Okay so I misunderstood this the first time I read it, or maybe I am misunderstanding now after I am analyzing it. But have a look at it (found it on a forum) and then think of whether I am now thinking like Amol (jhol master who is smiling too much these days) or not.
When the product goes out of stock, or gets droped all together, we replace the BUY Button with the text link to the main category of the widget. The text link is usualy 4 words that used to be in the ALT Tag of the BUY Button.
Now imagine you have to make a drastic change on your site - something like 'out of stock' (doubt that SEs 'punish' you for too much 'out of stock' appearing). Now you make it an image that says 'out of stock' (lets please assume that 'out of stock' is biggg and baddd) but put in an alt tag that doesn't say anything remotely close to 'out of stock' but something that is more favourable. Can the SEs be fooled?
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Why I love MarketingSherpa
Well one reason is the way things get written
I feel very strongly that if you write me a letter, you should get a swift personal response. My husband feels very strongly that since I married him earlier this year, I should come home in time for dinner. You can see where this is heading ...
That's Anne Holland's (President) post about how she's trying to personally reply to all the people writing in to congratulate her. For what you wonder?
Well MarketingSherpa was acquired by another research firm - MEC Labs Group.
(The official announcement must have been around the 3rd of Nov - yes I totally missed it and yes I hate that I don't follow a lot of sites as often as I should).
Anyway MEC Lab Groups run an actual laboratory facility in Atlantic Beach, FL, where they conduct live campaign experiments in partnership with folks such as The New York Times and Reuters so this will supplement MarketingSherpa research.
Also from that same blog entry quoted earlier -
Old lesson re-learned. No one cares really deeply about you being acquired except for you, your staff, your family, the people buying you and their PR firm.
Well I don't quite agree but anyway the good thing is that they promise nothing will really change (for the worse).
I swear I will now follow MS more closely and kill the Outlook folder in which the emails now go to automatically.
Ah and of course a congratulations to the MarketingSherpa team.
I feel very strongly that if you write me a letter, you should get a swift personal response. My husband feels very strongly that since I married him earlier this year, I should come home in time for dinner. You can see where this is heading ...
That's Anne Holland's (President) post about how she's trying to personally reply to all the people writing in to congratulate her. For what you wonder?
Well MarketingSherpa was acquired by another research firm - MEC Labs Group.
(The official announcement must have been around the 3rd of Nov - yes I totally missed it and yes I hate that I don't follow a lot of sites as often as I should).
Anyway MEC Lab Groups run an actual laboratory facility in Atlantic Beach, FL, where they conduct live campaign experiments in partnership with folks such as The New York Times and Reuters so this will supplement MarketingSherpa research.
Also from that same blog entry quoted earlier -
Old lesson re-learned. No one cares really deeply about you being acquired except for you, your staff, your family, the people buying you and their PR firm.
Well I don't quite agree but anyway the good thing is that they promise nothing will really change (for the worse).
I swear I will now follow MS more closely and kill the Outlook folder in which the emails now go to automatically.
Ah and of course a congratulations to the MarketingSherpa team.
Monday, November 27, 2006
The scalability of Search
One of the biggest debates at work is whether search is scalable or not (in terms of volumes). I believe that volumes will plateau at a certain level and therefore there is a finite number of conversions you can get. But its true that there is a lot of latent demand in every marketing for any product or service. The question is can you bring this underlying demand and bring it to the point where this potential conversion becomes a conversion?
Also there is a limit to the amount of latent demand there will be for your product / service.
If you ask me, there is a limit to how much you can scale search up to. But how much you can squeeze out from the current market, depends a lot on how well your campaigns are set up.
Also there is a limit to the amount of latent demand there will be for your product / service.
If you ask me, there is a limit to how much you can scale search up to. But how much you can squeeze out from the current market, depends a lot on how well your campaigns are set up.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Yahoo Search Marketing
Working on YSM after very long. I must admit that I don't find the User Interface (UI) to be as horrible as I thought it use to be. It not that difficult to understand. I would say out of the top 3, MSN Adcenter is the least user friendly (thought it's been a really long time since I used this either - couldn't generate enough volumes).
Some major issues with YSM still exist of course (which I am not very happy about obviously)
1) Minimum spends still in many geographies
2) Just the thought that you have to have multiple accounts for multiple geographies is annoying
3) Refusal to redirect users based on IP - I sure as hell don't want my US based ad showing up in Africa
4) Disapproved listing - way too many of those and at most times the reason seem to strange.
5) Something as silly as having to change profile settings to 'English(UK)' everytime we want to see 'reason' for disapproved listings is super irritating.
6) The fact that they use only account IDs and not account names is very confusing. What if I have multiple accounts for various geographies? How am I to keep track?
7) The fact that they expect you to call them if there are any major issues.
8) Masking URLs are another problem (especially when you use redirects)
9) I still am not sure if its only me or everyone elses listings too get cut short if they use a full stop.
10) While one ad per keyword is great if you are going to be running on 10 keywords, its a pain if you want to have a 100. Googles option to allow multiple ads for a bunch of keywords makes so much more sense.
Can't wait for Panama to be out. Heard it's happening in Q2 of '07
Some major issues with YSM still exist of course (which I am not very happy about obviously)
1) Minimum spends still in many geographies
2) Just the thought that you have to have multiple accounts for multiple geographies is annoying
3) Refusal to redirect users based on IP - I sure as hell don't want my US based ad showing up in Africa
4) Disapproved listing - way too many of those and at most times the reason seem to strange.
5) Something as silly as having to change profile settings to 'English(UK)' everytime we want to see 'reason' for disapproved listings is super irritating.
6) The fact that they use only account IDs and not account names is very confusing. What if I have multiple accounts for various geographies? How am I to keep track?
7) The fact that they expect you to call them if there are any major issues.
8) Masking URLs are another problem (especially when you use redirects)
9) I still am not sure if its only me or everyone elses listings too get cut short if they use a full stop.
10) While one ad per keyword is great if you are going to be running on 10 keywords, its a pain if you want to have a 100. Googles option to allow multiple ads for a bunch of keywords makes so much more sense.
Can't wait for Panama to be out. Heard it's happening in Q2 of '07
Minimum Bids based only on Quality Score
Wrote to Adwords support and they insist that Minimum Bids are based only on Quality Score and have nothing to do with the number of competitors on that word - just like I thought it was.
Now if only they would be clear about 'Quality Score' it would make all of our lives a little easier.
Now if only they would be clear about 'Quality Score' it would make all of our lives a little easier.
For all of its greatness...
SEM (Search Engine Marketing) has one HUGE limitation.
The same as that of any online advertising method.
It can target only users who are on the internet.
The same as that of any online advertising method.
It can target only users who are on the internet.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Adwords Learning Center
It's been a very long time since I went to the Adwords Learning Center. I was shocked to say the least. There are SO MANY topics now. I remember when I first heard the learning center lessons. Back then, I thought there was way to much info but now its even more. In a sense it shows how Google Adwords has grown. No only is it covering topics on the new features / functions etc, but there are also lessons on things like Google Analytics.
The more I think of it now, the more I believe that a seller / manufacturer / business owner etc cannot run an Adwords account for himself anymore. He would have to hire someone who knows the system.
Anyway the reason I went to the learning center was that I had this confusion (but believe I am right in my assumption). I wanted to know if keywords were ever inactive because of amount of competition? In another sense is the 'minimum bid' based on number of advertisers on that keyword. I met someone who has been using Adwords intensely for the last 3 months. He insisted that 'minimum bids' are based on amount of competition.
As far as I know - Inactive keywords only occur when the 'Quality Score' for the keyword (or keyword ad combination?) is not good enough. I don't know what the bench marks are of how quality is really decided but inactive keywords in my opinion have nothing to do with amount of competition.
The more I think of it now, the more I believe that a seller / manufacturer / business owner etc cannot run an Adwords account for himself anymore. He would have to hire someone who knows the system.
Anyway the reason I went to the learning center was that I had this confusion (but believe I am right in my assumption). I wanted to know if keywords were ever inactive because of amount of competition? In another sense is the 'minimum bid' based on number of advertisers on that keyword. I met someone who has been using Adwords intensely for the last 3 months. He insisted that 'minimum bids' are based on amount of competition.
As far as I know - Inactive keywords only occur when the 'Quality Score' for the keyword (or keyword ad combination?) is not good enough. I don't know what the bench marks are of how quality is really decided but inactive keywords in my opinion have nothing to do with amount of competition.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Measuring ROI and Conversions
I think that the biggest advantage of PPC in a way is its future downfall unless we smarten up.
While 'measurability' is a big deal and no other medium gives such instant gratification in this area, I believe we are making a mistake in the way we measure conversions and Return on Investment. Why? Mainly because we look at only the short term. So today xyz keyword has cost me $10 but got me a sale and I earned $22 top line. What we don't think about is that this buyer might become a repeat buyer, in which case the ROI for that word would be greater. Or lets look at clicks that gives me only a few sales today and are too costly, but 3 months down the line I get a hundred sales by people who came to my site by that keyword. Or a visitor who buys nothing but tells everyone he knows about your website and those visitors become buyers.
We need to put systems in place where the actual long term benefits of our PPC campaigns can be correctly judged.
While 'measurability' is a big deal and no other medium gives such instant gratification in this area, I believe we are making a mistake in the way we measure conversions and Return on Investment. Why? Mainly because we look at only the short term. So today xyz keyword has cost me $10 but got me a sale and I earned $22 top line. What we don't think about is that this buyer might become a repeat buyer, in which case the ROI for that word would be greater. Or lets look at clicks that gives me only a few sales today and are too costly, but 3 months down the line I get a hundred sales by people who came to my site by that keyword. Or a visitor who buys nothing but tells everyone he knows about your website and those visitors become buyers.
We need to put systems in place where the actual long term benefits of our PPC campaigns can be correctly judged.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Just so I don't forget
Other stuff I am going to write about -
1) Online Communities
2) Google v/s Yahoo
3) My take on landing pages v/s websites
4) msdewey
5) The 3 majors (Google Yahoo and MSN) and their take on search in the future.
6) The limitations of PPC.
7) Measuring results and calculating ROI - how we might be screwing up.
8) Cost cutting v/s Marketing Research
9) How can we get market insights for our clients.
Please note : This blog is about my views on search and advertising online. I would like to keep the company I work for and its clients out of it.
1) Online Communities
2) Google v/s Yahoo
3) My take on landing pages v/s websites
4) msdewey
5) The 3 majors (Google Yahoo and MSN) and their take on search in the future.
6) The limitations of PPC.
7) Measuring results and calculating ROI - how we might be screwing up.
8) Cost cutting v/s Marketing Research
9) How can we get market insights for our clients.
Please note : This blog is about my views on search and advertising online. I would like to keep the company I work for and its clients out of it.
Small and Medium Advertisers and Viagra Ads
Well I reason I wrote the post on increasing CPCs on Google, is I came across an article on the same and the writer wrote about how you will never see a Viagra ad either in Vogue magazine or during an episode of Desperate Housewives. The fact that Search Engine Marketing is a very viable source of advertising because it is not yet inflated to the prices that other mediums are, is something that cannot be argued.
But this brings me back to what I always say now days. Google Adwords is not what it use to be. Of course I am not naive anymore either but still we all love to believe in idealistic notions.
When I first heard of Adwords, and how it was the perfect medium for small and medium advertisers (who could use advertising on the internet), I was totally thrilled cause never before has a local store been able to compete with an MNC on grounds of advertising and publicity. And here was this perfect medium to help this poor chap, who had great goods or services but couldn't tell too many people about them because he didn't have the funds to buy space in a local newspaper (which people might not see), neither did he have enough money to burn on a local television channel.
Adwords also totally took care of 'targeted audience'. Since this small advertiser could talk to people only specifically looking for his product, there was no wastage in his 'reach'.
Unfortunately this isn't true anymore - at least I don't believe it is. At the current rate, I don't believe small and medium advertisers can survive (unless on their account histories or on learning some secret to tweak the system and get to their target audience).
Its sad to think that bringing in small and medium advertisers into the market, was just a publicity gimmick (seems like that now) an was the major stepping stone for Google to get the bigger fish cause the smaller fish had made the system so popular, that the big fish decided to give it a try and then divert part of their spends to this medium.
But this brings me back to what I always say now days. Google Adwords is not what it use to be. Of course I am not naive anymore either but still we all love to believe in idealistic notions.
When I first heard of Adwords, and how it was the perfect medium for small and medium advertisers (who could use advertising on the internet), I was totally thrilled cause never before has a local store been able to compete with an MNC on grounds of advertising and publicity. And here was this perfect medium to help this poor chap, who had great goods or services but couldn't tell too many people about them because he didn't have the funds to buy space in a local newspaper (which people might not see), neither did he have enough money to burn on a local television channel.
Adwords also totally took care of 'targeted audience'. Since this small advertiser could talk to people only specifically looking for his product, there was no wastage in his 'reach'.
Unfortunately this isn't true anymore - at least I don't believe it is. At the current rate, I don't believe small and medium advertisers can survive (unless on their account histories or on learning some secret to tweak the system and get to their target audience).
Its sad to think that bringing in small and medium advertisers into the market, was just a publicity gimmick (seems like that now) an was the major stepping stone for Google to get the bigger fish cause the smaller fish had made the system so popular, that the big fish decided to give it a try and then divert part of their spends to this medium.
Increasing CPC trend
Don't know how many lay people are going to land onto this blog and want to read it - I doubt very many but I will still explain. CPC is Cost Per Click. Search Engines only charge advertisers when someone clicks on their ad. Therefore this advertising is called PPC - Pay per Click. Now your Cost per Click is what you end up paying the search engine when someone clicks on your ad.
Anyway a lot of advertisers have been seeing a trend of increase in CPC's and (also increase in minimum bids and inactive keywords in their campaigns, I am sure) feel that today they are paying much more per click than what they use to say 4 - 6 months ago. I too remember when we use to bid and actually get clicks for $0.05. Now that seems close to impossible.
Why this increase in CPCs?
Well obviously Google wants to earn more money (and they are creating rules like landing page quality score to get advertisers to pay more - these manipulations are not purely for increased revenue of course) but there are certain other reasons too.
For instance, 6 months ago, there was barely any competition on certain keywords. Today its difficult to find 'actively searched for keywords', with little or no competition. A lot of top advertisers haven't even entered the market yet. Once they do, prices are just going to keep rising.
Then there is the issue of 'relevancy'. Google wants to make sure that users find relevant info on what they are looking for. Therefore a lot of keywords become inactive now as soon as you set them up in a ad group. I think its totally unfair because Google this way does not even allow my keyword - ad combination to show up forget about letting it get a good CTR. Dreading the idea that Google might some day make keywords inactive for content (do not believe this will happen for a number of reason - I will write another post).
Agreed that Googles quality rules may help keep out sites that are MFA (made for adsense) and also that certain advertisers will not be able to buy ever word in the dictionary and show up on every kind of search, but it restricts how I can strategize a campaign. For instance, who is to say that someone looking for the a Maruti Esteem (the big car), may not want a car loan?
Anyway google makes way too many changes, way too soon. Lets see where the industry will be 1 year down the line. Will do some dissection then if I am still in this field. Till then - happy advertising.
Anyway a lot of advertisers have been seeing a trend of increase in CPC's and (also increase in minimum bids and inactive keywords in their campaigns, I am sure) feel that today they are paying much more per click than what they use to say 4 - 6 months ago. I too remember when we use to bid and actually get clicks for $0.05. Now that seems close to impossible.
Why this increase in CPCs?
Well obviously Google wants to earn more money (and they are creating rules like landing page quality score to get advertisers to pay more - these manipulations are not purely for increased revenue of course) but there are certain other reasons too.
For instance, 6 months ago, there was barely any competition on certain keywords. Today its difficult to find 'actively searched for keywords', with little or no competition. A lot of top advertisers haven't even entered the market yet. Once they do, prices are just going to keep rising.
Then there is the issue of 'relevancy'. Google wants to make sure that users find relevant info on what they are looking for. Therefore a lot of keywords become inactive now as soon as you set them up in a ad group. I think its totally unfair because Google this way does not even allow my keyword - ad combination to show up forget about letting it get a good CTR. Dreading the idea that Google might some day make keywords inactive for content (do not believe this will happen for a number of reason - I will write another post).
Agreed that Googles quality rules may help keep out sites that are MFA (made for adsense) and also that certain advertisers will not be able to buy ever word in the dictionary and show up on every kind of search, but it restricts how I can strategize a campaign. For instance, who is to say that someone looking for the a Maruti Esteem (the big car), may not want a car loan?
Anyway google makes way too many changes, way too soon. Lets see where the industry will be 1 year down the line. Will do some dissection then if I am still in this field. Till then - happy advertising.
If you expect to become an expert...forget it
No I am not saying you cannot become a PPC expert (I personally don't believe someone can but a lot of people tell me I am wrong nearly always).
What I am saying is that you wont become a PPC (Pay per Click -advertising) expert by reading this blog.
It's not because people is difficult or that this blog is going to be horrible. It's just that this blog isn't here to give out gyan on PPC or SEM (Search Engine Marketing).
This blog is to share thoughts that I have about the industry (and therefore might hardly be updated hehe) and to share comments / ideas /opinions of people in the industry (well for now only people I work with but who knows maybe someday this blog will have some of the greats posting on it [Lesson 1 - Strategy is important and you must plan for it. I say someday because some of the people I work with today will in a few years time obviously be knows as the Greats of PPC - Yes you are right - I am not as dumb as you thought I was].
So hears to Google and to some extent also Yahoo (Can't wait for Panama to be out). We (my and my colleagues) survive because of them.
What I am saying is that you wont become a PPC (Pay per Click -advertising) expert by reading this blog.
It's not because people is difficult or that this blog is going to be horrible. It's just that this blog isn't here to give out gyan on PPC or SEM (Search Engine Marketing).
This blog is to share thoughts that I have about the industry (and therefore might hardly be updated hehe) and to share comments / ideas /opinions of people in the industry (well for now only people I work with but who knows maybe someday this blog will have some of the greats posting on it [Lesson 1 - Strategy is important and you must plan for it. I say someday because some of the people I work with today will in a few years time obviously be knows as the Greats of PPC - Yes you are right - I am not as dumb as you thought I was].
So hears to Google and to some extent also Yahoo (Can't wait for Panama to be out). We (my and my colleagues) survive because of them.
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