Archive for the ‘Drive Traffic to Your Website’ Category

Is PPC Advertising Worth the Money?

Friday, March 5th, 2010

money-bag-save-moneyIt seems the more money I try to save, the more I am asked to spend. Does this sound true for your business? We know we need to “spend a little to make a little,” but how much should a company be spending on PPC advertising and is it really worth the money to be seen both in PPC and organic search results?

While there are many different opinions as well as ad agencies willing to take your money to “get you on the first page of Google,” there isn’t one strategy that will work for every company. As an ethical SEO company, Search Circus carefully analyzes your business, your budget as well as which online marketing strategies would work best for each type of industry.

I can give you the Cliff notes on paid advertising strategies from several PPC marketing experts .

1. Don’t just “throw together something” when you want to increase your online presence. It’s best to do the research or ask your ethical SEM team to do the research for the best strategy to use PPC advertising, which search engines, how much and how often. It’s best to look at your competitors and their paid online marketing tactics.

2. Don’t try to do too much with not enough. Have you ever overbooked your day or tried to stuff that one last item in a drawer then come back to find the drawer’s contents all over the floor or worse the entire drawer? PPC advertising is like that. Adding too many keywords or ads or types of markets in one campaign is not how you can test and measure the effectiveness of the campaign itself.

3. Think before you act. What are your goals for creating an effective PPC advertising campaign? Who is your audience? What do they want? Each PPC campaign should target one specific audience or geographic location. Then each campaign can have different ad groups with its own products or services. Keep it simple, clean and organized.

4. Follow your competitors. Do your competitors appear on the first page for each niche audience, product or service? Follow their lead, but do it better.

5. Only run your ads as much as your targeted audience is likely to see them. If your audience is not likely to be online between midnight and 6 am, then do not have your ads running during these times.

If you want to gain an edge over your competitors, do something that they aren’t or do it better.

Give your PPC advertising time to capture attention. Oftentimes it takes a few months to several months to see whether it is an effective online advertising strategy. If your sales are not increasing, calls aren’t coming in any more than before starting PPC advertising, then make a few changes, but don’t call it quits all at once.

Not sure if PPC advertising is worth the money for company, contact the online advertising team at SearchCircus.com for the best advice.

Exploring Your Search Engine Optimization Services Program Options for the Holidays

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

googleholiday2For many businesses, the holiday season brings mixed feelings. It’s usually the time of the year when many businesses look for great Q4 results. But that can also be stressful, since that means that a lot of companies and businesses will also have to work extra hard for those great results.

While many companies may already have planned their holiday season advertising and marketing campaigns, it’s necessary for marketing managers to keep an eye on those campaigns and adjust them as necessary. And when evaluating your search engine optimization services program, then online search should be a key concern.

If you’re running a small business, then search engine optimization services program is an ideal way to make sure that your business brand gets noticed by holiday season shoppers. For larger businesses, a search engine optimization services program is a cost-effective way to remind customers or clients of your brand. And it’s a great chance to supplement your print or broadcast advertising for an effective and synergistic marketing campaign.

So what aspects of a comprehensive online search engine optimization services program should you be using? Here are some ideas.

Gift Pages: If you haven’t yet, you should create a center for gifts on your Website. And when thinking of potential items for your Gifts Page, don’t just make it for Christmas or holiday pages. Create an entire section. That means implementing a search engine optimization services campaign that breaks down your gifts by category. Make a “for him” and a “for her” section, or “gadgets” section. You can even break down your inventory by price range. If you spend some time with the Google AdWords Keyword Tool, you can do some very effective research for your search engine optimization services program and discover what people are searching for by category and by keyword.

Linking: Do you have several copies of your home page, or several copies of categories? If you have external links that are pointed at each separate home page, you could be harming your overall search engine optimization services program. The good news is that these redirects can be relatively easy to fix and can result in a big ranking boost that will benefit you this holiday season.

Update Your Metadata: If you have enough time, you can implement a part of your search engine optimization service agenda to fully rebuild your metadata. In most cases, you’ll want to restructure your title tags based on your categories. Make sure that the most important keywords are listed at the beginning of the title. And make sure they’re clear enough so that anyone can know what’s on the page just by looking at the title tag. These search engine optimization services program tweaks can go a long way when it comes to getting new traffic.

Start Spending Today: It’s important to get an early start on the pay-per-click (PPC) section of your search engine optimization services program as early as possible. In fact, today would be a good day. By getting an early start, you can actually save on the PPC aspect of your search engine optimization program. That’s because the PPC campaign aspect of your search engine optimization program will gain greater authority the sooner you get started. More authority means that better PPC prices.

The holiday season can be both thrilling and stressful. But if you plan a search engine optimization services program adequately, then you’ll be well-positioned to have a great season. All it takes are a few effective steps that will get your Website primed for great holiday sales.

PodCamp Pittsburgh 2009: Twitter Tools for Business, Workshop Taught By Wendy Suto

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

PodCamp Pittsburgh 2009
Workshop Outline, Courtesy of Wendy Suto, SearchCircus.com
Twitter Hashtag: #pcpgh4

Discusses the many different types of Twitter tools that can be used for small businesses to grow leads, partnerships, prospects and sales online.

1) Hummingbird AutoFollow App Tool – http://www.twitandsell.com/
a) autofollow app tool for businesses
b) $197 for unlimited software updates, no monthly fees

2) TweetLater – http://www.tweetlater.com & @tweetlater
a) autofollow productivitiy app tool for businesses, manage multiple twitter accts for yourself and your clients
b) free and professional versions ($29.97/month or annual subscription fees)
c) 168 hour free trial version of PRO

3) PostLater.com – http://www.postlater.com/
a) auto post any future blogs and microblogs onto twitter, wordpress, other platforms
b) fees: $19.95/month or $149/year for unlimited sites and unlimited posts

4) Twellow – http://twellow.com/ & @twellowup
a) As a research tool you can use the Directory to search by category or location, you can use Twellow to geographically target and research statistical information (United States and Canada only at this time), and you can use Twellow Pulse to monitor conversations in up to 20 categories.

5) Twitterholic – http://twitterholic.com/
a) ranks top twitter users and gives twitter user statistics
b) Check your twitterholic ranking free

5A) TweetStats – http://www.tweetstats.com
a) get twitter statistics for other users and yourselfs

6) TweetBeep – http://www.tweetbeep.com & @tweetbeep
a) similar to Google Alerts, gives you the ability to monitor your brand, your company, your name, and your industry. It saves you time because it sends all of this information to your email inbox (or folder) to be cataloged and analyzed on your time schedule.
b) track certain keywords

6A) SiteVolume – http://www.sitevolume.com
a) Enter 5 keywords and see activity on twitter; choose whether or not your chosen keywords are excellent or poor, find new keywords you hadn’t thought of before

7) NearByTweets – http://www.nearbytweets.com & @briancray
a) Real time search utility. You can watch tweets from people based on location and keyword. It displays people that are nearby and what they are talking about at this moment. While the other applications allow you to search based on YOUR interests, you pick the key words, categories, and locations Nearby Tweets takes it a step further by allowing you to see what interests OTHERS. This is especially useful if you are interested in geographical and local market research.

8 ) TweetDeck – http://www.tweetdeck.com & @tweetdeck
a) After you have used all of the tools listed above you can organize, categorize, and monitor your finds. The wonderful thing about this application is that it is a one stop shop, you can organize, monitor, search, and respond all without opening your web browser. You can also use this application for research by grouping your Twitter contacts, watching key words, and engaging your network in relevant conversation.

9) Tweetie – http://www.atebits.com/software/tweetie/ and TweetBerry – http://www.orangatame.com/products/twitterberry/
a) Created for your iPhone and BlackBerry cell phones
b) You can tweet, reply, retweet, send direct messages, browse users, post compressed links, view Twitter trends, and more. Post while on the go!

10) Twitt(url)y – http://twitturly.com/
a) Tracks and ranks URL shared on Twitter by popularity. A quick glance at a list will help you peg trends, popular products and reports, and gauge what’s on peoples’ minds.

11) TwitterFriends – http://twitter-friends.com/ & @furukama
a) If you Twitter frequently, and Twitter is important for your business, this stats tool will help you take the next step towards becoming a master tweeter. TwitterFriends allows you to analyze your Twitter habits

12) TweetGrid – http://www.tweetgrid.com
a) which lets you follow topics, people, groups, events, and more in real-time on a search dashboard. It helps you what products, services, brands, and topics are creating a buzz on Twitter, when, and for how long

13) GroupTweet – http://www.grouptweet.com
a) Great for workgroups, communities, and people who need to keep tweets private. Biggest benefit: Keeping potentially confidential tweets within a designated group.

14) WeFollow – http://www.wefollow.com
a) official twitter directory, choose 3 keywords (make them general, search other related user keywords and copy/mimic theirs too)
b) allow others to follow you and find you through your 3 general keywords