“3 Reasons why pay-per-click ads (PPC) are a waste of time and money”

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising has become a huge market within the internet advertising scene. It is estimated that over 8 billion searches are conducted globally each month. Further, 85% of people find pages they are looking for online via search engines.
Hundreds of thousands of businesses are using PPC to advertise on the internet, and there are also thousands of businesses selling their services for something that you can easily do for yourself.
On the surface, it may seem to be a cost effective form of advertising; you choose your keywords, set your budget, and only put as much credit as you can afford. Different keywords will cost different amounts depending on their popularity. However, there are 3 problems with PPC that mean that it is a waste of your time and money:

Pay-per-click Problem number 1 – Competitors
Here’s the most costly problem; your competitors can use up all of your credits without you getting any real leads from all the traffic being generated and directed to your site. Click fraud has two sides to it. Some service providers of PPC advertising will deliberate click on your ads to use up your credit to make more money. Or more maliciously, your competitors, who are bidding on the very same keywords can click away, again and again, and use up all of your budget. Whist they cannot run up a bill for you, your losses will only be limited to your predetermined credit limit. That is, if you are using Google Adwords or a similar service. Some commission based sites not work out so cheap. So, it wastes your time in setting it up, and money for no return.
Companies are working on ways to reduce click fraud, logging IP addresses and so on, however in such a large, expanding and virtually unregulated market, it is impossible to control these things at this stage.

Pay-per-click Problem number 2 – Browsers
Some browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox, have for some time enabled searchers to use software plug-ins to screen out paid advertising on searches, as well as to block banner ads. A searcher using a program with this feature enabled can conduct searches on Google without ever seeing your paid advertisement.
This goes for those thinking of paying for banner ads too. They can be very effective at getting exposure, but a certain segment of your market will never see you ad thanks to plug-ins like ‘adblock’. With innovation occurring at break-neck speed, this sort of software ad-on is sure to become more popular and widely available.

Pay-per-click Problem number 3 – Smart/Biased Searchers
Some savvy internet users will deliberately avoid those links which they identify as sponsored or paid ads. I have had discussions with clients who will not click on those paid ads, and here is why.
The purpose of search engines is to search the internet and rank and categorise the website and information that they find according to relevance to the search term. That is, when you punch your keywords into a search engine, the point is to give you the most relevant result, the most useful information. For those who know this, paid ads are just cheating. They know that the most useful information is more likely to be in those non-sponsored links. Also, the information is more likely to be unbiased.

It is true that a paid search campaign can be useful in some circumstances, if you don’t get all of your credit used up by a malicious competitor. This may work, for example, in the situation of a very specific and non-competitive search term that you may have come across. Also, a certain segment of searchers will not mind that you have paid for your advertising, or that use a simpler web browser. However the most effective long term option is to have relevant, up-to-date content on your site. When people find your site useful, they will link to it, which in for your search engine optimization is like building your reputation. This kind of SEO is the best strategy for promoting your business through search engines.

You can find more articles to assist in your online marketing efforts, or for further information about an integrated web strategy contact us at info@thompsonmarketing.com.au

Whats the value of something that costs you nothing?

Most web 2.0 technologies will cost the user nothing, so whats the value? Further, how can companies utilise free technologies for profit?

Firstly, there is great value in these free technologies. Blogging, podcasting and social networking are great free forms of self expression, communicating and networking for people. People are out there sharing information and knowledge every second of the day. This has the dual benefit of serving as a form of expression for those who produce the content, and a source of information, interaction and advice for those who consume the content.

Secondly, companies gain the benefit of having content created for their sites, and the ability to track consumer trends by hosting these services, plus they sell advertising space. The gain for the consumer here, if you are comfortable with it, is this targeted advertising. Advertisers are able to save money, targeting their messages to people who match their specific criteria. That means that if you have to see ads, at least there is a greater chance that they will be relevant to you.

For more information about leveraging new and social media and web 2.0, visit us at www.thompsonmarketing.com.au

Show me the money...

So, you have gotten yourself an awesome looking, gasp producing, beautiful flash animated site. A splash page, intro video, music all of the bells and whistles, and you just paid a small fortune for it.

The all important question is, 'does it produce revenue for your business?' For all the looks, can you check your stats and produce reports instantly. Can you track if its working or not? Do you know what your conversion rate is? Do you have a plan for website success and are you implementing it?

Sometimes, the most flashy looking websites are not actually the most effective when it comes to search engine optimisation and ranking. Sometimes the coolest multimedia features can actually be harmful to your marketing objectives.

Ultimately, if your website doesn't 'show you the money', then its not worth anything.

To find out how to make the most effective use of your online communications email to consultant@thompsonmarketing.com.au and stop wondering.

Planning to succeed online

So, you have your website up and running, but do you have a plan to drive and attract traffic to it, and a strategy to profit from it? Most businesses will consider investing significant time and money in getting a website designed, and fitting it out with appropriate content.

Be sure to take full advantage of the power of internet marketing. With our Integrated Website Success Program (IWSP) and Targeted Marketing Communication Plans (TMCP) we can help you plan for website success, and propose solid, actionable steps to make it happen. Contact us for an obligation free strategy session.

You have a website, but do you have a plan?

How many times have you come across a site when searching for something on google, yahoo or live only to find it irrelevant to your search? What is your reaction... do you click back to your search results never to return? When you search for those keywords again, and see that you have been there before, did you click on that site again? If you haven't found the information relevant, the answer is probably not!

When implementing an online marketing strategy you need a plan, and a plan for success. You need to get your site ready to receive traffic, BEFORE you start driving traffic to it. Otherwise all of your time and effort spent climbing the SEO ladder will be wasted. You need relevant and compelling content, and a way of capturing your visitors details and engaging with them. You need to prove to them that you are the expert, that you have the answers that they are searching for, otherwise, you will just be associated with irrlevance.

contact us info@thompsonmarketing.com.au for more information about your personalised Integrated Website Success Plan, tailored to the needs of your business.

Your Targeted Marketing Communication Plan (TMCP)

What is a Targeted Marketing Communications Plan (TMCP)? This is a term we use for the online marketing strategies we put together for our clients.

In any of our attempts to communcate with a market or segment, we need to be targeted about it. Not every communication we make is going to appeal to everyone, everytime. That's why we plan it; we plan who, when, where, why, how, analysing market segments and working out specific, measurable strategies to reach each one.

This is so important in the current advertising environment where all of us are constantly bombarded by marketing and advertising message, demanding our attention, shouting at us from radios, blaring at us on tv screens, distracting us on highways, filling up our mailboxes.

Our philosophy follows the concept of permission marketing, that there is always a certain segment of the market, ready, willing, searching for your product or service. The aim is to be found by this group, not necessarily to find them and yell at them as often and as much as possible. Our philosophy is to idenitify target audiences, and then gear all marketing strategies from then on into appealing to them, being found by them, and addressing their needs.

Interested? Find out more at http://www.thompsonmarketing.com.au/

Websites are no longer relevant... or are they?

Today was a great day at the office, watching the Melbourne Cup with a whole group of people who have had a few drinks is fun! On the way out I had an interesting conversation with another worker in the building who is employed by a private banking and investment firm, about the relevance of web sites. We did the usual intro chat and one of his final comments, when discovering that I do web design and internet marketing, the comment was something like "that was really big in the past, but they're not that important now". The idea being that the business world has moved on, it was just a fad.
Of course, I would have to disagree, and I did. I suggested that web sites are just a starting point - a part of corporate image. Having a professional website designed for you is a representation to the corporate world of your company. Prospects may very well google you before they call you.

The point - an information site about your company is just the beginning of a journey out into a whole ocean of marketing communication. Getting all the cool widgets and tools is a later necessity, but first, everyone needs a web presence. Thats entry level stuff.