October 2008

The Four Most Common Mistakes You Can Make With PPC Ads


by Brian Basch

Because it allows you to target prospects specifically by interest and location, pay per click advertising, or PPC, is one of the best options available. You can measure results precisely, and control ad spending, too. It’s also more affordable for small business owners than many other options, including billboards, television and radio.

Like anything else, PPC has disadvantages and shouldn’t be entered into without doing your homework. Hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of advertising could be wasted if you attempt a campaign that isn’t planned and doesn’t have a strategy. There is a lot of information offering guidance when deciding your PPC strategy, so it’s a good idea to learn more about it.

Starting up is easy enough, anyone can get involved without having to sit down with a manual for a few days. There are a few basic tips, though, for anyone thinking about experimenting with pay per click it’s a good idea to examine them close. The majority of mistakes are really easy to fix so that PPC campaigns can get back on track fast. This is a small list of the most common mistakes people make, and how to fix them.

Mistake 1. Using your home page as a landing page isn’t an effective way to convert clicks to sales. No matter what search engine you’re using, the landing page is the key to making the sale. Deciding where customers are directed, instead of just showing everyone your home page when they click on an ad, is the fastest and best route for the customer. Start sending them to other links and places and they will get lost and return back to the search page, probably to click on one of your competitors ads.

When people click on your ad , they are looking for a very specific thing that you’ve been advertising. Landing pages can be specific to ads, so that the person is taken directly to what it is you are advertising. This way, the customer gets exactly what they are looking for. Landing pages should be focused on keywords or phrases used in the advertisement and don’t clutter it up with other links or distractions.

2. Improper customization of landing pages. Ideally, your PPC campaign should work by presenting a potential customer with an ad closely targeted to their keyword. The landing page they arrive at should be closely geared towards that keyword, to present no confusion as to what the page is about. Your customer should never have trouble finding what he or she is looking for! Put each product or service on its own landing page, to avoid confusion.

3. Use of generic ad copy. You don’t have a lot of space to work with when it comes to PPC ads. That means that you can’t use phrases without meaning, such as “quality service”. Even if these statements are true, they don’t help bring in your prospects. Write your ad including specific keywords that potential customers will enter to find you. Use the main keyword in a captivating headline, and follow it up with the biggest benefit you can give your customers. Line three should include special features of the product or service, or an offer/discount. Specific keywords mean more clicks, and more effective clicks.

Mistake 4. Low bid placement usually means low placement on the search page. Search engines use different methods for placing your ad. Yahoo and Google use a system that consists of examining the relevancy of your ad, combined with your bid price. Tightly targeted keywords will get you top placement and this means really crunching statistics and putting lots of thought into your approach. Eighty-five percent of all PPC clicks happen on ads in the top three positions, so it’s worth putting in the effort.

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Filed under Internet Marketing by Brian Basch

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How To Post The Ideal Post


by Don Bethune

A problem that plagues many bloggers who want to attract visitors to their web site is how to write the perfect blog post. Itas not hard to get lost in a jumble of words when you start blogging, especially if your thoughts are typically scattered in your every day life.

To keep everything linear and organize everything you want to say and piece the puzzle of your thoughts together. Making clear and coherent, entertaining sentences. Your personal style will come naturally and keep your blog post from sounding too forced.

Take your fingers off the keys for a minute. Donat just start typing whatever comes to mind, stop and think of your message and how you want to convey it. When discussing your day, keep everything in the order in which it happened. Meaning: donat start your day with lunch if you ate breakfast too. If your topic is something on the controversial side, work on the goal of convincing the reader.

Bullet points are your friends, when organizing your thoughts. Also, bold lettering can show that something is important. Remember that you have tools available to you other than just plain text. If you post is boring looking possible readers wonat read it. How exciting your blog looks will determine how excited your readers will be to view it.

Illustrate your post with the help of imagery and photographs. This can add a personal touch, so that your readership will have you in mind. Video is a way for you to forget about all the typing and just speak to your audience. They will get to see and hear and understand your message

Involving your readers in the conversation is very important. You will gain hits if they have to keep checking back to see what your response is to something that they had to say. Involving them is more important than writing a perfect blog post. You can also gain more hits with the use of a website traffic generator. There are free website traffic gainers available, and they are a great asset if your blog isnat quite popular yet.

When you do have readers that are responding to your blog posts, make sure you continue to engage them. Respond to their counterpoints, discuss their thoughts on the topic, and thank them for offering up their personal anecdotes. Make them feel like theyare being heard, and theyall keep coming back for more.

These guidelines are the key to helping you to have much better posts. Better posts and higher traffic are the first steps to becoming an internet sensation. Remember you audience, think carefully about your message, and convey things in an organized way.

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Filed under Internet Marketing by Don Bethune

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