Not surprisingly, a similar technique also applies to online advertising, and is also equally effective in engaging the searcher.

In my experience a ‘reflective ad’ will typically outperform even the most creative text ad.

Building a reflective ad

To build  a reflective AdWords ad we are going to use Google AdWord’s  Keyword Insertion capability to reflect the searchers term back at them.

Keyword insertion is a special ad statement {Keyword}  that substitutes a  searched term into the ad text. This can be added into your ad copy, the display URL or even the destination URL

When the ad is operating, the searcher sees their own search term where ever {keyword} appears in your ad eg assume the searched term was premium widgets

Practical reflective ads

All good so far, but ad text lengths still apply, so if your searcher enters a long term, your ad could be too long, so keyword insertion provides an alternative value should this occur.

So in this example, a long search term would end up looking like this:

Proper case

A final refinement with the Keyword Insert is it ability to change the case of the original search query. This subtle but important presentation refinement is set by the capitalisation used in the keyword command word itself viz:

Note that AdWords Capitalisation rules also apply which dictate there should be no excessive capitalisation

More information on Keyword Insertion is available here: http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=74996

So, set up a reflect ad in your campaigns, and test my theory that they will outperform your other ads.

Ill be interested to hear your results

Cheers
Pete

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The Conversion Optimizer is one of a series of excellent tools built into AdWords that it seems many people dont realize exist.

Google says

Analysis indicates that, on average, those of you who use Conversion Optimizer experience a 21% increase in conversions along with a 14% decrease in CPA.*

This analysis compares the performance of Conversion Optimizer campaigns over the course of a year with a control set of campaigns and represents the average impact of Conversion Optimizer. The actual impact will vary from campaign to campaign.

Not bad for a free tool! Read more

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The email link takes the visitor to http://adwords.google-sn.com domain (remaining URL details removed to protect readers)

http://whois.domaintools.com shows the domain was registered the same day the email was sent, and presumably the details are false otherwise I’m sure Ms Eva O’Brien will be hearing from Google shortly:

Domain Name………. google-sn.com
Creation Date…….. 2010-04-01
Registration Date…. 2010-04-01
Expiry Date………. 2011-04-01
Organisation Name…. Eva O’Brien
Organisation Address. 13343 Mount Castle Dr.
Organisation Address.
Organisation Address. Farmers Branch
Organisation Address. 75234
Organisation Address. TX
Organisation Address. UNITED STATES

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In supermarkets we see these as ‘specials’; and we get bombarded with them in TV advertising, so consider using a campaigning strategy to promote your business via your website.

Ideally a campaign will add value for your clients, while not costing you much if anything e.g.

• Seasonal products or services
• Launching a new product
• Engaging a new client segment
• Bundling to create a larger sale
• etc

These are all opportunities to engage and entice your clients. Try to be creative, but avoid discounting! Here’s a few tips to get you started with your online campaigning.

Paid search for campaigns
Paid search is ideal for campaigning because it is quick to deploy and can be highly targeted. Google AdWords is the most popular paid search system because of Google’s absolute domination of search in Australia.

If you want to reach Australian women 25-34 years; Small business owners based in Adelaide or South Australians with interests in a particular hobby or indeed almost any other target segment, AdWords will do this for you much cheaper than traditional marketing mediums.

The Google Keywords Tool lets you select keywords and you can add up to 2,000 into AdWords based on your target and budget.
Control your Google AdWords expenditure with a daily click budget.
If you have multiple segments then setup multiple Ad Groups for improved targeting, and get campaigning almost straight away.

Organic search campaigning
Using organic search for campaigning can challenging, but ultimately more rewarding. It is rare these days to find keywords that are not already being targeted and competitive keywords take months of lead time to gain appropriate ranking.

A good PageRank on your home page really helps so continue collecting links to your site.
There is an inherent delay from adding your campaign content to it being digested by Google so you can’t rely on attracting campaign related searches immediately. Because of this I suggest starting with a teaser on your home page linked to the campaign page.

If you have recurring or seasonal campaigns, leave the related pages active in your site rather than removing them. This allows search engines to index the page and you to cultivate links to improve its ranking ready for the critical period.
Prepare your site early for upcoming seasons and then lure search engines to update your new content by submitting your XML Sitemap.

Measuring your campaign success
As always, I recommend tracking your campaign with Analytics.
When there are no related visitors then you need to revisit how you are trying to attract them.

If you do generate campaign traffic, but no sales don’t be disheartened. Analytics can track visitor activity trends (i.e. click streams) through your website, which is effectively their feedback on your offer.

Click stream analysis is the online alternative to focus groups, only your visitors tell you what they think with mouse clicks. Modify your offer and try again.
Mike Moran’s book title says it all: Do it wrong quickly

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In a recent  internet marketing mentoring session I guided Wayne through some refinements and tips for his home grown AdWords (pay per click advertising ) campaign.

After these tweaks, Wayne contacted me today to say that he’d closed $1,500 worth of business for a mighty investment of less than $3 for the clicks.

Wayne had previously given up on Adwords after an intial attempt, but he’s a convert now!

Well done Wayne!

Also special thanks to the ( 2009 International Incubator of the Year Award winning) team at North West Business Development Centre (NWBDC) who make the mentoring possible.

NWBDC’s mentoring services funds guy’s like myself to spend quality time with small business owners and their staff to develop skills to build their businesses; in my case the sessions are on using websites as a sales tool, but there’s a range of other consultants covering a range of business services.

Wayne’s business NewPort Digital provides websites suited to folks looking for low cost entry websites, but that can readily grow into substantial online presence without major expense.

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This tool compares current search activities against the content in your website and presents you with suggested keywords, their bid pricing etc

While the tool has been available in limited release since the end of ’08, it is now generally accessible in Australia and elsewhere.

Ive used this tool on several recent projects, and will definitely be including it in my keyword research toolbox.

Try it out here yourself: Search-based Keyword Tool

This release is just one of an unyielding barrage of enhancements and new releases to help your AdWords online marketing campaign be more a more effective sales tool.

Is your AdWords service provider using these tools to make your campaign more competitive for you ?

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Including the Content Network in your online advertising; and particularly understanding how to optimise this medium is becoming an important aspect of a successful online campaign.

The statistics from Google are staggering:

• More than 6 billion ad impressions (i.e. displays) per day globally
• Reaching 80% of internet users.

What is the Content Network ?

The Content Network is Google’s term for the burgeoning network of websites that show Google AdWords ads as a form of income. Look for the Ads by Google label

If visitors to their site click on an ad, Google pays a small commission.

AdSense is the Google product that allows website owners to manage the ads they show on their website, which basically connects your ads with keywords nominated by the Content Network participant.

This means that your ads are displayed in ‘on topic’ sites and hence more likely to attract a click (which is their objective) which in turn is more likely to be a sale (which is your objective).

This anonymous sales collaboration is much like affiliate marketing.

Google have just announced this significant study on Content Network performance which reveals some very telling information about the value of Content Network.

Google are also continuing to provide new capabilities for managing and promoting Content Network advertisements; including the Display Ad Builder.

If your business is using AdWords paid search  in any of its many re-badged forms* you really should examine this report.

If your AdWords service provider is not using the Content Network for your online advertising you are missing out.

* Several online marketing organizations re-badge Google AdWords
For example the Sensis Click Manager product contains paid search services from various sources in including AdWords.

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There’s even a New AdWords Interface website for more details & a beta sign up if you are interested

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The Inside Adwords crew have announced yet another series of enhancements for the Ad Builder for Rich media and Video templates.

They’re great for

• Multiple product exposure (with multiple destination URLs)
• Tracking interactions as well as clicks

There’s lots of details, but best articulated in this You Tube video

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A greater emphasis on financial accountability in advertising (ah yes there is such a thing!) is creating even more demand for online marketing. 

While many industry segments have already embraced online marketing; new advertisers entering the fray are increasing the level of competition.

Simplistic online campaigns that may have performed adequately previously, are increasingly not able to perform cost-effectively, if at all any more.

This next phase in online marketing’s evolution will be focussed on campaigning smarter for less.

Under-pinning this evolution, Google continues to offer tools and capabilities to help online marketing strategies and campaigns be better researched; better managed and ultimately more competitive.

Here is a list of recent enhancements from Google as an illustration…

Ads everywhere

AdWords users would be aware that these ads are optionally shown on the Content Network i.e. sites that choose to host these ads for a commission from Google. Easily identified by the Ads by Google label they are everywhere, but more recently… 

Placements
Like to have your ads featured in a high profile website?  The Age, The SMH, Face Book? 

Now you can place pay per click advertising in on-topic websites, rather than paying exorbitant fixed fees using the new AdWords Placement Tool.

Even Sensis sites are potential placements following their landmark agreement with Google.

Image and animated ad placements
Now that you can place ads in these high profile sites, you can also put image ads, animated Flash ads and even fully interactive ads on a per click basis.

Google has a range of new tools to create and place these new ad types.

Google Maps ‘local business ads’
If you don’t have a Google Maps registration you are missing out even more now. 

New local business ads display inside Google Maps to promote where your business sis located.

Research & Management Tools

A series of enhancements to Google’s research and management tools can sharpen the competitive edge of your advertising campaigns including:

Google Insights for Search
A fascinating new tool for insight into what words are being used for searches for in differing regions and even search trends over time.  

Analytics

Google continues to enhance this amazing website analytics system – I still can’t believe its free.

In the last two months they have introduced:

·   Customised reports

·   Advanced segmentation for metrics comparison

·   Motion charts (animated charting for a time lapse view of metrics)

·   AdSense integration (used by Content Network hosts)

Keyword diagnosis

Late breaking news! AdWords now offers a new keyword diagnosis tool

Whew! And these are just some of the changes in the last two months…

The pace of online marketing evolution is unrelenting; but so will your online competition in ’09

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