Digital Advertising: Fear of the Unknown (The Epidemic)
CPG conglomerates accustomed to “spray-and-pray” ad practices have turned accusatory towards the most highly accountable forms of media of all time. Eliminating PPC ad campaign waste in the form of invalid clicks and underperforming segments etc is crucial. But in successful accounts, hypervigilance around waste gives way to ordinary levels of tightening.
2018 PPC Predictions: Meta-Analysis to Kick off the Year
To kick off the year, we’ve been treated to the usual round of roundups: expert predictions for what to expect in the coming year. For Search Engine Journal, an esteemed list of 25 PPC experts offered their prognostications about what to expect in our rapidly-changing field in 2018 and beyond. Other than my own product idea […]
Three Takeaways from the Nov. 7 “PPC vs. SEO” Session at Pubcon 2017
Last week, with my colleagues Cory Kleinschmidt and Mona Elesseily, I attended and spoke at Pubcon in Las Vegas. To refresh your memory, Pubcon is the tactical digital marketing conference that just won’t die. As other conferences slowly decline due to changing tastes, this one keeps going and going like the Energizer bunny. Sessions are […]
EU Antitrust Ruling: Google vs. Forces Bigger Than Even Itself
Whether it’s in the field of trade, tax, foreign investment, antitrust, culture, or anything else, initiatives that block foreign companies from doing business – while often well-meaning, and sometimes aiming for consumer protection, local justice, or even some international development objective – perhaps fail to realize their own flaws. Primary among them is protectionism. In […]
SEO Firm Spams Awards Ceremony (And Other Tales From Pubcon)
Some things happened at Pubcon, and I’m finally ready to talk about them. No, I wasn’t traumatized — just a bit woozy from the desert heat. A current ad campaign from Bermuda Tourism contends that “some things are better experienced than explained.” That would be an apt way of putting it for Pubcon, and Vegas. […]
Google Announces Premier Partners Designation for Agencies
As a PPC-focused agency, we’ve always hoped that our story would be easy to differentiate from the roughly several million wannabes who would like to dabble a bit in Google AdWords. If that differentiation were to come in part with the blessing of Google itself, we thought, so much the better. Google’s push to encourage […]
Massive Cash, Uncertain Attribution: Automotive Ad Spend Trends
Along with insurance companies, car companies have been one of the major holdouts when it comes to their lingering attachment to relentless, expensive television advertising. It has its place, but how much is too much? The ads show to everyone – over, and over, and over again. That feels wasteful, if ROI is your thing. […]
11 Ways Search Has Changed Since the Last Google Dance
To put it in perspective, the last time Google held its on-campus Google Dance in conjunction with the SMX West conference, George W. Bush was still President. In the Democratic Primaries following Super Tuesday 2008, it was far from clear that Barack Obama would defeat Hillary Clinton for the Presidential nomination. Obama had a slight […]
Goodbye, Right Rail: 7 Incredibly Cogent Points About the New-Look AdWords
Everyone’s talking about Google’s recent decision to remove AdWords ads from the right rail. Let me humbly add the most incredibly cogent response to date. A few folks noticed Google’s tests prior to the rollout. Some folks, like Moz’s Dr. Pete Myers, noticed a lot more than others. Are some observers overreacting? Probably. Some of […]
The Death Of Search Marketing Expertise
Recently, I had dinner in Orlando with Bill and Ted (not their real names), some pretty successful digital agency owners. (By successful, I mean more than 50 employees and strong annual revenues.) They’ve been friends of mine for a long time, so I assumed they’d be up for a little of the usual expert banter. […]