Multivariate and A/B testing are two very important strategies in marketing. Even more so in the realm of internet marketing where nearly every aspect of your campaign can be tracked, tweaked and tracked again. There are sophisticated tools and software out there that can manage your testing for you. However, the cost of that software and the necessary learning curve can be high. Google lowered the entry threshold...

This week I’ve been driving home the point that if you are advertising with pay-per-click, you need to be diversifying your efforts across multiple PPC search engines and networks.  Remember such classics as “Different people use different search engines” from Tuesday? Or how about “Lower CPC and increase ROI” from Wednesday?  Whatever the reason, the truth is there are a lot...

Opening minds to the wider world of pay-per-click advertising – that’s my lofty goal this week! Yes, I’m talking to those advertisers out there who equate “PPC search engine” with “Google AdWords.” On the surface, this is correct, but it is a dangerously short-sighted view of the world. Tunnel vision if you will. Yesterday I kicked things off by talking about how different...

I’ve been in the PPC biz for a few years now and still find myself amazed at the rampant amount of tunnel vision amongst pay-per-click advertisers. What do I mean by tunnel vision? On one hand, this is the inability to see PPC opportunities beyond Google AdWords as the PPC search engine of choice. As is more often the case, I’ve found that this tunnel vision applies to seeing past “the big...

So, I’ve been a bit slack on updating the blog these past few weeks.  First of all, my wife was on vacation for 2 weeks – which meant I was on vacation for 2 weeks, too.  I did quite a bit of work, but I neglected the blog.  And this week!  Don’t even get me started on this week.  Let’s just leave it at thunderstorms and no electricity. To get back on the blogging horse, today I’m...

Pay-per-click managers the world over are in a constant search for the “perfect” keyword list.  You know, the keyword list that covers every possible variation, misnomer and misspelling possible for your PPC campaign.  While I don’t think that list exists (or will ever exist), the point I’m driving at is that most of us are in a constant search to grow, expand and otherwise improve...

I’ll apologize in advance – this is going to be a short post.  But I promise you that it’s worth your time!  Mike Moran posted today at Search Engine Guide, and his topic was quite simple: Data beats opinions in any decision.  His final point is a quote that I’m currently working on etching into my memory as I type this blog post.  You should do the same! So remember that opinions...

Forgive me for writing a post that’s a little off-topic today, but I’m excited.  Google has announced a new product: Google Wave.  Wave is an online collaboration tool a la Basecamp, MS Groove, etc.  However, Google is pushing their product much farther by developing Wave to be a real-time communication tool for personal or business use. Wave will allow you to create a Wave (think of it as a wide-open...