Most businesses and websites that invest in Pay-per-Click (PPC) campaigns know the basics of running one. They’d also know that the most important element of any PPC campaign is keyword research: spending time on finding out what phrases will be the most useful for your website when set against the cost of the most commonly used phrases in your business sector. Keyword research and keyword selection make up the single most important job for any website, and finding the balance between the most commonly used phrases and value for money when competing with your rivals can often make or break the performance – and value – of your campaign. Once you have mastered the basics of keyword research, it is possible to dig deeper into the more sophisticated arts of Pay-per-Click and hone your PPC strategies and skills even more. One way of doing this is through Pay-per-Click tracking. PPC tracking allows you to evaluate the Pay-per-Click campaigns you have – Read the full article
The landing page: the place where visitors are directed after clicking on an ad, a search result, a link, or an offer. It’s also the critical page that can convert mere visitors or readers into your customers, fans, or followers. What goes into building an effective landing page? Let’s check it out. Answers. It’s likely that visitors clicked on your ad or your offer because they want to get hold of a certain piece of information, or because they want answers to their questions. So give them just that. Answer their search queries. Tell them what your offer is. Explain how they can benefit from buying your product or service, from supporting your brand. Guide them on how to get started. Regardless of what your objectives are – to make a sale, to get people to sign up for a newsletter, to get a Facebook user to like your fan page – make sure that you craft your landing page – Read the full article
Google offered another preview of the upcoming Chrome OS Tuesday in a media event in San Fransisco, introducing a fourth option for operating systems – after Windows, Mac, and Linux – while opening the doors to the new Google Chrome Web Store. The event also launched the Chrome OS pilot program and highlighted the search giant’s ongoing efforts to build “an operating system that is essentially a browser, (which helps) make computers faster, much simpler, and fundamentally more secure.” An open-source, lightweight operating system, Google Chrome OS leverages the Internet by delivering a speedy operating system in which all applications are Web applications (instead of hard drive-based). It is scheduled for release in the middle of 2011. Chrome Web Store and Cr-48 Chrome Notebook Along with these developments, the company introduced the Google Chrome Web Store, which features apps, extensions, themes, and collections for users of the Google Chrome OS. Developers have already started uploading apps, and one of these – Read the full article
Foursquare sounds like fun. We’ve said it before: as a location-based social networking platform, it is able to engage mobile users to explore neighborhoods, do “check-ins”, find friends, play social city games, unlock cool badges, win “Mayorships”, and earn points and rewards. And thanks to its innovative social mechanics, Foursquare is making city after city a social media playground. Let’s admit it, though. Foursquare doesn’t sound business-y. It doesn’t exactly have the feel of a traditional corporate strategy – and if you had to present this in the boardroom to your marketing director or CEO, you might be disposed to think you’re speaking in a language that they can’t understand. Here’s some good news. Foursquare – if leveraged properly – is as viable a marketing tool as any, perfect for boosting your business. Foursquare users check-in at all kinds of places – cafes, bars, shops, malls, hotels, restaurants, parks, homes, offices, recreational areas, day spa, and events, among many others. – Read the full article
Are you an e-commerce merchant looking for iPhone or iTouch apps to make your life easier, especially on the move? Look no further. There is a wealth of electronic evolution for Apple products that are geared to making your life easier and more fun. Here are my personal favorites. Social Media has taken the Web by storm but it also has a vital place in mobile technology. One of the best ways to keep in contact with your customers, and to maintain a valued relationship, is via social media and there are apps that help you do just that. Take the Meebo, Twitter and Facebook applications to start with. You can share views, news, images and even videos. Check out the Apple App site for a wealth of other social apps that allow all types of possible interaction and functionality. Anyone that cares for their business should care for their customers and using social media is one way to do so. – Read the full article
There is a multitude of ways that a company can catch the attention of their target audience. More and more, companies are turning to social media outlets to gain the attention that they need for their brands to increase in popularity. These programs can be taken even a step further through the use of mobile marketing as well. The first thing to know about marketing through mobile services is that there are laws which surround this. You are not allowed to use leads which have been purchased as you have to have permission to send messages to clients. If you do not have permission, you face legal difficulties due to the FCC anti-mobile telemarketing laws. There are ways that you can make sure to have a lucrative marketing through the mobile market and a lot of it has to deal with social media marketing. This is because when there is a good social media marketing plan, you can reach new – Read the full article
In the book The Tipping Point the author, Malcolm Gladwell, describes it as the little changes that can have big effects; when small numbers of people start behaving differently, that behavior can ripple outward until a critical mass or “tipping point” is reached, changing the world. I have been lucky enough to be involved with dozens of startups in the Chicago community through consulting, working for and starting a few of my own. It seems like the ground swell of entrepreneurship is finally reaching that “tipping point”. Chicago has been getting some much deserved press with the recent Fast Company article featuring Chicago as a great place for startups or the fact that Crain’s launched a section for small business. We are fortunate to have dozens of organizations in Chicago who have been supporting entrepreneurship for years. But, I am talking about the grass root efforts that are taking place under the radar, that is slowly changing the landscape. I – Read the full article
I told a long time friend this story last night and with all the chuckles and smiles I thought I would put it up on the blog. The setting was a bright sunny day in the burbs and I was about 8 years old. My mother was watching me as she worked with the flowers in the front yard. One of my first customers was my local mailman (His name was Butch in case you were wondering), he came up to my lemonade stand. Butch inquired about the lemonade but stated that he did not have the fifty cents for the lemonade and maybe next time. As I realized that I might lose the sale, I suggested that he have a water, which I offered for free. By this time my mother was near the stand chatting it up with our friendly mailman. I quickly ran inside the house and got him a glass of water. I returned and handed – Read the full article
