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In response to my coverage of previous Search Engine Strategies events last year, the organizers of the show reached out to ask me if I would interview a few of the speakers this year.  In the first of what I hope will be a three-part series of interviews, I sat down with Julie Batten, SES Toronto speaker and eMarketing Manager at Klick Communications for a little Q&A on a range of topics affecting our industry. Read more…

I received an interesting plea for help recently via e-mail regarding tracking paid versus organic keywords in Omniture SiteCatalyst.  Although many functions are available within vanilla installations of SiteCatalyst, and several settings can be added to implementations after the fact – the little guy is often left holding the stick.  It’s easier for Omniture to say, just buy Search Center, because well, 9 times out of 10, they make money that way.  For simple keyword tracking without incurring any residual fees, get ready to roll-up your sleeves. Read more…

Attending the eMetrics conference this week in Toronto wasn’t necessarily a huge eye-opener for me, but several insightful discussions did arise from the show’s fundamentally significant panels and presentations.  One such topic included a sore spot for all online marketers and analysts at some point in their career: campaign attribution a.k.a. who gets the final credit for a conversion.

Who gets the credit?  Traditional Marketing?  Online advertising?  Last source of conversion?  Sales?  Or maybe customer service?  Who gets blamed for bad leads?  Someone’s gotta take the heat, right?

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With the winter months dragging ever-so-slowly forward, and the markets showing very little signs of improvement in the foreseeable future, many online retailers are rethinking their strategies to weather the storm and continue a long-term drudge through this lousy economy.  Or are they?  Don’t be fooled!  While most stocks are plummeting to 25 year lows, online retailers are able to go further than ever before, with less than ever before.

What can you do to ensure your business stays afloat while all others sink like the Titanic? Read more…

Are you a business owner, or indirectly responsible for your online advertising conversion funnel?  Have you ever wondered why your business might be getting decent traffic through online channels and programs such as Google Adwords and Yahoo Search Marketing, but it doesn’t make an impact on your bottom line?  Position might be great, clicks coming through steadily each week and month, success events are pouring in but revenues are stagnant.  You might be turning your online ads into Amish Furniture… no finish! Read more…

Despite the recession and tough economic times, there still seems to be a huge demand for analytics talent in the industry, especially when it comes to individuals well-versed in implementing and supporting Omniture.  You have to hand it to them, they’ve become the defacto standard in web analytics through incremental in-house development of SiteCatalyst, and also through strategic acquisition of names such as HBX and Visual Sciences.  But before you go rushing into signing a long-term contract with Omniture, here’s a few things you should know.

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Happy New Year to all my loyal readers and those of you finding my blog for the first time.  This past year has been an overwhelming success for PPC-Advice, with a record amount of visitors, pagevies, and referrals.  I’ve been lucky enough to meet several of you face-to-face in various conferences, and look forward to what 2009 has to offer.  That being said, let’s have a quick look at my 2008 Year in Review, the best and most popular posts that made 2008 special. Read more…

If there ever was a reason to tighten your budgets and increase campaign conversion, this worsening economic climate is forcing many to reconsider the “eyeballs over all” marketing objective.  It used to be that many companies threw caution to the wind (and many still do) just to drive traffic, not for any particular goal, “just cuz”.  While that may work for some, e-commerce and retail sites are feeling the pinch, but search users are hunting for bargains out there – do you have what it takes? Read more…

Many people often ask me, what is a good click through rate for a campaign, or how can I get more people to click my ad on lower positions in Google Adwords?  The answer isn’t always obvious because the effect of greater CTR can hamper business objectives and budgets.  However, if you’re confident in your site’s ability to convert visitors, you want more eyeballs to really ramp up sales or lead generation.  If that’s the case, this post is for you. Read more…

Poor conversion doesn’t have to be a life sentence, but that’s exactly what many advertisers are living with every day. Many advertisers accept status quo, mediocrity or starter campaigns as being industry-standard. Problems aren’t always obvious to beginners in the PPC game.

If your PPC campaigns don’t break even, you may have problems. As Barney Fife would say, we need to nip it in the bud. Sometimes it’s easier said than done to bring campaigns back to the wood shed, especially on high-profile campaigns that may speak more to branding efforts than strict revenue goals.

Find out where to look to determine problems in a campaign, and find out what you can do when campaigns take over. Read more…