Archive for the ‘Drive Traffic to Your Website’ Category

Should Apple Buy Yahoo and Drive Website Traffic?

Friday, March 19th, 2010

The hot topic on many Mac forums right now is the rumor that Apple is thinking of replacing Google as the go-to search engine on the iPhone to Yahoo or Bing. Many Mac users are raving that an Apple/Yahoo partnership would drive website traffic to Yahoo and breathe some fresh air into the struggling company.

One Mac forum user, DaveSW states, “Yahoo!’s got services and content that Apple can integrate with the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch and Mac. Apple can use Yahoo! search, Webmail, Flickr, etc. instead of MS or Google.”

DaveSW isn’t alone. Bloggers and forum writers have spoken and many think the Apple/Yahoo union would be a good idea. Apple could breathe a new life into Yahoo and give it the platform to take over the mobile market, which could once again drive Web site traffic to Yahoo online.

But what about Google? Some blogs and forums have mentioned that even though Apple and Google have a close relationship now, Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, who sits on Apple’s board leaves meetings when the iPhone is mentioned due to the conflict of interest with Google Android, one of the iPhone’s competitors. This seems like it could be a ticking time bomb and leaves us uncertain of how long the Apple/Google relationship will last.

Although many online forum writers and bloggers have expressed their opinion in favor of the rumored Apple/Yahoo union, many are skeptical that Yahoo has anything to offer the search-titan Google.

Mac forum user, Maflynn wrote, “Why in the world should Apple buy Yahoo! when they’ve failed, their business model is broken and they have nothing to offer Apple?” This user is joined by many who think buying Yahoo! is a waste of time for Apple. Many think it would be more worthwhile for Microsoft to buy Yahoo!, but even that idea sparks a lot of heated debate.

It’s evident that the rumored Apple/Yahoo! union is a hot topic in the Mac forum world, however, it seems we will all just have to wait and see what happens. In the meantime, what do you guys think? Apple buying Yahoo!, genius idea or horrible train wreck of an idea?

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.