PPC Experts? - Prove It!

Recently I read an article talking about how there are many "PPC Experts" due to the low barrier of entry. With that said, if you or your company is looking for online adverting assistance, it is crucial to find an agency/person with the right certifications and a proven track record.

The must have as far as certifications are Google AdWords and Microsoft adCenter. Google requires an individual to pass 2 different tests to be certified. A general PPC test and a more specific test focused on the Display Advertising, Search Network, or PPC Reporting. Once the individual certification is earned, it must be maintained by retaking at least 1 of the more specific tests annually and the general test bi-annually. Microsoft adCenter, on the other hand, only requires you to pass 1 general PPC test annually to earn and maintain certification.

In addition to being certified, ask to see what the "PPC Experts" have accomplished for other clients, preferably within your industry. Case studies, white papers, and/or a portfolio of their work and accomplishments should be available and easily accessible. I would think that a "PPC Expert" would want you, as potential future client, to know and see their previous success stories.

I hope that this will help you avoid, as the first mentioned article describes, PPC scams. If you have any questions or comments about PPC, AdWords, adCenter, or online advertising in general, please leave a comment or contact us.

Gain the Support of Your Superiors: Show Them the Right Metrics

There are countless analytical platforms and tools out there for measuring just about every facet of your website and marketing efforts. From web analytics platforms like Google Analytics, to social media tools like Facebook Insights, the number of metrics and insights that can be gathered may be downright overwhelming to the less-experienced. Even worse: The higher-ups you are pulling these metrics and writing 20 to 30 page reports on visits, Likes, and pageviews for simply don’t understand, and might not even care. This presents a problem, as these are also the people that control your marketing budget.

At this point you are probably scratching your head. Sure, there are plenty of great insights in those 30 page reports on content performance and conversion funnels. You might be able to see which products and services consumers are most interested in this quarter, or that your pay-per-click campaign drove a large amount of targeted traffic to the website. But none of this resonates enough with the decision-makers. They speak one language and one language only: Dollars and cents. So how do you prepare reports that interest them?

• Show them how time was saved. This could be through how turn-around time for site improvements was reduced or how improved internal policies and procedures led to less problems in the first place.


• Demonstrate how money was saved. Did a display or banner ad campaign bring in more targeted traffic than a traditional billboard campaign? Show this and the dollar figure associated with the savings.


• Let them see what efficiencies were created. The whole point of monitoring is to identify problems and determine solutions to create a more effective and efficient web presence. Show these to the decision-makers and you’ll build even more credibility and support.

Getting to the data and insights via your arsenal of analytical tools is only half the battle. Convincing your superiors that what you found is relevant and worthy of their time is the other half. If you can convey the value of your findings via compelling visuals and reports centered on ROI, the time saved, and efficiencies that were created, you will stand to gain the support of the decision-makers and ultimately drive improvements in your marketing efforts.

Enjoy this blog? Be sure to follow DaBrian Marketing Group on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter to stay up-to-date on the latest news and tips for Web Analytics, Search Engine Optimization, PPC, and more. Also stay tuned for details on our webinar on how the latest version of Google Analytics can help drive business success (tentatively scheduled for April 19, 2012)!

Promote on Pinterest

With its compelling design and user friendly interface, Pinterest.com has become the next big star in the world of social media. Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board where users organize and post images of their interest--it’s easy to understand how users spend countless hours lost in a realm of eye candy. Images are often accompanied with a brief description and a link to the origin of the picture. For example, a fashion enthusiast may pin a picture of a shirt recently purchased with a description, “OMG, love this new designer!” When other Pinners click on the image, they are directed to the distributor’s website where they can purchase a shirt of their own. Pinterest allows users an easy and fun way to share interests and products they love and helps others learn about new products aligned with their own interests.

Business owners should take advantage of this social media outlet. It’s free, easy to use, and a great way to promote your products with hopes of your pins going viral. This became a reality for ideeli.com , a company that has experienced a 446% increase in sales as a result of their presence on Pinterest, according to entrepreneur.com. Starting an account and posting pins is a great way to gain exposure. Furthermore, existing consumers will share their experiences about your products when they pin it to their own boards. And who doesn’t trust a friend? Consumers base many of their potential purchases on the experience and recommendation of a friend, or in this case, a fellow Pinner.

So what are you waiting for? Hop on the Internet and create your own Pinterest account and start pinning your business’ products or interesting images to describe your services. But remember, make sure to pin other images that correlate to your company’s culture. This personalizes your account and shows fellow Pinners your company’s passions, values, and even your favorite vacation spot!

Data Quality is Essential to Pharmaceutical Marketing Success

Through my work with several financial services organization and pharmaceutical companies, one of the biggest issues I have noticed is with their data quality. These organizations typically have numerous data points such as web analytics, CRM solutions, email marketing platforms, sales information, etc. The challenge is that most of the business units don’t collaborate to integrate their data or to identify the best possible solution to integrate data. If you can’t agree to collaborate, it makes it even more challenging to manage data quality issues. At the same time, organizations have a tendency to use multiple data sources for the same information. Which source is providing the real picture?

Our team encountered data quality issues with a pharmaceutical client while developing monthly marketing metrics reports. We estimated that the data quality issues were costing them over $250,000 per year (if not more). The outdated web analytics solution wasn’t being maintained, so they had skewed SEO traffic, inaccurate referral sources, and limited functionality to integrate with their CRM solution, email marketing, or paid search campaigns.

Basically, they were blindly marketing to healthcare professionals and patients without any knowledge of what their target audiences were engaging with from a marketing perspective. Product managers were being held accountable for something that they had no visibility into, whether it increased new acquisitions or not.

Total Costs to the Organization:

• Outdated Web Analytics Solutions: $250,000 per year (minimum)
• Human Resources for Web Analytics Solution: $100,000 per year
• Estimated Marketing Budget Total: $3,000,000 per year

Poor Data Quality + Poor Data Integration = Poor Decision-Making!

Data Quality isn’t just an issue for Fortune 500 companies. It is also an issue for smaller businesses where decisions can make or break them. Regardless of the size of the business, we still need to take into account the business requirements, technical requirements, reporting, and the impact that the data will have on the organization’s ability to create efficiencies and save time and money. There are significant costs associated with a lack of data and poor data quality.

Twitter Analytics, Finally!

Twitter recently announced that official analytics tools will be launched later this year. Although these tools may only initially be available to advertisers on Twitter , I am sure that some form of official analytics/tracking tools will be made available to all Twitter users. Here is a great article from Marketing Land, that gives more details and provides more links about the announcements. Why is this important?

From a Digital Marketing prospective, one will now be able to easily track the reach, effectiveness, and efficiency of Advertising on Twitter. As all marketers know, it is vital to your budget that you show your marketing ROI or at least Return on Ad Spend (ROAS.) Not only will this help you prevent budget cuts, but it could also help increase your marketing budget. Check out our website and Blog. Also, contact us if you have any questions. We would love to help you with your online presence – SEO, SEM, PPC, etc.