PPC engines have many features that let you have control over ad display, however, if you just use these features to serve ads—then you’re not taking advantage of the opportunities available. You should move past just serving ads to putting forth comprehensive strategies that will grow your business.

Just to clarify, advertising is the paid promotion of goods and services. Advertising is an outlet for your creative message. Advertising is about reaching consumers. While reaching consumers is important, the message that’s delivered to those consumers is what makes them wish to do business with you instead of your competition.

Advertising is reaching consumers. Marketing is communicating with consumers. We shouldn’t be having conversations about just how to reach searchers and serve ads to them. Instead, we should be having conversations about how to connect with searchers once they have seen the advertisements.

The various PPC engines each have various features which let give us control of ad serving. However, with a little bit of effort, we can take those advertising methods and turn them into effective marketing messages.

Reaching Consumers by Time of Day

Both Microsoft adCenter and Google AdWords support the concept of ‘day parting’. Day parting (Google calls it ad scheduling) is serving your ads at certain times of the day or days of the week.

If you know that consumers are more likely to buy from your website between noon and 5pm, you can serve ads only during that time. This will help conversion rates, ROI, and reaching consumers when they are most likely to buy from you. However, this can be taken a step further and turned into a marketing message.

Consider a searcher seeing these ads while shopping around at 3pm on a Friday afternoon:

“$350 Cancun Specials, call a Travel agent today!”

“Receive a 15% discount between noon and 5pm on Fridays”.

“Friday afternoon special: Spend the weekend in Cancun for $350″

The generic ad that isn’t changing its message based upon the day is not nearly as compelling as those touching a consumer in the moment. Now, instead of just running ads at times where conversions are more likely, you can connect with searchers by time of day, or day of the week. The closer you can identify with characteristics of a search, the more likely the searcher will connect with your marketing message.

Demographic communication

Demographic targeting is most commonly done by age and gender. However, it can be quite granular and take into factors such as ethnicity, income, marital status, children status and industry into consideration. Targeting by demographic characteristics isn’t new. This is the basis for many TV and radio campaigns. Banner ads have been targeting by demographics for years. However, are you taking advantage of demographic targeting on Google’s Site Targeting or with Microsoft adCenter?

Do you know the demographics of your customers? Do you have an ideal consumer profile defined? Going through the exercise of profiling your ideal customer can be very useful as it will give your meaningful data about who you should be targeting.

Consider these ads for wrinkle reducer cream where the target audience is a female over 40. Which one seems more appealing to that audience?

“New wrinkle reducer cream. Revolutionary anti-aging cream to fight the aging process.”

“New wrinkle reducer cream. Designed for women over 40 to recapture that twenties allure.”

“Our wrinkle reducer cream is specially designed for the skin of women over 40.”

While a more creative marketing message can be written that takes into account adjectives and conversational language of that demographic, I’m using a more straightforward ad to illustrate my point.

Don’t just write generic ads that talk about your product. First define your ideal customer. Next, determine how to use demographic targeting to advertise to that audience. And finally, craft a message that transforms your advertising efforts into a successful marketing campaign.

Identifying with consumers geographically

With the release of Panama, all three major PPC engines support geographic targeting. This is the ability to serve ads to searchers within a specific geographic area.

Geographic targeting is one of the most powerful forms of PPC targeting. It allows local businesses to bid on non-geographic based keywords. As most searchers are still not using geo-qualifiers in their searches, geographic targeting is an effective way to send your advertising message to local searchers.

However, most geographic ads are still very straightforward. Do a search for “Columbus Plumber” and almost every headline is “Columbus Plumber.” One of the key aspects of marketing is identification. The closer a user can identify with you, the higher the chance of interaction. People are proud of their locations, and often wish to do business locally. How do the locals describe the geography?

Consider these ad copies (”the loop” is what locals call the downtown Chicago area):

Chicago Sushi Restaurant
Dine-in, delivery, or pick-up services.
Open 11am-10pm M-F.

Chicago Loop Sushi
Guaranteed delivery in under 25 minutes
Our Friday special is chef’s choice sashimi.

Loop Sushi Delivery
Guaranteed delivery in under 25 minutes
Chicago’s freshest sushi restaurant.

Ok, I cheated and added both a geographic and a time of day message in the middle ad copy. However, there’s no rule saying you can’t combine these marketing messages to reach consumers on multiple levels at once. The goal of marketing is to encourage those who see your marketing message to do business with you.

Don’t just advertise to consumers, market to them

While undoubtedly, some marketing guru will pick apart my definitions and interpretations of advertising and marketing. Advertising is reach. Marketing is message. However, it’s about the message being communicated, not the definitions. This goes to both my usage of the words, and the message itself.

It’s not enough to just serve ads based upon a keyword search. It’s not enough to just change bids by conversion rate. It’s not enough to find your ideal time to advertise and take advantage of whatever controls are at your disposal. If you aren’t connecting with consumers, bid or keyword changes aren’t going to matter.

Learn about your customers. What are their ages, demographics, locations, and surfing habits? Understand the PPC engine ad serving controls. There are a lot of them. You can target by more options than I have listed above.

Once you understand your ad serving options, then you can determine how you can identify with the consumer. The crafting of an effective marketing campaign takes both creative and analytical skills.

PPC engines can deliver the advertisements. However, you must first create the message that compels a searcher to take action before you can be a successful advertiser.

What causes this dissatisfaction, especially for B2B marketers? There are five factors at work:

* Most agencies specialize in consumer search marketing and their services are inappropriate for your unique needs as a B2B company.
* The agency business model skews in favor of the largest spenders and under-serves the majority of B2B advertisers.
* Agencies will never understand your customers and your business as well as you, especially B2B firms that sell more complicated products and services.
* The need to coordinate with outsiders implies latency and information loss, meaning you lose the flexibility and agility to react quickly.
* Outsourcing means losing control over a critical portion of your demand generation strategy to outsiders who may have different incentives than you.

The main value provided by agencies is expertise with SEM, and as I’ll explain, you can bring much of that expertise in-house by using the right kind of pay per click management software. A technology solution can create the best of both worlds: the control and business knowledge of doing it yourself, combined with the SEM best practices and techniques of an expert.

Before diving into this “inconvenient truth”, it helps to understand the common arguments used by agencies to convince B2B marketers to outsource their PPC campaigns.

Why Companies Outsource PPC Campaigns

The first argument falls into the broad category of FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt). It takes on various forms, but comes down to this basic point:

“Search is really, really hard – you should leave it to the experts.”

Tactics like this are meant to instill fear that if you don’t outsource, you will fail miserably with search. The head of one agency likes to say that “There are only two kinds of marketers at the top of the auction based search results: Brilliant Marketers and Total Lunatics.” Since most people don’t think of themselves as brilliant search experts, the implication is that if you don’t hire his services then you must be a total lunatic.

A more subtle form of this argument says that the world of PPC is changing so fast that you could never keep up yourself. No matter what form it takes, this argument is self-serving to the agencies. Although it might have been true a few years ago, today the in-house B2B search marketer has access to easy-to-use PPC management software. These tools help to level the playing field by automating the techniques and best practices used by the agencies.

While the first reason B2B companies outsource their PPC marketing has to do with knowledge and expertise, the second reason has to do with time. The core of this argument is:

“I’m too busy to manage search. It’s easier to pay an agency to take care of it for me.”

I have no doubt that most B2B marketers feel beleaguered for time, and that dealing with PPC can feel like yet another burden. The allure of being able to pay an agency to have one less thing your plate is appealing. This can be a valid reason to hire an agency, although the appeal fades once you realize you should be highly involved on an ongoing basis to get the best results from an agency. The agency doesn’t understand your business like you do, so they can’t react to competitive changes or deal with new business initiatives as well as you can. The only things they can do without you are tweak bids, use tools to suggest new keywords, and generate reports – all tasks that automated software can do better and cheaper than a consultant can.

Why Companies Shouldn’t Outsource PPC Campaigns

1. Most agencies don’t specialize in B2B search marketing. B2B search is different from B2C search, meaning it requires different techniques and optimization methods. B2B keywords tend to be lower-volume than B2C keywords, but the value of a B2B lead is much higher. Also, B2B transactions have a more complex sales cycle, involving multiple decision makers – each using search in different ways, with different motivations, and at different times during the sales cycle. An agency that works mostly with consumer companies may not have the proper expertise to deal with the specialized needs of B2B.

2. Agency business models are focused on the largest spenders. Agencies are, by their nature, service businesses that are only profitable if companies spend $10,000 per month or more on search. (These minimums keep going up every year.) That leaves the majority of B2B companies out in the cold. Be wary of agencies that promise to provide reasonable service at levels below $10,000, since at those levels an agency can profitably give you only a few hours a month. It is much more profitable to focus on the largest accounts, leaving the smaller accounts to run mostly as-is. (Of course they still earn their fees every month, regardless of how much time they spend on your campaigns.)

3. You know your business better than the agency. One of the most important skills for PPC success is picking the right keywords that your prospects actually use when they search – something you know best. Also, when determining rankings, Google and now Yahoo! care as much about the relevance of your content as they do about your bid (aka “what you say is as important as what you pay“). This means a good understanding of your business and your industry is at least as important as being a search “expert”. Over time, the balance of power between business knowledge and SEM knowledge will shift even further towards business as Google continues to find ways to reward relevant content and discount search agency tricks.

4. In-house improves flexibility and the agility to react quickly. I recently met with one B2B marketer who was paying his agency a whopping 40% of his overall PPC budget, yet they were still bidding on words that were not converting to leads. All the back-and-forth emails and phone calls required to coordinate changes created latency and information loss. This meant it took weeks to get a new campaign launched. In contrast, his competitor who kept search in-house could launch new campaigns in under one day. It’s no wonder the competitor had better PPC results.

5. Agency incentives are not aligned with your goals. When you outsource PPC, you give up control over how your money gets spent. Whatever your agency promises, their first incentive is to grow their own business – meaning they will usually tell you that search is performing great. This is the fox guarding the henhouse! It is up to you to put their information in the context of your overall demand generation strategy and to make the critical decisions about whether your marginal dollar is best spent on search or another demand generation activity.

When to Bring Search In-House With Technology

There are a few basic skills required to succeed with SEM: pick the right keywords, optimize bids to achieve desired business outcomes, create great landing pages that drive conversions, and use testing and measurement to continuously improve your process. Each of these requires business expertise and SEM expertise. Only you can provide the business expertise. SEM expertise can be found in an agency, and for some companies that will always be the right choice. For example, I have no problem with outsourcing your SEO campaign. Also, if you don’t use search today and outsourcing gets you started, or if don’t have enough time to spend on search, then using an agency is certainly better than doing nothing. (This is especially true if your agency takes advantage of technology to automate the tasks that software does best!)

However, I believe that your best results will come from having your PPC campaigns managed by the true experts – you. The same techniques and best practices used by agencies can and should be automated with technology. Choosing B2B search marketing software allows you to optimize your PPC campaigns like an expert, without the loss of control, latency, and overhead associated with an outside agency. And that’s an inconvenient truth for the agencies.

Pay per click marketing enables your business to reach

• SEO
• SEM
• SMO

HRH Media understands the intricacies of Search Engine Marketing (SEM), but what is it?

• Individuals corporations and businesses describe Search Engine Marketing as a practice that promotes websites by improving visibility in  Search Engines.

How can Search Engine Marketing (SEM) help me grow my business?

• HRH Media utilizes cutting edge products and services to optimize for Search Engine Marketing (SEM). HRH Media provides SEM campaigns that generate real world results for eCommerce Merchants and Websites that promote services. HRH Media provides full analytics and optimization pre-campaign, during and post-campaign.

I have an eCommerce website how can Search Engine Marketing (SEM) help me?

• HRH Media provides eCommerce Search Engine Marketing (SEM) solutions for online merchants by Merchant Advantage. As a Value Added Reseller (VAR) of Merchant Advantage, HRH Media provides you the tools to promote your Product Feed in “One Manageable Area.” Merchant Advantage gives your business the ability to promote your feed to all your favorite shopping channels such as Yahoo, Amazon, eBay, Overstock, Google, PriceGrabber, and Shopping.com. Merchant Advantage has no limitations; it supports over 300 known channels.

• HRH Media offers Channel Management and Optimization Services of Merchant Advantage tools. We do just about everything you need for you data feed. HRH Media can optimize your Shopping data Feed, Product Optimization, Channel Optimization distribution and more.

• HRH Media manages PPC or Paid Inclusion campaigns for merchants who have as few as 1,000 sku’s to merchants with over 1 million sku numbers.

For businesses that require a more well rounded solution to promote their business, HRH Media offers services using techniques for both Paid Inclusion or PPC and Search Engine Optimized ranking.

• Search Engine Optimized Press Release Solutions (now being used by IBM)”
• Website Content Writing Services
• Publicity/ Public Relation
• Social Media Content Optimization

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Social media optimization (SMO) is a group of tools for creating publicity through social media, online neighborhoods and public websites. Techniques for SMO contain adding RSS feeds, social news buttons (like the one below), blogging, incorporating third-party community functionality like images and videos. Social media optimization is linked to search engine marketing, but varies in several ways, principally the spotlight in driving traffic from sources other than search engines though improved search ranking which is also one of the advantages of successful SMO.

Social media optimization is linked as a practice of viral marketing where word of mouth is fashioned not by means of friends or family but with the use of networking in social bookmarking, video and photo sharing websites. Comparably with blogs achieves the same can be said of sharing content through the use of RSS in the blogosphere and special blog search engines.

Social Media optimization is regarded an essential piece of an online reputation management (ORM) or Search Engine Reputation Management (SERM) strategy for organizations or individuals who care about their online presence.

SITE REVIEW AND KEYWORD RESEARCH

At the beginning of the SEO process, HRH Media will examine your website to determine how its current design and architecture can be made more search engine friendly. Common features such as duplicate content, session ID numbers, Flash content, or dynamic content can provide obstacles to achieving higher placement in search engines. In our initial site review, HRH Media will identify these and other issues that will require correction during SEO implementation.

Relevant, well-chosen keywords are also essential to successful organic search engine placement. Based on our initial consultation with you, HRH Media will compile a list of keywords that are appropriate both for your target market and for characteristics of your website such as current ranking, site age, links, etc. Using search engine tools and proprietary research tools, HRH Media will identify which keywords offer the greatest potential for unique traffic and return on investment.

CONTENT

SEO content must appeal to two different audiences: search engine spiders and human readers. The professional copywriters employed by HRH Media will create website content that is not only SEO friendly, but also compelling, informative, credible, and stylistically appropriate for your industry and clientele. Our content writers will:

• Add keywords and text to current website pages

Our content writers will revise your existing site content to meet the keyword density and text length requirements of search engine algorithms. This may require expanding the amount of content on any given page. If your website is a new site, your content writer will create original content for the pages that have been slated for optimization. In all cases, HRH Media will strive to maintain the essence of your website and its message.

The content writer assigned to your site may solicit ancillary references and information from you to gain a sense of your industry, products, and/or services. This information will help him or her tailor your website’s content to the appropriate audience using an appropriate tone.

• Create new pages and content

Depending on the current size of your site, HRH Media may need to create new pages for indexing. Content on new pages will contain relevant keywords and text. For sites with very little content or a greater degree of industry competition, we can also write original, 300- to 600-word articles which are keyword rich and related to your products and/or services.

Google XML Sitemaps
HRH Media will create an XML sitemap of your website and submit it to Google. The Sitemap Protocol is a file that lists all of the URLs for your site. This will make it easier for search engine spiders to index your site, particularly if it contains many product pages or URLs that can be accessed only via a search form rather than by following a link.

Article Writing and Submission
The articles that HRH Media creates for your website may be posted either directly to your site to increase its optimized content or to other sites for link building purposes. If you prefer, the articles could be submitted to article directories to enhance natural link development. In such cases, our writing staff would create multiple versions of your article(s) so that the duplicate content filters of the search engines will not filter them out. These articles would then be distributed to more than 500 directories and publications, along with a disclaimer that each article may be published for free as long as your company is credited. Each article’s footer would thus include an author’s name (someone from your company) and a link back to your website.

Google Analytics Installation
Google Analytics is a service that provides detailed statistics about the visitors to your website. It’s a highly useful Internet marketing tool that reveals where your website traffic is coming from, including which search engines, pay-per-click ads, and keywords are driving the most visitors to your website.

Analytics Analysis & Reporting
The advanced analytics analysis and reporting service offered by HRH Media involves a thorough study of the analytics data related to your search engine optimization campaign. HRH Media will use these statistics to improve your SEO performance and modify your keyword list in accordance with the traffic your website receives from both optimized and non-optimized search terms.

INTERNAL LINK STRUCTURE OPTIMIZATION

Optimizing the internal link structure of your website is critical for several reasons. Clean URLs within the source code make it easier for search engine spiders to completely index your site. Improving your site’s internal link structure ensures that each themed page will have more pages pointing to it. Adding or improving a sitemap provides text-based links to key pages and further ensures that all pages will be crawled and indexed by the search engines.

NATURAL LINK DEVELOPMENT & EXTERNAL LINKS

• Directory Submission

In addition to improving website architecture and content, HRH Media will work to boost your website’s link popularity. This part of the campaign will include submitting the site to web directories. After identifying which directories might improve the site’s profile, HRH Media will submit your website to applicable categories in those directories’ databases.

• Text Link Advertising

Once your website has been submitted to the appropriate directories, HRH Media will purchase text link advertisements on well-known sites. These advertisements will boost your website’s exposure and credibility by association. Consumer confidence in your website should increase in proportion to its increased visibility.

• Blog Posting

HRH Media will research and write sponsored blog posts for websites that are appropriate for your SEO campaign. These blogs will display content that is specifically relevant to your website and will link back to your website to increase incoming links.

• Press Releases

Optimized press releases will be written and distributed online to help generate traffic and develop the link popularity of your site. Optimized press releases are often featured for several days in news search engines as the top stories for their given industry or keyword(s). Even after the initial interest in your news story has faded, your press release will remain indexed on search engines, helping to raise the visibility of your company and its products and services.

REPORTS AND SEO PERFORMANCE TRACKING

Before HRH Media begins your optimization, we provide a baseline ranking report to show how your site currently ranks in search engines. Additional ranking reports will be provided every month, and our staff will monitor the performance of your SEO campaign to make sure it is on the right track. Site reviews and optimization adjustments will be performed as needed, and our staff will contact you periodically via phone or email to provide project updates and discuss the optimization. As an optional service, we also offer installation of Google Analytics on your website for detailed traffic reporting.

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