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Nov/09

Google Moves Sponsored Links

0 Comments | Posted by andy in Google, Google Adwords, Google Analytics, Pay Per Click (PPC), Search Engine News

One small move for Google, one giant leap for online marketing… well maybe.

It may only be a centimetre or two but Google’s decision to move their sponsored ads much closer to the organic listings could improve ROI.

The new Google layout definitely puts the sponsored links in eye range, which could only mean one thing – advertisers get a higher Click through Rate, a better quality score and more traffic.

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It will be interesting to see just how much of an increase in traffic advertisers experience and more importantly how this affects the quality of the traffic they receive.

Only time will tell but this could be a win win situation for Google and Pay Per Click management.

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Published by SEO Prof Andy

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Nov/09

Google AdWords Ad Scheduling Updated and Refined

0 Comments | Posted by andy in Google Adwords, Google Analytics, Pay Per Click (PPC)

The ‘ad scheduling’ feature within Google AdWords has always been a fantastic way to extend the budget of your Pay Per Click campaigns. Rather than running an advertisement all day, every day, ad scheduling would allow you to define certain time parameters and ensure you targeted visitors at peak times.

Previously this was all done on a standard hourly rate. Meaning that your adverts could run it from 9am to 6pm on every weekday ,and 10am to 4pm on weekends without any problems. This was always a hugely efficient way to streamline campaigns; that was until Google updated the system, making it even more versatile.

The shift from hourly time parameters to 15 minutes may not sound like a great deal, but even saving half an hour of unnecessary time each day could add up to a significant difference to your PPC campaign. Imagine, for example, your business gets 98% of customers between 9am and 5pm. You may not want to just have adverts running from 9 to 5, just in case some search slightly earlier or later, but due to a stretched budget you can’t afford for them to be running for an additional hour at either end; what do you do?

Well, with the new time 15 minute time slots you could set them running at 8:45 and have the campaign stop at 17:15. This way you only add 30 minutes extra online visibility, but you could still benefit from peak time traffic for your business.

So now you can be as specific as you want, ensuring that adverts are only showing when you need them to. Whether it’s eight hours forty five minutes one day and just two hours the next, you can get more from your AdWords budget with ad scheduling.

This is a fantastic way to drive down costs, particularly for smaller businesses where Pay Per Click management of spend is likely to be far tighter. It may only be a small change, but it could have a huge difference – particularly over longer campaigns.

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Published by SEO Prof Andy

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Nov/09

What is Quality Score?

0 Comments | Posted by andy in Google Adwords, Google Analytics, Pay Per Click (PPC)

Quality Score was introduced for Google AdWords to help Google decide which position an advertisers ad should be displayed and subsequently how much should be charged for each click on the ad.

Google assigns each keyword within an AdWords campaign with a score between 1 – 10 (1 being the lowest, 10 being the highest).

The Quality Score calculating method has been constantly changing over the years. One of the first algorithms was simply your Click through Rate (CTR) multiplied by your Maximum Cost per Click (CPC).

CTR x CPC = Quality Score

This has become more and more complex over the years and only Google know the actual calculation that they now use.

However, we are aware of some of the major contributing factors that will determine your score:

Keyword Relevance
Landing Page Relevance
Page Load Time

Google openly informs advertisers whether their keyword has achieved a good score within the Google AdWords interface. Simply hover over the callout bubble within the ‘Status’ column in the Keywords tab and you will be returned with the following popup box.

Quality Score Indicator

The Score Definitions

1 – 3 Poor
Keywords with a score of 1 – 3 need urgent attention and should be improved on or removed from your campaign.

4 – 7 OK
Keywords with a score of 4 – 7 are deemed suitable candidates to be advertising on Google but can still be approved on. Keywords with a score of 4 or 5 should be monitored closely to make sure that their score does not drop.

8 – 10 Great
Keywords with a score of 8 – 10 should be working very well for your campaign. Remember, there is no such thing as perfect so there will always be ways to improve on your score.

Stay tuned for the next blog in the series – The Benefits of a high Quality Score.

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Published by SEO Prof Andy

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Nov/09

Online Retailers to Feel the Pinch of Postal Strikes

0 Comments | Posted by andy in Google Analytics, Internet News

The impending postal strikes, which are due to take place across the UK on Thursday and Friday, have forced many major companies to seek alternative delivery methods. However, without the budget to cover the additional cost of using a specialist courier service, or the product quantities to justify such a move, many online businesses may be set to suffer more than most.

After years of massive gains for the online ecommerce industry, these postal strikes have offered something of a wakeup call to businesses of all sizes. With Christmas rapidly approaching, consumers are looking to secure the last of the bargains and get their shopping done for the festive season nice and early. This makes the current strike plans all the more galling for Internet-based companies.

Amazon and John Lewis were amongst the first businesses to implement changes in their delivery policy. With Royal Mail seemingly going into meltdown and strikes affecting their ability to meet demand for the foreseeable future, both have found alternative couriers to ensure uninterrupted service.

Whilst this is all well and good for huge businesses, sending millions of pounds worth of stock each week, what about smaller retailers who have a far smaller demand? The cost, in most instances, of finding an alternative postal service is markedly higher. This means one of three things for companies who have already been stretched by the recession:

1)   Charge customers for extra postage, but risk turning some away;
2)   Incur the extra cost, make a short term loss and revert once Royal Mail’s normal service resumes;
3)   Continue using Royal Mail but make customers aware that there could be delays as a result of strike action.

It’s not an easy decision, and whichever way you look at it, your business will be effected. With wildcat strikes likely to continue, this may not be the last time this year that the national postal service is in turmoil either. Therefore the importance of having a solid contingency plan can’t be overstated.

The concern of the speed of deliveries has already made some consumers think twice about going online to buy goods. Despite these concerns, the BBC has reported that spending is actually up 8% since last year, with online retailers making £3.9bn last month. It also suggests that annual growth would pick up to around 15% once business picked up once again.

So whilst the postal strike is far from helping the UK’s ecommerce sector, the forecast isn’t at all gloomy. In fact this may serve as a long overdue wake up call for any businesses that have perhaps become complacent too. Customers don’t just want good value online, they expect high standards of service too – which includes the time taken to receive orders. It is therefore hugely important that companies start reviewing delivery options and ensuring that they are able to provide a continuous level of service, regardless of ongoing postal disputes.

As more retailers move online and high street shopping continues to suffer as a consequence, the marketplace is likely to become far more crowded. This makes the need to be providing effective services all the more important, whilst you still need to consider how to attract those all important customers in the first place.

Postal strikes are a nuisance for business, regardless of any political or union perspectives. But the shortfall in delivery people needn’t ruin your company or the services you provide. Alternatives are available and the online industry itself is thriving. Don’t lose sight of your website itself in these tumultuous times. These issues should serve to spur you on and cast your net wider; after all, getting more customers in the future will help to limit any financial shortfalls now.

With the Internet now the most popular medium for UK advertisers, it’s certainly not a time to be throwing in the towel.

So while online businesses prepare for a buffering, this should only be seen as a blip. Don’t take your delivery responsibilities to customers lightly, but also ensure that you aren’t overlooking the bread and butter of any ecommerce company, the website. The busiest time for both Royal Mail and retailers alike is now upon us, so don’t allow your website to fall behind the competition.

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Nov/09

Is your Businesses Blog Still Fresh?

0 Comments | Posted by andy in Blogging, Google Analytics

You’ve created a blog, it’s started bringing in traffic, but is it doing enough? It’s a conundrum faced by many websites, just how do you measure the success and relevance of your blog?

The old adage that ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ might work in some online ventures, but the same can’t really be said of a blog. Whether it is used as an accompaniment to a primary site or as a standalone information resource, a blog needs to maintain a certain level of freshness to avoid slipping into ambiguous irrelevance. So what can you do?

Well, first and foremost, don’t start trying to force your blog posts. If there is nothing to say, sometimes it is better left unsaid. Whilst most would agree that regular updates are preferable; for most business websites, the resources and the content might be too elusive to do anything more than a couple of pieces a week. Quality can sometimes be a very handy substitute for quantity.

Keep Blog Content Engaging & Relevant

You may also have to define exactly what your idea of success is when it comes to your blog. Do you just want to attract as much traffic as possible without targeting any particular sectors, or would you prefer to appeal to a select demographic? High traffic volumes are always satisfying, but if nobody is making it to the end of your posts or visits your intended target page – more prevalent for business websites – then is it really doing its job?

A blog should really have two key purposes. First of all it is there to attract visitors and ensure search engine spiders have plenty of new content to index. Secondly, it should provoke thought or discussion, hopefully enough to garner a response. If you’re not achieving both, then it may be time to re-evaluate – that is, if you are serious about blogging of course.

What are you writing currently? What headlines are you using? Who will find your content interesting? Who do you want to read your blog? How can you reach them? If you’re looking to evaluate your blog and find out where it could improve, these are the kinds of questions you need to be asking.

Above all though, your readership should be the top priority. If they are likely to find your post informative, interesting or thought provoking, then the fundamental task has been fulfilled. If you’re recycling ideas and adding very little in terms of a personal touch, then you might find that your site soon becomes a red light to online traffic.

Invest Time to Optimise Quality

As an SEO Company, Slipstream regularly extol the virtues of creating and maintaining a blog to our clients. Whilst it can be difficult to find the time, the result should more than justify any additional effort that you’ve put in. Our blog represents the multitude of services we offer, the experts we have within the company and the industry that we’re in; all of which is combine to hopefully provide a few useful hints and talking points(take our SEO FAQ Blog section as a good example of this). This is a model that most businesses, regardless of their sector, can emulate.

So the freshness of your content may well prove to be relative. Not all businesses and industries have a ready supply of content at their disposal; however, that said, there’s no reason why you can’t still create something unique and engaging. Each blog post adds further visibility to your site. It can attract additional visitors, links and maybe even customers. Don’t get lured into creating content for the sake of it, equally don’t get put off of writing posts that are a little different to your usual.

Engage and challenge your readership. Make your blog, and your site, somewhere that people will choose to visit time and time again. Learn from comments and feedback, and allow your blog to flourish as a result. Just don’t give up on it.

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Nov/09

4 Google Analytics Must Haves

0 Comments | Posted by andy in Google Analytics

On the 4th Day of Christmas, we present 4 Google Analytics tips:

1. Ensure that the Google Analytics code is implemented on all pages on your site and correctly

How can you expect visitors to be tracked on a page which doesn’t contain any code to record their visit? Also make sure the code is exactly the same as the code shown in your analytics account, don’t make any changes as this could cause in error in the code and prevent good data from being recorded.

2. Set up Goals

Goals are there to help you find out if visitors are doing what you want them to do on your site, whether it be a purchase, completing an enquiry form or signing up to a newsletter. Goals are there to help you get more information out of your data so make sure you use them.

3. Link AdWords account to analytics account

If you are using AdWords you will want this traffic source to be identified within your analytics account so you can monitor your paid visitors’ activity.

Login to your AdWords account, and then click on the green Analytics tab, which is between Reports and My Account. As long as you have the same login email address for both accounts then AdWords should have automatically detected your Analytics account. If you have a different email address for you Analytics account then just, make sure the email address for your AdWords account is listed within the User Manager in Analytics.

You should also make sure that the Auto Tagging is enabled within your AdWords account within your Account Preferences – this should be enabled automatically.

4. E-commerce sites use e-commerce tracking

Shopping sites can enable the e-commerce tracking which Google Analytics offers. This is a little bit more complicated to implement and you may need your web developer’s help.

By implementing the e-commerce tracking you will be able to see sales values and transactions and identify pages which have contributed to a sale. Just remember that Google Analytics is an analytical tool and not a sales system so not all numbers may match exactly to your sales orders.

E-commerce tracking can also be used to track non e-commerce sites but this is slightly trickier, but can provide you with a great insight to user activity.

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Published by SEO Prof Andy

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Nov/09

Google Drop the Ball with Bounce Rate Jibe?

0 Comments | Posted by andy in Google Analytics

Clearly you need to be talented to work at Google. Sometimes though, this can lead to a superiority complex and following hot on the trail of Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, calling Twitter a “poor man’s email”, it’s now been reported in MediaPost that their analytics evangelist, Avinash Kaushik, has made a comment that “hits”, far from being a way of measuring online success, is actually an acronym standing for “How Idiots Track Success”.

Whilst there may be a degree of truth in the point, the way the message was delivered could have been delivered more subtlety.

In terms of success criteria, he does goes on to make a valid point that bounce rate is a more meaningful measure of how successful your site is performing. Obviously, there are many ways to drive traffic to a website but if visitors aren’t finding what they want when they arrive, why bother spending time and money on getting them there in the first place?

Source: Analytics | SEO Blog

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Nov/09

Bit.ly & Google Analytics

0 Comments | Posted by andy in Google Analytics

Bit.ly have published a new tool this week which allows you to segment bit.ly social media traffic within Google Analytics.

The tool can be found here – bit.ly Google Analytics campaign Campaign Tool. You will be required to download a copy of the tool by choosing ‘File > Create a copy’

As Google Analytics doesn’t track your visitors in real time, you can continue to monitor visitors using the information in Bit.ly whilst waiting for Google to update.

The data will be displayed in Analytics under the ‘Traffic Sources’ report within ‘Campaigns’. The default campaign name will be displayed as ‘publisher-sidebar-announcement’. The various campaigns you have set up will be displayed within this campaign.

Example of campaigns in Analytics

You can use Analytics to analyse the traffic from each campaign.

Note – Many users of Twitter and Facebook use mobile phones to browse the sites. Currently Google Analytics is unable to track visits from mobile devices (except iPhones and Androids) so differences in bit.ly and Google traffic may vary.

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Source: Bit.ly & Google Analytics

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Nov/09

How to determine your website’s best landing page

0 Comments | Posted by andy in Google Analytics

Whether you are focused on search engine optimisation or pay per click, it is important that you know which pages receive the highest volume of traffic and maybe more importantly the pages which have the highest bounce rates.

If a page is underperforming then you need to take immediate action to improve it where required. Landing pages need to make an immediate impact upon visitors and encourage them to interact further with your site.

If a landing page has a bounce rate of over 50% then this is considered to be high. However, if the landing page is a blog post and has a high bounce rate then this is to be expected, as visitors are only likely to be visiting to read the latest update.

You can find out which pages are your key landing pages by viewing the Top Landing Page Report in Google Analytics, which can be found amongst the Content Reports.

If a landing page has a high bounce rate then consider a more suitable landing page for PPC or revise the term you have optimised the page for if your traffic is from natural sources.

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Published by SEO Prof Andy