This post is about a geeky — but important and often overlooked — tactical aspect of PPC management. Rarely do advertisers have unlimited ad budgets, even if they get a very high return on their ad spend, or great cash flow. Rather, most businesses have a fixed, planned maximum budget. And even if their business...Read More

In a blog in April of this year, I wrote about automated search marketing platforms and questions to ask providers. In today’s post, I’m going to briefly compare/contrast two types of automated platforms: bid management platforms and what we’ll call budget based platforms. We’re going to stick to how they work, what they do (and...Read More

In explaining website marketing and advertising, we often refer to the search engine results page as being like a split-screen television. The natural , organic results appear in the left/center of the page, and the ad results (called “Sponsored Links” in Google AdWords) display on top center and down the right side column. While both...Read More

In this posting, when we use “keywords”, it relates to search terms, also known as “queries”, which computer users type in the search box when searching online. The term “keywords” is also used elsewhere: regarding page code (“meta tag keywords”); and in describing content on web pages (“keyword density”). A computer user’s query with keywords...Read More

Many business owners are surprised to learn that a website can look good, contain many pages of original content, and still not be found by the search engines. Or even when it gets traffic, the same site may not be effective at converting visitors from natural or pay per click traffic to customers. Depending on...Read More

Reach Potential Customers While They They Are Searching The most powerful benefit of search marketing is remarkably simple: the link for your website gets displayed to your potential customers at the moment they are actively searching online. When there are fewer potential customers in your market due to a slower economy, it becomes even more...Read More

From our experience with search engines, online ads, and local advertisers, we can say with certainty that searchers looking for products or services to be purchased locally often do not include the name of their city, town, or zip code in their searches. We’re talking a lot of the time…around half or more in some...Read More

Ads on search engines, also known as “sponsored links” and a variety of other names, are highly targeted when properly structured and optimized. Two of the primary settings that control targeting are called “geotargeting” and “keywords”. The description below applies to search ads, whether they are text ads or advertising that involves graphics. When clicked...Read More