Site Targeting: Optimize Your PPC Efforts

If you’re finding the Yahoo, Google or MSN universe is too broad and vast for your niche products (or budget), consider a smaller PPC network such as Miva, Kanoodle, Quigo or AdBrite.

Each of these networks allow PPC site targeting as well as have specialized publishers/websites in their network. Their universe is much smaller than Google, and you may find yourself a big fish in a small pond – hopefully increasing your click thru and conversion rate.

Quigo, for instance, has some heavy-hitters in their network, like major cable and broadcast new channel websites. Since the universe is smaller, you may have less competition, thereby a lower bid price.

Overall, you may find you get more bang for your buck.

It's worth running a test: the same ad in Google vs. Quigo (or another network). You may be surprised by the results!

Leveraging Online Press Releases: Press for Pennies

Company achieved a milestone? Launching a new product? Uncovered interesting statistics from a survey?

These are great reasons to create and distribute an online press release and increase your online presence and drive traffic to your website.

Press releases are effective vehicles for creating buzz and assisting in your SEO (search engine optimization) efforts through syndication back links -- that is, links from other blogs and websites that picked up your release and republished it.

There are many free press distribution services on the World Wide Web to help get your word out. But there's a criteria to be followed if you want your release to get snatched up by media, bloggers and online news aggregators like Google News and Yahoo News.

Here are five easy ways to leverage online press release...

1. Although most free PR distribution services have a release template that you can upload your release through (as well as keyword selection tool), consider using a standard PR template as a guide. This will help ensure your release is constructed as a legitimate press release. Here's a great one I use: http://www.press-release-writing.com/press-release-template.htm.

2. It's important to make sure your press release is newsworthy, written well, and has value-oriented information. It shouldn't be self-serving (i.e. blatantly promoting yourself or your website) and is editorial in nature. It should also have a strong, keyword-rich headline, subhead, and lead (introductory paragraph). Since search engine spiders scan pages from top to bottom, your top 10 keywords, as far as density, should also be heaviest from top of the document to the bottom. Some helpful keyword search tools include: http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/, http://www.google.com/sktool/, or https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal . These will help you identify keywords that have good search volume and fits your target audience.

3. Another PR basic but often gets overlooked is to make sure your release in written in the third-person and you include 1-3 quotes about the main person the release is built around. Don't forget to use spell check and proof your release. If there are spelling or grammatical errors, it will ruin your credibility. Remember to include only one or two links to your website at the bottom of the release, such as, "to read the full article or schedule interviews, contact at (add your web address)."

4. Recycle your enewsletter content through press releases. Take editorial content and repurpose it to be exciting, newsworthy, and consumer driven. You can often use the same copy with minor edits for flow and format.

5. If you use a PR Distribution service like PRWeb or Business Wire (for a nominal fee), in addition to online media your release will also be available to traditional media which includes major national and regional print publications. However, there's plenty of effective, free online services that I like to us such as www.PRlog.org, www.free-press-release.com, and www.i-newswire.com.

So don’t overlook the power of the press release. As I always say, if you’re a strategic and creative thinker, you’ll be able to increase your business objectives for practically pennies!~

10 "must ask" questions when doing a media buy

If you’re buying banner ads or other advertising spots on a website, it’s key to find out a few things before you sign your insertion order:


1. Competitive analysis. What’s the industry rates for that particular ad spot and placement?
2. Competitive analysis. What ad units typically get the best click thru rates?
3. Publisher placement. Will my ad be "run of site" (ROS), which is home page and sub pages and typically the most cost effective, on targeted subpages, or on the home page?
4. Ad targeting. Does the publisher allow day parting (running ad during specific time periods)?
5. Publisher placement. Will my ad position be fixed or rotated (shared) with anyone else’s ad?
6. Publisher placement. If shared, what percentage of impressions (or views) will I receive?
7. Dedicated email. Find out the size of the list you’re thinking of renting, the frequency the list goes out, and the average unit sale (AUS) per subscriber.
8. Dedicated email. Will there be a lift note (an introduction or implied endorsement)? Lift notes often help open and conversion rates.
9. Out clause. Does the agreement allow an out clause or termination right? Can I pause my ad during a "slow traffic time" (i.e. summer, holidays) as not to waste impressions?
10. Reporting. Will I be given daily/weekly reporting OR access to (the publishers) online ad serving system?

All of these factors will help determine the value of your ad space, and ultimately, the cost you’re willing to pay to access that audience.

PPC testing

Next time you have a concept or direct mail package you are about to launch, test it on PPC (Google, Yahoo, MSN) first. This is a great way to gauge general market sentiment that is cost effective and fast. Create your ads (if you already have headlines from a direct mail package, use 'em in PPC before your mail) and run them for about a 2-week period. You'll have an idea at the end of the testing period, based on clicks and conversions (or lack thereof), how your package may perform before it mails. Having this insight will help save you money and allow you to tweak copy, offer, landing page and other important conversion elements.

Targeted PPC Ads are as Easy as 1,2,3...

For targeted search marketing, consider using niche PPC networks like Adbrite.

Just as Google’s "site targeteing" allows you to pick where you would like your ad to be displayed, AdBrite has specialized sites/publishers that host text ads and banner ads on their site.

You simply create your ad, upload target URL, select your bid price (cost per click) and select which sites in the network you’d like your ad to run on.

Your bid price and click thru rate will affect your ad placement and frequency. This is a great way to target sites and test the same creative in multiple formats (ie. banner ads vs. text ads).

Have you ever taken a rental car to the car wash?

I just wrote a blog on my experiences at the recent TCG National Conference on the Americans for the Arts ArtsBlog. I figured you guys might be interested in it as well since it talks about our responsibilities for developing new audiences. Check it out HERE.

What happens when the packaging doesn't match the content?

I am in Minneapolis for the TCG National Conference and the host theater is the brand new Guthrie. Let me start off by saying that I don't want to rain on their parade. The new Guthrie Theater is absolutely amazing--it has three performance spaces including separate thrust, proscenium and black box theaters. It is situated right on the Mississippi and is a glorious example of modern architecture. Not to mention, they have been fantastic hosts. So what seems to be the problem?

As I approached the building, I thought to myself, "what a wonderful place for experimental, new edgy work. I bet it would be fantastic to work here." Then I entered the space and I was surprised to see that their two large productions in June were George Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara and the musical 1776. Neither of which would I consider bastions of modern, edgy or experimental theatre. Future productions include Private Lives, Jane Eyre, King Lear, The Seagull, A Christmas Carol, and Peer Gynt. The edgy, modern, or experimental productions when produced are for the most part confined to the smallest of the three spaces.

I know that with the opening of a new, large theater comes an increase in expenses, which demands a relatively "safe" season. However, why choose to build a brand new theater that stands as a pillar of modern, experimental architecture and program it with standard fare that you could find at any regional theater in the nation?