What to Expect for PPC in 2014?

My good friend and co-worker Daniel Rosenstein came with a great list to ask yourselves to bring in the new year of 2014 for PPC. I then took this and gave my personal answers. What kind of answers would you give base on your experience for 2013? Love to hear them!

Review the PPC stats of 2013, learn from old data, make changes accordingly.

This is the overall importance of looking into the new year with your PPC campaign. Look at important data involving your goals. See how you can increase your ROI with adjustments on devices, times, areas, and other ways to optimize. Maybe it’s time to review your negative keyword list?
         
How does PPC compare to other marketing channels?

It’s a real simple answer whether PPC is working or not for you. Be sure to look into the new trends and beta testings to help PPC work for you.
       
Set new goals for 2014.

Of course stay with the ones’ making you money, but look for new ideas and goals to excite you to
continue to work on your campaign. Do testing, testing, testing!
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Be proactive to discuss goals and expectations with upper management.

If you’re the decision maker, then this one doesn’t apply to you. But be sure to speak your mind with others and don’t let them tell you what they are looking for or need. Be the proactive one, it makes you look good!
        
Make sure you know who are all the stake holders that are involved in your PPC results or tracking leads or the people who follow with leads, etc..

This is so important. Know as much data as possible that may help you in the overall cost per acquisition. It could be something as simple looking into gender or interests.
 
Figure out what is working previously and fine tune account.

They say whatever is working don’t break it or touch it. Well you need to always optimize. Even if the goals are being met, try to conitinously work on improvement, don’t always assume the great results will last forever….

Is an account restructure needed?

Some accounts may not need to be fully restructured, perhaps the overall layout and goals are working. But none the less, always watch closely and make any changes needed. Test before, there is no commitment on new ideas.

How is the current landing page fairing, is it time for more landing pages?

If a landing page is becoming outdated or there is a new layout to try since competitors are using. Always try new designs and A/B test everything.
·       
How can you use PPC to help your SEO?

It’s a tricky one, but can the traffic help your rankings, perhaps gain some more social popularity? These are things we think of even though PPC has no bearing on your rankings organically. We like to think PPC can help bring awareness and branding. Think long term.
       
Do you need additional Analytics to help you do better PPC? What software are you using to enhance your current PPC ? Are you using Google Analytics, Crazyegg, Clicktale, Adobe, etc…

Be sure to take advantage of any analytics or software to enhance your results. Don’t just rely on Google to do the work for you. There is ton of PPC management, analytics, and other softwares to help improve your ROI. Don’t be lazy!


It’s 2014 and the new year is ready to go. I hope it gives you some insight of what the PPC marketer’’s are thinking. Don’t be left behind, command and conquer!

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10 Common PPC Mistakes

This list is compiled of the most common mistakes I encountered so far in my career as a PPC Specialist. I found this list to be more of a pet peeve of mine rather than the top 10 crucial. Let's begin!

1. Paying for Negative Keywords: Nothing is far worse than to pay for keywords that don’t even have any relevance to your goal. If you are having your keywords set at “broad” that can be the worse case scenario for this problem. Ensure that you also look into the search details of each keyword to either add or remove keywords to enhance your ROI.

  

2. Not Inputting Keywords in Ad: This is huge! Put keywords into your ads for which you are paying for! Not only will the ads be beneficial in quality score and click through rate, but even will show bold.

 

      3. Not Bidding on Your Name:  If your competition is purposely targeting you as a keyword you want to be able to rebuttle and bid against it. You may also take legal action if able. The way around it is to actually create a dynamic ad bidding on a broad keyword that can trigger your competitor’s. It’s not against Google’s policy so be assured that you can do this too.

      4. Not Using Extensions: Ok I seen this a lot with so many campaigns. Be sure to utelize as much as the extensions Google provides. It is even proven that the more you use the extensions the better quality score you will receive, even if you are just a lander use a phone extension. 

        5. Not Using Bid Adjustments: This is huge! For many campaigns some get a lower CPA on mobile then they do on desktop devices. If this were true, change your bid adjustment by certain percentage that makes sense. If you really want to go all out, then create a mobile campaign only. But not using this bid option is crucial.

6. Bidding for Position #1: This isn’t most of the time being the best strategy, especially if the CPC is way too high to afford. You want to be around position 3 average (top left side of Google). You may attract visitors more, sure.... But people will do research before they decide to make an action. Unless your giving something for free, I wouldn’t immediately decide to be position 1.

       7. Avoiding Help From Google: Not everyone likes to ask for directions, but let’s be honest you are going to need help from time to time. I mean it’s free information that a rep from Google can help you. Am I saying there the best? Are they the experts? Not really, but they sure can guide and help you in the right direction that best fits there needs. Let’s admit it, Google wants you… $$$

        8. Directing Page Only to Home: You never just want to designate all your traffic to your home page, unless it’s a lander with a form fill. You want to find a page that can convert better by being more relevant with unique products, services, or content. Try even changing your url to being more user friendly. Remember not everyone want’s to search all over the place. Make it quick and simple.

        9. Not Tracking Conversions: You would be amazed how many clients never had tracking installed. It’s like throwing money out the window! Wether you are tracking a conversion on a page (thank you) or a call, It’s wise to track efforts. With Google’s CPA bidding option now your able to let Google optimize your campaign to receive more conversions. Makes sense right? Even if you enable Enhanced CPC will also help as well.

Editor’s Note: (I don’t recommend CPA bidding unless you plan on not optimizing much.)

         10. Targeted Areas: Be sure to set your campaign to the designated areas that you want to advertise. It doesn’t make sense to show something you can’t sell too right? Be sure to geo target the areas that you want. If you are planning on optimizing by state, then it’s best to separate each ad group/campaign to the areas.

I hope this helps a bit for all you newbies in the PPC area. I plan on writing some more stuff for the advanced users. I hope this top 10 list has been helpful and look forward to your comments or questions.

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Poor Social Media Management: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Out of the Shadows

If it’s one thing that pisses off a consumer is the lack of social media engagement. So far to this date with the new year approaching the last known post from the company Red Fly Studio, was October 4^th, 2013.  

With myself being a TMNT fan as well I feel so upset being a PlayStation owner. I mean how awful it is knowing any other platform can play the game?! Patiently waiting I was hoping someone even from the company would respond by now….

TMNT Out of the Shadows

There is a lesson to be learned here and the consumers voice doesn't end with just Facebook. All social media avenues have been sent with negative responses and questions when will it be released? I feel to represent such a high brand of one I grew to love you should put effort into good companies running it. (Hopefully something positive will come about this, sheesh!)

Now I haven’t played personally, aside from the issues at hand I am confident the game is worth the $14.99. This thing could have blown up and became a huge thing with online play etc.

My advice for all this is that eventually this comes out soon. No matter how long I will move on with a newer system and get purchases here and there. I am hoping the company itself personally apologises for the lack of response and updates of the progress. We deserve not only the finest polished game, but a discount and bonuses as well. This will be the only way to maintain somewhat positive reinforcement in your brand.

So what not to do:

•           Ignore your social media engagement.
•           Not post updates for over 3 months.
•         Open sales for certain platforms for gaming. Your limiting your consumers.

Let me know your thoughts and how you truly feel about the company. If it's one thing we know is that social media can play a huge role in a positive way or negative. 

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Hummingbird SEO Update Working Organically Now?

That is the question we are all asking ourselves is how this update will be affecting SEO? Well as it shows more than 90% of it will affect us. 

When I heard about this update I wanted to capitolize and test to see where the searches were going now. I instantly was able to use a blog post with a giveaway and using minimul social media engagement only using Reddit. 

It was for a good cause and actually was a gift for my wife to show the positive impact that people have in showing respect and excitement for something free! Within one hour’s time people were sharing the post and commenting reguarly. Starting to see big page views and other referral urls from other sources people used to share from their own social media accounts.

By the end of the first day I started to see over 5,000 page views, 700 Google pluses, 70 Twitter shares, 80 Facebook likes, and tons of adds on social media. 

Of course I was excited personally from an SEO perspective but more importantly able to show a good cause that people truly do care. There is a big lesson here from small business and big business.

Now for the fun part…….. I started to see organic results hitting my blog and started to run ranking reports. Well to my surprise I was hitting over 3 keywords organically first position with my authorship! (Yes I have personalized results hidden) 

Of course there is a negative aspect to all this. Google did actually update their Google Authorship in hitting rankings, but stay positive and still utilize the tool! Don’t give up! 

Overall, for me what I see working is being able to write great content, people sharing and engaging and building your authorship and trust with Google. This is the future and I know with social media engagement we are going to see some great results as Google wants to become more personable in the search results! 

Tell what has been working for you since the update? Any tips and tricks welcome to share!

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Modern Masters Booster Box Contest

Congratulations Michael Blecha! You have three days to collect your box! Thanks all for supporting. We will have future giveaways soon!

Well I have a bunch of Modern Masters booster boxes and I am looking to give one away for free to one lucky winner! I figured why not share the love and be able to provide a good service to someone for the holidays and new years.


So anyways it's pretty simple. Just like this post, retweet, or Google + this page. The more you do, the more your entered to win. I will select one lucky person on January 1st 2014 to start the new year right!

I want to also thank the Magic community for their efforts in supporting my family and I through a tough time. You see, we had recently had a loss in the family and wanting to remind ourselves of the good deeds he left behind we share this contest with others.

Modern Masters Booster Boxes

My wife's uncle was a great man. I may not have known him well enough, but I know he is off to a better place. Jennifer if you are reading this post this one is for him! I love you and support you and understand it's tough right now. I wish only for you to heal quickly and continue to remember the good times.

With that said, go ahead and share guys! Let's make this contest a memorable one! Thanks again! (Also in the future I plan on doing some more giveaways and singles. I want to make this blog fun and engaging for all. Add me on Google Plus too!)

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Willie's One Year Adoption Update:

It's amazing the difference in saving a dog than just going to the pet store and buying one. I will admit I was nervous at first, cause I don't know how he was treated before. But we took a chance and it was worth it!

When we first received him he was originally raised by an elderly woman and wasn't raised well. He was always shaking and unable to cope with the change. He wouldn't eat and always hid under the bed. Of course this could be considered normal since he is scared and the difference in the environment.

Sienna (left), Lexi (right), & Willie.

After a few days he started to open up and shown his personality. He was a lively dog and a lot different behavior (not that this is bad) from my previous experiences with Dachshunds. He was very calm and never barked at strangers, he wouldn't become territorial or anything. He even was fine around our one year old son.


What also helped us was my marriage with my wife. He brought us closer because we had something even more in common with the love of animals. We would go on a daily basis to the dog park and just spend time as a family. With work and travel, it's hard to be that "perfect husband". I even felt Willie was able to protect her and keep her company while I was gone. 

As a family we are glad to have Willie a part of our lives and bring us closer. We look forward to many years having him touch our hearts.

If you ever wish to adopt a Dachshund please visit http://www.daretorescue.com/

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