ditch the keywords that aren't converting!

Please contact Bevelwise if you need someone to manage or straighten out all of this data!

Labels: AdWords, Google, google analytics, HowTo, online marketing, Search Ads, Search Advertising

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a long-term investment. You'll often hear it when an InternetMarketer sets expectations at the beginning of an SEO program. If someone promises "instant" SEO results, run to the nearest exit – it is generally not possible following ethical practices. Meanwhile, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) programs, a.k.a. paid online advertising, are known for delivering immediate returns on investment. But sometimes clients expect SEO projects to return PPC-like results, leading to unhappiness all around.

I have heard PPC vs. SEO to be described as a farmer and a grocer. This may help demonstrate the primary difference between results that can be expected from SEO and PPC advertising. A grocer buys a product, and then immediately turns it around for a profit. A farmer invests his time, along with seeds, water and fertilizer, and then, over time, harvests a crop that can be sold.

The grocer is dealing in PPC, while the farmer is taking on SEO. Both processes offer a return on investment, but success in either requires an understanding of what can be achieved. The great part about PPC is that you can adjust you budget anytime you want. You can also get a good idea of which keywords are getting searched the most on a day-by-day basis.

Your website is the best way to reach customers and prospects 24 hours a day. Working with the right search marketing firm will ensure realistic budgets and attainable targets. Search engine optimization doesn't happen over night. Typically, a solid campaign takes a minimum of three months to move the needle and really 9-12 months to really of concerted effort to maximize your results.

Bevelwise Media can turn the faucet on with certain PPC, but true optimization will take more time and effort, especially on a national or global scale versus local, but the results can be incredible.

Can't figure out what to do? Contact Bevelwise for a free Website x-ray analysis. We can check out how your website is performing right now, and give you steps to take to optimize for success.

Labels: online marketing, paid search, PPC, Search Advertising, SEO, social media optimization

How do you know if you should use Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? Can I get better results from Pay-Per-Click (PPC)? These are the main two strategies in use today, especially for the small to medium enterprise. Both strategies are entirely different and it can be difficult to decide which one is best for you or how to combine both strategies for maximum effectiveness.

You have to determine what you are trying to accomplish via the web and your website. That will drive everything else. If you don't have the right objectives for what you want to accomplish, then you can wind up wasting a lot of money trying to figure it out and feeling like all you did was "spin your wheels". SEO and PPC are the best sources to drive you targeted traffic and only pay for targeted traffic, but you have to be intentional about them and what you expect from each.

SEO and PPC continue to grow as more and more people are using the Internet and become more web savvy. It is the best source for people worldwide to find information they want on a 24 hour basis. That will keep these two industries growing. Let's back up a second and define these a bit closer for some of those people who might know much about these subjects. SEO takes place on your own website site. There are pieces and parts to a website that the Internet search engines, crawlers, and indexes look for to determine if your site is a good match for particular keywords and search terms. Most experts will tell you that parity has been reached in search, so now it comes down to the user experience and how fast a search engine gets you to the results and relevant content you were looking for.

PPC refers to advertising on a search engine that charges on a per click basis whenever a visitor clicks on one of your ads. The order of ads is an algorithm and Google (62% of all searches), Yahoo (20% of all searches), and Bing (formerly MSN and 10% of all searches) all use different ones to determine the best match. This will continue to change now that Yahoo and MSN/Bing have announced their partnership for search - so we are sure a new algorithm for these sites will emerge soon and cause another adjustment. The newest factor in the game for Google is what is known as quality score. It has always used this to rank your site and pages organically, but now it is a factor in how well your PPC campaign will perform. Yes, how well your landing page and it's URL are optimized will effect what you pay per click, who shows up on the top of the list, and if you bid the most, you are not guaranteed the #1 spot. This is directly related to that "user experience" criteria.

SEO tries to change your overall search engine ranking by looking at your URL and analyzing all of the content on your pages and meta data (behind the scenes) to see how good of a match that page and your website is for a particular keyword or search phrase. This also needs to happen page by page - having the same information on every page or in every page's meta data, will actually discount your URL to the search engines. It needs to be specific to what they will find on that page. Also, putting too many different items on a page will not allow you to optimize it to its full extent to produce maximum results. It will also not allow you to effectively optimize for each item because what you can do and the "space" available for optimization, do not allow for the words and phrases you need (for example, a title tag really needs to be less that 70 characters in length). SEO is also considered a long term solution. You cannot do it just once and let it go for 6-12 months. You should pay some attention to it monthly after your initial optimization takes hold (like 120 days after their first pass on your site). Consider this just like changing some of the content on your website, this will help the engines pay attention to you. Ultimately you would want your optimization to allow for you to not have to pay for clicks on your brand name and your top 5-10 keywords and phrases because you already have page one ranking for them. Be prepared for this to take 120-180 days to really start to show some results but that is based on where your starting point is.

Bottom Line of what you can expect

PPC:

• Instant Traffic and results if it is done right
• Pay for what you get - no residual effects
• This is extremely intentional - to an industry, geographic market, product or service
• Optimize for performance, negative keywords, etc
• Can pause at any time so little risk
• Typically done with lower budgets
• Can control what it says, when and where it runs and to what audiences
• Is now tied to how well your landing page and website are optimized with Quality Score
• Once you reach your daily budget it shuts down
• Easier to target a specific market or industry

SEO:

• This is a marathon, not a sprint solution
• If you are optimized, you will always rank for the keywords and phrases you want - it will never shut down or reach a budget
• Results are harder to measure - because of all the ways to drive traffic
• Need to set metrics and goals prior to starting it
• Start with an amount to get started and have someone spend some time monthly continuing these principles if possible
• Will need to update and change as strategies and search engines change their algorithms and competitors change their websites, PPC and SEO strategies
• Allows you to rank for higher priority keywords and broaden your exposure through PPC
• Delivers the most qualified traffic – this comes from people who are actively seeking out products and services that you offer and not just browsing the web.

So what should you choose?
Well, it depends on how much money you are willing to spend, what your time line is, your goals and how you want to measure results. It is easy to blow through money with PPC unless you test, optimize and pay some attention every month. Typically it will produce results in the first 30 days but you will always have to pay for them. If you want to position yourself for long term results and establish your presence to your target audience and market, then spending some time in SEO will help be your solution. SEO is more permanent depending on your strategy and will build long term equity for your website, PPC will drive results and help you be specific to a particular industry, geography, or time period. If someone finds you through organic/natural results, you typically have more credibility because that is harder to accomplish and anyone can "pay" for advertising. If you can do it, we would recommend balancing both of them. Set your goals and then allocate X hours a month optimizing your site and equivalent dollars to PPC, but always be evolving and optimizing.

Labels: Bevelwise, Google, marketing, Marketing Trends, MSN, online marketing, PPC, Search Advertising, SEO, SERP, web content, web marketing, web strategy Bing, Yahoo