And They’re Off…Palin PPC Finalists Selected…Ads Live on Google

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Palin PPC contest (see post below).

It was difficult to select 4 ads to test live on Google, but ultimately I choose these:
Sarah Palin’s Secrets
What the GOP doesn’t want you to
know about McCain’s running mate
from James Archer (@jamesarcher)
I like this one because it’s a solid tease with a lefty [...]

Did you enjoy this blog post? Let me hear about it:
Comments | Subscribe To This Blog | Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Ad Agency New Business Survey – Take It

My friend Michael Gass, who writes the excellent Fueling Ad Agency New Business blog, has launched a survey of small and mid-sized ad agencies and the current state of their business development program. 
With the economy getting as ugly as pre-surgery Joan Rivers, figuring out how to keep your agency in front of key prospects is [...]

Did you enjoy this blog post? Let me hear about it:
Comments | Subscribe To This Blog | Sign Up For Our Newsletter

PitchEngine Takes the Mystery out of Social Media Releases

Agency Advantage Tools – #3 In a Series
Since it’s invention by Todd Defren at Shift Communications in 2006, the social media press release has taken root.
Combining short paragraphs and bullet points with Web-friendly links, tags, and multi-media content, the SM release aims to give reporters and bloggers the key ingredients for a story in an [...]

Did you enjoy this blog post? Let me hear about it:
Comments | Subscribe To This Blog | Sign Up For Our Newsletter

The Truth About Publicis Buying Performics

In a sign that major advertising agencies are continuing to recognize the long-term profitability of search marketing, Publicis Groupe bought Performics from Google today.
One of the largest search marketing agencies, Performics will join Digitas and other Publicis entities as part of VivaKi Nerve Center (no, I am not making this up) the new strategic collective [...]

Did you enjoy this blog post? Let me hear about it:
Comments | Subscribe To This Blog | Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Agencies Need to Embrace Digital Even If It’s Uncomfortable

Excellent post by Bart Cleveland on the AdAge Small Agency blog recently about Comfort Zones.
Bart made the point that if you get too careful and comfortable in your agency, you won’t attract clients that are looking for innovative work. There’s no question this is true. His post used “risky” or groundbreaking creative as the benchmark, [...]

Did you enjoy this blog post? Let me hear about it:
Comments | Subscribe To This Blog | Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Agency Advantage Tools #1 – Website Grader

Welcome to Agency Advantage Tools, a regular blog series at Convince & Convert that spotlights inexpensive or free digital marketing tools.
There are literally thousands of different Web sites, applications, plug-ins, widgets and more devoted to helping digital marketers do their jobs better or faster. Most advertising agencies and PR firms are too busy doing actual [...]

Did you enjoy this blog post? Let me hear about it:
Comments | Subscribe To This Blog | Sign Up For Our Newsletter

UPDATE: GoDaddy and the .Me Domain Disaster

UPDATE:
Well, the .me registration was a complete and utter fiasco. Speaking from personal experience, and reporting from Mashable (soon to be joined by a lot of other reporting, I predict) – this was one of the worst examples of customer experience in my 15 years online. 
It took one full hour to check out. After having [...]

Did you enjoy this blog post? Let me hear about it:
Comments | Subscribe To This Blog | Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Flash Now Readable by Search – Usability Experts Panic

After a LONG waite, Adobe announced this week that Flash files are soon to be readable by search engines. This removes a major impediment to using Flash for Web sites, as previously all files created in Flash were essentially invisible to Google, Yahoo! and the rest.
So, we now have the classic good news/bad news scenario [...]

Did you enjoy this blog post? Let me hear about it:
Comments | Subscribe To This Blog | Sign Up For Our Newsletter

91% of Top Digital Agencies Not Buying Their Own Brands on PPC

In a shocking (and embarassing) revelation today, AdWeek uncovered that of the 56 world-class digital marketing agencies featured in their Annual Report Card, just 5 are purchasing their own brand names in PPC.
In fairness to the firms, most of them appear at or near the top of organic search results for their own [...]

Did you enjoy this blog post? Let me hear about it:
Comments | Subscribe To This Blog | Sign Up For Our Newsletter