There has been debate for some time now regarding whether or not bidding on multiple match types for the same keyword is an effective strategy or not. An example would be purchasing:

Bradford PA Restaurants
”Bradford PA Restaurants”
[Bradford PA Restaurants]

In this case the advertiser would be attempting to purchase the same term in Broad, Phrase and Exact match types. Regardless of whether or not they are in their own ad group, all terms would be turned on in an attempt to serve an ad. So why would anyone do that?

I recommend using this strategy for testing purposes. Not all match types are perfect for all keywords. Sometimes an exact match type will carry a slightly higher CPC, but you will likely not be spending money on wasted clicks as often found by using broad match. But, yes there is a but, broad match can be a great tool. It can help you find new keywords to purchase as well as allow you to build a more significant negative keyword list if you intend to stay away from exact match.

Depending on the account structure, I will start by placing the keywords in their own ad groups, sometimes even their own campaigns. This can help with bid and budget management and will be easy to clean up when you stop purchasing all match types. According to Google:

If you have multiple keywords that are the same, the system will prefer to use the keyword with the more restrictive keyword match type.

Therefore, depending on the queries that are driving traffic, your broad terms will only be served to users that aren’t searching the exact term or using the phrase as part of a longer query (theoretically). In testing, you may find that you are getting the majority of your conversions from the less restrictive match types or vice versa. But because search is a data driven marketing strategy, why not gather all the data you can get; including which match type performs better for you. And again, even if you are nervous about broad match it can really provide some great search query reports to help you build your account with high performing keywords, or expand your list of negatives.

In conclusion, my opinion is that bidding on multiple match types is a great testing and data gathering strategy, but not necessarily a long term solution. I am a firm believer that if you can gather data to improve your account performance long-term, trying various tests aside from the simple A/B test is a good practice.

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Which search engine do you use?  Raise your hand if you didn’t say Google.  I’d be surprised if more than 5% of you raised your hands.  Even with the default engine in Internet Explorer being Live, many people change it to Google.  Microsoft has been hard at work trying to outdo the search giant and recently launched Bing.com.  I truthfully haven’t used it at all since it’s launch, but came across a website that will let me test out whether or not I should consider switching:

   www.Bing-vs-Google.com

The split screen view allows you to compare speed (visually), and results.  It also allows you to make the split screen vertical or horizontal.  The horizontal split screen isn’t as effective as the vertical because you have a natural tendency to only read the top results.

My Initial Impressions of Bing

So far, I am pleasantly surprised by some of the features in Bing.  For instance, the mouse-over feature on the right that gives you a little more information about a specific search result (shown below) is very nice:

The Search History (on left, above) is nice, but I can see how some people might get in trouble with this one.  What if you share a computer/login with your spouse or children and happen to be searching around for the best price on a gift for them?  Or, what if you are not a fan of your boss and are looking for a way to oust him from his position?  Then, while researching something for him, he walks in your office and sees the history?  There are several other inappropriate examples that I could highlight, but I’ll leave that to your imagination…

On the plus side of the history, it’s nice to be able to quickly re-search a topic.  For parents, it’s a great way to see what your child is researching online.

The Look of Bing

Microsoft is no stranger to “borrowing” functionality/features that work well.  They clearly went with a more Google-esque look for their results, which I think was a good idea, simply because so many people are comfortable with it.

What’s To Come?

Who knows?!?!  When you pit two giants against each other, there’s bound to be progress made on both sides, which ultimately benefits all of us.

Blog Post Invite

I would like to extend an invitation to Josh Curcio, our Director of Client Marketing to provide some feedback on Bing with respect to Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing.

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This can be debatable based on several factors...budget, vendor, client, target audience, product, etc. But what are the numbers? According to a survey done by eMarketer, SEO is the most effective form of online marketing!

eMarketer surveyed senior level marketing executives to find out what their business was experiencing in regards to online marketing success. Not surprisingly...at least to me, SEO, e-mail marketing and PPC (pay-per-click) were the top 3 most effective marketing strategies. 48% of all respondents claim that search engine optimization created the most conversions for their web site.

Why is this? As I said, several factors can vary this answer...but my general answer is, they are marketing where the users prefer. Most searchers prefer organic search results, therefore more clicks are being generated (unless you have a large PPC budget). People have access to email 24/7...email marketing and e-newsletters are being delivered directly to users through one of the most common forms of communication; of course conversions will be generated. Finally, the ability to target a specific audience through PPC is generating quality traffic that will convert sooner or later. The more advanced marketers and targeting abilities get, the more targeted PPC ads will become.

Brand perception tells a different story. Respondents claim that site or page sponsorship is leading the way as far as brand perception. SEO is second, but only 14% of respondents said that PPC was effectively building brand perception. Why is PPC not effectively maintaining or changing brand perception? My opinion is that these companies are not likely using PPC for brand perception. They are likely overlooking soft-conversions for hard-conversions when they are shoveling out money for PPC. I believe PPC can be an extremely effective way to build/maintain brand perception if that is your goal.

What does this mean for online marketing budgets? Only 8% of respondents are decreasing their SEO budget, while 40% are increasing their SEO budget. The majority (57%) of PPC budgets are going to remain the same. Not surprising, although, I was surprised that 42% of respondents are allocated a higher percentage of their budget to viral marketing even though they mostly agreed that it was not extremely effective in terms of brand perception or driving conversions.

I hope that eMarketer will survey the same group of people later this year or early 2010 to see how these numbers have changed.

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Crisis management...something we generally don't want to think of as a business. Most times it means bad news, but bad news can be worse if the situation is not handled properly. Generally speaking, most businesses who require strong public relations, already have a public relation strategy in place in case of crisis. But does your company's PR plan include search engine marketing?

Think about it, more and more Americans turn to the Internet for their daily news source. Do you want them to get their information from a blog or a spun news story? You have little if no control how third parties will report the story. The optimal situation is for readers to get their information directly from the source.

It is unrealistic to think that an SEO strategy will get the information noticed fast enough. The communication with the public should be as quick as possible which simply will not happen with SEO...these efforts take time to be effective. There is no better way to handle a crisis situation than Pay-per-Click advertising (PPC). This is a perfect PR channel for a crisis if you wish to have an accurate message sent. The cost-per-click (CPC) would be very low because keywords would be targeted directly towards the situation, a custom landing page can be implemented that gives the facts of the event or situation and you are placing the information exactly where people are looking: Search Engines.

One important thing to remember is to make sure your search marketing provider works with the company and/or public relations firm to accurately portray the situation. If your business is leading people right to the source for information, things can turn ugly if it is incorrectly reported. Your search marketing provider should have a plan of exactly how things should be handled in the event of a crisis...prior to a crisis situation. This is the only way the strategy will be handled effectively and accurately.

For more information about PR and Search Engine Marketing contact us today.

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Advertising can be difficult for B2B marketers in the paid space because of rising costs and trouble finding qualified leads, but there are strategies that help make B2B PPC advertising more successful.

1.) Choose Highly Targeted, Long-Tail Keywords: A major problem with PPC advertising for B2B marketers is finding qualified leads. Users searching for B2B products/services tend to be more sophisticated with what they are looking for, and will use longer search terms to find the appropriate results. By using shorter broad match terms B2B advertisers are likely driving unqualified traffic and wasting their budget. Remember the end user when performing your keyword research.

2.) Take Advantage of Niche B2B Search Engines: An important key to a successful PPC campaign is advertise where your target audience is! The people who are making the decisions for businesses are usually aware of the best way to find the right company to satisfy their business needs whether it is trade shows, trade publications or word of mouth. But with more and more people turning to the Internet to make their business decisions, B2B search engines are often the first place a user will look to find their B2B needs. Below are some B2B search engines to consider when implementing your PPC strategy:

a. Business.com – The largest B2B search engine with over 40 million unique visitors per month.

b. GlobalSpec – A B2B search engine focused on engineering, manufacturing, scientific and technical markets. Currently GlobalSpec has nearly 5 million registered users and is continuing to grow.

c. ThomasNet – Focused on industrial products and services, ThomasNet will drive low volume but highly qualified traffic. 

d. MasterSeek – Provides low volume but is focused on becoming the world’s largest B2B search engine.

3.) Send Users to the Appropriate Landing Page: When searching for the best product or service for their company, a B2B user will not spend time trying to find what they searched for after landing on your site; if they can’t find it right away they will go back and click on the next ad. By sending the users to a specific landing page directly related to the search term, you will achieve more conversions than sending them to your home page.

4.) Write Your Ads With the User in Mind: Users searching for B2B products/services are different than users searching for consumer products/services. Write your ads with this in mind to improve your Click-Through-Rate (CTR) and increase the amount of qualified visitors.

5.) Remember, Quality is More Important than Quantity: Because you may purchase longer search terms for your PPC campaign, it can be frustrating if you aren’t getting the traffic or conversions you expected. Keep in mind that the buying cycle is much longer for B2B purchases and a user may not act the first time they click on your ad…but hopefully they remember your name. Do not jump the gun and add several keywords because you are not happy with the traffic after 2 months. Adding unnecessary keywords just to gain traffic will likely not convert and you will be wasting your money. Reevaluate your campaign carefully after you have given the strategy some time always remember your business will make more money with conversions, not traffic!

For more information on B2B advertising check out this article and visit www.protocol80.com.

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Hello, I'd like to share with you a book I read recently - Blue Ocean Strategy - a business strategy book that may be applicable to any of you starting or owning a business. The concept of the book is expressed in several examples, and the culmination is this: how can you create uncontested markets (new markets) instead of competing in the current ones?

The authors illustrate the concept by using a metaphor - blue oceans and red oceans. In blue oceans, demand is created rather than fought over - a new product or service is invented, creating a new marketspace. Think of MP3 players or instant movie downloads, for example. There is a large opportunity for growth that is both profitable and rapid, since value is not charted based on competition.

In red oceans companies compete by grabbing for a greater share of limited demand. This is greatly illustrated by commodity markets, such as gas and other utilities. As the market space gets more crowded, prospects for profits and growth decline. All products turn into commodities, and increasing competition turns the water "bloody.", so to speak 

There are two ways, delinated by the authors, to create blue oceans. One is to launch completely new industries, as eBay did with auctions online. However, much more common for a blue ocean to be created from inside a red ocean when a company expands the boundaries of an existing industry or market. This can be done by redefining your product, or service. Possibly adding new features, creating more value, or differentiating from the competition.

The authors have several (actually, more than 100) examples of ways this can happen. I believe that some of the most exciting and profitable ways can be online. The ability to create new advertising channels through PPC, add new web services to your website (or, create one if you don't have one), and use IT to cut costs and improve productivity can help.

To me, one of the most exciting things about protocol 80 is our ability to help you do this. We have assisted many businesses in e-commerce, web sites, IT, and advertising. Looking at these services as a provider for an expansion of your business, instead of just a cost, and therefore how best you can use them, is a great way to start.

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So we are experiencing tough economic times. Everything must be losing money at this point right? Well according to eMarketer online ad spending will increase in 2009. Why would companies put more money into advertising if shoppers have less money to spend?

Advertisers still have to get their message out in some way and search, which is expected to see the most online growth of 14.9%, is highly measurable. Advertisers want to see exactly what they are getting for their money. This is not surprising to me not only because advertisers want to know their ROI, but also because users are still spending online. According to comScore Cyber Monday sales rose by 15% this year, from $733 million to $846 million. Despite a decrease in spend of each buyer by 5%, the number of buyers rose by 22%.

So even if people are spending less on the Internet, more people are turning to the Internet to make their purchases. This trend will likely continue throughout, and after the economic crunch. People are saving gas and searching for the best deals. This will not only pertain to B2C, but B2B as well. Budgets will likely be cut in 2009 for many companies, so they will also be searching for ways to reduce spend. PPC, display, and video ads seem to be a viable choice for any marketer next year.

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