Marketing Pilgrim

As the debate over paid links continues in reaction to Google’s recent line in the sand it may shock many that Google is currently offering paid links on Google.com for the very reasonable price of just $1,995 – and as an added bonus you’ll also receive a free Google Mini.

Yesterday while digging through a competitor’s backlinks for a client I noticed a domain that seemed remarkably out of place: google.com. In addition to adding themselves to a large number of low quality directories, the competitor had discovered that if you purchase the Google Mini you have the privilege of contributing to their exceedingly large list of “customer success stories“. While many of these success stories are for established and recognizable businesses who sincerely appreciate the advanced search capabilities the Mini provides, others are undoubtedly as pleased with their new link as their new Google Mini.

The growth and adoption of web analytics applications over the last few years has made detailed conversion tracking a mission critical part of operating a successful e-commerce website. E-commerce merchants routinely track all aspects of each and every individual conversion. Tracking return on ad spend by channel is now just as crucial as understanding profit margins. Improving a website’s ability to turn visitors into customers without accurate conversion data is almost flying blind. So what about the large numbers of organizations who don’t have this luxury since either all or the majority of their conversions occur offline?

Complicated or expensive products and professional services commonly have long sales cycles that prohibit e-commerce functionality. As a result, organizations that rely on offline conversions are often left grasping at straws as they try to measure and improve their website’s conversion rates and ROAS by channel. While comprehensive conversion tracking is far more difficult when customers convert offline, a number of strategies and specialized analytics tools are now available to help these disadvantaged organizations gauge website effectiveness and marketing campaign performance.

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Pay-per-click advertising can be very effective channel for increasing your brand’s reach but PPC branding campaigns are often cost prohibitive. Bidding to top positions for your industry’s core terms is an excellent way to expose your brand to new audiences but the “short term ROI be-damned” strategy is usually risky business. Below are 9 strategies to help you build your brand without burning through your spend.

1. Start with the campaign structure and creatives. Separate your branded terms from your other terms so that your ads’ creatives can be more easily controlled. Searches for your branded terms should always trigger ads with strong brand-based titles and messaging instead of your more traditional ads for industry terms.

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