(CNET)
– Large Internet companies spend millions on consultants and
technology trying to get their sites to rank among the highest results
on Google. Everyone else has to rely on the poor man’s search-engine
optimization: the link exchange.

The thinking behind link exchanging is that Google will record links as a vote of confidence for sites.

If you’ve ever hung up your own shingle on the Web, you’ve probably
gotten an e-mail to this effect at some point: “Dear So-and-so, I
believe your site and mine could benefit from exchanging links.”

We probably get eight to 10 a week in the CNET News general mailbox,
mostly from technology-related companies but occasionally from
auto-parts suppliers and watch retailers who either have no idea what
we do or few moral qualms about spam.

The idea is that if you
can coax a link out of a large site like CNET, Google and other search
engines will record that link as a vote of confidence in your site’s
worthiness and improve your ranking in searches for certain topics,
thereby boosting traffic to your site. The technique is quite old,
dating back even before Google and its PageRank system emerged as the
Web’s dominant search engine.

But does it still work? And at
what point do two or three sites struggling to get off the ground veer
off the road from mutual assistance to a full-blown spam operation
designed to game the system?

Evan Duffield, for one, thinks it
still works. He contacted us trying to get CNET to exchange links with
WarpedAI.com, a site he has launched to promote stock-trading tools for
day traders, and says he has been able to slowly build up the PageRank
of another site he owns using techniques that don’t run afoul of
Google’s Webmaster guidelines.

“It’s kind of a vicious circle,”
he said. “To start a new business you need PageRank, but to get
PageRank you need links to your service. You have to get the ball
rolling.”

PageRank is the currency of the Web. Google’s novel approach to site
indexing way back when was to evaluate the worthiness of a site based
on how many other sites were linking to it, also taking into account
the worthiness of the sites passing along the links.

This
meant, and still does mean, that a link from a site with a high
PageRank counts for way more than a link from a site with low PageRank.

But how do you get a link from one of those sites? Google’s official
advice: “The best way to get other sites to create relevant links to
yours is to create unique, relevant content that can quickly gain
popularity in the Internet community.” That, of course, sounds like
something your mother would say.

In a Web as vast as this one,
getting attention for a new site, even one with superb content, is a
very difficult undertaking. Bloggers can discuss each other’s work and
help each other build up a following, but if you’re selling a product
or service it can be much more difficult to climb the ranks of search
results for things like “day-trading software” when you’re starting
from scratch.

So Webmasters like Duffield turn to solicitations
for links. Danny Sullivan, who writes about search-engine optimization
for Search Engine Land, says “if you’re a new site, absolutely you want
to be doing link building. But you need to be doing that in a smart
fashion.”

Duffield says he’s very careful to only solicit links
from sites that are related to his product: his pitch for exchanging
links that somehow wound up at our doorstep was addressed to
computer-go@computer-go.org, a mailing list for hobbyists trying to
tackle the difficult chore of building a computer AI system for the
ancient game of go.

That was a mistake, he said; the result of
prematurely hitting send on an e-mail template. Duffield compiles his
targets by searching for sites that are related to finance and stock
trading, and attempts to contact a general e-mail address to pass along
his site’s information and offer a link exchange.

“It’s not
about the actual links so much as it is optimizing search queries,”
Duffield said. “When I figure out a query I want from Google, I can see
the top three positions have this much page rank and this many
positions, and try to beat that out.”

As long as people like
Duffield are exchanging links without offering payment, or crossing
obvious lines such as breaking captchas and posting spam links in
guestbooks or comment forums, they’re following the spirit of Google’s
Webmaster guidelines.

“Where it tends to get into tricky issues
is where people are doing it primarily for payment,” Sullivan said.
“Search engines would see links as votes. Google does not like that
people would simply be buying links to do better.

While paid
links are clearly off-limits, Google appears to ban link exchanges in
general, saying it does not allow “excessive link exchanging” but
failing to define exactly what constitutes “excessive.”

Other
practices that are verboten include links to “bad neighborhoods” on the
Web and complicated networks of several Web sites with little content
but pages and pages of links amongst themselves that Google can usually
identify.

For the most part, however, the practice is rampant
enough that only the most egregious violations get snagged. “If you
start thinking too much about not getting caught, you’re probably doing
things you shouldn’t be doing,” Sullivan said.

In an era where
SEO is a budding industry unto itself, link exchanges are perhaps the
most basic approach. Far below the realm of those dithering over
Google’s search index are those like Duffield trying to make something
out of literally nothing.

While he needs to build PageRank
equity to get started, Duffield acknowledges that at a certain point
that Google is right: a site will live or die on its content. Link
exchanges only work to get one’s name out there: the real boost needed
to turn a Web site into a business comes when real people start
discussing and linking to a service on blogs, message forums, and
social-networking sites.

That’s when your
search ranking (and therefore traffic) really starts to grow, he said.
“If you can make Google see that something is being talked about all
over the Internet, what choice do they have?”

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

1) Open a Google Account: Simply go to Google’s website and sign in.

2) Focus on keywords and keyword phrases: Think of the main keywords someone would enter into a search engine that relates to your product or business. The use keyword tools like Google’s AdWords Suggesion Tool or Wordtracker.

3) Create Ad Groups: Create an ad group for each primary keyword. Use Google’s AdWords Suggestion Tool to find other keywords and make ad groups. Create ad groups for each keyword.

4) Check the number of AdWords campaigns - enter any of your main keywords in the Google search engine and see how many ads are displayed on the right side of the search results. This will tell you how many AdWord campaigns are running already. If there are only a few Google Ads displayed and your targeted keyword is in high demand (high number of searches) you have the opportunity to create a winning ad.

5) Write the ad copy using your keywords and keywords phrases. These ads must be short so make them concise and to the point .

6) Test and monitor your AdWord campaigns - start with 3 adgroups, then keep the other ad groups for later as you monitor your current campaign. Make the necessary changes to your ad copy, keywords or bid prices to improve your clickthrough rate. Google automatically tracks the click through rate for each of your ads.

7) Google Analytics will track your ads for you showing you what’s working best and what isn’t

Last but not least, check your ads account a couple of times a day. Tweak ads that aren’t working.

This will get you started on your way to a successful Google AdWords Campaign. Good luck.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

From where I sit I can easily see Google becoming the new Microsoft: a sleeping giant that grew so fast and so big it was unable to stay out in front of changes that ultimately made it irrelevant. As we all know getting to the top (as Google has done) is one thing, but staying there is another. The internet fuels innovation and is a beacon for brilliant and talented people with boundless ideas relative to how people communicate and interact with each other. These innovators are thinking day and night. Their creativity is flowing and generating excitement. THEY ARE GOOGLE’S REAL COMPETITION. However, it’s impossible to fight them on every front.

Google must act now regarding Twitter. Make them an offer they can’t refuse. Don’t waste a minute. What I know instinctively as a professional who works every day with clients and their PPC and SEO efforts, is that there is a shift happening. SEO/PPC seem “old” and my clients want to talk about leveraging social marketing as their new frontier.

The internet is essentially a human experience, thus IT IS FICKLE. They loved you yesterday, but there’s a new boy in town. He’s fresh ,fun and exciting and everyone is talking about him.

I still love you Google. You have a proven track record and you’ve been good to me. BUT, PLEASE PAY ATTENTION! Your real competition is here right now. Act quickly.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Posted using ShareThis

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Of the most impressive is Yellowbooks.com (owned by AT & T). Not only has Yellowbooks.com initiated a video listing option (with free video production) they also offer “Pay Per Click” packages. These packages guarantee distribution on the major search engine such as Google, Yahoo, MSN etc..etc..etc ..in any pre-specified markets across the country.

According to the rep we spoke with Yellowpages.com has many packages. The end result is that Yellowbooks ads distributed on Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. cost $2.25 per click on average. This is a fantastic price per click for most industries (auto, travel, lawyers) where clicks can cost as much as $10.

According, to our rep Yellowpages.com purchases large blocks of the most desirable keywords (travel, used cars, car dealers, lawyers, etc) from the big search engines as a discount rate and then resells them to their clients.

This reminds of me of the old days when advertising agencies would buy radio and tv ads from stations in bulk at cut rates and then resell them to their clients. This can be risky if no one wants the spots, but the risk/reward ratio usually favors the bulk media buyer.

The question remains, how and when do the Yellowpages ads turn up in a Google search? Keniston & Company is actually testing Yellowpages Pay Per Click package as an alternative to an independent Google Adwords Campaign.

We’ll keep you posted as to how it works out.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Step 1:

Create Your Ad

The key to writing and effective ad is to be specific. For Example:

1. Direct your ad to a landing page rather than your company home page so visitors an easily see your offer.
2. Create at least 3 ads per ad group to test which perform best so you can maximize results.
3. Think like your customer and include features or benefits they are looking for.

Step 2: Optimize Your Keywords

Buyers find ads with their search terms, so to write keywords that work:

1. Ask your employees about words your customers use and add them to your campaign
2. Capitalize on use keystroke mistakes and use keyword tools to address common mistakes
3. Go beyond individual keywords and include relevant phrases.

Step 3: Target Your Customers

Based on what you know bout your customers, you’ll want to:

1. Target by geographic location like city, state, and country
2. Maximize every click by targeting by age and times of day
3. Run ads on specific days of the week or times of the day

Step 4: Manage Your Budget

To get the most out of your budget, you’ll want to:

1. Monitor various bid amounts to find your “sweet spot” between click volume and conversion.
2. Consider raising bid mount over time to gain a high search results page position.
3. Consider lowering bid amounts if you’re happy with lower page positions.

Denise Keniston

CEO

Kenistoncompany.com

* Published in part from Micrsoft AdCenter Promotional Material

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Conversely, I hear less and less discussion about Yahoo!Search Marketing. Very few businesses even give Yahoo a second mention when it comes to Search Engine Marketing. Almost without exception, the excitement and sense of urgency surrounds Google Adwords and rightly so.

As someone who’s on the front lines of the Google Search Revolution while I know it’s possible the economic slowdown will affect Google’s earnings in the short run, I convinced Google’s rein of dominance is just beginninge.

Denise Kensiton

CEO, Keniston & Company

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Keniston & Company produces and syndicates a half hour long television program called, “Treasure Hunt”. This action packed game show is a hit in every market. Teams of two are given $150 and an hours time limit to find and buy items priced well below their actual value. Once the hour is up our Dapper Dan appraiser values the items and the team with the most wins and moves on to the Treasure Hunt Shop-Off where they’re compete for a trip to Europe.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

RADIO SELLS THE INTERNET

The Keniston & Company Traditional Media department works more closely than ever with our Internet Advertising department. A perfect example of this is a campaign we recently launched for our newest client White Hen convenience stores located in and around the Boston area. Our objective for Q1 was twofold: to drive foot traffic to the stores to increase lunch time sales at White Hen’s fantastic deli, and secondly to promote their $.99 coffee campaign (any coffee, and size, and flavor only $.99) Our budget was limited, therefore we decided to advertise exclusively on radio ( no print or television) and if possible fold in some internet advertising as well. What we found is the radio industry is working harder than ever (and doing a pretty good job of it) to quantify and monitize their websites.

All of the major radio stations in the Boston market are aggressively pitching their websites and the biggest and most aggressive is WEEI Sports Radio 850am. The statistics aside, our research came back telling us this site gets a monster amount of traffic every month with live streaming times in excess of 2 hours. It goes without saying that likelihood of the New England Patriots going to the Super Bowl with it’s hero Tom Brady leading the charge makes this site and radio station the most listened in the market.

Our WEEI radio rep. pitched the usual spots packages, but he also had an interesting array of ways to advertise on their website. Among those choices were banner ads and “in person” advertising. If you don’t know, “in person” advertising is nothing more than a “virtual spokesperson” which takes advantage of the internet video boom in an unique way.

WEEI’s demographic is predictably male (80%-20%) split between males and females. To that end, we hired Ally as the White Hen spokesperson. We provided her with several :10 second scripts and taped Ally in front of the green screen at the WEEI studios on Wednesday January 16th . We developed a landing page for White Hen, and set up Google Analytics to track its success or failure.

(White Hen spokesperson seen in bottom right of screen)

WHITE HEN CONVENIENCE STORE Q1 CAMPAIGN:
THE FIRST DAY RESULTS

Our “Virtual Spokesperson” was up and on the site by Tuesday morning with fantastic results. WEEI was able to get us some statistics by the end of the first day as you’ll see in the graphic below.

The results are as follows:

1) WEEI’s Home Page was visited 9122 times giving our client White Hen 9122 impressions

2) Of those 9122 impressions we received 530 click throughs to our landing page

3) That is a CTR or 5.81%

Our thoughts are as follows. According to an informal focus group Keniston & Company conducted many WEEI website viewers didn’t have time to watch and listen to our spokesperson and then to click through to our landing page. Going forward, we believe :25 seconds is a more reasonable time to allow viewers to “take in” the message and then click through. We also believe this will increase our CTR which we hope to be at roughly 15-20%.

Keniston & Company will continue to invest in the website of major radio stations and other traditional advertising agencies will follow suit soon. In the meantime, Keniston & Company is on the forefront of what’s happening in the world of radio and the internet and we’re happy to be there.

Denise Keniston

CEO, Keniston & Company

www.kenistoncompany.com

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

In case you haven’t heard, Restylane, manufactured by Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation, is a natural cosmetic dermal filler that restores volume and fullness to the skin to correct facial wrinkles and folds, such as nasolabial folds. This product is much desired by middle aged American women who want to “add volume” to their shrinking faces. While it’s not as big as the botox craze, Restylane is currently being hawked all over the country by Pharma reps. and doubtless will be on the cosmetic surgery landscape for some time to come.

In any event, none of this would be interesting if it weren’t for the marketing campaign launched by Restylane on YouTube. Am I the only one who thinks the “big-budget-tv-commercial-masquerading-as-amateur-video” idea is DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!! DEAD as hell! Honestly, how predictable can you get? They probably even have a MySpace dedicated to the campaign!! As marketers I thought we were getting paid, in part, to be creative. Push the envelope. Come up with something new. The Restylane-YouTube video along with “Hottest Mom in America” campaign is so yesterday. To the marketers of Restylane, I dare you, I double dare you, to “not” shoot a grainy video and post it on YouTube. I double dare you to find a new outlet! A new and creative way to cut through the noise that permeates all channels of American culture.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=786eiEhBCrA[/youtube]

Bookmark It

Hide Sites