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. […]
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. […]
PPC Geo-Bidding, Simplified
Recently, I came across a social media post that — honest to goodness — went on at length about the price the poster would be willing to pay for a new brand of ketchup. “I’d need 50 percent off to give it a try,” opined the timid tomato tester. “If I turn out not to like the […]
Are Paid & Organic Distinct Channels? Not So Fast
At our company’s informal book club, we recently had a nice discussion of David Hand’s The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidences, Miracles, and Rare Events Happen Every Day. Belief in causation where there is only correlation, faulty assumptions about how “randomness” works and similar errors are shockingly common, even among the educated. Superstition can be a nightmare for the […]
Targeting on Google’s Display Network (GDN): The Lowdown on Layering
Historically, the Google Display Network (GDN) had limited features, and it was impossible to fine-tune and narrowly target segments/users/customers. Today, there are more ways advertisers can target people/users interested in buying products or services. Furthermore, we’re better able to layer products so they work in tandem. In this article, I’ll discuss some of the targeting […]
7 Ironclad (Slightly Fudgeable) Laws of PPC Campaign Structure
[This post is a companion to a panel session at SMX East in New York, Sep. 30, 2015: The Great PPC Account Structure Debate – #smx #23B] It’s no secret that I’m no fan of needless busywork in PPC account management. Just as SEO firms used to bill clients for what Jill Whalen famously reduced […]
How To Apply Neuroscience Principles To Your Landing Pages
I recently learned some neuroscience tips at a seminar called The Human Mind & Usability, which was hosted by well-known usability experts the Nielsen Norman Group. In this article, I’ll discuss easy and effective ways to incorporate the discipline of neuroscience into landing pages. The same principles can obviously be used for other website pages […]
PPC Ads Not Performing? Reduce Cognitive Load
If you’re a seasoned online marketer, you’ve probably been exposed to user experience gurus, conversion rate improvement experts and their ilk. Even without knowing the high-level principles, many designers and performance marketers have developed a bias in favor of simplicity. Concepts such as the use of white space and decluttering a page have been bandied […]
Fresh Fish Sold Here Today? On Meddlesome Marketing Advice
There are literally hundreds of ways of telling the old marketing joke about the “FRESH FISH SOLD HERE TODAY” sign that appears by the fishmonger’s stall in the open-air market. (Here’s a really thorough version.) For those who’ve never heard it, the helpful observer helps the business owner whittle down the redundant words in the […]
