30 Ways To Make The Most Out of Your Keyword List

By Laura Kimball | Search Engine Marketing

Marketing today is all about keywords whether you’re talking about SEO, PPC or Social Media. Every time you begin a task for a campaign you start with a keyword list so I thought it would be helpful to show you how you can leverage your keyword lists to make the most of your efforts.

First and foremost I think it makes sense to create a master keyword list with labels to identify what category each keyword can be used for as not all keywords work for all your focus areas. It is important to integrate your keyword efforts. For example, as you tackle your SEO challenges consider where else that keyword might be useful.

Fresh Idea’s for Finding Popular Topics/Keywords

Coming up with keyword ideas can be a daunting task. So here are a few ways you can get fresh ideas.

1. Include keywords that cover customers “Pain Points”.
2. Don’t forget to research your competitors.
3. Browse LinkedIn Groups for topics that are generating a lot of comments.
4. Look for trending topics on Twitter.
5. Use Feedly to organize your feeds and see what popular blogs are talking about.
6. Search Communities on Google+, this is a great source for inspiration.
7. Look for people asking questions on Quora.
8. Search using Google Trends.
9. Look for topics that get voted up on sites such as Inbound.org and BuzzSugar.com
10. Search Topsy for insights.
11. Don’t limit yourself to keywords that describe your product.
12. Consider frequently asked questions that people ask before they buy.
13. Expand your keywords into feature descriptions.
14. Think of gender specific words that may play a factor.

Find Leads Using Your Keywords

15. Find Twitter Followers – Use Twitter Search to find people who are talking about your keywords.

15. Find Google+ members that have your keywords in their posts and add them to your circle.
16. Join LinkedIn Groups on topics that include posts or questions that include your keywords.

Social Media

18. Create Social Posts across all your social networks based upon your keywords.
19. Create alternative content such as images and videos leveraging your keywords.
20. Find and post inspirational quotes that keep with your keyword theme.
21. Don’t forget to post your images on Pinterest, and videos on YouTube.
22. Collect facts as you’re doing your keyword research that can be used in Infographics on the topic.

Headlines & Content

23. Test variations of your keywords in your headlines.
24. Create new content every time you test a keyword in PPC.
25. Keep your blog posts up to date with ideas from your popular topics.
26. Make Infographics that are informative and sharable. You can use something like Piktochart which makes it very easy.

Pay Per Click Campaigns

27. Try new keywords on AdWords to test performance before you invest a lot of money on content.
28. Use Negative Keywords to eliminate wasted ad spend.
29. Experiment with Facebook Ads.
30. Use Twitter to promote posts containing your keywords using Interests and Followers filters

10 Ways to Improve Your Social Media [Infographic]

By Laura Kimball | Internet Marketing , Social Media Tips

It seems as if everyone has a presence in social media. Most companies are participating in Twitter, Facebook and blogging however, the majority of people are still struggling with how to properly leverage social.

Our friends at moreFollow.com have created this informative infographic, 10 Ways to Improve Your Social Media Marketing to help get you on track.

As with any other marketing effort your social media should start with a full understanding of your target audience. If you don’t know your audience the chances of you sending the right message greatly decreases. Go where your audience goes. Create a presence where your target audience is already participating!

We hope this helps get your social media on track!

Now Get Your RSS Feeds In Your MoreFollow Twitter App

By Laura Kimball | Search Engine Marketing

Morefollow.com, the latest Twitter App brought to you by Click Measure Media now offers Feeds that allow you to share your favorite content right inside the morefollow tool.

Discover the right people to follow with complete control over keywords for follow recommendations and then share the best content to improve your Twitter engagement. We understand that finding content to share can be challenging, so we make it easier than ever to find it and share it!

Keep Your Content Fresh

Simply add your favorite feeds and get fresh content ideas that you can share as you see fit.

Manage Your Feeds

You have complete control over your feeds. Add or remove feeds as you see fit. It’s as easy as entering your feed URL and we do the rest.

 

We hope you find this new feature useful!

Improve Your Conversions With The RIght Traffic Metrics [Infographic]

By Laura Kimball | Internet Marketing

Are you giving your visitors what they want? Improve your conversions with the right traffic metrics. Your traffic tells the whole story, but are you listening?

You can’t optimize your conversions if you can’t answer the basic questions such as where did your traffic come from and what did they do when they arrived. You should always begin by establishing the right metrics.

We hope you found some new answers here. Please let us know what works for you by leaving us a comment.

 

 

5 Reasons You May be Losing Your Website Visitors

By Laura Kimball | Search Engine Marketing

You work really hard to get visitors to your website but are you making the most of their visit? Website optimization should be a big part of your business. Odds are you spend a fair amount of effort in generating traffic but are you really investing in user experience once they have arrived. If you are looking to solve the biggest problems with losing a visitor once they have arrived here is a quick list of the most common causes of website abandonment that may help you get your website in tip top shape.

Why Are You Losing Your Website Visitors?

Problem #1: Relevance 

They did not get what they came for

Solution:Make sure your promotional efforts are focused on driving the right traffic.  If you are promoting “The Best Cookies in South Bay” never take them to a page that offers healthy vegi snacks. This may seem simple enough, however it is probably the most common mistake.

Your page should have a theme, remember just one! Stay focused on that one message throughout the entire page. Keep it relevant and consistent!

Problem #2: Your Story

Your story did not resonate with the user

Solution: Your story should solve the user’s problem not hit them with a list of features.  Tell your story in a clear and concise manner that is easy to understand. Don’t try to impress the visitor with your use of industry buzz words or complicated explanations.  You should not be vague or use words that may be misinterpreted.

The perfect story shows the user how you can solve their specific problem.  If you show them how you can make their life easier you have shown them value.

Problem #3: Design

They did not find your site visually appealing

Solution: Design should consider a variety of aspects such as color, navigation, page length, clutter, and visitor flow just to mention a few. A good design should be both visually appealing and functional. Visitors will look and then read. Your design should draw the user in instantly and then gently nudge them in the right direction.

Use your images wisely. Images can be very a valuable use of real estate. Make sure that your image conveys the right message and aligns with your intention. Don’t use too many images that distract from  your main goal.

Problem #4: Layout and Navigation 

The user got lost in the clutter and could not find what they were looking for

Solution: Clutter is your main enemy. For example if you have ever put your house up for sale the first think your realtor will tell is to remove all unnecessary items. To show your house in the best light it should be clean and open. They call this staging and you should apply the same principles to your website layout.

Once you clean up your layout make sure that your navigation is in order. The one single job of your navigation is to make it easy for your visitor to find what they are looking for. You should keep it standard issue here, don’t make people guess. Navigation should never be confusing.

Problem #5: Missing Next Steps 

If your visitor has not left for the previous 4 reasons there is one critical item left on your list and that is for them to take action.

Solution: You must give the user something to do. Have a clear call to action. If you can’t answer the question of what it is they should do next you have a little work to do.  Your call to action should naturally take the user to the next step. If your copywriting and layout have done their job the user should be ready and eager to take that action.

Your call to action should stand out. Make sure that the user can find and identify with the CTA.  Your label should be intuitive and designed in a way that stands out from the rest of the page.

Conclusion

There are many ways to improve your website. If you begin by discovering the obstacles your user has experienced and work towards removing those hurdles your website will be a friendly place for all. Your conversions will increase and you will be on your way to enjoying more customers.

32 Ways To Improve Your AdWords Quality Scores [Infographic]

By Laura Kimball | Google AdWords Performance , Search Engine Marketing

Are you making the most of your ad budget?

You already know that there are many ways to improve your PPC performance, but improving your AdWords Quality Scores should always be a priority! Having low quality scores can impact your bottom line by effecting how much you pay per click, but it can also prevent your ad from showing up all together. If you are not paying attention, odds are your competition is…

So here are 32 ways to get you started!

We hope you found some new answers here. Please let us know what works for you by leaving us a comment.

Using Negative Keywords – The Right Way to Reduce Wasted Spending

By Laura Kimball | Google AdWords Performance , Internet Marketing , Paid Search Campaign Performance

One of the best ways to reduce unnecessary spend is by using Negative Keywords, especially if you are using Broad Match type for your campaigns. Your marketing plan should always be focused on getting the right message to the right audience.

Benefits -Improve your click-through rates (CTR’s), reduce your average cost-per-click (CPC) and boost your ROI!

Negative Keywords can be set at either the Account Level for keywords that are generic and will never apply to your promotions or at the Campaign or Ad Group level depending upon the provider.

There are two main reasons to exclude keyword:

1. Keywords that you know don’t apply to your promotions.
2. Keywords that are underperforming that may affect your Quality Score.

Google AdWords Example:

Account

Campaign or Ad Group

The best way to find keywords that may be eating into your budget is to use the AdWords Query Report which can be found under the dimensions tab and then selecting Search Terms in the view section.

ClickMeasure Example:

There is an easier way to find those pesky keywords if you are using a campaign management system such as ClickMeasure Pro that has a built in Negative Keyword Tool which automatically provides a suggested list of exclusions.

Either way you should perform a regular check for suspect keywords that should be eliminated. Pay particular attention to underperforming triggers that cause low CTR’s, as well as those that fall into the common sense category.

We wish you the best in all your marketing efforts.

Please let us know how using negative keywords are working for you.

10 Things That Will Make OR Break Your Marketing [VIDEO]

By Laura Kimball | Ad Strategy , Internet Marketing , Keyword Ideas

In this video,  ‘10 Things That Will Make OR Break Your Marketing’ I have put together my top 10 list of things that have the most impact on your marketing. Marketing in today’s environment can be difficult with so many distractions that we can easily be led down time consuming tasks that often times yield in no returns. Hopefully this video will provide some much needed insight to help you stay on target with your marketing efforts.

1. Understand your audience as this is the foundation for everything you do.
2. Create a keyword strategy that includes both head and long tail keywords.
3. Use those keywords to lay out a content strategy that is realistic.
4. Produce great content that includes a variety of formats such as PDF’s and Videos. Make sure that content is easily sharable on social.
5. Promote solutions, not features!
6. Content is king but design rules.
7. Show a consistent brand message. Don’t be afraid to have a brand personality, a little swagger so to speak. It’s your attitude that people will remember.
8. Customer service never ends. Happy customers make for great marketing.
9. Use inbound and outbound marketing as appropriate.
10. The internet is always evolving. Test, Measure and Refine your marketing efforts often.

Following this outline will help you understand your audience and build a marketing strategy that will send the right message to the right person at the right time!

Let us know what methods are working for you.

Mastering AdWords PPC with Campaigns That Turn Clicks INTO Customers

By Laura Kimball | Ad Management , Ad Strategy , Google AdWords Performance , Internet Marketing

Introducing a new series, ‘Mastering AdWords PPC’ that we have put together to help those struggling with the challenges of managing their Google AdWords accounts.  Get everything you need to know about creating and optimizing your campaigns leveraging the latest available features delivered in 4 weekly parts. This series is organized to get you up to speed as quickly as possible.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL GET

WEEK 1 – Creating a solid foundation with the right campaign structure

WEEK 2 – Improving your ‘Quality Scores’ & Optimizing your Budgets

WEEK 3 – Landing Page & Ad Optimization with A/B Testing

WEEK 4 – Create a scheduled optimization plan for future growth

In this guide you will find detailed instructions on how to improve your  Google AdWords Campaigns and save money on your paid search advertising  by lowering your average cost per click.

The 30 Day Plan includes strategic topics that are prioritized to get your campaigns delivering the best ROI possible. We answer the most popular questions and show you what to look for while managing your campaigns.

Topics Include:

• Establishing KPI’s That Make Sense – setting the right campaign goals that align with you business objectives.
• Understanding Your Audience – how to create buyers persona’s and answer the most pertinent questions. Who are they? What do they want? How do they find their information? What is their key motivator?
• Creating a Solid Campaign Structure with AdWords ‘Best Practices’ in mind.
• Search VS Display Campaigns – an outline of how to create the right type of campaign for your network.
• Using the Right Ad Types For the type of content you are promoting and the type of audience you wish to reach.
• Making the Most of ‘AdWords’ Features with Advanced Tactics for Remarketing, Targeting, Sitelinks, and Bid Modifiers.
• Setting Up Your Analytics with the Right Campaign Tracking
• Recovering from a Troubled Account – a detailed look at the corrective options available for an account that has been historically underperforming. A step by step guide on how to decide if you should start over or implement changes.

We are dedicated to helping you get the most out of your advertising dollar. Get started today with the 30 day plan!

 

Are You Making The Most of Your Search Traffic?

By Laura Kimball | Internet Marketing , Keyword Ideas , Paid Search Campaign Performance , Search Engine Marketing

In the world of search when you can align organic with paid successfully a whole new level of traffic can be reached with efficiency. Let’s face it you spend all that time researching one or the other for keywords and then set off to produce some great content. Aligning your forces may be easier than you think, that is if you can get the opposing marketing specialists you employee to perform each task to agree that it should be done!

SEO versus Paid Search

Why tackle both? If your goal is to dominate SERP’s [search engine results pages], then you should consider using a combination of both SEO and Paid to improve your business.  Two very different disciplines that accomplish the same goal, increasing sales!

Some Differences to Consider… Both SEO and Paid Search have their own individual technical challenges which I would never under any circumstances discount, but don’t miss out on the opportunity to leverage similar efforts such as keyword research or repurposing some great content.

SEO requires technical knowledge in how to properly assemble a page, leveraging the right elements and the right tactics to succeed in link building. Use heading tags appropriately, such as <h1> and <h2> tags that reflect your keyword and title of your page. Ensure that you use the keyword in the first sentence of the body. While you should write for human consumption first and SEO second it is best to use the keyword at least 3 times in the body copy and at least once in the URL. These are just a few high level examples.

Paid Search or PPC can be implemented quickly and can be modified at any time reducing the amount of marketing budget spent on ads that are not performing.  PPC can reach a broader audience with keyword variations that can be expanded over time. Campaigns can be optimized to achieve the best ROI using the right features for your specific needs.

SEO takes time to see results while PPC can be immediate both efforts rely heavily on the concept of keywords.

Where to Start! Analyzing your current traffic is always a great place to start exploring what may already be working. Do you know what keywords people are using most often to find your website? What keywords are driving the most conversions? Using that existing keyword list as research to expand on similar ideas can give you more options to work with.

A little recon on the competition is another great angle to explore. There are several sites available to assist in just such research.

A great resource to find sites like yours and your completion is similarsites.com which shows sites like the one you enter. You can use the results to create your competition list for further research. A couple great competitor research sites come to mind such as, Spyfu.com that provides both organic and paid keyword data and SEMRush which also provides organic research, as well as ad and keyword research.

If you’re looking for more ideas we have a keyword research tools for you. Simply enter your keyword, landing page or category to get a list of possible keywords.

Once you have a keyword list in mind it’s time to validate each keyword for its worthiness using a keyword research tool. Not all keywords are created equal. You should evaluate keywords by your current rank, difficulty/competition, monthly search volume, and average CPC. This will give you a solid foundation on which you can prioritize your efforts.

Conclusion

Combining SEO and Paid Search can give you the ultimate traffic generation machine to drive your business. SEO takes time to see results while PPC can produce immediate traffic. PPC can provide greater flexibility in the keywords you pursue and can provide a great environment for testing. Using both SEO and PPC together can give you the right combination of traffic that can be sustained long term.