Issue 5

Online Marketing Tips & Strategies Newsletter

In this issue we’ve got more Online Marketing tips and tricks to help you ramp up your website leads, including:

1.       Why you should be getting involved with the Google AdWords Display Network

2.       A great guide to Search Engine Optimisation, written by the most knowledgeable SEO experts in the world.

3.       How the new Google Instant will change how your customers will find you.

4.       What’s news with us, – including the launch of our podcats series.

OK, let’s get into it!

1.       Google AdWords – The Display Network

You’ll no doubt be familiar with the Google Adwords that show up on the Google Search Engine itself, but there is another very large part to AdWords called the Display Network (formerly known as the Content Network) that can produce fantastic results.

On the Display Network, websites request that they would like to show Google ads on their own website to make some money. Google and the website owner get to share the click price that the advertiser has paid. These sorts of websites are usually news-type websites, rich in content (eg. www.smh.com.au).

So how would I use it?

Let’s say you were a lawyer. You could request that Google show your ads on any legal website, or websites that had articles relevant to your audience. If the visitor was interested they would click your ad, and you’d be charged a cost-per-click in the same way as your normal Search Network AdWords campaign.

Why would I do this if the Search Network is already working for me?

There are 2 big benefits of advertising on Google’s Display Network:

I.            The cost-per-click prices (CPCs) are usually significantly lower than on the Search Network.

II.            The Display Network gives you access to a huge volume traffic that would not be available on the Search Network.

Cheaper CPCs, hey? I like that! What’s the catch?

CPCs are not everything. Conversions are more important. Or should we say, cost per conversion. You need to try the Display Network for your particular industry, and see if you can get cheaper conversions than on the Search Network. We’ve obtained a range of results for a range of industries. But I urge you to give it a go. It can work wonders.

OK, you’ve convinced me to give it a try. Any quick tips?

I.            The main difference between the Display Network and the Search Network is that on the Display Network websites people are not in active search mode. They’re reading articles/information. You ad copy has to be compelling enough to interrupt them.

II.            Do not just turn on the Display Network in your campaign settings! You really need to run an entirely separate campaign with very different strategies. Ie different bid prices, keywords, and ad copy. You can easily create image ads and even video ads. Read more at http://www.google.com/adwords/displaynetwork/

2.       A Guide to SEO

There’s lots of advice available from different SEO consultants. But sometimes you may question its accuracy and credibility. A safe bet is going straight to the source: Google. (They should know a thing or two about SEO.) You’ll be pleased to know they’ve released version 2 of their SEO guide. You can find this very handy 30-page SEO guide here.

3.       The impact of Google Instant

You may have read recently that Google has released a new way of searching, called Google Instant. It’s not a change to the algorithm, but a change to the way you will search for information.

As you type a search query, Google predicts what you might be searching for and instantly shows the search results below the search box as you type. You no longer have to finish your query then hit “Search”.

You may not see it yet when you search in Google.com.au, as it’s in the process of being rolled out to Australia.

The search marketing world has been abuzz since its announcement, because it will really impact how people search. And it will affect your search strategy – but exactly how is not yet very certain.

You can read our more detailed blog post on Google Instant here.

4.       What’s up with us?

We have been talking it up all over town. Philip spoke at the City of Sydney’s “Let’s Talk Business” seminar series, MC’d by Valerie Khoo, on one of his favourite topics: Measuring Your Online Marketing. You can find the Let’s Talk Business website here, and a copy of all the speakers’ presentations on Slideshare if you missed it.

Amanda Gonzalez of web design agency Untangle The Web, interviewed attendees and put together an informative video of the key learnings of the event.

Philip also spoke at My Business Magazine’s Small Business Expo about “Growing Your Business with Google”. If you’d like a copy of the presso – just holler.

We are also very excited about our recently launched Online Marketing Secrets (OMS) Podcast series. The OMS series is where you can learn online marketing tips & strategies, from the experts who have been there, done that, got the t-shirt, and in some cases, even written the book.

Listen to our first few episodes here. You won’t hear empty promises of overnight riches, just proven online marketing advice, for real world small businesses.

As always we’d love to connect on Twitter. You can follow Philip at www.Twitter.com/PhilipShaw

If you like this newsletter, please share the love, and pass it on!

Til next time.

Regards

The CleverClicks Team