Ppc | 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 Reasons Why Digital Marketing Will Thrive in the Recession

September 30th, 2008 | Written By: Jay Baer
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From Dot Bomb to Dot Boom
Let’s face it. The economy is taking on the distinctive, sickly pallor of a post Mardi Gras Keith Richards.
Generally, recessions hit the advertising business with the ferocity of a rabid wolverine, and the last one trimmed overall ad spending by 9% according to market researchers Veronis Suhler Stevenson. The wolverine [...]

Tagged as: behavioral targeting, email marketing, integrated marketing, media mix, online media, ppc, recession proof marketing, search marketing, web site analytics and testing, web site KPI

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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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Win $200 in the Palin on PPC Contest

August 29th, 2008 | Written By: Jay Baer
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Are You Man Enough to Write a Great PPC Ad About a Woman VP?
I’m using the puzzling choice of Sarah Palin as McCain’s VP pick to engage in a crowd-sourced search marketing experiment. Namely, who among you can write the most effective Google PPC ad featuring her?

The winner will receive $200 cash from the gilded [...]

Tagged as: Contest, google, ppc, Sara Palin

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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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Media Buyers Say Internet Advertising Will Grow in Next 6 Months

July 7th, 2008 | Written By: Jay Baer
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Market Research firm Advertising Perceptions released a new survey of 1,811 media buyers showing that a whopping 72% of them believe Internet advertising spend will increase in the second half of 2008.

This is a shocking finding, considering that no other medium (other than mobile) was expected to grow by more than 28% of the respondents.
The [...]

Tagged as: banner ads, integrated marketing, Internet Advertising, internet media buying, media mix, mobile marketing, online media, online media planning, ppc, recession proof marketing, search marketing

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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