Search Advisory

I’m pleased to announce that both of our entries in this year’s AMY Awards are finalists. This continues our streak – we’ve never failed to be named finalists (if not a winner) with every entry we’ve submitted over the years.

The AMY Awards are officially known as the “Atlanta Marketer of the Year” Awards, and are put on by the Atlanta chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA).  This is the 55th annual AMY Awards.

The organization states: “Each year, AMA Atlanta looks for those of you who have set yourselves apart as originals – the marketers that have taken ordinary ideas, situations and products and made them extraordinary.  Those whose concepts and unique execution embody the spirit of the Red Pencil.  Those whose BIG IDEAS truly inspire.  The Red Pencil is a symbol of the AMY Awards.  It is the spirit of excellence.  It represents the refinement, reduction and resolve that inform the decisions marketing professionals make throughout the creative process.”

Prominent Placement was named a finalist in two categories:

• Paid Search/PPC for our client The List.
• Integrated Search Marketing for our client Edgewater Fullscope.

Thank you to our clients, who partner with us to make things happen!  Winners will be announced at the 2012 AMY Awards Gala at the Fabulous Fox Theatre.

Paid search – also known as Pay-Per-Click (PPC) – is much more complex than meets the eye.  I’ve always said it’s “deceptively simple” – while anyone with a credit card and Internet access can get a campaign up and running quickly, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll do a good job.  There are so very many “levers” (as we call them) with PPC that it’s hard to keep track of them all.  It’s even harder to know when to pull which lever in order to get the best results.

Last spring, we wrote a newsletter about getting back to the basics with Search Engine Optimization (read “SEO: Basic Blocking & Tackling”).  Consider this post the equivalent for paid search, and consider using it as a checklist when managing your own Pay-Per-Click campaigns.  PPC levers include: Read more…

SEMPO Atlanta is pleased to present our first event of 2012, aimed at small and medium-sized businesses who want to grow their companies through search and online marketing.

SEARCH MARKETING FOR SMBs

WHEN: Thursday, March 8, 6:00 – 8:30 pm
(6:00 – 7:00 networking & cocktails, 7:00 – 8:30 panel discussion)

WHERE: Park Tavern, 500 10th St. NE, Atlanta, 30309-4272 (corner of Piedmont Park at Monroe)

COST: FREE for SEMPO Members (Join SEMPO today)
$25 for non-members in advance ($35 at the door)

MODERATOR: Neal Wilson, Microsoft Senior Search Evangelist

PANELISTS:
Jeff Campbell, VP of Resolution Media
Neil Goodman, SEM Specialist at AT&T
Stuart Santos, VP of National Sales & Media at CityGrid Media (a division of IAC Interactive)

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER, CLICK HERE

Thank you to SEMPO Atlanta’s sponsors: Satellite, Google, Yahoo & Bing.

It’s a happy day at my house each month when the latest issue of Wired magazine arrives.  That said, and considering how particular I am about grammar, typos and such, I was dismayed to read the article “Proper Spelling?  Its Tyme to Let Luce!”

Author Anne Trubek asserts that “Consistent spelling was a great way to ensure clarity in the print era.  But with new technologies, the way that we write and read is changing, and so must spelling.”  Trubek gives examples of how even the idea that there are correct and incorrect ways to spell words is fairly recent in civilization’s history.  And she points out what a mess the English language is, even with all our rules. Read more…

I confess – I have QR Code Letdown.  I’ve had it for quite a while.  When I first downloaded a QR code reader app to my iPhone, I was excited to see what magical secrets were hiding behind the QR codes I was starting to see everywhere.  So I’d scan the codes, and…meh.  It was someone’s contact information, or a link to their regular website (which looked terrible on my mobile browser).  QR codes seemed to have such promise, but I’ve already mentally moved on.

At the same time, we’ve all been hearing about augmented reality.  What does that really mean, and how can we as marketers and consumers take advantage of it?  Mashable’s article “Why QR Codes Won’t Last” posits that augmented reality – in the form of mobile video search (MVS) – is superior to QR codes.  The author states that:

“Humans are visual animals. We have visceral reactions to images that a QR code can never evoke; what we see is directly linked to our moods, our purchasing habits and our behaviors. It makes sense, then, that a more visual alternative to QR codes would not only be preferable to consumers, but would most likely stimulate more positive responses to their presence.”

Don’t miss the video about Google Goggles embedded into the article.  It gives specific examples of how MVS works.  This is all, of course, in its infancy, so whether QR codes evolve into something more usable and interactive, or whether augmented reality takes over, remains to be seen.  Regardless, more and more information about the world – and brands – around us will be in the palm of our hands.

If you’re a Google shareholder, perhaps (like much of the investment community), you’re concerned that Google reported their average AdWords cost per click declined during the last quarter of last year.

But if you’re a marketer, you probably rejoiced at this news – what an unexpected treat after the seemingly inevitable climb of average CPCs!

So why the dip?  Could it be the beginning of the end of Google’s dominance?  Well…no.  The short version of the story is that Google is offering many more options to both advertisers and searchers, and many of these new techniques come with a lower average CPC.  So as the volume of cheap clicks goes up, the overall average CPC for all clicks goes down.

These more affordable options include:

• PPC Sitelinks
• Location extensions
• Product extensions
• Increased use of mobile search

Kevin Lee goes into more detail in Solving the Mystery of Google’s Q4 CPC Drop on ClickZ.

Pinterest, the newest social media darling, is growing at a crazy-fast rate, particularly considering it’s only a year old and still in “invitation only” mode.  Last November, it had over 37 million visitors, which is more than either Google+ or Tumblr!

Pinterest is “a virtual pinboard” which allows you to “pin” images you find on the web onto your own digital bulletin boards.  You can share your pinboards with friends and look at other people’s boards.  To me, it’s kind of like sharing a picture of something you love (a restaurant dish, a piece of art, even a cool hairstyle) on Facebook, only you can categorize the photos on different pinboards, and it’s all images, all the time.

Savvy marketers, particularly those who sell products (rather than services) will want to take advantage of this new way to spread the word virally.  Diane Kinney published Leveraging Pinterest: How “Pinnable” Is Your Content? on Search Engine Journal.  It’s a great primer, and I’m sure as Pinterest evolves and its users become more creative in how they use it, more opportunities will arise for marketers.  (…to use it appropriately by offering up unique, relevant content – I am in no way advocating misusing this fun new tool!)

Brad Schorr published (on Tamar Weinberg’s blog) a nice checklist of 25 things to look for in How to Select an Interactive Marketing Agency.  I found the list to be quite comprehensive, covering the basics as well as questions that a client may not think to ask.  Some of my favorites:

#2 Have a Documented Process (and) #3 Have a Flexible Process.  Both are key – agencies must have a process they follow (to ensure efficiency, consistency, and quality work/results), but every client’s different, so the process can’t be too rigid.

#10 Value to the Agency - “If you are a small fish in a big pond, you likely will pay maximum prices for minimum service.”  As a medium-sized pond ourselves, we agree that this is an important point.

#11 Can They Say No? - “It’s not in your interest to hire yes men.  You want a partner bold enough to challenge your thinking and tell you when you are heading down the wrong path.”  We have, from time to time,  had to tell clients that their baby is ugly.  It’s never easy, but sometimes it’s necessary in order for us to do the job we were hired to do.

One point Brad makes that I don’t fully agree with is: Read more…