What defines a successful email marketing campaign? Most people would answer with ‘a high return on investment’. While that answer isn’t necessarily incorrect, it’s more so incomplete. The end result is always going to be to make money, but what about acquiring new leads or achieving a low unsubscribe rate? Those are items that also determine whether or not your email marketing campaign has been successful. Achieving any of these successes is dependent on a few factors.
The art behind email marketing is finding the balance between reaching out and touching your customers enough that they know you’re out there, but not so much that they are tired of hearing from you. That balance is going to vary based on your market and the info that you are sending out.
Take a guess at how many email blasts you receive on a daily basis and now guess how many of those you actually read….the answer is the first number you guessed is going to be a lot higher than the second one. How can you make your email blast better than the one that hit that inbox before yours? Send info that your customers asked for! On your opt-in form on your website, see what you’re customers are interested in and then send them info on it, it’s simple. Another great way, always offer a promotion, people love discounts!
Now for some visuals, let’s keep content to a minimum that is of course unless you’re sending a newsletter. People are way too busy to read an entire page of something. Make your email brief and to the point, and then link it to your website. Include images to showcase your property or images that are relevant to your message. Use a font size and color to flow with your message, not stand out from it. And include clear calls-to-action to make it easy for your reader to find things.
These items combined are going to help you achieve new leads and keep your unsubscribe rate low, and of course bring in the money! Ok, to recap, don’t annoy your customers, keep your customers interested with relevant content, keep the message looking pretty, make them an offer they can’t refuse, and most importantly, keep them away from the dreaded unsubscribe link!
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Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Measuring Success
Thursday, April 3, 2008
What is PPC?
As a paid search analyst I am frequently asked two questions. “What is PPC?” and “That sounds simple, can’t any caveman do it?” While the definition of paid search is quite simple (advertising on search engines based on action, not views), the success of a pay-per-click campaign is not.
Pay-per-Click (known as PPC) is a type of advertising on search engines. Unlike banner ads that anyone can see, paid search ads are only viewed by qualified searchers and you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. Similar to SEO, a paid search campaign begins by choosing keywords that relate to your website. After you determine your keywords you must assign a value to them, giving each keyword a bid. When a searcher types in your keyword phrase, your ad will appear under the Sponsored Search results based in part on how much you are willing to pay (higher bids usually receive top placement).
SEO and PPC are similar in that they both revolve around the keywords your clients use to search for your website. The main benefit of SEO is that there is not a cost involved when searchers click on your link. Although PPC does have a cost (your ad spend) the main difference is that you control the message the client sees. When you rank on seo/natural search, the search engine decides what text is displayed, but when your PPC ad is displayed, the message you created will show. While there is a constant feud over which is better, the clear answer is that it requires both to have a successful website. Clients are more likely to visit your website and believe you are reliable if your domain is shown both in the natural and paid search listings. Although algorithms change daily, possibly making you lose page rank, your paid search ad will continue to be displayed for as long as your budget will allow.
While many think PPC is simply bidding on keywords, it does take more than that to receive a return on your investment. The first thing that will make or break your campaign is your keyword choice. A solid campaign has both broad and specific terms that a client in all aspects of the buying cycle will search for. The second important aspect is your bid. While you do not want your ads to only be visible to clients who search on the third page of results, top placement is also not always your best choice. A good analyst will find a balance between a keyword bid and the amount of revenue it can generate. After your ad is listed, the next step to success is compelling the searcher to click on it. This requires an ad message that appeals to their needs and stands out from your competitors. Lastly, you must ensure that when they land on your website they find the information relevant to the search they performed. If they cannot find the information they need, they will quickly click back and find your competitor instead.
Once you have created messages that stand out with content that is relevant, you should quickly start to see conversions. As with any industry, you must follow trends and stay ahead of your competitors. But if your paid search analyst is doing a good job you’ll quickly begin to think receiving a high ROI is so easy, a caveman could do it.
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Wednesday, April 2, 2008
What is SEO?
With the ever-growing Internet marketplace, it is important that your website can be found by consumers. How you ask? The answer can be answered simply with 3 letters SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Now you may be asking yourself what is so special about SEO and why your website would need this type of service. Allow Vizergy to help you answer those two questions.
Search Engine Optimization by definition is the practice of modifying a website by manipulating onsite and offsite elements in order to improve the traffic a site receives from a search engine. To apply this to your website, ask yourself the question "Where does my site show up when I perform a search for my markets top keyword phrases?" Do you show up on the first page of the top 3 search engines (Google, Yahoo and MSN)? Do you show up anywhere in the first 3 pages? These top 3 pages are essential for any website owner to show up in as it is only a very small percentage of Internet users that go past page 3.
Unfortunately, it is not as simple as selecting certain keywords and your website will rank for them, due to the many additional factors that have to occur before you show up for the more competitive keywords on your site. One thing to keep in mind is whether you have ever had a company perform this type of service before. The SEO techniques used may be outdated or they may have used undesirable techniques that could now have a negative impact on your website. Some of those techniques include: hidden text, keyword overuse in any element of your site (one version of "spamming"), or doorway pages. If any bad techniques were used they must be removed, then the search engines have to come back to your site to verify that the changes have been made so they can determine if they should include your site back within their result listings. Once your site is "cleaned up," your websites content needs to be updated to support the appropriate keyword phrases. Relevancy to your market is one of the biggest determining factors to whether a search engine will position your site as a result of your selected, targeted keywords. Once the hard part is out of the way, a successful link building campaign needs to be started for your site. Minimally, this should focus on the most competitive phrases on your website. Consider links to your site like this, every time another site adds a good keyword rich link back to your site, it's like receiving a vote for relevancy to that term, although this is a simple explanation to the importance but helps describe what it can do for your site.
As to the other important question, "Why does my site need SEO," the simplest answer is that your competitors are using SEO to help improve their online market share and the traffic they receive from search engines. Your website can also be your top sales channel, as it can reach a broader marketplace than a traditional brick and mortar business. If your website is optimized properly, individuals all over the world can find your website if they need your service. Why wouldn't you want to take advantage of SEO, as the majority of web traffic is driven by search? If your site cannot be found, then you are missing out on the incredible opportunities that would be available to you through search.
Lastly here is a checklist to determine if your current site is not search engine friendly.
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