Author Archives: bevelwise

Using Open Graph to Control Branding

Posted on by

An important aspect to building a brand identity is controlling the brand. Large companies have entire documents defining the logo, colors, verbiage, etc. of their brand. However, it is often the little things that get overlooked. In social media there is a multitude of ways to disseminate and support your brand; this is about one small way that could have a big impact.

Anyone who has posted a link on Facebook has seen the thumbnail that shows up associated with the link and site blurb. You may notice that it will often give you options to pick the thumbnail you want. You may have even noticed that oftentimes the company’s logo or any relevant picture is not in the list. Where do the blurbs and thumbnails come from, and can you control what thumbnail is associated with your site?

The most basic thing that Facebook does is simply read your page. You should already have a “description” meta tag for SEO, and that is used as the blurb. Any images embedded on the page (through img tags – not included in CSS as backgrounds, etc.) will go into the thumbnail list. You may try to trick Facebook by including a picture but obscuring it, etc., but there is a much easier and reliable way to do this.

The answer is through Facebook meta tags, made available in the Open Graph protocol.  With those meta tags, not only can you specify a picture for a thumbnail, but you can specify real-world location information, your site name, description (that blurb), and more.

There are four required meta tags to make use of the Open Graph: title, type, url, and image. To specify the thumbnail, you need to include the following meta tag in the head section of your html:

<meta property=”og:image” content=”imageurl” />

You can even include multiple instances of this tag to give multiple thumbnail choices. You could change the image seasonally, for promotions, or just to keep your brand current. The tags override the automatic thumbnail production based on the images on your page. Also, note that the first thumbnail shown will be the largest image in the list, so make sure your primary message is the largest image.  This will ensure that when someone shares a link to your site, instead of a random or even unrelated image, the message, brand, or logo you want to portray is there.

Read more about the Open Graph protocol, available meta tags, and image parameters at http://developers.facebook.com/docs/opengraph

Success in Local Business SEO

Posted on by

1.Non-Business Name Searches: It’s great if people searching the internet are discovering your website without typing in the name of your business. Probably most of these visitors were previously unaware of your business. This signifies that your website is ranking well for phrase that describe its location and the type of products or services.

2. Specific Service or Product Searches: If your company offers a exclusive product or service you will definitely want to be found for it. These keywords will point to your website because you have a search engine friendly website well optimized even for its more unique services.

3. Searches by Zip, Street, & City: An important component of Local Business SEO if having your address in the footer or on every page of your website. Your company can even gather online traffic for searches by multiple zip codes across your region. This is also a result of having a well optimized map listing. For example, in your Google Local Business Listing, make use of targeted keyword phrases in your list of services or products.

4. Synonyms for Products or Services: If your website is well optimized, it will be able to draw traffic from multiple keywords describing its services. Optimize for multiple phrases to describe your business’s services and products on pages within your website.

Budget Adwords wisely by using Google Analytics

Posted on by

Use Google Analytics to optimize your Adwords Pay-Per-Click spending by monitoring your conversion rate, bounce rate, and ROI.

First, link your Adwords to Analytics. Tip, do it from your login account (same admin on both), not a My-Client-Account MCC. Make sure your “cost data” is applied to the correct adwords account number.

Once your accounts are linked, apply conversion tracking/goals. Do this even if you don’t have e-commerce. A goal could be a sign-up, contact request, newsletter request, purchase, key page view, etc.

Now, login to Analytics and analyze you data! Find your adwords data by going to Traffic Sources –> Adwords.

  • Check the bounce rate. Ideally, a lower percentage is better…especially because you are paying for these keywords. Bounce rate is a visit with only one page view on your site, then they “bounce off” aka leaves your site. If the bounce rate is high, the landing page may be wrong.
  • Check average time on site. Usually longer time is better. You may want to improve the look of landing pages with low time on site because it may mean that the searcher immediately doesn’t like what they see. Or maybe they can’t easily navigate around your site.
  • Find out what time of day you are getting highest amount of conversions. This can help enable “Day parting” if you would like to lower your budget (or increase impressions for times when people are more likely to buy.

Expand on keywords with high conversion rates. Bid aggressively on keywords that are giving you a good return-on-investment (ROI). Ditch the keywords that aren’t converting!

Please contact Bevelwise if you need someone to manage or straighten out all of this data!

AdWord’s Low Share of Voice Status

Posted on by

Google AdWords has a new keyword “status” message called “Low Share of Voice.” We are getting to the bottom of what this means and how it impacts our clients’ campaigns.

If you hover your curser over this status message, it explains that “Low Share of Voice” indicates that you are missing out on opportunities (impressions). This is most likely because of budget constraints.

Here is what an AdWords rep said: “..Long story short, I have been looking into this since I first saw this thread a couple of hours ago – and am trying to get to the bottom of things. At this point, though, I am sorry to say that I don’t have any definitive information.

However, a tech contact with whom I have been working had an interesting comment that I’ll pass along. He has been able to check the accounts of a few folks who have written us, and he is seeing no drop in traffic as has been reported here. His thought is that those in this thread who have reported such a drop may have been looking at their stats mid-day, rather than for a complete day – thus the apparent drop in stats. And, looking at the time stamps of these posts, I think that is a real possibility.

In any case, my colleague Stephen who has posted here in the past as ‘AdWordsPro Stephen’ (and whom Sarah and I are actively be trying to lure back into the forum) will continue to look into this, and update the thread when he has a clearer picture of what’s up.

In the meantime, my apology for the confusion and discomfort. Not fun, I know.”

We are wondering if AdWords is having a bug or if it is a bigger scheme than that. Most of the business owners that we work with have a specific/strict online advertising budget. Is the only way to get rid of this message to dramatically increase your budget? Sometimes this is not possible. Should we just ignore this message? Until we get more info, we are thinking we should.

What are your thoughts on Google’s “Low Share of Voice” status?

Should I try SEO or PPC for my Website?

Posted on by

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a long-term investment. You’ll often hear it when an InternetMarketer sets expectations at the beginning of an SEO program. If someone promises “instant” SEO results, run to the nearest exit – it is generally not possible following ethical practices. Meanwhile, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) programs, a.k.a. paid online advertising, are known for delivering immediate returns on investment. But sometimes clients expect SEO projects to return PPC-like results, leading to unhappiness all around.

I have heard PPC vs. SEO to be described as a farmer and a grocer. This may help demonstrate the primary difference between results that can be expected from SEO and PPC advertising. A grocer buys a product, and then immediately turns it around for a profit. A farmer invests his time, along with seeds, water and fertilizer, and then, over time, harvests a crop that can be sold.

The grocer is dealing in PPC, while the farmer is taking on SEO. Both processes offer a return on investment, but success in either requires an understanding of what can be achieved. The great part about PPC is that you can adjust you budget anytime you want. You can also get a good idea of which keywords are getting searched the most on a day-by-day basis.

Your website is the best way to reach customers and prospects 24 hours a day. Working with the right search marketing firm will ensure realistic budgets and attainable targets. Search engine optimization doesn’t happen over night. Typically, a solid campaign takes a minimum of three months to move the needle and really 9-12 months to really of concerted effort to maximize your results.

Bevelwise Media can turn the faucet on with certain PPC, but true optimization will take more time and effort, especially on a national or global scale versus local, but the results can be incredible.

Can’t figure out what to do? Contact Bevelwise for a free Website x-ray analysis. We can check out how your website is performing right now, and give you steps to take to optimize for success.

Social Media Optimization: Business Marketing Mix

Posted on by

Social media optimization is a set of methods for generating publicity & conversations through social media and online communities. Social media optimization is related to search engine marketing, but differs in several ways, primarily the focus on driving traffic from sources other than search engines, though improved search ranking is also a benefit. Search Engines also “love” this type of content because it is updated often, and seen as new and fresh.

A social media campaign means developing a great message and then reaching out to people, while giving them an incentive/reason to pass it on to other people. Social media optimization is a kind of viral marketing, where word of mouth is created through the businesses and people connecting and having 2-way conversations online.

For Business Social Media to work well, you need constant updates and make them interesting!! Also, you need fans who care enough about your message to pass it on to their friends. This is how something (good or bad) can get spread extremely quickly. If people like something and find it useful, they will link to it and tell their friends. Like anything else online – understanding the motivations and culture of the audience is key to making social media work.

Social media software applications include:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Social media should be in your marketing mix, but it needs to be done right! Make it work for your specific target audience. Develop a great message and reach out to people…then hope they pass it on! Social Media is about connections, so make it a 2-way conversation.

Please contact Bevelwise if you would like to add Social Media to your company’s marketing mix and need some help.

Many other sources have assembled lists of social media sites. Relevant Social Media helpful spots:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media
http://www.prelovac.com/vladimir/top-list-of-social-media-sites
http://nextmark.typepad.com/blog/2009/07/top-100-b2b-social-media-cheat-sheet.html
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/my-best-advice-about-social-media/

http://www.mintblogger.com/2008/02/definitive-list-of-30-popular-social.html

Local Business SEO – #1 Use a Local Phone Number

Posted on by

What can a local business do online when competing with a big, national brand? The websites of both local and national brands make their products/services available 24/7. But one thing big brands lack is community uniqueness and it can be as simple as a local phone number. Sometimes people just need to talk to a real, live human being, and this can be what sets you apart.

Admit it, the internet can be a bit impersonal. If you are a local business, adding you physical address and the phone number (with a local area code) gives evidence that you are a real person – which makes people feel more comfortable. It gives your customer a convenient way to order, but most importantly it means that a real person is give service.

  • A phone number is instantaneous way to get your visitors’ feedback
  • A prominent phone number on a website builds trust and confidence.
  • Local SEO Factor
  • A telephone number is how Local Business Listings verifies that your listing is valid (Google will actually call you!) It is an on-page trust identifier.
  • It is also believed that Search Engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing often combine the local area code with local search ranking factors.

Make the most of Contact Information

A business’ address and phone number are instrumental for conducting business locally. But this contact information also provides a critical clue to search engines that a business is local in nature. Make sure to display:

  • Your full address (with Zip Code) on the footer of every page, with prominence on the “Contact Us” page
  • Local phone number, even when a toll-free number is available
  • If appropriate, provide information on areas served
  • Driving directions and a local map

List your Local Business on Search Engines. These ones are free for basic listings:

From here, you actually have to answer this phone when it starts ringing off the hook!

Of course, please feel free to Contact Bevelwise if your business needs a better web presence.

Using Twitter in your Marketing Mix for Businesses

Posted on by

Twitter is a good idea for your business if you believe in Social Media as a way for humans to connect and engage in conversation. Twitter can bring great minds together, and gives you daily opportunities to learn and grow as a company. Twitter is like blogging except you only have 140 short characters to communicate your message. It is like instant messaging except it is public and can attract traffic to your website. A Tweet is not directed to just one person because it is visible to anyone.

Twitter is a way to drive real traffic to your site. The way to use it is to build a network of “followers” and people/companies you are “following.” Following people shows that you are not just talking about yourself but also listening to what your potential customers and industry leaders are saying. By interacting with others you are giving people reason to listen to you as well. Think of Twitter as an intercom, not a megaphone.

When setting up your company’s Twitter profile, create your company image that lets your brand stand out. Put up a picture… make it your company logo. Make sure you fill out your profile bio/info. This authenticates your Twitter profile.

Follow your brand and industry in Twitter conversations. Use Twitter Search to look for conversations about topics that are of interest to your company. Look for conversations about your brand, competitors, and words about your industry. This is a great way to build and improve your network. Engage with your potential customers. Try talking about their interest too, not just yourself… you need to show that you are a human. If you are going to bother Tweeting, it means that you want humans to connect.

When sharing content, it is very important to only share information that is useful/fun/interesting. Otherwise, you might sound like you are “preaching” a sales pitch about your company or products to people and they might tune you out. Twitter is not a one-way conversation.

Share content that spreads rapidly such as:

  • New Content/data
  • Links to cool/relevant sites
  • Industry articles
  • Interesting blog posts
  • Videos (funny ones get spread the most)
  • Slides and presentations
  • News releases
  • Podcasts

Information that rarely gets shared:

  • Product info
  • Free trials

After you have wrote some “tweets,” added profiles to follow, and gained followers, you can check out how your profile ranks. Here is a cool free tool to grade your Twitter account: www.twitter.grader.com.

Tips to make Tweeting easier:

  • Use tools like “TwitterFox,” “TweetDeck,” or “Twhirl” to make managing Twitter easier and faster
  • Use services like Twitter Search to make sure you see if someone’s talking about your company. Try to participate where it makes sense.
  • Use tools like TinyURL http://www.tiny.cc/ or http://bit.ly/ to shorten long URLs (because you only get 140 characters)

Twitter can be a great way to attract customers, network, and interact with your current customers, but you have to understand the Twitter culture or you could actually turn these people away. Time to Tweet! Feel free to contact us at Bevelwise if you have questions or need some help.

References:

http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-webinars
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-business/

http://mashable.com/2009/01/21/best-twitter-brands/

Improve Adwords Pay-per-Click (PPC) Quality Score to Lower your Cost-per-Click

Posted on by

It can be very confusing to understand a keyword’s quality score. How does Google concoct my score? What’s a good quality score to receive? Why bother improving quality scores?

Bevelwise complied a bunch of information from the AdWords blog and help center to help clear this up.

Quality Score ensures that Google only shows relevant ads to its users. Searchers want to find the information they are looking for quickly and easily and Quality Score helps Google show more relevant ads. To make sure that your potential customers see your ad, you need to pay attention to Quality Score. It also influences your ads’ position, and it partially determines your keyword’s minimum bids, which can help reduce your budgets.

Quality Score is used in several different ways, including influencing your keywords’ actual cost-per-clicks (CPCs) and estimating the first page bids that you see in your account. In general, the higher your Quality Score, the lower your costs and the better your ad position.

Quality Scores 1-10

  • 1-4: The keyword isn’t very relevant to users, and as a result may have a very high first page bid. This means that the keyword is not performing very well for your website, or even for your competitors sites. Try experimenting with variations of this keyword by using plural/singulars or grammatical tweaks. If you’d like to keep advertising with this keyword, you can optimize instead. To do this, try lowering the first page bid, writing a more targeted, relevant ad, or improving your landing page content.
  • 5-7: This keyword is performing well, and there isn’t a need to worry too much. On a grading scale, our AdWords Specialist at Google, said “a 6 or 7 is equivalent to an A-.” It may have a mid-range first page bid, and the keyword may not be very costly. Optimization can lower your overall costs, draw more clicks to your ads, and result in a better return on your investment (ROI). If you want to further optimize, try using more targeted ad text and keywords or improving your landing page content.
  • 8-10: The keyword is extremely relevant and may have a high click through rate (CTR), relevant ad text, and a unique, relevant landing page. The first page bid for this keyword may be low. This keyword is very relevant and effective for your ad campaign. Our AdWords Specialist at Google, said that it is very rare to get this high of a quality score from Google.

Quality Score Formula:

  • The historical click-through rate (CTR) of the keyword and the matched ad on Google
  • Landing page quality
  • The relevance of the keyword to the ads in its ad group
  • The relevance of the keyword and the matched ad to the search query
  • Relevance of ad text (especially the title)
  • Historical account performance (CTR)

How Quality Score Impacts Your PPC Campaign:

  • Cost-Per-Click – A keyword’s Quality Score influences its CPC – that is, how much you’re charged for a click on your ad when it’s triggered by that keyword. The higher a keyword’s Quality Score, the lower its CPC, and vice versa.
  • First Page CPC Bid Estimates – On your Keyword Analysis page, you’ll see a metric labeled ‘Estimated bid to show on the first page.’ This metric, also called the ‘first page bid estimate,’ approximates the cost-per-click (CPC) bid needed for your ad to reach the first page of Google search results when the search query exactly matches your keyword. The estimate is based on the Quality Score and current advertiser competition for that keyword. Ad placement will still be dependent on Quality Score, your cost-per-click (CPC) bid, your budget and account settings, and user and advertiser behavior.
  • Eligibility to Show Up when Searched for – Every time one of your keywords matches a search query, our system evaluates its combined Quality Score and cost-per-click (CPC) bid to see if it’s eligible to enter the ad auction. Keywords with a higher Quality Score will be eligible to enter the auction more easily and at a lower cost. Our goal is to encourage relevant ads for our users, so our pricing system is designed to favor more specifically targeted ads and keywords.
  • Ad Position – Ads are positioned on search and content pages based on their Ad Rank. The ad with the highest Ad Rank appears in the first position, and so on down the page.

Monitoring Your Quality Score

Search advertising is a dynamic, evolving marketplace, and the Quality Score of your keywords can fluctuate. Google continually monitors the performance of all ads, keywords, and landing pages to reward high quality ads and encourage advertisers to improve low quality ads. The best way to maintain a high-quality, cost-effective campaign is to frequently optimize your account to help ensure your ads have a high Quality Score.

Improving a Keyword’s Quality Score

Optimization is the best way to increase your keyword’s performance (Quality Score, CTR, conversion rate) without raising costs. If your Quality Score is very low (below a 5), you may be using keywords, ads, or landing pages that aren’t as targeted or relevant as they could be. This can mean higher cost-per-clicks and a potentially poor ROI. Remember: The higher the Quality Score, the lower the price you’ll pay when someone clicks on your ad.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) focuses on keywords and relevance of pages to popular keywords. Looking at quality score, if your landing page isn’t viewed by Google as relevant to the search query, you can work improving landing page content, meta tags, image tags, etc to make the page more relevant and possibly improve your Quality Score.

While a high quality score may seem like the most important part of your PPC campaign, the conversion rate is a best indicator. A high CTR or Quality Score doesn’t necessarily mean a high ROI or that people are buying your product or service. The conversion rate tells if your keyword is driving sales, sign-ups, or whatever else your company is trying to achieve.

For more information please contact us or read our whitepaper.

 

References

http://adwords.google.com/support/
http://adwords.blogspot.com/

http://www.google.com/adwords/learningcenter/

Zillow Partnering with Local Newspaper Stes

Posted on by

Zillow.com, a real estate Web site is teaming up with 180 newspapers nationwide to launch co-branded real estate web sites. The newspaper sites can now include Zillow’s search functionality to enable users to enter any home address or locality and find home values and home sale information.

This is a smart move for newspapers. The shift from mass marketing channels to digital has squeezed many small and large newspapers out business. A co-branded approach minimizes the need for staff to produce content and can command a premium online ad rate, which the papers desperately need to off-set the loss of classified revenue’s on the print side. Especially in the Real Estate category.