Conversion Rates and Pay Per Click Accounts

I don't know how I originally learned this, but I am sure I read it somewhere. But this month, Planet Ocean Communications concurred with a long standing belief of mine regarding conversion rates in pay per click campaigns.

In general a conversion rate of 2% to 3% is standard for most products and services. Information products are generally in the 1% range.

Changing your ads and your landing pages from time to time is an excellent way to test your conversion rates and seek higher percentages.

Microsoft is A "Live"

Microsoft announced it's market search product, live.com, and released many of its newer search services from Beta. You can visit the new site, called Windows Live, at www.live.com
The search site offers a clean and sparse home page, ala Google, with the quick ability to search its proprietary search engine, image search, news search, local search and a Question and Answer section (QnA - still in Beta) all from the main search page.

There is the ability to personalize the page with news, weather sports and entertainment listings.

Search results are clean and easy to follow.

Searches that include geographic qualifiers, such as "Chicago pizzeria" include Locall Listings at the top. It is easy to add, remove or update your local business information which is done through localeze.com.

Search results also include sponsored results from Microsoft AdCenter, Microsoft's new pay per click program.

A unique feature to the results is a "Related Searches" listing which allows you to quickly link to related search results, without typing in a new query. For broader searches, this is an excellent mechanism to help end users narrow their search to more targeted results.

Despite Microsoft's low profile in overall search (approximately 12% of all searches), Windows Live Search is an excellent search resource, with highly relevant organic search results and an economical and easy to managed sponsored search package. With the promise to expand its market share and a solid product to boot, advertisers should be certain they are getting in on the ground floor.

Registering Users on Your Web Site Hurts Lead Generation

A recent article on WebProNews.com states that if you require end users to register for free items such as articles, white papers, or other resources, you may be losing 75% to 80 % of your potential leads!

Landing Pages and Search Engine Marketing

A 'landing page' is the page you are brought to as a result of clicking on some form of online advertising.

Some landing pages are part of the we web site, others are stand alone. Sometimes a stand alone page is a "part" of the web site's internal navigation, at other times, it is not.

For the purpose of search engine marketing, an end user

Imrpoving landing pages ::

• Have the target keywords in a prominent location on the page, such as the page "headline" or "header"
• If you are selling a product, include unique product photos
• Show offers, such as discounts or free shipping prominently
• Provide user testimonials when appropriate
• Include a strong call to action statement

Landing pages are most effective in leading customers to action. For e-commerce web sites, it should allow the customer direct ability to add to the cart, or purchase immediately.

For professional service businesses, a strong call to action should be emphasized to encourage end users to take the next step - call, e-mail, complete etc.

Search Engine Statistics and Why We Do, What We Do

In April, comScore Networks released a montly analysis of search activity in the major search engines. The data reflects searches made in the month of March, 2006.

Google Sites - 42.7%
Yahoo! Sites - 28%
MSN-Microsoft Sites - 13.2
Time Warner Network - 7.6
Ask (Ask Jeeves) - 5.9%

Knowing where the numbers are is important, but knowing how people interact with the search engines is equally critical.

These statics come from The Kelsey Group :

• 35% of online shoppers reported loyalty to one search engine
• 53% said that they used two or three search engines
• 10% percent indicated that they used four or more search engines regularly

In a recent blog, I sited (March 2006), noted the importance of web search in influencing offline purchasing. The statistics (the study was sponsored by Google) looked like this :

• 25% purchased an item directly reelated to their query
• Of those, 37% completed their purchase online
• Of the 25% noted above, 63% completed their purchase offline following their search.

It should be noted, that the study was timed for the holiday season of 2005. Overall statistics might alter during other seasons.

We look at search engine marketing like investing in the stock market. You want to make informed decisions, work with a fixed budget, hope for a postitive return on investment, and trust you advisor.

It's a good analagy to point that "turnkey" search marketing initiatives don't work. So why do we do what we do? And what should you do to promote your web site in the major search engines?

1. Base all marketing decisions on qualified data. Keyword assessments & web analytics are two elements we assess early in a search marketing campaign.
2. Determine the purpose of your campaign. Direct sales, lead generation, online branding? This will help dictate the best programs to be involved in.
3. Select appropriate programs. There is a variety of ways to market your business on the Internet. Determine a budget, and seek advice on the best programs to start with.
4. Track your responses - all of them. The response to search marketing isn't always direct, nor is it always instantaneous. Every entry to your company should be guarded by the words "how did you hear about us?" Spend your budget accordingly.
5. Get ready for a long haul. Internet marketing is growing at ever increasing rates. Be prepared to learn about this medium so that over time you can participate more in the decision making. For many businesses, marketing budgets are shifing strongly toward the Internet. Learn about the various ways to market your busines, and seek advice how to best invest in this medium.

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9 E-Mail Marketing Tips / Suggestions

1. Only send emails to persons who have requested them.
2. Only send messages relevant to the type of content the person has requested.
3. Be consistent with your sending frequency. Pick a schedule, and send messages on a regular basis
4. In most cases it is best to send business to business emails Tuesday through Thursday. Studies indicate that the best times of the day to send are just after the start of the day around 9:30am or just after lunch around 1:30pm.
5. In most cases it is best to send business to consumer emails either between 5pm and 8pm Tuesday through Thursday or between Friday evening and Sunday afternoon.
6. Make the From Name for your messages either your company name or the name of a person at your company. Once you choose a From Name, keep it consistent. During the split second decision subscribers make whether to open your email, the most important factor in their decision is whether the From Name is familiar to them.
7. Send messages in both plain text and HTML versions. Many e-mail messaging systems will automatically detect which subscribers can view the HTML message versus those that can only see the plain text message. If you don’t include a plain text message, approximately 8% of your recipients will not receive the message in a readable format.
8. Don’t use all caps or multiple exclamation marks within your subject line or body. Doing this may trigger spam filters.

Microsoft AdCenter - New Pay Per Click Program

Microsoft AdCenter is Microsoft's new pay per click program. It is important to note that Microsoft is no longer using Yahoo! Sponsored Search results. If you are running pay per click accounts, and you are not running a Microsoft AdCenter account, you are not advertising on MSN Search. MSN Search is currrently the third most popular search engine on the market.