Google Realtime Search: New Page + New Tools

August 26, 2010 Lisa Raehsler Leave a comment

This is a very exciting launch for me, being an information junkie! Google will offer a special page for real-time search results at its own new web address: www.google.com/realtime. It’s live now!

New search tools will include:

  1. Geographic refinements to find updates nearby or specific locations
  2. Conversations view to consolidate tweets into a full conversation you can review at once
  3. Integration with Google Alerts to get notified the moment your topic appears

How’s that for instant gratification?

Official Google Blog: Google Realtime Search: a new home with new tools.

I wonder if the real-time “results as you type” test will be added later? In this test, Google updates the search results as you type in the query box.

AND when and how will we start advertising here?!

:)

Categories: SEO, search engine marketing Tags: , ,

Is PPC Search Strategy Dead?

August 24, 2010 Lisa Raehsler Leave a comment
What's my PPC strategy?

I got no PPC strategy!

In gearing up for my speaking engagements this Fall, I’ve been thinking about PPC search strategy. Are search marketers doing enough search strategy and planning?

Often search marketers concentrate on the implementation before even thinking about the strategic direction. Tactical implementation supports the overall strategy, it does not define it, so you miss a lot of opportunity by not seeing the bigger picture.

I think that Google is partly to blame. With 65% of the search share they set the best/expected practices for PPC marketing. Unfortunately, the training and help materials for Google Adwords rarely, if ever, mention strategy. The Google Adwords certification is essentially a test on the Adwords product, and does not test search pros on strategy. Even their 32 page Adwords beginners guide never mentions strategy. Boo :(

If you suspect your search marketing programs have drifted away from strategy, here are a few things to think about to get you started on the bigger picture:

Goals: What are your goals? Yes, yes, you are trying to get conversions, but how many conversions? Sales goals? Which products are you focusing on? Do all of your campaigns support this goal or do some campaigns have different goals? Think big- make sure these goals match back up to the C-level organizational initiatives.

Target market: Are you targeting your search programs to specific audiences? It’s not just a bunch of keywords. Keywords should be selected based on the searcher intent- what keywords are your customers using to search for your product? For the content/display network, there are dozens of different ways you can target your audience based on their interests and web browsing habits. Make sure you know what these interests and preferences are and how your search program reaches them.

Integration with marketing mix: How does your search program fit into your overall marketing plan? What % of marketing mix is dedicated to search for both budget and the projected sales? Make sure your search program is connected to all other marketing tactics and including your seasonal promotions.

Of course, these are only a few ways to get started on your strategy. Now is a good time to check your current PPC account and evaluate your strategy for the rest of the year and 2011.

Invest time in planning!

Categories: PPC, PPC strategy, search engine marketing

Back to School Meets Wonder Wheel

June 26, 2010 Lisa Raehsler Leave a comment

The words “Back to school” for me used to conjure up images of pencil cases and new school clothes. Now it makes me think of Google and keyword searches. The Google Retail Advertising Blog recently posted that “back to school” searches are up 15% over last year. GO economy!

Its time to start planning your PPC strategies for the back to school crowd. Their searches are expected to peak in August- September.

Let’s say you sell luggage. How can you leverage this school season? You may want to try Google’s Wonder Wheel to help explore your product topics. It shows the original query in the center connected to a bunch of related queries.

It looks like there are a few good ones there that can be expanded on by clicking: back to school messenger bags, back to school pack.

Google's Wonder Wheel
The Wonder Wheel is not the easiest tool to find. The screenshot below illustrates where you can find it.

How to find Google's Wonder Wheel

This tool can help you discover keyword concepts/themes, but you’ll need to dive into the keyword tools to generate the specific keyword list.

Categories: search engine marketing Tags: , , ,

When Your Trademark Becomes the Key to Your Competitor’s Internet Ad

March 18, 2010 Lisa Raehsler Leave a comment

Trademark use in PPC is an ongoing issue. Working in this space, I’m often asked about the individual search engines policies on trademarks as well as the ethics surrounding bidding on competitors names and trademarks. This article, written from the legal perspective, offers some great info:

When Your Trademark Becomes the Key to Your Competitor’s Internet Ad 03/18/2010.

If your looking for similar information from the marketer’s perspective, this may  be an easier read:

Should You Bid On Your Competitors Name Or Use Their Name In Ad Copy

Categories: search engine marketing

Google Dabbles in On-Page Placement of Content Ads

March 14, 2010 Lisa Raehsler Leave a comment

The Google content network has really come a long way in the past year. Advertisers are enjoying the new targeting and ad type options and some are even getting a positive ROAS- this has not always been the case.

The websites you target are almost as important as the websites you exclude on the content network. Google allows you to exclude specific domains and types of categories you may want to avoid: death and tragedy, profanity and rough language, error pages and parked domains. Also, less offensive: social networks, videos, and forums.

They recently announced a new feature that allows advertisers to exclude placements appearing below the fold. This is their first on-page placement option. “This feature, which filters out “below the fold” inventory, enables brand advertisers to be more selective about where ads appear.”

If Google can engineer a statistically driven solution to identify which ads are below the fold, they can certainly fine-tune this in the future to include precision targeting of all on-page placements and page types on a website. We want this!

Right now, setting this up is not very intuitive. In order words, you won’t just stumble upon these settings. Instructions for setting up the below the fold exclusion are in the Adwords help section. This same process is used to set up any of the exclusions mentioned above and many others.

below-the-fold screenshot

Categories: PPC, content