Issue 6

In this issue:

1.       My 8am call from a panicky customer & why it’s important to you!
2.       Newsflash: “Google at War”
3.       AdWords secrets from one of the best AdWords experts in the world
4.       Google Analytics quick tips
5.       Business benefits of a “man-cation” in Thailand

1. My 8am call from a panicky customer & why it’s important to you!

At 8.05am on Monday November 11th I received a concerned voicemail from one of our larger customers who relies heavily on Google to send him leads every day.

He needs 2 sales from Google AdWords every day to break even. But, he has come to expect 40 to 50 sales per week. Nice when you get em (which he was). Not so nice when Google changes things.

I missed the call as I was out on an early morning kayak, and was still getting ready to start the week.

I called him back as soon as I heard his voicemail: “Google have changed the algorithm!!! We need to change our strategy. Pronto.”

So what had Google done overnight to warrant this concerned message?

Google had radically changed the way they show local results.

For any search terms that have geographical components to them, e.g. “dentist Sydney”, Google is showing local businessdetails from their business directory (called Google Places) instead of the usual organic results (which were showing as a result of search engine optimisation, i.e. SEO).

Local results are even showing if the location is inferred (but not specifically mentioned) and they know something about your location – say, through your IP address.

A lot of people were feeling the pain that morning. Especially those who were relying heavily on traffic from SEO.

These “local results” were pushing the normal organic results to the bottom or probably off the first page. Their traffic would be massively down.

And so would their leads. Overnight!

Did this change affect AdWords as well?

Yes. Absolutely.

Before the change, when the map was on the left (not on the right), you could see about 5 or 6 Google AdWords ads “above the fold” (i.e. before you had to scroll) on the right-hand side.

Now, with the map in the top position, you only saw 1 or 2 ads on the right.

So for a whole lot of businesses, their AdWords traffic dropped significantly. Including for our concerned client.

It became even more important to be either in the top 3 on the left (i.e. top) of the page, or the top 1 on the right-hand side (effectively position 4).

So for this client, we quickly adjusted our bidding strategy to target position 3 (across a campaign that has 11,000 keywords!). He typically gets around 10 sales a day from AdWords. Not acting fast would have a massive impact in his sales.

So why is this change from Google important to you?

There are a few points to learn from this unexpected change:

1.  The local results you see are largely as a result of your listing with Google Places. Claim your listing in Google Places ASAP. Read no further. Do it now, if you haven’t already.

2.  Add as much info about your business as possible to your Places listing. This helps you rank higher in the local results.

3.  Get customers to provide reviews of your services. This also helps you rank higher in the local results.

4.  Remember, that relying too heavily on ONE strategy for leads can be dangerous, so you should start getting your head around new strategies, e.g. Facebook marketing, LinkedIn, Twitter etc.

Which leads us nicely to our next topic…

2. Google is at WAR

Google dominates the world of search engines with an awesome business model that keeps pumping out billions of dollars a month.They have around 20 billion in the bank.

Looks pretty rosy to me.

However, make no mistake, they are feeling the heat. They are no longer the coolest company in town. Facebook is.

Online marketers have been excited about Facebook marketing opportunities for a while now, mainly because of the incredible targeted advertising you can do, the viral effects of people joining your Facebook pages, and also the massively improved communication you can have with your prospects.

Developers are leaving Google (once the dream job in The Valley) and heading to Facebook in droves, including some high-profile people. There are stories going around that if you’re at Google and want a raise, just say you have a job offer from Facebook.

But why should you care?

If you’re making money from Google today (through search engine optimisation and/or AdWords), this doesn’t mean that this strategy is always going to work tomorrow.

If there was a very easy & quickway you could ask all your friends to recommend, say, the best car insurance, wouldn’t you trust their answer more than Google?

Enter “Facebook search”, where you can quickly and easily tap your network for advice and recommendations. I think this will be a very popular way of finding information when it catches on.

The theme of this newsletter is that online marketing is constantly changing, and it’s much broader than SEO or AdWords.

You need to start thinking about these other strategies now, and what could work best for your business.

Very few strategies are implementable overnight!

3. Podcast – Improve your Adwords skills

Recently I did a 45-minute interview with a man who has been doing Pay Per Click longer than Google. Seriously, he has.

Brad Gedees has written the only book on advanced Google AdWords, and is also the only Google endorsed trainer of the Advanced Google AdWords course in the US, which is where I had the pleasure of meeting him.

If you’d like to know his AdWords tips and tricks then you can listen to the podcast here.

(By the way, this podcast is part of the Online Marketing Secrets series where I speak to the world’s leading authorities on various components of making a killing online. Head to iTunes or our website to check it out.)

4. Video Interview – Quick Google Analytics Tips

Recently I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Robert Gerrish on BNET. I spoke about some important Google Analytics tips you should implement.

You can view the quick 7-minute video here.

5. Business benefits of a “man-cation” in Thailand

As you read this, I am on a “man-cation” on a beautiful island in Thailand. A friend and I are on a working and kickboxing holiday in Thailand. Laura is running the office in Sydney.

My secret formula:
Laptop + Fast Internet + Shaded Restaurant + Afternoon Massage = Successful Mobile Office

Here it is:

However, holiday bragging aside, I have learnt a few business lessons over here:

(i)   I was reminded that everyone, even the not-so wealthy, are connected to the internet. The young Thai deckhand on our sunset cruise is now my latest Facebook friend. Could you be doing anything differently to take advantage of the incredible reach of the net?

(ii)  Getting out of your environment, and out of the day-to-day, is great inspiration for doing creative thinking & strategy stuff. How can you change your environment to stimulate those brain cells?

(iii)  When you’re eating a tasty $2 meal and getting a 2 hour massage for $9 you can’t help  but be reminded of the incredible disparity in purchasing power of the AUD$. CleverClicks has utilised partners from Brazil, India, Philippines, Nepal, Russia & even the UK and  USA at very cost effective rates – while not sacrificing any quality. Could your business make more use of the power of the awesome AUD$?

(iv)  Bartering is good. I have bartered online marketing consulting with the muay thai gym, so I am getting beaten up for free.

Well, from a very humid Koh Lanta, that’s it for this edition.

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