Web Search & Marketing Newsletter - March 2012

Thank you for reading the latest monthly edition of our monthly newsletter, which covers news, tips and advice on effective website marketing techniques and trends.

This month we look at Google AdWords and why it can be used as an effective online marketing tool. We outline the top 10 reasons why your business should be using Google AdWords as part of your web marketing activity and the key reasons why this area has seen significant growth over the past 5 years.

We also review the latest quarterly and annual figures on Internet advertising spend in Australia, published by the Internet Advertising Bureau. The figures for the full 2011 year were released in February and show further strong growth in this sector, and in particular with the search marketing category.

You can read more below, or you can also browse through previous editions of the newsletter, either by month or by subject. You can also follow us on Twitter for the latest developments during the month, or follow our Facebook page for updates.

On to this month's edition...

The top 10 reasons to use Google AdWords

At Web Marketing Workshop we love Google AdWords – as a marketing tool for our clients, and for our own business; as a flexible campaign management tool; and as a highly measurable, data-rich advertising service that is constantly evolving.

You may be one of the many website companies to be using Google AdWords as part of your marketing strategy, or perhaps you've used it in the past. Or you may be an online business that has yet to try Google AdWords to target your customers using search. Either way, here are our top 10 reasons why we think AdWords is such a powerful, cost-effective marketing tool:

1) Search marketing is targeted
The most effective form of marketing, apart from word of mouth, is search engine marketing. Whether you use search engine optimisation (SEO) or pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, when you place your business in front of searchers when they are looking for your product or service, you are reaching 'warm' prospects. This is known as 'pull marketing' - where you are meeting your potential customers' needs at the time they are looking to buy - as opposed to 'push marketing' such as press ads, radio or TV advertising, which has a larger element of wasted spend. Google AdWords is the primary form of PPC advertising and displays search listings within the prominent 'Ads' section of the search results.

2) Get immediate search rankings
If you want to rank well in the search results, and quickly, then Google AdWords is the answer. Achieving rankings using SEO can take time, particularly in competitive markets, whereas you can create a new AdWords campaign and be ranking in the search results within an hour.

3) Target an unlimited number of search terms
When using SEO on your website, you can be limited by the number of pages available to target the range of search terms relevant to your market. However, with Google AdWords you can select and bid on as many search terms as you want, regardless of your website's size.

4) Use the flexibility of campaigns
The range of settings and tools available within AdWords can make your campaign extremely flexible, enabling the ability to test a range of techniques and strategies within a short period of time. From targeting a small geographic area, to focusing on a few key search terms, or getting your ads just to appear on mobile phones, AdWords is under your control. You can also use your search advertising as a tactical tool to be turned on or off to support sales, offline brand advertising or seasonal trends.

5) Use the detailed targeting options
Together with search term targeting and advert scheduling tools, Google AdWords can also be used to focus ads around geographic areas and so you can revise ads by location or compare results by city or state. Short market coverage tests can be performed to test offers, creative copy and landing pages, giving you a powerful tool to measure and refine your marketing campaigns – the use of Google Analytics and Website Optimizer can also be included here.

6) Control your spend and reduce the risks
Google AdWords has a low entry cost and therefore you can usually test this marketing technique with a low initial budget. Compared to other forms of marketing, an AdWords PPC campaign can be tightly focused and you can control your daily or monthly spend within a set budget.

7) Direct visitors to the best pages on your website
With AdWords you can decide which pages become the landing pages on your site, whereas with SEO, Google may rank a page that isn't as appropriate for the search term being used. You can direct users who click on your ads to the most relevant pages to make it easier for them to buy or take another action. You can create standalone pages just for AdWords traffic and test offers and page layouts to see which work best.

8) Use the data to measure the effectiveness of your spend
A Google AdWords account contains lots of data options, with segments, charts, reports and user analysis (particularly if you also link in a Google Analytics account). This means that you get immediate and highly measurable feedback on what works and what doesn't, so that you can continually refine your targeting to make the most of your advertising spend, within a short period of time.

9) Use the data to improve your website's SEO
Most importantly, Google AdWords should be used alongside your website's SEO development, by helping to identify the best search terms for your market that are being used on Google and which generate the most relevant traffic. You can test new terms in AdWords and refine your SEO to continually develop and improve your 'natural' search engine rankings, which will attract more clicks and for no cost.

10) Use AdWords for wider advertising campaigns
The expansion and improvements to the AdWords Display Network means that you can expand the reach of your online marketing campaigns beyond search. You can target visitors to other websites by related content, interests or topic-related websites, and with 'remarketing' you can target web users who have previously visited your website. By using image ads, this expanded coverage can provide a powerful and low cost way to generate brand awareness within your target market.

As AdWords continually develops and adds new tools for advertisers, the opportunities for targeted, cost-effective marketing increase. If you're currently using AdWords we hope that you're seeing these benefits for your business. If you've not yet tried AdWords, now's a great time to run a test campaign, and we can help with a FREE $125 advertising credit for new accounts.

For more information or for help with a new or existing AdWords campaign, please contact us.

 

Online advertising expenditure in Australia up by 17% in 2011

The latest figures for Internet advertising in Australia, published by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) show that in the final quarter of 2011, there was another record total spend for the 3 month period of AU$716m. This is a 4% increase on the third-quarter of 2011, and a 14% year on year increase for the same period in 2010.

Overall for the 2011 calendar year – and despite global economic concerns - the online advertising market grew by another impressive amount, up 17% year-on-year to reach AU$2.66bn.

The Search & Directories sector for the last financial quarter accounted for 53.7% of overall online advertising, which is mostly comprised of Google AdWords expenditure. However, this figure remains an estimate, as Google still doesn't release their advertiser expenditure figures. The expenditure in Search grew more quickly than in Directories, both in the final quarter and throughout the 2011 calendar year.

The spend in the quarter on Display advertising accounted for 24.6% of the total market, with online Classifieds advertising now accounting for a 21.7% share. All categories achieved growth compared to the prior year quarter as well as for the prior quarter, with the exception of the Classifieds advertising, which decreased slightly.

The two sub-sections of the Display advertising category - email and video-based advertising - both declined in the final quarter compared with the previous one. The former decreased to $9.6m (from $10.5m) and the latter to $11.0m (from $12.0m). The primary method of advertising expenditure within this category is CPM based pricing at 77%, with just 23% being on the basis of Direct Response.

The dominant industries within this Display advertising category, with 40.0% of the advertising, were the Finance, Computers & Communications and Motor Vehicles sectors. The latter subsection was the largest, with 14.5% of the category's total spend, which increased (from 12.6%) in the previous quarter.

The order of the most expenditure for the Classifieds advertising sectors remained the same as the prior quarter, with the most in Real Estate, Recruitment then Automotive.

If you'd like to know more about these figures please visit the IAB website, or contact us now to find out more about online advertising and how it can be used for your business.

 

 

Follow us on Facebook & Twitter

If you use Facebook or Twitter, you can now follow our news and updates using these channels:

Regular updates will be posted through our main Twitter accounts:

• Web Marketing Workshop (latest developments in the web marketing field)
• Web Training Workshop (web search tips & advice, plus training courses).

More detailed information will be posted on our Facebook pages:

• Web Marketing Workshop for news, comment and trends
• Web Search Workshop for search marketing advice and tips
• Web Training Workshop for training course updates.

 

We hope you've found this month's newsletter useful. Please contact us if you need any more information on the items covered, or our advice on any aspect of your website's performance. Also, if there are any issues you would like to see in future editions of this newsletter, please submit your suggestions to us.