Search marketing is popular due to its measurability and rapid delivery of performance metrics. It’s all about that enterprising, yet mostly inept Goonie—Data. Whether you are simply analyzing data from each engine individually or using sophisticated software that combines it all, you can view real-time stats on the performance of your campaign and make changes accordingly. With the current economic instability, business owners must justify every penny spent on marketing, making search a beacon of opportunity.
Many tools out there push bid automation on search marketing. For some, this detached method can deliver sufficient results; oftentimes, however, bidding on autopilot simply does not work. Sadly, automation does not cover many other angles, such as syndication partner results.. With so many factors affecting success rates for search, you cannot possibly automate such a wealth of data.
~SammieAnnieA friend of the PPC Handyman, and professional blogger, brought up an interesting phenomenon, retail stores starting blogs. I checked it out with some retailers I like, and sure enough, it’s being done by Mountain Hardwear:
And Trek:
And Sierra Trading Post:
And Patagonia:
So what is it that these companies are trying to gain by having someone write about the goings on at the store, the trails, or the environment? Simple, it’s nothing new, it’s just the Web 2.0 manifestation of the newsletter. Developing an informal, dare I say friendly, relationship with customers, and more importantly, “potential” customers means big bucks to these companies, worth far more than a modest blogger’s salary (Mark Cuban, make me an offer).
So does it work? Maybe not just yet, but it will. As an early technology adopter, and I’ve been playing with RSS feeds and the like for a little over a year now, and the technology gets better every month. Right now, my Google homepage has about 7 different blog feeds importing into it, and on two separate tabs, I have feeds for cycling and search marketing (bookmark this blog on your own search marketing RSS reader =). It won’t be long before this is commonplace, and just like you have pre-programmed channels on your TV, users will customize all aspects of their web experience.
Smart companies that develop a reputation for fresh content now will gain the rewards of this new, yet to be fully comprehended experience. Two tips: Get a good, interesting writer to do it, you won’t cut it with just another hack like me; Make the RSS link VERY apparent, so that people will easily be able to get your content onto their reader quickly and easily. Do this, and ride the wave, dear readers, this is the wave of the future.
Behavioral targeting is the topic du jour in search, with big names like Google and MSN betting a substantial amount of potential revenue on making it work. But we search marketers have been behaviorally targeting customers for years in our own creative ways.
~PPC Handy ManRunning into potential trademark infringements is never a comfortable position for an agency or their client.
~PorterHouse
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