Articles in The 'searcher' Tag

Everyone Searches Differently

by Marni Weinberg

We all are guilty of getting caught up in our industry specific jargon. In the case of MoreVisibility, I catch myself using acronyms like, SEM, SEO, PPC, GA, GAAC, etc. then having to backpedal to explain the meaning of these acronyms (see below), which are like second nature to me. At the same time, we easily forget that those who are looking for us online may not be searching the way we think they are. Whatever industry you are in, I encourage you to take your business cap off and consider what people are typing into search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. to find your company. This exercise will help to not only expand, but also diversify your PPC keywords. You’re probably rolling your eyes right now and thinking I totally know what my searchers are typing into Google to find me…but do you really??

Not everyone searches the same way; trust me. Take someone looking for a new pair of Nike sneakers for example. You will see anything and everything in between (Nike, Nike.com, Nikes, Nike’s, Nike’s Shoes, New Nike’s, New Nikes, Buy New Nike’s, Nike Shoes, Nike Sneakers, Buy Nikes, Buy Nike Sneakers, Find Nikes, Find Nike Sneakers, etc. The list of variations is virtually endless. It’s the same with your business, although perhaps not as extensive.

So what can you do to try to cover your bases? The answer is keyword research, keyword research and yes, more keyword research. Make sure you are using multiple variations of your core keywords within your paid campaigns. Try typing these keywords into the engines to see what results you get. In addition, ask your friends on Facebook, your followers on Twitter and your connections on LinkedIn how they would search for your company, products and/or services.  Their answers may surprise you! Furthermore, if you have not done so already, employ an analytics tool on your site. This can be a very helpful way to see which keyword(s) people are typing into the engines to find you. We utilize Google Analytics in house and many of our clients do, as well.

Everyone searches differently. If you don’t diversify your keyword menu, you could be missing out on valuable eyes to your site.

Just in case:
SEM = Search Engine Marketing
SEO = Search Engine Optimization
PPC = Pay Per Click
GA = Google Analytics
GAAC = Google Analytics Authorized Consultant

Who Gets the Credit?

by Katherine Bennett

It’s been said, “The squeaky wheel gets the oil.” So, this is a squeak for search engine marketing. Many times companies underestimate and under credit the value of search engine marketing on their bottom line revenue dollars. A company will credit call-in sales and organic traffic but fail to realize that search engine marketing is a key component in driving sales from those mediums. 

Search engine marketing loses a lot of credit to inbound sales calls, especially if the person on the phone doesn’t ask the buyer how they heard about their particular site or product. Think about it, a searcher clicks on an ad and goes to a company’s website. They browse and find products that they like or want to buy. They are a little wary of putting their credit card info in because they are new to the site, so they pick up the phone and call. Another scenario, is that a searcher comes to the site, but feels that the online paying process is too tedious (that’s why you don’t make a searcher create an account before buying), and again, they pick up the phone and call. In both cases, search engine marketing didn’t get the credit. It’s assumed that they saw an ad on TV, heard a radio spot or came in from an organic listing. Sometimes, no one, except the advertiser thinks to credit search engine marketing.

With regard to organic traffic, search engine marketing plays a huge role in crediting organic traffic with sales. When a searcher is looking for a product, they see the ads that come up, even if they don’t click on them. Later on in the week, they remember seeing an ad and they do a search. Bingo, the organic listing comes up and they buy the product online. Search engine marketing drove the sale, but the organic traffic took the credit.

It is important for companies not to devalue the power of search engine marketing. Although search engine marketing may not take the spot light for sales all the time, it’s important to remember that it is doing its part in bringing in the sales.  It’s similar to the sports adage that says “Offense sells tickets, but defense when championships.” Don’t devalue search engine marketing or you may lose sales.

Back to the Basics

by Katherine Bennett

It seems that some people tend to think that search marketing campaigns are magic. That “If you build it, they will come.” In theory, that is true. However, building a search marketing campaign is only half the battle. The next steps are to analyze the data so that the necessary adjustments can be made to the campaign to create an even better outcome. Three key components to analyze and improve are keywords, ad copy and landing pages.

Keywords are necessary for any search marketing campaigns; however the right keywords along with the right ad copy are even more essential. Keywords direct users to your ad copy, which if clicked on leads searchers to your landing page. If your keywords lead a searcher to ad copy that doesn’t make sense, they’re not likely to click on the ad. What some fail to realize is that match type and keyword grouping also play a significant part in the success of keywords.  If you use broad match, for a general keyword, you’ll reach a lot of searchers, but a good percentage of those searchers may not be in the target you’re trying to reach. If you use phrase match, you will limit the number of searchers who see your ad, however the searchers will probably be more qualified. If you use exact match, you’ll only get the people who search for your exact terms, but you’ll miss a great deal of people who could have been potential customers. The best way to solve this is to test and to use negative keywords. Plus you want to make sure your ad copy is relevant. Ad copy plays a key role in the success of a campaign and leads the searcher to your landing page. 

Landing pages have a critical role in the success of a campaign because they have a great affect on how a searcher will respond. Make sure searchers are being sent to relevant landing page. It is very annoying to click on an ad only to be led to a page isn’t relevant.  This will cause searchers to leave a website as soon as they get there. Landing pages should coincide with the ad copy. If you’re a camera store and you’re advertising, Canon Powershots, send the user to the Cannon Powershot page, not the Nikon page. It will improve the results.

It may seem elementary, but if a search marketing campaign doesn’t get the basics right, it will fail no matter how much money is thrown at it. The best steps to take are to focus on the fundamentals; from there the results will follow.