Tag Archives: SEM

The Constant of Change: Real Time Update

Posted on October 8, 2009 by Tim Kilroy

Real time search is a game changer, and marketers must begin to master the art of frequency if they want to remain competitive and visible.

Natural search is always changing. And the past few weeks have been no exception. We’ve seen an essential takeover of Yahoo search by Bing, and we’ve seen Google unfurl a new natural search infrastructure with its preview of Google Caffeine.  But the most striking change in search (and this is undoubtedly part of the Caffeine update) is the increased indexing speed and visibility of near real time search. On every Google search, there is a spot on the top left of the page for search options.

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Holiday Sales Economic Data: Still Too Early

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Chris Paradysz

Job security and a disconnect between consumer confidence and consumer spending loom unpredictably over year-end holiday sales, but significant opportunities remain for marketers to optimize ROI and grow demand.

After months behind doors with our analysts and technology group building out potential new bid management algorithms and rules, this is the time of year when we start testing and tweaking our hypotheses for Holiday.  This annual rite is both a quantitative and emotional climb to Black Friday where we can better forecast Holiday sales demand.  August and September’s economic data is a head-spinner when comparatively evaluating it versus 2008.  Historically, post-recession economic indicators are more predictable relative to buying behavior than times that are in rapid decline as were August and September 2008.

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Keyword Research Tools Guide, Part 2: A Look at Compete

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Glenn Lalich

Compete LogoAs the next installment in our ongoing review of resources for online marketers, below is Part 2 of our Keyword Research Tools Guide.  Part 1 of this series focused on Hitwise and comScore Marketer, so this time out we’ll take a look at Compete, the last of the three major search term products that focus on post-click data.

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Success with Google’s Content Network

Posted on September 22, 2009 by Suzy Sandberg

PM Digital has been leveraging content search much more than we had in the past, and we’ve found some great success there. Google’s content network, in particular, yields a massive amount of impressions which is desirable for advertisers looking for more scale from search (approximately 70% of internet users view content ads per month for 139 million impressions).

In the past year, PM Digital was fortunate to have Michelle Obama favor two of our clients’ clothes, and we leveraged linking those brands with Michelle Obama’s name and other relevant keywords within the content network, trying to make the most of the constant media mentions.

These campaigns yielded a significant amount of sales. Most advertisers, though, may not get the opportunity to link their brand to Michelle Obama, so can they still find success with content?

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Three Search Improvements with Google Caffeine

Posted on September 10, 2009 by Jeffrey Cohen

In case you haven’t heard, last month, Google announced a major algorithm change called Google Caffeine. And, for the first time ever, they have given us a sneak preview which, depending on who you believe, was either done to steal the thunder from MS Bing and other related news such as Facebook’s purchase of FriendFeed, get enough feedback to ensure similar results to the current algorithm or to truly get feedback from marketers and SEOs on their improvements.

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Google Betas: Product Ads and Trademark Sponsored Search

Posted on September 8, 2009 by Suzy Sandberg

This summer we have seen lots of testing for different ad placements on Google, including changes to Page 1, product images displayed along the right side of search results, and quick links within sponsored ads. The following is a quick review of these and other potential changes.

  • Product search listings (formerly Froogle) have been shifting placement on Page 1 of Google Search, moving from the top to the bottom, and now to the middle above the fold.

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Keyword Research Tools Guide, Part 1: comScore Marketer and Hitwise

Posted on September 1, 2009 by Glenn Lalich

Clients often ask about the differences between search intelligence products.  To that end, here is Part 1 of our Keyword Research Tools Guide, designed to provide a quick overview of methodology, output and relative strengths for some of the key resources available to search marketers.

This initial write-up focuses on Hitwise and comScore Marketer, two of the major players that report on post-click data (i.e. not just ads served, but ads clicked).

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Using Webmaster Tools to Optimize Online Marketing

Posted on August 27, 2009 by Anthony Avolio

Google_Webmaster_ToolsGoogle Webmaster Tools is a free service that provides diagnostic reports and tools for improving a site’s visibility on Google and other search engines.  While it focuses on technical aspects of search engine crawling and is aimed at webmasters and SEO practitioners, it also contains several features and reports of particular interest to online marketers.  Listed below are three features of Google Webmaster Tools that can help improve your marketing efforts.

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What Our Clients Are Talking About: The Top 10

Posted on August 25, 2009 by Suzy Sandberg

How to lower cpcs with pay per click media sources. Last year we saw paid search trademark terms increase noticeably in the 4th quarter, and the shopping comparison engines have always increased cpcs during the holiday season.  Reducing cpcs in each channel won’t necessarily lower either media provider’s revenue.  On the contrary, lower cpcs should enable marketers to spend more since they’ll hit their ROI goals more easily.  For the CSEs in particular, it would be beneficial if they pursued the math on this.

Efforts made to increase website conversion rate. Since even small increases can make a huge impact on revenue, our retail clients are, at present, unveiling new technology investments in time for the holiday season and hoping the needle moves in the right direction.

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Official Microsoft-Yahoo Partnership Site Launches

Posted on July 31, 2009 by PM Digital

microsoft-yahooMicrosoft and Yahoo have created a joint website with details on the Bing/Yahoo partnership from each company’s perspective.  The new website is at www.choicevalueinnovation.com/thedeal.

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