Recently E-Power discovered that one of our client's Google AdWords programs which we specifically Geo-Target to California was receiving impressions and clicks from outside the designated target area. This was taking place when a geo-specific qualifier was added to the search query.

For example, E-Power only wanted to serve ads for a law firm practicing in California to potential clients in California. Since the client is only licensed in California, out of state leads are not beneficial to them. Thus, any out of state traffic was of no benefit.

Based on solid key phrase research, testing and the fact that the client in question only does business in California, this geo-targeting-based query parsing is having a less than positive effect on the overall campaign in terms of wasted money and lowering of the overall Quality Score. Let me elaborate.

As a Business - The client in question only does business in California and as I stated above, outside leads are not beneficial.

Quality Score - is affected as impressions are accumulated outside of the practice area. Since Google adds the qualifier under the ad copy (in this case California), the Click Through Rate for the ads will be extremely low, thus lowering the overall Quality Score for the particular search phrase. In the end, this caused the client to pay more for what they thought was a well targeted campaign focused on California.

Wasted Money - Combine the two points above.

Now this geo-targeting example may not be a problem for all advertisers, but in this case it was. Don't get us wrong, E-Power realizes that some advertisers may see a benefit from these extra searches as a lack of research or uncertainty of influence outside the targeted region may play a factor.

The solution - leave the feature on as a default setting so that inexperienced advertisers have the potential to capture these extra leads. But for advanced search marketers who have done the due diligence in testing and research, give us an option to turn it off.

Labels: PPC Advertising

On Tuesday Aug. 25 the Oshkosh Common Council welcomed an oversized crowd of community members for a meeting to discuss the future for one of the city's gems, the Grand Opera House. The council listened to dozens of supporters, including E-Power Marketing President Larry Stopa, as they shared memories of times at the Grand and asked for the city's financial backing to help fund the needed repairs and to save a landmark.

Larry shared his stories which included relocating to Oshkosh because of the quality of life those locations and activities like the Grand Opera House have created in Oshkosh.

"The community has and will continue to support the Grand financially," Larry said. "But tonight, we need you to take responsibility and repair the property the city owns."

Recently E-Power Marketing donated $1,000 to the "Grand for the Grand" fundraising effort that answered a challenge by Oshkosh Mayor Paul Esslinger for private donors to help defray costs to taxpayers. Even Larry's 10 year-old son Casimir and 12 year-old daughter Pearl gave their support at the meeting and donated birthday money.

With a show of community backings both financially and emotionally, the council voted unanimously to approve almost $2 million to fund the needed repairs and renovations to the 1880s-era opera house.

In the Oshkosh Northwestern's top story, Council unanimously passes resolution to fund Grand renovations, former Oshkosh Mayor Steve Hintz said it's a vote for the next 100 years. E-Power is happy to say that it had a part in saving this unique city location and looks forward to the renovations to be completed, because we all know that the show must go on.

Labels: E-Power News

E-Power Marketing donated one-thousand dollars to the Grand Opera House in our home town of Oshkosh, Wis. The donation was made to the fundraising effort "Grand for a Grand" to get local businesses to raise money and help save a city landmark and community gem that might be lost due to needed funding for repairs.

The 1880s-era opera house has been closed since March of this year due to structural problems with the roof and auditorium. The cost of the repairs has been estimated to be $1.7 million. The state of Wisconsin has set aside $500,000 to help offset the costs and recently the Grand Opera House Foundation offered $250,000 in community donations and increased tickets fees. This leaves around $1 million left to be funded by the city of Oshkosh, which could be too much for the Oshkosh Common Council members and Mayor Paul Esslinger. They would like to see the community come up with $600,000 to match the city's contribution. This is where the effort "Grand for a Grand" was sparked.

Although the response has been great for the community's combined effort to raise the final funds, time is running out. The Oshkosh Common Council is scheduled to hold a vote on August 25th and is looking to see private organizations like "Grand for a Grand" come forward with contributions to offset the impact on taxpayers. Donations are still being accepted by a number of places in Oshkosh, including Glass Nickel Pizza Co. located on Murdock Ave. and AtomicKatz on Waugoo Ave. downtown. Money collected will not only secure a city historical marker from being lost, but donations will be put towards upkeep costs and help reduce ticket fees placed on performances in the future.

Labels: E-Power News

The Association of National Advertisers partnered up with BtoB Magazine and 'mktg' to conduct an online survey entitled "Harnessing the Power of Newer Media Platforms for More Effective Marketing" in June of 2009. 172 client-side marketers responded to the survey, and the results are really interesting. The survey illustrates that Social Media Marketing is truly becoming a mainstream marketing method. This information is important for brands that are hesitant about allocating budgets toward Social Media Marketing. With so many businesses making the shift, are you going to be found online, or will Social Media users connect with your competition instead?

The results of the ANA survey indicate that marketers are quickly adopting social media marketing tactics. In fact, the study released states that social media marketing, including video sharing services has enjoyed the highest increase in popularity among those surveyed this year.

Social Media is fast becoming a conventional form of marketing. According to the survey, 66% of the marketers surveyed used social media marketing this year. In 2007 only 20% of marketers used social media. That's a big jump in just two years. Where is the money for Social Media Marketing budgets coming from? Over 50% of the marketers surveyed reported that Social Media Marketing funding has come from their previous media budgets. Just under 50% of the respondents reallocated funds from their marketing communications budgets.

Though some marketers are anxious about the "new" social media trend, the majority recognize it as an important and successful marketing opportunity. The top Web sites used by those surveyed for the ANA study can be found in the chart below.

B-to-B? B-to-C? Do the results differ?

You bet they do. Just as E-Power Marketing has said all along, not every Social Media outlet is good for every company. To effectively utilize social media marketing, one must know their company?s target and the SMM opportunities available. For example, from the survey: "LinkedIn rates first among b-to-b marketers while Facebook is top among b-to-c. Interestingly, Twitter is used more by b-to-b marketers (70%) than b-to-c marketers (46%)." Knowing where your audience is online is major part of making Social Media Marketing work for your brand.

Into the Future...

So far, 2009 has proven to be a good year for Social Media Marketing. Social networks and video sharing Web sites have been the most popular, but what will happen next? According to the ANA survey, blogs will be the next social media format to rise on the list for all marketers, followed by mobile marketing. Many b-to-b marketers are also interested in beginning to use podcasts.

The ANA survey illustrates how important Social Media Marketing is becoming to brands today. More and more companies are embracing this form of marketing, making it more important than ever for you to take a step back, look at your own marketing campaign, and find a way to work Social Media Marketing in. The gap will continue to increase between those brands that utilize Social Media Marketing, and those that don't. Where will your company fall?

Labels: Social Marketing

Google Webmaster Tools provides a great deal of insight into your Web site's online visibility on Google. Not to mention the vast amount of data it provides regarding what Google's search bots find crawling and indexing your Website. You will know about any errors (broken links, XML errors, etc.) that Google is finding. Take advantage of the direct information Google provides you about your Web site such as backlink reports. Although not a complete list of all the backlinks to your Web site, it does give a good baseline to measure from.

Within Google Webmaster Tools you can also view crawl dates, any content issues, internal link counts, set your preferred domain, top search queries, HTML suggestions, XML errors, set a geographic region by country and the list goes on.

More times than not, someone will go through the simple process of verifying Google Webmaster Tools and submitting a XML feed, never to login in again. If you have a Google Webmaster Tools account, be sure to at the very least login monthly and review any errors. If you don't have an account, we strongly recommend you create an account and verify your Web site.

Don't let this valuable information go to waste! Remember, your online presence is at risk.

Labels: SEM Back to Basics