Category: reputation management

For some reason, Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns still get a bad rap from time to time. The most logical reason for this is that there are still a number of misconceptions around this form of advertising. Like with anything else, trying to figure out the best places to allocate advertising dollars is by doing your research and getting all the facts before you make a decision. First let’s address some of the negative information you may have heard about PPC campaigns.  Some of the terms that are most often talked about are: Keyword bidding, Bid price inflation and Click Fraud.

Getting the right keywords is crucial in attracting the right customers to your site. But many companies get caught up in trying to bid on too many keywords that are not directly related to the products/information they are trying to sell. The point here is to narrow your hits to people that are most likely to want what you are selling. Having hundreds or thousands of hits is of no value if they are not turning into valid sales. The trick is to narrow your keywords to ones that are specific to your business.

Advertising, whether it takes place online or via traditional methods, has two main purposes. The first is of course to increase your sales; the second is to get your name and product (brand) out to the public. There are certainly other reasons for advertising such as promoting a sale, a community event, introducing new products and more but ultimately, the goals remain the same; your bottom line and exposure.

In the past, the popular choices for reaching your target audience have been venues such as, the yellow pages, newspapers, T.V. and radio ads, etc. But technology has changed how both consumers and vendors behave. In regards to consumers, their choices have grown so dramatically that it is now second nature to research just about anything they are in the market for. Whether they search from their home computer, their laptop while traveling, or any number of wireless devices, consumers today have all the information they need at their fingertips 24/7. While many people still rely on word-of-mouth for recommendations, that word-of-mouth is usually via social media or texting on their mobile device. The average consumer today is also a lot smarter and more discerning about the kind of information he/she is getting. If you have a website, it better display valuable information right away, be easy to navigate and have the ability to respond to questions in a timely fashion.

We’ve talked previously about the importance of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as well as the need to follow up with website conversion optimization to ensure that your site is actually hitting your specific target market. Once these two components are in place and running, it’s critical that results are managed and measured regularly for their effectiveness. You need to make sure that previously laid out goals are being met and identify areas that require tweaking or re-evaluating.

There are several trusted tools that do the work of collecting and processing all the data that is being gathered. They allow you to view and analyze demographics (which web traffic finds you) as well its behaviour (what they do once on your site). The data that is collected can then be analyzed and changes implemented to make certain that your business goals are being met. Of course these changes must be tested for their effectiveness on a continual basis which is why Optimization must be an ongoing process rather than a one time event.

This whole process begins with a Conversion Site Audit which assesses existing demographics and behaviour patterns.  Once the audit is complete, a website conversion strategy can be established that will realign results with your business goals and an optimum ROI (Return on Investment).

These days, online marketing is more than just having a great website with great headers, the right keywords and original, quality content. It does mean having a strong internet presence which, with today’s technology, is so much more than just a website. Today’s consumer is highly computer savvy and the younger generation even more so.  They want to be able to access information quickly and easily and if what they are looking for isn’t almost instantly in front of them, they will simply look for it elsewhere. Because of the fast pace of everything today, it’s important that you are visible and highly accessible in all the popular social media sites aside from your main website.

The other thing that today’s smart consumer wants is to feel engaged, to feel like they are a part of something and that their voice matters. Companies that have been able to adapt to this rapid pace and the speed with which things are changing have understood the importance of being in many places at once. Now this is not to say that having a Facebook page (or other social media site) is going to result in your sales soaring through the roof. But it does mean that wherever people look, they will see your “face”, which of course is your company’s brand. It will also tell you what they are saying about your product/service or your company as a whole.