May 20, 2010
General Marketing, copy-writing
No Comments
I signed up for the ‘100 articles in 100 days’ (#HAHD) last year but through one thing and another, I didn’t complete it. This year, I’ve decided that I’m going to complete it.
I want to get:
- Downloadable #HAHD Certificate of Achievement (frame not included)
- Original Limited-edition EzineArticles #HAHD Trophy Mug
- Limited-Edition EzineArticles #HAHD Mouse Pad
- Limited-Edition EzineArticles #HAHD Canvas Tote Bag
- Limited-Edition EzineArticles Motivational Wall Clock
It’s not the goodie bag that I want but the sense of achievement and accomplishment.
So please - can I ask for encouragement from my friends and readers?
And give me your ideas as well!
June 15, 2009
Internet Marketing
3 Comments
One of the most cost effective, measurable and profitable ways to promote your business is to use Pay per Click (PPC) Advertising. When I first started in the Internet industry back in 1997, banner advertising was the only real way to promote your business, in terms of advertising. Dare I say it but it was a lucrative time for advertisers. Companies that wanted to advertise their company, product or service paid for an advert to be displayed on a web page.
Every time that a web page was displayed, it was called an impression and the advertiser charged the company an amount per impression. Even though a visitor to the website may not have even noticed the ad, the company was still charged.
Pay per click was revolutionary. It now meant that a company only paid for the ad when someone clicked on your ad, not when it was displayed. This meant advertising on the Internet was cheaper than banner advertising. Companies bid on keyword or keywords(s) and the company has control of their budget.
Make the most of your budget by employing these five tactics when undertaking a PPC campaign:
1. Determine your Value Proposition
This is the one thing that should be top of your list. You need to know what it is so that it can be put into your sales and marketing messages.
By answering the following questions, you should be able to determine your unique selling proposition or value proposition:
1. Why should someone buy from you?
2. What can your products do that others can’t do?
3. How are your products different to your competitors?
Once you can answer these questions, you should be able to bring down your words to make a sentence for your advert. This is your starting point.
2. Do your Keyword Research
Keywords are what you bid on so therefore it makes sense to spend time on working on your keyword research. If you approach your keyword research that every keyword is a thought that your client or prospect client has, then it will make it easier to draw up a list of these keywords.
Check emails, questions that prospects, visitors to your website and customers ask. Examine your website analytics or statistics to find out what keywords people use to visit your website.
Use a word research tool like wordtracker to assist you with the knowledge you’ve gathered from your own research.
This will help with deciding the keywords to bid on and the keywords to place within your ad.
3. Test your Landing Page
After spending so much time working on your USP, your keywords, your sentence structure to attract people to your website, the next thing to spend time on is your landing page. Your landing page is as much a part of your PPC campaign as your ad.
Your landing page is the page that creates the interest, keeps the prospect on your website and encourages them to buy from you.
A word of caution – always make sure that your landing page corresponds well with your advert. Don’t mislead anyone with your ad. If you are selling weight loss products, for example, don’t mention in your advert free advice or product to disappoint your visitor with a request for money to get the free deal. It’s misleading and won’t do you any favours.
When you have a chosen a particular landing page, always make sure that you have access to change it. You need to be able to test the following regularly:
- Headline
- Opening Paragraph
- Offer
- Price
- Photos
- Further content (below the fold)
A small change in any of the above could make a huge difference but you need that ability to change the page, without it costing you.
There are many more tips that I will share with you in future articles but these are the big 3. If you have these right, then the other tips will strengthen your advert and increase your click through rate as well as your conversion rate.
In Summary
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Like all strategic marketing initiatives, determine your USP. Know why people should buy from you.
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Undertake keyword research. Don’t leave it to assumptions that your client and you think the same way.
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Test your landing page. Content, layout and structure, all key elements to copy-writing should be tested regularly.