Clix Marketing PPC Blog

Last week Search Engine Watch published the 30th and final installment of my weekly Content Advertising column. If you missed any of it, and are still in the dark on how to get double-digit CTRs and conversion rates from your campaigns on Google’s Content Network: no worries, because the entire series is archived here.

Next week (7 July) I’m launching a new weekly column on SEW called Profitable PPC. The series will aim to be the definitive soup-to-nuts guide to building and optimizing successful PPC advertising campaigns. I’ll start with the fundamentals: campaign structure, keyword research, ad writing and testing - and then move to intermediate and advanced topics. Even if you’re already a PPC expert, you’ll want to follow along to pick up a tip or two. Get each weekly installment via email by subscribing here.

Since we continue to do research into Content Network advertising, I’ll be posting regularly on that topic here in the Clix Marketing blog.

Tomorrow’s guest on PPC Rockstars is my friend Mary Huffman of Ionic Media. Mary and I have spoken at several PPC Summit conferences together, and tomorrow’s episode of PPCR has us reprising the popular PPC Site Clinic sessions we do. For some reason I’ve always wanted to put Mary’s name in a plog post title so that I could reference an obscure but revered TV show.

From the Getting Ads Right session:

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From the Advanced PPC Tactics session:

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Today at 4 PM EDT (that’s GMT-5), tune in to Webmsterradio.fm for this week’s edition of PPC Rockstars, featuring my interview with social media marketing genius Marty Weintraub. You won’t want to miss our discussion of a pay-per-click channel that will soon be a critical part of your advertising arsenal: Social PPC.

I’m jazzed to report that my first PPC Rockstars broadcast/podcast “airs” on WebmasterRadio.fm this coming Monday, May 12, at 4:00 PM EDT, 1 PM PDT, 21:00 GMT.

The show will be broadcast live (or sometimes “taped”) every Monday thereafter, at the same time. My first guest is one of PPC’s brightest stars, Matt Van Wagner of FindMeFaster.

In each week’s show I’ll feature a current or future PPC Rock Star, and have a discussion about one particular aspect of PPC advertising. The goal will be to provide listeners with meaty tips and advice that they can use immediately to improve their PPC campaigns. Topics like conversion optimization, shopping process optimization, etc. are fair game.

Listeners are guaranteed to learn insider PPC advertising tips and secrets that will make (or save) them big chunks of money - or I’ll cheerfully refund the price of admission.

And I’ll sweeten the pot: listen to the first show (the live version or the podcast - available via Webmaster Radio and from iTunes) , and then send me advice for future shows using this blog’s Contact form, and I’ll send you a free Clix Marketing T-shirt and an opportunity to appear in The Clix Marketing PPC Blog Dry T-shirt Gallery.

Can’t wait till Monday? Listen to the subtle intro here.

Last Friday we started “taping” for my new weekly Webmasterradio.fm show, PPC Rockstars, which will be “broadcast” live every Monday from 4:00-4:30 PM EST (that’s GMT-5). I was very fortunate to have PPC icon Matt Van Wagner as my first guest, who dished up some golden nuggets about Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI). That show will be broadcast/podcast, and made available via iTunes and other channels, within the next few weeks.

In each show I’ll feature a guest and have a discussion about one particular aspect of PPC advertising. The goal will be to provide listeners with meaty tips and advice that they can use immediately to improve their PPC campaigns. Topics like conversion optimization, shopping process optimization, etc. are fair game.

There may be some interactivity involved – e.g. listeners may be able to call in to ask questions and/or give us urls to their landing pages for critique. In any event there is a page on this blog thatwill contain resources that my guests can refer to during the show – e.g. links to example pages, or embedded PowerPoint slides.

So, to all you PPC Rock Stars out there: First, apologies if you have not yet received a personal guest invitation from me. I may not have your email address, or I may have just screwed up. In any event, I’d really appreciate it if you would consider being one of my first guests. Our segment might be “taped” in advance or done live, and would take about an hour. You could participate from anywhere you have a good phone connection or a Skype phone. While the segments won’t be a sales pitch for your company, we will give out as much contact information as you’d like during the show, and also include links to your site on the PPC Rockstars page. Please contact me via the Contact Us page, and include a few suggested topics you might cover. Thanks!

Despite a nasty head cold and a poorly-designed phone, I presented 10 PPC Lessons yesterday (25-March) in my first Search Marketing Now webcast. Sponsored by Marin Software, the session described 10 of my favorite PPC tips and techniques. You can listen to the archived version here.

Update: Here are the slides:

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In other news:

• Our Facebook group PPC Pro People passed the 600-member mark yesterday. Come see why!
• In a few weeks we’ll kick off a new weekly radio show, “PPC Rockstars,” broadcast by WebmasterRadio.fm. Every Monday from 4-5 PM Eastern time (GMT-5), I’ll interview some of the biggest names in PPC, and spend half the show taking questions from callers and providing specific advice to help them optimize their PPC campaigns, landing pages and conversion processes. Watch this space for the debut date.

PPC Summit Vancouver is coming up soon: March 31-April 1. The Summit last week in Boston was a smash hit — two days of total-immersion PPC training. One person who was attending his second Summit told me that his company’s PPC revenue had increased by more than $1m after he applied what he’d learned at the first Summit.

Clix Blog readers get a 10% discount off the early-bird rate by using the coupon code CLIX10 - so register before March 12 and you’ll save more than $100.

On another note: I’m thrilled to report that our little company has attained a critical milestone: The T-shirt Stage. Our first shipment of stylish shirts arrived a few weeks ago. I’ll be giving them out in generous swaths at next week’s SES NY, and bestowing them on friends and readers in a haphazardly random fashion.

And for the non-shy among you, here’s an opportunity: send me a photo of you wearing a Clix T-shirt, and we’ll immortalize you (as we did the courageous Traci Scharf) in the new Dry T-shirt Gallery - see the link to the right of this post.

Want to hear me talk about my biggest mistakes managing PPC campaigns — and how you can avoid them? Catch this Search Marketing Now webcast on March 25th:

10 Lessons Learned About Paid Search – Webcast March 25

Managing a pay-per-click campaign can be one of the trickiest aspects of an online marketing campaign. Do it right, the pay-off can be huge. But it’s a competitive, complex process – that could cost you more than you’d bargained for.

On Tuesday, March 25 at 1 PM Eastern Daylight Time, PPC industry expert David Szetela will share what he’s learned over years of managing paid search campaigns. He’ll discuss mistakes made, pitfalls to avoid, and the lessons he’s learned about pay-per-click advertising.

No matter how much you’re currently spending on paid search - large budget or small, you’re bound to learn from his experience.

Registration is still open - sign up now.

David Szetela founded Clix Marketing in 2003, following a 25-year career in technology sales and marketing. He is active in the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) and was the author of two lessons in SEMPO’s Advanced Search Advertising course. He is a contributor to Search Engine Land and a frequent speaker at industry conferences such as Search Marketing Expo.

This webcast is sponsored by Marin Software. Founded in April 2006 by search marketers and software experts, Marin Software provides an enterprise-class paid search management application for advertisers and agencies. Combining power and ease-of-use, Marin Search Marketer™ addresses the workflow, analysis and optimization needs of professional search marketers, saving time and improving financial performance. Marin Search Marketer enables: cross-publisher campaign management; built-in keyword generation and submission; flexible bid optimization; and interactive, business-level analytics. Marin deploys in a day, with no up-front fees and pay as you go pricing. For qualified prospects, Marin offers a 30-day, full-featured free trial and is designed for those who are spending $50,000 and more monthly on paid search. For more information and to arrange a demo, please go to www.marinsoftware.com.

10 Lessons Learned About Paid Search
Speaker: David Szetela
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
1:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Register now - it’s free!

During the holiday hiatus of my Search Engine Watch column, I’ll be guest blogging on the SEW Blog.

I’m maintaining a list of upcoming presentations here - I’ll update it regularly, and it will always be the only post in this category.

SMX Santa Clara - 26-28 February 2008
PPC Summit Boston - 3-4 March 2008

PPC Summit Vancouver - 31 March-1 April 2008

PPC Summit London - 14-15 April 2008

PPC Summit San Francisco - 19-20 May 2008