How to Avoid Them and Help Your Business Grow

Simple as it may be to set up a paid search campaign with the help of popular do-it-yourself programs such as Google AdWords, it is not so simple to get it right. Many companies waste money and don’t maximize their online presence. TruePresence presents The Seven Deadly Sins of Search Marketing based on years of industry expertise and analysis.

First, some background: According to the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), North American advertisers spent $9.4 billion on search engine marketing (SEM) in 2006, and the trade group predicts SEM spending will double by 2011 to more than $18 billion. A major percentage of these dollars are spent by small and medium businesses trying to get some attention on the web, and to some extent, it’s working.

But with so much money at stake, most large businesses rely on the expertise of an outside agency to create and manage paid search campaigns. The smaller guys, more often than not, go it alone without specialized support.

If you are one of those little guys dreaming big, here’s an overview of things every small-to-medium business should avoid if they want higher quality leads and lower customer acquisition costs—the hallmarks of a successful paid search campaign. Recognize any of them? If so, it might be time to take a step back and consider working with a professional, like TruePresence.

1.Inviting Too Many Guests to the Table.
When creating a keyword list, a common mistake is in thinking “more searchers and more clicks = more leads and more dollars.” Not necessarily.

Wasted clicks mean wasted dollars. It may not feel natural, but it is crucial to limit your audience, and therefore, create a targeted keyword list for your campaign. You want to attract the RIGHT visitors to your site—the ones who are actively looking for YOU and your business, specifically, not just something loosely related to you. Continue Reading…

Simple Subject Line Changes Can Increase Your Email Open Rates

Your email is beautifully designed. The writing is clever, and the offer you’re promoting is sure to get the phones ringing. But guess what—none of that matters if your subject line isn’t clicking with customers.

That’s the latest reminder from the Email Sender and Provider Coalition (ESPC), whose recent survey found that 80% of Internet users don’t even bother opening an email before determining if it’s spam, and 69% of those users base their decision on the email’s subject line.

But a few simple changes to your subject line strategy can make sure all your hard work doesn’t go to waste.

Make a Long Story Short
Shorten up those wordy subject lines, stat. The rule of thumb is 49 characters or less (and that includes spaces and punctuation). This is for two simple reasons. One, many email services, including Blackberry, Hotmail, and Outlook Express, display only 50 characters or less. And studies show that open rates improve dramatically—as much as 12.5%—when subject lines are under 50 characters. Even more impressive: click-through rates are 75% higher when the subject line is kept to the 49 character limit (source: EmailLabs). Continue Reading…