Pay-per-click | Convince and Convert Blog: Social Media Strategy and Social Media Consulting

Why PPC is about to skyrocket – and then CRASH

October 14th, 2008 | Written By: Jay Baer
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Times are tough.
But one area that is ready to soar is pay-per-click search marketing (PPC). That most measurable and controllable of digital marketing opportunities, PPC looks like a no-brainer in this economy.
Have you called a newspaper lately and asked them if they’ll charge you per phone call generated? Even with ad sales down 14% year [...]

Tagged as: cost per click, digital marketing, google, Internet Advertising, pay-per-click, ppc, ppc programs, PPC tips, ROI, SEM

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5 Memorable Lessons from my Sarah Palin PPC Campaign

September 8th, 2008 | Written By: Jay Baer
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Thanks to everyone for participating in my “Are you man enough to write a PPC ad about a woman VP” contest. Many excellent entries (see original post). Here are the results:

McCain is 72 years old
Avg US life expectancy is 78 years
Is Palin qualified? Read This
DailyKos.com 1.31% Click-through rate

Sarah Palin’s Secrets
What the GOP doesn’t want you to
know about [...]

Tagged as: Contest, google, landing pages, pay-per-click, ppc, ppc copywriting, ppc programs, PPC tips, Sara Palin, search engine copywriting, search marketing, web analytics and testing

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

September 1st, 2008 | Written By: Jay Baer
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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 [...]

Tagged as: agency self-promotion, pay-per-click, ppc, ppc copywriting, ppc programs, PPC tips, quality score, Sara Palin, search terms

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The Truth About Publicis Buying Performics

August 6th, 2008 | Written By: Jay Baer
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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 [...]

Tagged as: ad agencies, advertising agencies, agency self-promotion, digital marketing agency, google, pay-per-click, performics, ppc, publicis groupe, search engine optimization, search marketing, SEM, SEO, traditional agencies

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Agencies Need to be Testing Landing Pages

July 21st, 2008 | Written By: Jay Baer
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Average length of stay on a Web site is approximately 2 minutes and 30 seconds overall. Approximate length of stay by visitors coming from search is about 10 seconds. Why the difference? Search users are less likely to know your company and its attributes in advance, and they know there are several other options available [...]

Tagged as: ad agencies, advertising agencies, conversion rate, cost per click, landing pages, marketing tactics, pay-per-click, ppc, ppc programs, PPC tips, quality score, ROI, search marketing, SEM, web analytics and testing, Web site Analytics and Metrics, web site analytics and testing, Web site testing and optimization

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Google to Show Search Volume – Another Blow to Agencies

July 15th, 2008 | Written By: Jay Baer
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In a LOOOOONG overdue move that provides some much-needed transparency to the PPC business, Google has added search volume data to their keyword research tool.
This means that when you use Google to research potential search terms for your clients’ pay-per-click campaign, Google will actually give you an idea of how many people actually search for [...]

Tagged as: ad agencies, advertising agencies, google, Google ad planner, google analytics, Internet Advertising, internet media buying, keyword research tool, keyword selection, online media planning, pay-per-click, ppc, ppc programs, PPC tips, search management, search marketing, search volume, SEM, traditional agencies, Web site Analytics and Metrics, web site analytics and testing, web site metrics, web site statistics, Web site testing and optimization

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

July 1st, 2008 | Written By: Jay Baer
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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 [...]

Tagged as: agency self-promotion, cost per click, digital marketing, Internet Advertising, internet media buying, keyword selection, local internet advertising, new business, pay-per-click, ppc, ppc programs, PPC tips, search marketing, SEM, traditional agencies, Web site promotion

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Google’s Popularity is Costing You Money

June 30th, 2008 | Written By: Jay Baer
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Paid search management vendor Covario said today that PPC spending was up 52% in Q1 2008 versus 2007.
52% is a big leap for an already red-hot digital marketing tactic.
But perhaps more interesting was the finding that Google took in 85% of the paid search spend in the first quarter. (No wonder Yahoo! rushed [...]

Tagged as: ad sense, conversion rate, cost per click, keyword selection, online media planning, pay-per-click, ppc, ppc programs, PPC tips, recession proof marketing, ROI, search management, search marketing, SEM

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Just What They’re Looking For: Using Landing Pages to Improve Paid Search Marketing

December 15th, 2005 | Written By: Jay Baer
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As I write this, hundreds of thousands of businesses are competing to convince people that their Web site is online nirvana – the beatitude, not the band.
But, given all the other marketing tactics available, why has pay per click search marketing gone from nowhere to a $3 billion dollar industry this year, and $5.5 [...]

Tagged as: conversion rate, landing pages, pay-per-click, search marketing

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Pennies from Heaven? Contextual Advertising Generates Online Ad Revenue

December 1st, 2004 | Written By: Jay Baer
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Not long after the beginning, when the first-ever ad appeared on the previously commercial free World Wide Web (for Absolut Vodka, on wired.com), the consensus among the Internet and advertising intellectuals and futurists was that thousands of Web sites would “narrow-cast” their content to specific niche audiences, and even small Web site publishers could earn [...]

Tagged as: ad sense, contextual advertising, pay-per-click

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