Going forward, I will be wholeheartedly dedicated to the Clix Marketing team and supporting David Szetela, Joe Kerschbaum, Mae Flint and James Thompson in the continued growth of the company. That being said, I’m proud to say that I will still be supporting WordStream, too! While my engagement will be in a limited capacity, I’m excited to be able to continue plugging away at PPC-perfection and blogging contributions for my Boston comrades.

The future of Bakedwheat Web is uncertain for now. I have ideas for some website projects I may launch under the BWE banner, but by and large, I am once again an “agency man.” I’ll leave you with a catalogue of the writing I’ve done in the past 5 months and will try to post updates as I can of some of the cool stuff I’m working on!

• Leverage AdWords Impression Share Data to Improve Your PPC Performance
• Three Hot New Google AdWords Search Ad Formats
• Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid when Writing and Testing PPC Text Ads
• If You Are Ignoring Session-Based Broad Match, You Are Losing Money

• What, Exactly, Determines Your PPC Keyword Price?
• Improve Your Paid Search Performance by Addressing These 5 Common PPC Mistakes
• Leverage Analytics Intelligence to Be Alerted to Important Changes in Your PPC Campaign
• The Definitive Guide to Keyword Organization: Build a Foundation for Search Marketing Success
• Learn How You Can Improve Your Pay-per-click ROI with Google AdWords’ Conversion Optimizer

Enjoy reading! I enjoyed writing…

Sponsor Message: Yahoo! Small Business -25% Off Web Hosting

WTH??? Is Yahoo! so hard up for money that they’ve done away with human beings to man their customer service phone lines? I can tell you what will happen with this process. I will contact them via the ‘Customer Support’ link. I’ll receive a reply tomorrow or maybe even Friday with follow up questions. By Monday I may have my issue resolved. If I could freakin’ talk to someone, I know I could have this resolved TODAY. And trust me, I want this resolved today.

At this point I’m really hoping the Yahoo!/Microsoft deal goes through. At least when I call adCenter, I can talk to someone right then and there.  Only one word can describe my rage right now: FAIL!

Photo courtesy of Fireflythegreat at Flickr.

There are a few plugins available, but the Website Optimizer plugin I’ve been using stands out because it allows you to apply the test code per page or per post. Other plugins are limited to one test per site – which would be like trying to run with your legs tied together, in my opinion.  Setting the plugin up is simple(ish):

• Create your Google Website Optimizer account.
• Download the plugin and save it to your Wordpress plugins folder.
• Activate the plugin.
• Start a Website Optimizer test for a single page or post and copy/paste the test code directly into the plugin-provided boxes in Wordpress.
  • A/B tests will require you to enter code into the “Original” page, “Test” page and “Confirmation” page.
  • Multivariate tests require you to enter code into the “Original” and “Confirmation” pages only – but you do have to manually add the “Section” code directly into the HTML.
• Wrap specific sections of your page or post that you want to test with the “Section” script in Wordpress; save your page or post.
• Validate your code placement and begin creating variations of your content.
• Launch your test!

In the Wordpress interface, you will see these boxes under each page and post:

One other note worth mentioning is that if you want to test variations of your headline or design/layout, you’ll have to get your hands dirty.  Changing headlines and page titles will require you to add generic “Section” script directly to your blog’s header.php and page.php files.  And any design changes will have to funnel through your template php files.  If you don’t know how to manage these files – find someone who does! You could seriously mess your blog up if you’re not careful!

Today’s takeaways – multivariate testing has never been easier thanks to Google’s Website Optimizer and if you’re using Wordpress, it’s made even more simple with handy-plugins. So no more excuses about letting your blog go stagnant because it’s too hard to test!

T-Shirt photo courtesy of Tamar Weinberg at Flickr.

11 Blog Topics for Small Business Owners

1. State and Discuss Your Tag Line or Mission Statement:

   Every business has (or should have) a descriptive tag line or more importantly – a mission statement. For most of us, this statement of purpose drives our actions and has special meaning. Share that with your readers! You will show them how much you care. If you have a multi-point mission statement, break it up over several days. Give yourself, and your readers, time to digest the meaning of each point individually (plus, it’s that much more blog fodder).

2. Write About What’s Going Well and Not So Well:

   Most of us don’t really consider the daily minutia of our business to be all that fascinating. The trials and tribulations are our own, we’ve learned from them and have grown/adapted accordingly. I would argue that those details, both the good and the bad, show the human side of you and your business. Giving them a peak behind the proverbial curtain will connect them to you in a meaningful, human way.

3. Developing a New Product or Service? Write About It:

   This topic requires something of a disclaimer. When developing a new product or service, there may be details that you can’t share – either legally or in an effort to keep your competitors away from that information. So, consider this topic carefully. If you can’t actively blog about the detailed experience of creating a new product, perhaps you can instead build anticipation for your new product in a more general fashion. Talk about what’s behind door #1 without opening the door, so to speak.

4. Explain How Your Product or Service Benefits Customers:

   Benefits make the world go ’round. At least that’s what I believe. A product or service is useless to any customer if they don’t understand how it will help or benefit them in some way. Without writing a page-long sales pitch, describe the benefits of your product. Depending on the number of benefits your product has (it could be many!), and the number of products you have – this topic alone could fill your blog post queue for some time.

5. Announce Sales, Promotions and Special Events:

   I love to state the obvious. Always have. And in keeping with personal traditions, this one is a no-brainer. If you’re having a sale, promotion or ANY type of special event – blog about it. I could write a post on this topic and the potential benefits, but I’ll save that for another day. Just suffice it to say, if something’s on sale, tell your readers.

6. Have Burning Questions? Solicit Comments or Conduct a Survey:

   I’ve never met anyone who was genuinely clairvoyant. None of us are mind readers, however much we wish we were. So, whenever you have questions that only your customers can answer – there’s only one way to get the answer. Ask your customers! This is really one of the greatest assets of a blog for small businesses: easy access to your customer base. This could be as simple as writing a brief post containing your question and soliciting feedback via comments. Or if you would like more quantitative data, set up a survey. Tools like Survey Gizmo (and others) make it super simple to create, launch and record results from surveys.

7. Utilize That Cache of Customer Testimonials and Post Away:

   This topic assumes that you’ve been gathering customer testimonials. If you haven’t, add that to your list of priorities! Customers are your most effective sales force. So, take the positive (or maybe not-so-positive, but constructive) testimonials and post them to your blog. The rest of your readers will appreciate the gesture and will like you even more.

8. Get Topical by Providing Commentary on Your Industry’s News:

   Your industry is changing. Seems simple enough, right? Write posts that share that news with your readers. Though don’t stop at merely repeating the news, add your own commentary – your 2 cents. If it’s good news, explain how that news will influence your products or services. If it’s bad news, explain how resilient you are and that you aren’t going anywhere!

9. Leverage Social Media to Capture Customer Response and Blog About It:

   Blogging is a great way to connect with your customer base. Social media is yet another. The environment within the various social networking sites makes it quite easy to participate or start conversations. If you’re in need of a quick topic – hop into Twitter or Facebook and ask a question. One of 2 things will happen: the responses will be so great you can just post them directly to your blog OR someone will say something that inspires your next post. Another topic checked off the list.

10. Post a Response to Another Blog Post in Agreement or Disagreement:

    There are likely several other business owners in your niche that are blogging, too. Read their blogs, participate on their blogs, etc. As you read those blogs, look for areas where you agree, disagree or just simply don’t understand their viewpoint. Write a response on your own blog that links back to the original article. Make sure that you extend the conversation with your own viewpoint – don’t merely re-publish. Be careful of disagreements, and remember to be respectful (unless you intend to burn bridges permanently): be prepared to back up your stance.

11. Make Lists: Best-Of, Who’s-Who, Favorite Products:

    I’ve added this as a bonus of sorts. If you get desperate and feel like maybe you’ve reached the bottom of the barrel, go for this type of topic. Create lists about the best blogs in your industry, the most notable people in your industry, the 5 biggest influences on your business or simply a list of your favorite products or services. Always remember that you should be adding value when writing a blog post. If you create a list, explain why those items are important to you so that your readers will find them important, too.

These 11 topics will get you and your small business out of the gate and running into the world of blogging. Let me reiterate, this will get you started. As you begin writing, you’ll find that topics will come to you – seemingly out of nowhere. This is the sign that you have officially caught the blogging bug. But if you resist the bug either out of a sincere lack of creativity or just plain stubbornness, have no fear. I would highly recommend that you check out the following resources to keep your creative juices flowing:

55 Post and Topic Ideas for Your Business Blog

50 Blog Post Ideas for Business Blogging

Where to Get Ideas From for Your Business Blog

How to Generate Post Ideas When You Are Stuck

With that, I’ll leave all of you to your writing. As you strike out on your new adventure, remember that blogging should be fun! Write as yourself, and be relatable. And a business blog can be a powerful marketing tool so long as you remain vigilant on writing blog posts that provide value to and engage your readers and potential customers. Good luck!

Photo courtesy of Kristina B at Flickr.

General Search Engines

• Google AdWords
• Yahoo! Search Marketing
• Bing / Microsoft adCenter
• Ask.com

PPC Ad Networks

• 7Search
• LookSmart
• ABC Search
• Marchex Adhere
• SearchFeed
• Miva
• Kanoodle
• EPilot
• AdBrite

B2B PPC

• Business.com

Local PPC

• Local Pages
• Yellow Pages

Job Search PPC (traditional PPC and feed-based CPC job listings)

• Indeed
• SimplyHired
• Top USA Jobs
• Jobs Online

Shopping (feed-based CPC product listings)

• PriceGrabber
• Bizrate / Shopzilla
• Yahoo! Shopping
• NexTag

PPC Grab Bag of Niche Verticals

• ThomasNet
• PetLinks
• Chem Industry

…And there are hundreds more. Like I said, this is just a starter list! If you don’t see a PPC service that caters to your industry, don’t fret. I have a suggestion. Head on over to Google and enter a search query like “advertise my-industry-goes-here” or “my-industry-goes-here PPC” – you’ll be amazed at what you’ll find!

Photo courtesy of Danard Vincente at Flickr.

Is there a PPC search engine or network that you feel belongs on this list? Leave a comment and let me know!

3. Potentially Lower CPC and Increase ROI

Of all the benefits to expanding your PPC advertising beyond Google AdWords (and even Yahoo! and Bing), the one that stands to make you smile this most is this: Google naturally has a tremendous amount of advertiser competition which has increased bid prices and ultimately the cost-per-click (CPC) achieved. CPC increases and in some cases, ROI decreases.  BUT… Yahoo!, Bing (via adCenter) and especially niche search engines have the potential to provide relevant traffic at a much lower CPC.

Cheaper traffic translates into decrease cost-per-conversion and increased ROI (assuming a constant conversion rate, but that’s a conversation for another day!).  When you combine a reduced CPC with the use of a highly specialized vertical PPC search engine, it’s a match made in heaven.  Todd Mintz discussed this very same thought process in an article titled “PPC Is Rocket Science“:

Clearly, AdWords is the largest, most important PPC advertising network, but folks sometimes get so fixated on AdWords that they fail to consider using Yahoo & Bing, making those networks relative bargains for advertisers. In almost every campaign in many different verticals that I’ve worked with, the Cost Per Conversion for Yahoo is less than it is for AdWords.

4. Prepare for Potential Shifts in Search Market Share

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve likely heard of the new deal between Yahoo! and Microsoft. In short, it’s a 10-year deal that will combine the 2 companies’ search technology (well, dissolve most of Yahoo!’s) to compete with Google.  This isn’t new, per say. Microsoft tried to buy Yahoo! outright in 2008. Google and Yahoo! drafted an agreement later in ‘08 to share AdWords ads on the Yahoo! search engine.  Neither of these deals went through, but you get the picture.

What I’m driving at here is that while Google is the undisputed #1 in search and PPC, this may not be the picture in the near future.  Microsoft’s re-branded and well advertised Bing engine is actually gaining in market share.  That is big news! If you are only advertising on Google AdWords, you could be losing clicks and conversions to Bing.  Whereas if you were devoting time and money to targeting customers across Google, Yahoo! and Bing – you would be prepared to react to that type of change by shifting budgets and management time between campaigns.

***

Thus endeth part 2. The whole point of this blog posting marathon is to broaden your PPC horizons. It is important to your advertising success to know that there are opportunities, big-potential opportunities, lying beyond Google AdWords! There’s one more day left in this PPC diversification series. Check back in tomorrow when I’ll be posting a mega-list of PPC search engines sorted by category/vertical.

Photo courtesy of Tommy Ellis via Flickr.

Have a question or think I’m full of it? Leave me a comment and let me know!

1.  Different People Use Different Search Engines

Different strokes for different folks, as some might say. This is officially the obvious statement of the day. But it’s true! Not everyone uses Google. And dare I say it, the entire US population (and especially international searchers) aren’t 100% accounted for between Google, Yahoo! and Bing/MSN either.  Yes, Google has dominant market share.  But when you’re talking about millions of monthly searches, there are plenty – I repeat – plenty of opportunities for finding PPC success with other PPC search engines.

Aside from the obvious, there is a fundamental driving force behind the idea of diversification in PPC: user intent.  When the user types in their search query, what are they really looking for? Do customers come to Google to find products/services like yours? Or does their intent take them someplace else due to niche specialization?

An easy example of this is for ecommerce advertisers. Sure, there are a tremendous amount of product based searches, and yes, people buy products when they search on Google, Yahoo! and Bing. But you know what? There are also a tremendous amount of sales happening on shopping search engines like Yahoo! Shopping (separate from primary site), PriceGrabber and Shopzilla – to name but a few.  Those sites have a special focus, they cater to a niche. Because of that simple fact, there will be potentially less advertiser competition and the individuals who search on those sites are already in the mode of buying (user intent, remember?). You can apply this to any niche/vertical you like from B2B, job search to finance, etc..

2. Remain Competitive in Your Market

I think I can best explain this point through story telling.  Imagine Advertiser A, a purveyor of fine women’s shoes. He has been advertising on Google AdWords for a few years and knows that he’s getting a great ROI. However, something is nagging at his sole (misspelled on purpose): his arch enemy, Advertiser B, always seems to be posting better profits and claims that it’s all from PPC.  Advertiser B has campaigns at the main PPC search engines Google, Yahoo! and Bing. And a few months back he also submitted product feeds of his stock of women’s shoes to Yahoo! Shopping, PriceGrabber and Shopzilla and began bidding. All of this remains a mystery to Advertiser A who is suffering from extreme AdWords-tunnel-vision.

The point of this silly story is that if you assume your competition is only as smart as you, there’s a damn good chance you’re in trouble.  Make it a point to know on which PPC search engines your competition is advertising and stand up and meet the challenge by advertising there yourself. Otherwise you might as well be giving them a free pass to Club Med. On the other hand, you yourself may be like Advertiser B. You already have diversified your PPC reach and are laughing cynically at the sad-excuse of a PPC campaign Advertiser A is putting up. Don’t let your holier-than-though attitude push you to laziness. New vertical search engines and advertising opportunities pop up all the time – so keep actively looking for other ways to reach your potential customers. Do that, and you may always stay one step ahead of poor-old Advertiser A.

***

Alright, 2 reasons down.  I know you’ve been waiting for it – the moral of the story is, “don’t put all of your eggs into one basket.” All joking aside, hopefully you’re starting to see the light as those proverbial PPC blinders begin sliding off your face. Duh – different people use different search engines, right? Actionable item: open a Yahoo! and Bing/adCenter account. Better yet, research your niche and find a relevant PPC search engine and give it a test run. And don’t let your competition get the upper hand. Keep an eye on their PPC activities and ensure that you remain competitive by diversifying your PPC reach!

Check back in tomorrow when I’ll discuss the next 2 reasons for diversifying your PPC: lower CPCs; higher ROI and be flexible for the changing search landscape. Of course, I’ll wrap all of this up on Thursday with a sweet list of niche/vertical search engines listed by category.

(photo courtesy of Librarian Avenger)

Have a question or think I’m full of it? Leave me a comment and let me know!

To get back on the blogging horse, today I’m going to give you a peek into the Bakedwheat Web RSS reader.  I’m currently subscribed to over 100 RSS feeds.  The vast majority are internet marketing related.  But I’ve got a few “fun” blogs thrown in (mostly musicians).  Out of those 100+ feeds, there are 18 that I automatically check first – in no particular order:

• SEOmoz
• Inside AdWords
• adCenter Community
• YSM Blog
• Search Engine Land
• Search Engine Roundtable
• Small Business SEM
• SEO Book
• PPC Hero
• SEO Boy
• Outspoken Media
• Copy Blogger
• ProBlogger
• Itty Biz Blog
• Yoast
• JohnOn
• Rimm-Kaufman
• Traffick

Maybe it’s because I’ve been a little out of the blog-reading loop the last few weeks, or perhaps the entire blogosphere decided to kick it up a notch – whatever the reason – reading has been good this week.  Here are just a few of the best this week has had to offer:

• Google AdWords and Local Extensions – Good Stuff
• There are no bad keywords in PPC.  Food for thought.
• 16 rules for social media optimization.
• How many PPC ads should you test? Not just an arbitrary number!

And with that, I’ll return to my non-blogging activities.  Going forward, you can keep tabs on some of my favorite blog posts by reviewing the Shared Items from Google Reader box in the sidebar >>>>.  Or if you’re really desperate, you can follow my shared items in a separate RSS feed.  ; )  Happy reading!

Keyword Research Tools

Find a way to incorporate keyword research (tools) into your PPC management routine.  Your first thought is likely, “But John, I already completed my keyword research 12 months ago when I launched my campaign.”  OK, yes, you completed a round of keyword research.  But that was a year ago!  Keyword research is not a one-time event.  Major tool players like Google, Keyword Discovery and Wordtracker are constantly updating their search volume data and more importantly, incorporating new search queries into their results.  This is especially true with the Google Keyword Tool whose data is derived directly from Google’s search query database.  Make the decision to scrub your keyword lists against a research tool’s updates and you’ll soon find that new keywords just keep popping up.

Keyword Expansion Tools

The human mind is capable of many things, including the ability to extrapolate variations of your targeted keywords.  Differences in capitalization, spelling and even similar or related terms all can be found with a simple brainstorming session.  The problem lies in the fact that this can be a tedious, time consuming process – one that exponentially grows with the size of your PPC campaign.  Because of the difficulty, some of you have likely avoided this tactic or perhaps haven’t fully thought it through.  Thankfully, there are tools available for keyword expansion.  Google AdWords and Microsoft adCenter both have expansion tools readily available for your use.  Many of the more sophisticated PPC software packages also include these tools (i.e. Wordstream, ClickEquations, etc.).  In short, kill 2 birds with one stone: improve efficiency and find new keywords with an expansion tool.

Competitive Research

For the sake of conversation, let’s say that you’ve incorporated routine keyword research and the use of expansion tools into your PPC strategy.  What now?  Is it OK to rest on your laurels?  No.  Hone your skills as a PPC guerilla and do some competitive research.  Check out Compete, QuantCast or SpyFu and review your top competitors’ keyword lists.  I’ve found on more than one occasion that this can push me and my keyword selections to new and exciting territory.  Think of it as inspiration, or a push in a different direction.  Get inspired and motivated by your competitors and head back to your keyword research and expansion tools to flesh out your list.  Rinse and repeat.

Flippin’ Brainstorm

Sounds obvious, right?  Well it should be.  Brainstorming should be a part of your PPC keyword selection process from the beginning (if it isn’t, better late than never I guess).  But just like using research and expansion tools routinely, so should you participate in the keyword brainstorming process.  Much like search engines, our own minds are constantly evolving – and a few weeks or months can provide new perspective on an old product, service or whatever.  Additionally, bring in different people to brainstorm with.  Especially if all of your keywords have been chosen by you and you alone!  Fresh eyes and opinions always have a way of showing us what we missed.  If you don’t have any co-workers to bug, drag in your significant other, friends or family to mull it over.  You and your keyword list will thank you.

I didn’t set out to reinvent the wheel with this post today, but it was my hope that I could snap a few of you out of your “my keyword list is perfect” stupor.  Remember that there is always potential for new keywords as the search engine landscape continues to evolve.  Use your keyword research and expansion tools.  Check on your competitors and last but not least – talk it out and brainstorm.  Yeah keywords!

(image courtesy of SearchEnginePeople.com)

3.  Building Followers

As a business owner using Twitter to create brand awareness, buzz or website traffic (or all 3), growing the number of followers for your profile is crucial.  Crucial?  Yes.  Easy?  Some might say yes, but chances are they aren’t putting much effort or thought into the process.  Here are four ways to gain followers on Twitter:

• Be Popular: If you are a popular brand, then you have already got a huge advantage over the average business owner!  Celebrities, big brands (think Dell) and anybody/thing with a recognizable name will find that followers just gravitate to them.  We’re not all so lucky, so move on to the next actionable steps!
• Provide Useful Information: When you Tweet, think about how that message will resonate with your followers and potential followers.  If you are providing information that is useful and meaningful, people will not only read your Tweets, they’ll follow and possibly “retweet” that information to all of their followers.  Granted, this is a process that develops with time, but by merely providing value through your Twitter presence, you will attract followers.
• Proactively Follow Users: Another school of thought is that to get onto someone’s Twitter radar, you must first follow them.  This can be effective, but this tactic has it’s downsides (as I’ll discuss more in section #4).  If all you are seeking is an inflated ‘followers’ stat, than all you would have to do is start following Twitter users by the 100’s, 1000’s, and so-on.  However, you want to attract followers who are interested in your business and who could become a potential customer.  Only follow those who fit into this criteria – and yes, you will still increase your followers.
• Drive Traffic to Your Profile: I think that many people fall into the trap of thinking that growing a Twitter profile only happens within the microcosm of Twitter itself.  This just isn’t the case.  Part of your job when running a social media campaign is to get people to your profiles in many different ways.  Put a link to your Twitter profile on your website, blog, business cards – even cross link from other social networking profiles.  The point is – get people to that profile, let them see your fantastic Twitter presence and they too will start following!

4.  Know Who to Follow

A lot of folks who try to use Twitter (or any other social networking site) for their business have a one-track mind.  It’s all about getting followers and pushing products/services.  While those things are important, remember this is social media – it’s a two-way street.  You have to man up and follow people to make this gig work.

• Search Twitter Feeds: Keywords make the internet world go ’round.  And this is how you can find the best Twitter users to start following and building a community around.  Use tools like Twitter Search or Tweetscan to monitor Twitter discussions that use keywords related to your business.  These are the folks that you want to follow so that you can become a part of their discussion.
• The Twitter Elite: Just like in the “real world” – it can be beneficial to bump elbows with the movers and shakers of your industry on Twitter.  Following these Twitter Elite will not only put you on their radar, but you will effectively blend your network with theirs.  You can use Twitter Search and Tweetscan for this purpose, but there’s a more effective method of finding these individuals.  Head on over to Twitter Grader’s User Search tool.  Twitter Grader (powered by HubSpot) monitors Twitter profiles and ranks them by number of followers and other usage factors.  Just type in a keyword related to your business and see what brands and individuals pop up.

5.  Rules of Engagement

Just like any other marketing tactic, there are particular rules you must adhere to.  There aren’t any officially sanctioned rules for Twitter, but there are certainly accepted best practices that will keep your business from being labeled as SPAM by the masses.

• Be a Part of the Conversation: If you hope to ever sell anything to one of your Twitter followers, they need to have a reason to care about you and your business.  If you are somehow able to find 1000 followers, but you never Tweet – people will forget you exist.  Additionally, a Twitter feed that has no history of quality Tweets will instill zero trust in your brand.  Participating in the conversation ensures that you remain top-of-mind and show everyone your true colors.
• Respond When Spoken To: When a follower takes the time to send a message to you (whether direct or via a reply), the worst thing you can do is ignore them.  Take the time to reply – even it’s just a simple “Thanks.”  Another place where this becomes a factor is when discussing “retweets.”  If a follower retweets your message, link, what-have-you – thank them.  They’ll be more likely to do it again in the future!
• Monitor Mentions of Your Business: Once you engage in the social media space, including Twitter, you must monitor the conversation that is taking place about your business.  This enables you to quickly respond to negative mentions (online reputation management, anyone?), find new potential customers to follow and also to simply join a conversation – instilling a deeper trust in your business.  Use Twitter Search or Google Alerts to set up RSS feeds around keywords important to your business.  Monitor these feeds and respond appropriately.

That about sums it up.  Utilizing social media for marketing is a delicate art and Twitter is no exception.  I hope that these 5 points will help you to ramp up your Twitter presence and leverage the social media power for your business.

I want to know what you think about Twitter followers/following and the rules of engagement – leave me a comment!