SEO/PPC

Not long ago, I called out a few PPC offenders among big brands and highlighted some of the silly mistakes we should all stop making. To follow up with a more positive note, I’ve decided to point out some advertisers who are doing PPC right. With the proper thought behind a campaign, you can stand out from all the generic clutter in the paid ad space, whether in video, search results, or display placements. You can use PPC to not only get your brand seen, but maybe even loved. Now,…

Times have changed. Dramatically. Gone are the days of relying on the Yellow Pages to help customers find you. Today, creating a web presence is crucial to businesses large and small and is easily one of the most important things you can do for your brand. Of course, just building a website isn’t enough. Sure, in a perfect world the “build it and they will come” mindset would work, but the truth is, there are many other factors that need to be considered. This is where search engine optimization (SEO)…

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people write off Pay Per Click campaigns by saying, “We already tried that. It didn’t work.” Let’s say you just purchased a new Porsche 911. You drive it for a few days and love it, but one morning you get in and find it won’t start. You immediately call the dealer to come take it back and give you a refund. When the dealer takes a look at your car, he discovers the reason your Porsche wouldn’t start was that it…

When you work in the world of SEO, you get used to seeing the same issues repeat themselves throughout different sites. In fact, there are some issues you can almost expect to see on a site that has never been optimized or touched by an SEO. Being aware of these common SEO issues is a critical start to making sure your website earns high visibility in the search results. What are these SEO problems, and how are they corrected? 1. Canonicalization Confused already? It is a long word. Canonicalization refers…

We all make mistakes. I’ve certainly made more than my share of mistakes throughout the past several years I’ve been managing PPC campaigns. However, a number of big brands show a troubling level of carelessness in their ad setup, resulting in not only constant ridicule from people who notice, but also a hefty amount of wasted money. Sadly, I’m talking about brands well-known for both online and offline marketing expertise. A lot of these problems stem from over-depending on automation, dumping in bulk keyword lists without careful review, writing generic…

Search prominence doesn’t happen by accident. No, often it happens thanks to an SEO company working behind the scenes using carefully-crafted techniques to help that site do better in the search engine rankings. Some tactics have continued to work well over the years, some have lost their luster and a few may violate the Google guidelines and cause problems for your site if you choose to use them. With an index reliant on quality, it’s no surprise Google has made it its mission to fight against techniques that violate its…

Facebook advertising offers incredible opportunities to target people by both demographic data and their interests. We’ve found success for our clients using Facebook ads for everything from event promotion to lead generation. No matter what your brand or industry, you should take some time to seriously consider how putting some budget into Facebook can help. Here are a few tips to get the most out of Facebook ads. First Steps If you see your brand page pushing you to hit the “Boost Post” button, don’t do it. Set up a…

In an age of the web and social media, businesses emphasize “the customer” more than ever before. They try to align everything to the customer’s needs and desires, from website design to physical store layout. In order to gauge what the customer is actually feeling about his or her experience with the business, asking for feedback can provide great direct observations for improvement. Executives go wild implementing allegedly tried-and-true techniques for getting their customers to talk back. However, while soliciting feedback, companies too often end up annoying their customers unnecessarily….

SEOs bashing PPC experts. PPC pros making jokes about SEOs. It’s SEO vs PPC turf wars and it has to stop. Today, we bring together Senior Web Strategist Tim Jensen and Director of Digital Marketing Shawn Rosko to either hash it out or bring the peace. Tim’s up first. Tim Speciality: PPC For those of us in the digital marketing world, keeping up with social media and industry blogs is an absolute necessity to stay on top of current trends. However, it’s not all good news out there. I’ve also…

As the time-honored axiom states, “location, location, location” is crucial to the success of any local business. But today, success doesn’t just come from your business’s physical location or because it sits at a busy intersection in a prime neighborhood. As people turn to the internet, reaching the proper geography online has become a key factor. Today’s web continues to move toward hyper-targeted location-based search results, and Google AdWords comes into play with the ability for incredibly precise geographic reach. But location targeting in AdWords can make your head spin…