Archive for February, 2011
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising has quickly become one of the most used advertising methods in internet marketing (iMarketing) today. The popularity has grown due to the strength, power, and cost flexibility that PPC advertising offers to an internet marketer.
PPC Overview
PPC advertising can be described as an online advertising method in which a marketer places an advertisement and pays a specified amount each time that a visitor clicks on the advertisement. Available in both text and image formats, PPC ads can be easily set-up, customized, and revised by any marketer with even basic computer and internet skills.
The internet giant, Google.com, was built upon the PPC advertising concept and today generates its revenue through small, sidebar advertisements on its search pages. Each search result page generally consists of natural search results and paid advertisements (PPC ads) that are located along the right-hand side of the page.
Each PPC advertisement consists of an ad title, ad text, and a clickable web link. The placement of each ad is ordered according to the search engine company. Some search engines rank ads only on Cost-Per-Click (CPC) value (from highest to lowest). Others use complex, multi-criteria optimization algorithms to calculate a ranking of each ad.
Ads are triggered only when specified keywords are searched for by a user. Keyword-based search allows for further customizing by advertisers. In general, advertisers would like to find least competitive keywords to assure maximum ad exposure at the lowest possible cost. The other end of the spectrum involves bidding on highly competitive keywords. This situation requires a much higher CPC to be specified in order to still achieve an acceptable ad placement.
How to Get Started
Getting started in PPC advertising is easy and can be accomplished for only dollars out of your pocket. The steps include completing a registration form with your most basic personal information such as name, address, phone, business information, and a credit card. The most popular PPC advertising venues are Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing, and MSN AdCenter.
After you’ve registered with a PPC advertising company, you’re within minutes of placing your first ad campaign. An ad campaign is defined as a paid advertisement that is set-up with specific ad criteria such as the ad title, ad text, destination URL, display URL, keywords, and specified CPC.
Additional ad campaign criteria may be specified depending on the PPC advertising company. Some offer national, regional, or local advertising options to limit your ad to be seen only by users in the requested areas. Other options may include targeting your ads to specific sites or ad networks.
Most PPC advertising companies provide detailed written instructions for both sign-up and for setting up your advertising campaigns. Some even offer step-by-step video tutorials to assist you.
Campaign Basics
There are six basic items that an internet marketer must understand in order to set-up any PPC advertising campaign:
• Title
• Ad text
• Destination URL
• Display URL
• Keywords
• Maximum Cost-Per-Click (CPC)
The title is the main header (first line) of the PPC text ad. You want to use this line to grab the attention of people who see your ad. The title must draw attention to the ad in a way that gets the reader to read the ad text. Keeping a common theme between keywords and related titles is important to drive ad relevance. Some PPC companies allow the use of wildcards to automatically place keywords into ad titles.
Ad text can be described as the body of your text ad. Most companies will limit your ad text to a maximum number of characters per line. Google Adwords, for instance, limits you to 35 characters on the first and second ad text lines, respectively. Now that you’ve captured the attention of someone with your title, you want to use your ad text to intrigue them even more so that they’ll click your link to visit your site.
Display URL is the web address that is shown in your text ad. This is the URL that the user will see. The destination URL is the actual web address that the potential customer will be sent to when they click on your text ad.
Most companies will require that your destination URL be the same as your display URL to keep you from ‘bait & switching’ a potential customer. You are typically allowed to display the root URL to your website and then send a person to a subpage of your site.
For example, the following is typically allowed for display and destination URL’s:
Display URL: http://www.YourSite.com
Destination URL: http://www.YourSite.com/PageName.html
This is considered an acceptable shortening of the URL since the root of the destination URL is used for display. Typical techniques such as URL cloaking or web page redirects are not acceptable methods for PPC advertising.
One of the most important aspects of campaign set-up is the selection of your keywords. Developing your keyword strategy will ultimately determine the success or failure of your PPC advertising campaign. Many keyword tool generating tools exist in the marketplace today. The main PPC advertising companies each offer a form of a keyword suggestion tool to assist you in identifying keyword terms.
The last piece of information that you will have to specify to complete your campaign set-up is your maximum CPC. The higher the value you set as your maximum CPC, the more exposure that your CPC ad will receive. Typically, with a higher CPC you’ll also experience a higher rate of clicks. However, CPC is only one factor of many (i.e. headline, ad copy, etc) that will affect your actual click rate.
By : Vick – http://www.tipscollections.com
Get Free Traffic From Press Releases
Press Releases have continued to be an important tool for businesses, non-profit organizations, governmental agencies, and social activist groups across the web. Few pre-internet communication forms have translated so easily to web publications. It is easy to add a press release to your web site or blog. You can even post them in forums across the web to drum up discussion on the topic. A press release should announce something of value, be it an event, a new release, a change, a promotion, or whatever it is, you should be sure it is well written, interesting, and reaches your target audience.
The goal of the press release is typically publicity.
The strange thing about press releases is that few people actually release them to the press. In cases of large corporations, governmental agencies, or large NGO’s there is generally little coverage of the press releases in main stream media. For your press release to be effective, you should make sure you send it to the appropriate newspaper reporters, editors, magazine reporters, bloggers, and other writers for publication with widespread audience. This could mean finding the email of the small business editor of your local newspaper, or of all newspaper reporters covering this beat in the country. It mostly depends on your client, or if you are doing it yourself, your audience. However, if you fail to submit the press release to the various people that cover this news, it will be just another post on the internet. It is doubtful those same reporters will seek out your press release unbidden.
If you are working regularly with press releases, it will them be necessary to create custom mailing lists for their distribution. If you have multiple clients, some of the contacts may overlap, but many will be distinct only to the individual campaign involved. So you will have to create a custom list of reporters, editors, web masters, and bloggers before you send out the press release, otherwise you will have to do it from scratch every time. If you build these mailing lists while browsing the web and doing other work, over time you can create lists of hundreds of good sources who work in the field and can republish the details of your press release in their newspaper, magazine, or blogs.
If you are really seeking publicity for a client or web site, you can also submit your press releases to TV news outlets and look to promote a reference in a specialized report, or market analysis. This usually works well for new gadgets and software releases, but it depends on the weight of the information and product involved. Another way is to have your press release read, video taped, and then posted to a video hosting site such as YouTube or others. The budget of the account involved will determine whether it is a highly produced script or a guerilla marketing campaign. These are just some of the things to consider when writing a press release, most important to remember is networking.
http://www.prweb.com (small contribution)
http://www.prurgent.com
http://www.prleap.com
http://www.prnewswire.com
http://www.prwebdirect.com
http://www.theopenpress.com
http://www.free-press-release.com
http://www.pressbox.co.uk
http://www.i-newswire.com
http://www.prfree.com
http://www.openpress.com
http://www.softpressrelease.com
http://www.marketwire.com
http://www.urlwire.com
http://www.webwire.com
http://www.emediawire.com
http://www.businesswire.com
http://www.pr9.net
http://www.pr-inside.com
http://www.newswire.ca
http://www.pressreleasenetwork.com
http://www.clickpress.com
http://www.webwire.com/
http://www.emediawire.com
http://www.businesswire.com
http://www.prwebdirect.com –
http://www.theopenpress.com
http://www.free-press-release.com
http://www.pressbox.co.uk
http://www.i-newswire.com/
http://www.pr9.net
http://www.pr-inside.com
http://www.newswire.ca/
http://www.pressreleasenetwork.com
http://www.marketwire.com
http://www.urlwire.com/
http://www.prweb.com (small contribution)
http://www.prurgent.com
http://www.prleap.com –
http://www.prnewswire.com
http://www.prfree.com/
http://www.openpress.com/
http://www.softpressrelease.com
http://www.pressflash.com
http://www.sbwire.com
http://www.hotmicrocap.com
http://www.billhartzer.com
http://www.dbusiness.com/pressrelease.htm
http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com
http://www.macgo.net/news/submit.php
http://www.devpress.com/addNews.html
http://www.betanews.com
http://www.devarchive.com
http://www.ideamarketers.com
http://www.afreego.com
http://www.lunareclipse.net/pressrelease.htm
http://www.hspstreet.com/pr/
http://www.mediapost.com/
http://www.baygo.com/press/
http://www.press-base.com/
http://www.newspad.com/
http://www.storebuilder.co.uk
http://www.creativecommons.org/
http://www.pressmethod.com/
http://www.click2newsites.com/
http://www.cdn-news.com/
http://www.malebits.com
http://www.internetworldstats.com/press.htm
http://www.forrelease.com/
http://www.hungarynewswire.com
http://www.groupweb.com
http://africa.emailwire.com/
http://www.downloadjunction.com/submit_press_release
http://www.majon.com/advanced/advanced-pr.html
http://www.itilcommunity.com
http://www.pressreleasenetwork.com
http://www.ideasiteforbusiness.com/cpress1.htm
http://www.media-press-release.com
https://www.promaxum.com/promaxum_newsflash.html
https://www.prudentpressagency.com
http://www.dime-co.com
http://www.thehostingnews.com
http://www.webazar.com
http://www.software-review-center.org/
http://searchwarp.com
http://www.tmcnet.com
http://www.bizeurope.com/pressrelease.htm
http://www.symbcity.com/new/public
http://www.programmersheaven.com
http://www.openpr.com
http://www.threadwatch.org/
http://www.eworldwire.com
http://www.afly.com
http://www.our-hometown.com/
http://www.emailwire.com
http://www.africanewswire.net
http://www.express-press-release.com/
http://ourworld.compuserve.com
http://www.eceurope.com/index.htm
http://www.press-release-writing.com
http://articlecity.prwebdirect.com/
http://www.powerhomebiz.com/BizNews/pressrelease.htm
http://newslink.org/
http://www.editorandpublisher.com
http://www.imediafax.com/
http://www.earthvision.net/market/addstory.cfm
http://www.webnewswire.com/
http://www.opportunityupdate.com/articles/
http://www.internetnewsbureau.com
http://www.ereleases.com
http://upload.it/shareware_soft_000005.htm
http://www.24-7pressrelease.com
http://store.1choice4ystore.com/articles.html
http://www.ideasiteforbusiness.com/cpress1.htm
http://www.addpr.com
http://www.click2newsites.com/press.asp
http://www.profnet.org/press.html
http://mediapeak.com
http://www.pressbox.co.uk/cgi-bin/links/add.cgi
http://www.bizeurope.com/pressrelease.htm
http://www.pr-scotland.com/addpr.htm
http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/pressrelease.asp
http://www.e-syndicate.net
http://www.seo-pr.com
http://www.internetwriters.com
http://www.gebbieinc.com/
http://www.XpressPress.com
http://www.softwarewire.com/SubmitRelease.htm
http://news.baou.com/
http://www.prbot.com/
http://highwire.stanford.edu/
http://www.newzalert.com/
A good direct mail campaign has several steps to ensure success. Plastic Postcard Mailers can generally cut back on the time it takes to produce various parts of regular mailings, are highly visible, and offer the best return on your investment. If you are new to direct mail, it’s a good idea to do a little research and most importantly, you need to have a clear goal in sight before you begin.
Here are steps to create a plastic card direct mailing on your own.
Step 1 – Based on your Goal – Choose your Direct Mailing Offer
It is very important that you keep your goal in mind when you are choosing your direct mail offering. The offering is critical because it is responsible for up to 40% of the campaigns success. The direct mail offering should encourage the recipient to take action, so be sure to create a sense of urgency. Some good ideas include a discount on the product, a fixed dollar amount discount on the order, a free service with purchase, or give away a pre-loaded Visa Card. Make sure that your offer separates you from the competition – offer something unique or something people really want, and will, use.
Step 2 – Plastic Card Mailer Design
Plastic card mailers are the newest and best way to do a bulk mailing. It eliminates the need for a letter and envelope and sometimes other printed pieces. Innovative laminating processes and digital printing give you a plastic postcard mailer that can include gift cards, key tags and other shapes that are easily “snapped-out” of the postcard mailer.
Plastic card mailer printing options often include standard layouts, custom shapes and sizes, variable data printing, numbering, bar coding and magnetic stripes. For instant online ordering options, www.My1Stop.com offers the most popular styles of plastic postcards; 3.5″ x 8.4375″ with one punch out card, 3.375″ x 4.23″ with 1 card and 2 key tags that punch out and a 4″ x 5.5″ with one punch out card. Custom dies can also be made for almost any size, shape and configuration of punch out cards.
The most compelling reasons to use a self mailing plastic postcard are:
Design is everything when printing plastic postcards or promotional plastic mailers. My1Stop.com has a team of award winning designers that are excellent at communicating visually using images to present your information. Our design services team has the experience with direct mail campaigns and plastic postcard mailers that will ensure a design that will get results. Put your brand, or offer, on the top quarter inch of the wallet card. This is your opportunity to dominate top wallet placement, which offers more card exposure and be sure to focus on designing an attractive wallet card your prospects will want to carry.
Step 3 – Direct Mailing Lists
Create a mailing list from your own customer database or choose a direct mail list broker. If you use a list broker, think about the type of client you’re looking for to help select the right type of list. Know the difference between the two major lists: compiled and response. Compiled lists are the least expensive but can sometimes be the least effective. With a compiled list, the list broker creates the lists based on demographic data and public information sources. Response lists may include lists rented by other vendors in your segment, those who responded or subscribe to magazines representing an area of particular interest, or anyone who’s responded to a similar offer. Ask your agent or sales representative at the list company to help you make a selection if you aren’t sure. They want you to be happy with your choice, and come back for more lists, so they have a vested interest in making sure your mailing is successful.
Always be sure to ask that your name and address be added to the file. This helps you track when the mailing arrives at your customers’ homes, so you can begin assessing response rates.
Lists in electronic format are preferred since the data can be uploaded to the printer and printed directly onto the plastic postcard mailer. Depending on the data, the list should be formatted correctly. Use a trustworthy printer that offers the ability to review your file before your order to check the format of your data.
Step 4 – Decide How to Mail Your Plastic Postcard Mailer
Depending on your offer you should decide what type of postage to use on the plastic postcard mailer. Most plastic postcard printers, like My1Stop.com will do the mailing for you using USPS approved Indicia, but you have to decide how quickly it needs to get to the customer.
How Long Should All of This Take?
Using a plastic postcard printer that is highly regarded in producing and designing plastic postcards will cut down the time it takes to design and produce your bulk mailing. Generally, it can take up to 2 weeks or less from the start to the time the mailing reaches your customers doorstep.