Does Paid Search Cannibalize Organic Clicks?

Lots of Paid Search advertisers worry that they will end up paying for search phrases they might have received free via organic listings. Both Nielsen and SEO-PR have evidence that the combination of strong organic and paid listings produce an increase in click-through traffic of up to 300 percent. And the by-product is an increase in conversions! Paid search listings have the added benefit of imparting stronger brand awareness. You have two opportunities to drive qualified leads to your website. Use them both.

Search Engine Optimization Misconceptions

Being #1 in search engine results rankings is everything…
Not true. Sometimes a second, third or fourth position performs better.

Once you get a specific search engine ranking, it will stay where it is…
Wrong. It can go away over-night for a number of reasons.

Lots of keywords should be used on every page…
Nope. One or two keywords or phrases at most should be identified and used for a particular page’s optimization.

Duplicate content and mirrored pages can help boost your rankings…
No way! You’ll probably get penalized, or worse, removed from the index!

Meta keywords are critical to maximize search engine listings…
Meta keywords are virtually worthless… they used to work. But as people started packing keywords into META KEYWORDS TAGS to manipulate search engines, they became just another form of SPAM. They are ignored by most key search engines today.

Invisible text (e.g., white text on a white background) can help get you indexed for keywords…
No. That’s called SPAMMING and that can get you thrown out of the index completely. It happened to BMW recently!

Sites with Dynamic Content and Frames architecture haven’t got a chance to get indexed on Google…
That’s OLD SCHOOL thinking. Google recognized the peculiarities of large institutional sites to display extraordinarly large numbers of products via dynamic content and maintain top level user security with architecture such as frames. The solution is Google Sitemaps.

Search Engine Optimization Class – UCLA Fall Qtr. 2006

My Search Engine Optimization class will be returning for Fall Quarter at UCLA Extension. The class is titled, “Building Smart Websites That Get Noticed”. The class is designed for web developers and designers, webmasters, art directors, and creative directors. The course presents web development strategies and tactics essential to maximizing your website’s marketing potential. Students are provided with an understanding of search engine marketing and how site architecture and construction can positively and negatively impact website visibility. Learn what works, what doesn’t, and how to start improving your ranking immediately. Topics include keyword development, site navigation and content, coding techniques to assist search engines indexing your site, linking strategies, and search engine marketing tools and services that can improve your ability to optimize your site.

The class meets weekly for six weeks, beginning Wednesday, September 27th, 7 – 10pm. Location is 1010 Westwood Center. Online registration will be available as early as August 9th on the UCLA Extension website.

Sign-up soon!

Key Considerations Before Starting a P-P-C Campaign

Research your keywords. There are numerous tools available to help with this critical part of the campaign setup. Include both broad and specific terms. Use negative keywords too. If you’re selling blue widgets and don’t have any other colors available, consider making red, black, white, yellow, etc. negative keywords. That way if someone is searching for a yellow widget, your ad will not show. Save the web searcher some time and save yourself some money.

Carefully select your landing page. Consumers want to click on an ad reflecting their interest. And, they expect the ad to take them to a web page that contains information, products or services relevant to their search. If a consumer has to click through even a few pages trying to find what he or she is looking for, chances are they will leave and may not come back.

Make it easy to buy. Being one click away from the shopping cart is ideal. The less time it takes to purchase and checkout, the better. Look for road-blocks to purchase in your web stats. Smooth-out the rough spots, eliminate the bottle-necks. It will boost your conversion rate.

If you plan on running your ads in “contextual websites” (and you should), be sure to optimize your campaign to take full advantage of this powerful feature. By breaking your campaign into multiple AdGroups, targeted toward specific product or brand features, it enables better placement within targeted/contextual sites.

Think about the purchase cycle. Buying guides, white papers, trial software are all examples of Engagement Devices that can bring you closer to a sale. Capturing a potential customer’s email address in return for something useful gives you an additional chance at conversion. Remember, you’ll be driving a lot of traffic to your site. Those visitors that aren’t quite ready to buy need not go away unsatisfied. Make your P-P-C dollars go further by engaging these people too.