Free Google AdWords for One Lucky Small Business »
Posted on January 12th, 2010 by Justin Seibert in DOM News, Google Adwords, Online Marketing | 4 Comments

This Thursday I begin my first regular teaching role at West Liberty University.  Not bad for the kid whom the woman in Vanderbilt’s registrar office told he had the 2nd lowest graduating GPA she’d ever seen.  Okay, that was my roommate.  But you’re still talking about the guy whose brother mockingly nicknamed him “Our Scholar.” Even my dear mother got into the act.  While visiting New Orleans one year, my folks noticed a panhandler wearing a Vanderbilt t-shirt.  When my father wondered aloud what his major was, my mother quipped “sociology.”

So while it’s somewhat odd to be teaching, I’m excited. I’m also honored that the College of Business approached me to teach their ecommerce course, which they wanted taught by someone with real world experience.  Which leads to the title of this post and how you can get you some sweet, gooey, delicious Google AdWords.  Num, num, num.

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TAGS: adwords, capitalism, do no evil, free beer, google online marketing challenge, michael moore, skittles-covered-hotcakes, sociology degrees, Vanderbilt

Hotels.com does Not have a Checkbox for Fireproof »
Posted on November 29th, 2006 by Justin Seibert in Local News, Online Advertising, PPC, Search Engines | Leave A Comment

One of the great things about working in downtown Wheeling is that there are so many beautiful older buildings and home. That’s also one of the negatives as some of these structures are in disrepair and many are unoccupied (although it helps keep our lease rates down).

While walking to work today, I noticed the facade of one of these older buildings that advertised “Rogers Fireproof Hotel”. Using 2006 eyes, the advertisement seems strange. We all just assume hotels are fireproof. But at the time, this was an important selling point for this brick structure, perhaps its unique selling proposition, or usp, in modern day terms.

This hotel, from all appearances, is no longer in operation. Were it, surely it would have changed its signage by now. Likewise, businesses and marketing firms need to update creative copy periodically, too.

Hopefully you’ve tested or are currently testing your ads already so that you know what’s working best for you. Even if you have, if it’s been awhile, take a new eye to your print and Web ads – same can go for tv or radio. If you haven’t looked at it in eons, you can probably view it fairly objectively again, although having someone that doesn’t know anything or much about your business (think parents, neighbors, guy in the speedo at the Y) look at ads and tell you what they think you’re trying to say.

And even though search engine marketing accounts like Google and Yahoo! allow you to now put up multiple ads and they will rotate the ads so that better performing ads show more often, it’s not auto-pilot forever.

Is there anything in the news that makes your ad obsolete or that you could use for a temporary advantage?

And if it’s been a really long while, are you no longer able to offer that special or free report? No one’s going to sign up for a free Y2K preparedness kit anymore.

So dust off those old ads to see if you can put more gold in your pan. And see the following links for more blog posts about internet and search engine marketing.
direct online marketing
direct and online marketing
online marketing
internet marketing
search engine marketing
search marketing

TAGS: adwords, Google Adwords, wheeling, yahoo

Reach ONLY the People You Can Sell To »
Posted on October 22nd, 2006 by Justin Seibert in Online Advertising, Online Marketing, Paid Search, Search Engines | Leave A Comment

I speak with business owners every day that have little or no experience with internet marketing. While many of them sell all over the United States or even the world, many of them service businesses or persons within a regional or local area.

Without fail, the one fact about search marketing that surprises them the most is that they can target potential clients from search engines by physical location (the fancy internet marketing term is “geo-targeting”).

Two of the three largest search engine marketers currently offer this type of geographic choice and the third is beginning to release their own model. Taken together, your paid search and natural search listings can reach around 90% of Americans.

Geo-Targeting with Google, MSN, and Yahoo!
Google offers by far and away the most powerful geographic targeting system. With Google AdWords, you can choose to have your ads shown to particular cities, metro areas, states, regions, countries, or even within a custom area that you draw on a map yourself.

How does Google do this? They look at the ip address information your computer is using to access the internet and know your rough location. Is it 100% accurate? I don’t know, but I can say that I have never had a client using this feature complain that they received a lead from Google outside their target location.

The only time Google veers away from using ip addresses is when the searcher types in geographic information along with their search. For example, if a person in Kansas City types in “wedding photographers duluth, mn“, ads will be shown by companies offering this service to people in Duluth, but not in Kansas City.

MSN’s Live.com also offers geographic targeting, although only on a city or national level.

Yahoo! currently does not offer this feature, although it is rolling out its much anticipated interface this quarter to existing advertisers. While geographic targeting is a large focus of this interface, advertisers will still need separate accounts to advertise in countries outside of the U.S. and English-speaking Canada.

If you would like to learn more about reaching potential clients in your area through the search engines – remember, these are people that search for the exact things you sell – call 1-800-979-3177 or sign up for a free local search engine marketing consultation. Mention this blog and I will personally speak with you to address your needs.

TAGS: adwords, geo-targeting, Google Adwords