We have all heard the cliché’s by now:  perception is reality or you only get one chance to make a good first impression.  In my opinion, clichés become just, that because they are so true.  When it comes to search engine marketing, these clichés apply across the board.  If you build a nice looking site, have great search engine rankings in both the natural and paid listings, then you can position your business no matter how small, as the big player in the market because perception is reality.  If you are managing a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaign and drive traffic to a poor landing page with no relevancy, little or no content and no action items for the visitor, most likely they will bounce from that page. You only get one chance to make a good first impression with that visitor, so make sure it is engaging and memorable.

Next time you are developing an online strategy for marketing your business, think about those concepts.  In the online arena, you do not have to be intimidated by the 800 lb gorilla in your industry.  In fact, some of those large, “well established” companies make the biggest mistakes in online marketing.  They may have the huge TV budget and the 50,000 square foot showroom, 20 VP’s and 1000 sales people…but in online marketing, and PPC campaigns in particular, every business is fighting for the same limited space.  If you build it they will come is a great line from the movie Field of Dreams, but in online marketing that is not true.  In reality, if you build it and build it well, make sure you drive relevant traffic to your site and you can compete with any other business online.

In addition, be sure to think about what “face” you want to put on when a visitor arrives, because as I mentioned, you only get one chance to make a good first impression.  Your landing page should be relevant to the keywords you used in the ads that generated that visitor.  Make sure the page loads quickly, has optimized, keyword rich content, and most importantly a clear call to action.  This is your chance to make a good first impression, so don’t blow it by haphazardly choosing a landing page with a poor design, slow load time, and no calls to action.  The downside could be huge if you don’t make a good first impression with your landing page.  For years to come those previous visitors may be searching online and possibly pass you by, because their impression of your business was uninspiring.

Do you often wonder what your friends are up to or maybe the exact location of your husband/wife when they claim to be “working late”?   With the recent launch of Google Latitude, technology is getting closer.

Google Latitude is a new feature in the Google Maps application that allows you to keep tabs on your friends and family by knowing their exact location and status at all times.   Latitude is an opt-in-only feature. No one will be able to see your location, or vice versa unless both parties agree to participate.  To avoid appearing creepy, Google incorporated easy-to-change privacy settings so that locations can be automatically detected, manually entered or completely hidden from other people. If you choose to opt in, you always have the option to sign off or opt out of Latitude altogether. Once opted into Latitude, you can share, set, hide, or even display only a city-level location with certain friends. You can also choose allow your location to automatically update every several minutes while you are on the move. 

Depending on your mobile specifications, Latitude either uses GPS satellites,  cell-tower locations, or WiFi to determine your physical location.  It currently works on Google’s G1, most Blackberry’s, and some other smart phones.  According to Google, the iPhone, iPod Touch, and many Sony Ericsson devices will support Latitude soon.  People who have compatible mobile devices must either upgrade their current version of Google Maps, and/or install Google maps for the first time in order to use Latitude.  
Along with their locations, friends can also share other information on Latitude by uploading a status message and/or a personal photo, which appears as a tiny representative icon on a map (see image below).  Changes to one’s status or picture will be reflected in the map, as well as in Google Talk. The technology also allows users to communicate with participating friends via: text messages, instant messages, or phone.

If you don’t have a compatible phone mentioned above, or don’t carry your phone to the office, Google Latitude will work on your PC as well.  You can share your location manually with the iGoogle gadget, or use your computer’s WiFi location. 

Even though it isn’t the first of its kind, Google Latitude appears to be relatively accurate and user friendly at first glance.  If you choose to opt in, keep in mind that the results are not 100% accurate, and Google is working hard to constantly improve the application.

Conversion Optimizer is a Google AdWords tool that manages your keyword-level bids to deliver as many conversions as possible at the cost per conversion goal that you specify.

People in the search engine marketing industry, are always looking for more conversions at a lower cost. Who isn’t? Constantly monitoring your keyword bids and trying to find that “sweet spot” for a cost per conversion can be time consuming and often, overwhelming. With the Conversion Optimizer, there are no more CPC adjustments needed to reach your goal. You set your max CPA (cost per acquisition) and the tool will automatically change your bids based on those goals.

By analyzing historical information for search terms in your campaign, Conversion Optimizer determines how likely your keyword is to trigger a conversion. It will adjust your CPC bid according. Geographic locations are also taken into consideration since the likelihood of a conversion can vary per location.

Automated bid management tools can be very expensive but Google’s Conversion Optimizer is free. However, there are some requirements that must be met however. First, Adwords Conversion Tracking code must be enabled and placed on conversion points within your website. Second, the campaign must have had at least 30 conversions in the last 30 days. The tool relies on conversion history in order to make accurate predictions about your future conversion rate.

Keep in mind that you will still be paying per click even though you are designating a CPA. You can change your CPA bid as many times as you like and can disable this feature at any time.

By using the available tools and trusted methodologies, it is possible to increase your conversions while decreasing your overall costs. Conversion Optimizer is a tool that could not only save you time, but also save you money.