Mobile Basics: SEO & PPC

By the end of 2013 mobile Internet usage will surpass desktop Internet usage. At the same time mobile search will surpass desktop search. To put it another way: in about a year many companies will be more likely to be found on a mobile device than on desktop screens. 

Mobile is taking over the marketing world.

Every marketer at every company needs to understand the basics of mobile SEO and PPC or they will be left behind. And that’s what I want to do today, provide you the basics of mobile SEO and PPC. This is a topic that isn’t written about enough and needs more attention. 

Mobile SEO 
Mobile search is different than desktop search. The rules are different. The metrics are different and the definition of success is different. If you understand the basics of ‘regular’ SEO, you will need to tweak some of your beliefs slightly and then move ahead with mobile SEO. Here are a few basics: 

Get Position 1 or 2 – The higher the better. That’s true of desktop search and mobile search, of course, But, this rule is more extreme and important in mobile than in desktop. Google relayed a stunning statistics during a presentation in Q4 of 2011. They said that CTR dropped 90% from search result position 1 to position 4 on a mobile phone. 90%! The numbers are nowhere near that dramatic in desktop search. If you are in position 4 on a mobile phone you simply do not exist. 


The Phone is Back - Google says that 61% of mobile searches result in a phone call. It is clear from this early period of mobile search that a phone call is the most common and most natural form of engagement for mobile users following a search. Mobile searchers want immediacy and answers. They don’t want to do in-depth research on their mobile phones. They want to make a phone call. The propensity of mobile users to make a phone call is not a bad thing. Your close rates will probably be higher. Our research indicates that you are 15 – 20 times more likely to close a deal if a prospect calls you than if they fill out a form. It just means that rather than focusing on traditional web metrics like CTR or abandon rates, phone metrics will have to enter your marketing analytics picture. 

Local Wins – 40% of Google searches on mobile phones have local intent. Google clearly values local results in the mobile space. If you are a local company, a small business, or even a national company with a local presence, you need to have a Google Places listing, optimize that Google Places listing and get ready for mobile phone calls. 

Other Rules Apply – Backlinks and great content still rule the SEO world. This is true of mobile and desktop. 

PPC Basics 

Shoot for the Call – Google says that click-to-call PPC ads produce 6% to 8% higher conversions than standard mobile PPC ads. Enough said. 

Ad Copy – Mention the call. Even if your ad is not a click-to-call ad it should, at least, contain phrases like ‘call today’ or ‘call right now.’ Phrases like this will increase the likelihood that a mobile searcher will call you. And Google recommends it. 

Separate your mobile campaign in Adwords – The default Google Adwords setting is to simply apply desktop settings to mobile. You shouldn’t. They should be separate because the keywords, ad groups and landing pages (offers) are distinctively different. 

Bid for position 1-2 – Adwords that are below position 2 or 3 will never appear on page 1 in mobile. 

Keyword strategies and Day-Parting - Mobile searches include more misspellings and shorter phrases. This is vital to remember during the buying process. It means you should start broad to discover mobile keyword phrases and then optimize from there. Also, research shows that mobile users use their devices at home and on-the-go. They don’t use their devices at work. This means that desktop Adwords off-hours are mobile on-hours. Run your mobile PPC ads on evenings and weekends. 

Landing Pages – I could (and should) write an entire post about mobile landing pages, but I’ll give you the short version here. The rules for mobile landing pages and desktop landing pages are totally and completely different. Desktop landing pages focus on getting the most information possible from a visitor via filling out a form, while at the same time minimizing friction. Mobile landing pages should focus on producing a phone call or, possibly, getting someone to give you their email address. Mobile forms—if you insist on having one—should have one field in them as opposed to 7-9.

Think click-to-call on the landing page. 

Jason Wells, CEO, ContactPoint

Jason Wells is the CEO of ContactPoint. Their new product, LogMyCalls, represents the next generation of intelligent call tracking and marketing automation. Prior to joining ContactPoint, Jason served as the Senior Vice President of Sony International, where he led the creation and international expansion of Sony’s mobile business line from London. Jason has spoken on marketing topics at SES New York, SES Toronto, Ad Tech, Digital Hollywood, Nokia World, CTIA and elsewhere. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
To read Jason’s work please add LogMyCalls to your Google+ circles and follow them on Twitter.

Facebook Marketing: Looking Towards the Future

The recent announcement about Facebook going public mean a lot for marketers.  You might be asking yourself whether or not the $38 stock price is a good buy.  Personally, I think the stock price itself is meaningless.  What's significant is the fact that Facebook, much like Google, is here to stay.

It's quite conceivable that Facebook will morph and change significantly over the next few years.  But the reality is that they can.  Companies like FB and Google have something that most small companies do not - resources.  And when you combine social and marketing companies with resources, something amazing happens.  That something is innovation.

If you remember a time before Google Adwords and pay-per-click advertising, marketing was drastically different.  We were more focused on print ads, print advertising, and direct response.  At the time we didn't know how limited we were with regard to user information, behavioral data, and community.  One of the reasons marketing has changed so significantly is because large companies were in a position to bring innovations to the marketing world.

Facebook is in the same boat.  Now they have even greater resources to invest in innovation and taking the marketing community to the next level.  I don't know what they have in store but once thing is certain - they wont stand still.  Begin a public company all eyes will be on Facebook, quarter after quarter and year after year.  This pressure combined with billions in assets gives them not only the incentive to innovate but the resources as well.

It seems like everyday, small companies like Instagram and others come out of the woodwork but the reality is that they are far and few between.  Those you read about are often started in a college dorm room (where I would argue there is little or no risk) or are backed by large investors.  I think innovation would happen without these scenarios but it would take much long and the results would likely be far less interesting. 

Just as Google has brought major changes to the online world, so will Facebook.  As is true with most advertising platforms, the systems start off by copying what's already out there.  In time, they develop innovations of their own.  And finally, because the platform has so much of the addressable market, the technology is distributed and soon everyone has adopted a new advertising model.

I believe this is the trend we will see with Facebook.  Look for the blue giant to innovate and raise the bar when it comes to reaching or influencing potential customers.  They have the platform, they have the audience, and now, they have the incentive to innovate.  This is a perfect storm for once again changing how marketing is done!

Be Part of the Marketing Community

As the SCOOP marketing forum closes in on 5,000 members, I want to reflect on the importance of being part of the marketing community.  Some time ago, I reached out to a fellow, well known marketer, looking to collaborate on a project.  Even though this marketer got back to me, he wasn't very friendly.  In fact, when I asked him if he'd be interested in working together...his response, "I work alone."  

Ouch, that wasn't cool.  No wonder this guy isn't really part of our community.After I got over the fact that this guy was a jerk, I actually felt sorry for him.  Much of my successes in live have come from collaborations and working with others who I respected and met through marketing related communities, activities, or meetings.  My latest book, Blogging Made Simple, was a collaborative effort with a well respected blogger, Justin Freid, and I couldn't have written that book without him.  We are both part of the blogging community and it was our collaboration that made us successful.

My forum, SCOOP Marketing Forum, now one of the fastest growing marketing forums online, was a collaborative effort with a good friend and business partner Dan Murphy.  I never could have imagined that the community we've built would be so amazing!  I also met Dan through Internet marketing. And that's really the purpose of this post - to share with you the possible successes that come from being an active member in a marketing community.

When you engage others, not only can you contribute but you'll learn a great deal and likely make lifelong friends.  So what are you doing to be active in the community?  Are you visiting and actually writing posts on forums? blogs? Interacting through developing content? writing?  The great part about being and integral member of the marketing community is that you never know where it will lead you.

Reach out, get engaged, and you'll see the benefits.  I hope to see you on the SCOOP marketing forum or somewhere else in the community!

Best Practices: How to Build a Rewards-Based Loyalty Program That Is Engaging To Your Customers

Rewards-based loyalty programs can be highly effective marketing tactics for B2B and B2C businesses aiming to drive customer engagement and specific, desired business goals and objectives. These loyalty programs should, in essence, be communication vehicles providing robust reward offerings and frequent and relevant touch points to keep participants actively engaged.

However, loyalty programs contain several variable components and each business and audience is different. There is no silver bullet in loyalty program creation, no off-the-shelf program design that will work for every business. Because of this, the following best practice considerations should be taken when designing a loyalty program to effectively speak to your customers:

Defining loyalty: Businesses can easily confuse loyalty programs with frequency programs or relationship programs, but it is crucial to know the difference. A frequency program is designed to incite customers to simply buy more, more often. A relationship program means that there is a basic level of interaction established between business and customer. A true loyalty program involves a company knowing who the customer is, how often they buy and what products they prefer. With this information a company can then deliver custom, relevant information to each customer, which will trigger specific, desired behaviors. 

Businesses should also consider that an “active” loyalty program participant frequently engages with the program in a number of ways and is regularly redeeming smaller, more frequent rewards, rather than saving up for one, large-ticket reward and seldom engaging with the program sponsor. 

Understanding audience and defining goals:Loyalty programs have been around for a long time, but their value remains. 2011 Parago research showed that 77% of consumers report that stores offering rewards-based loyalty programs incite them to shop more, and 83% of consumers said that these loyalty programs influence their purchasing decisions. However, amidst the current lagging economic climate, consumers have also become more empowered in the shopping process. Customers know that their loyalty is a hot commodity. With this in mind, marketers are challenged to create loyalty programs that are unique, rewarding and most of all personalized. And within each company’s customer base are a variety of types of consumers, which must be understood.

Each business will have top-performing and low-performing customers. This is typical. The key is to create meaningful structure and segments and provide separate rewards that speak to each group. Gone are the days of a blanket loyalty program that will speak to a company’s entire audience.

For example, brand loyalists may most enjoy a reward associated with the brand, such as branded apparel or merchandise. But a mid-level loyalist may prefer cash back or coupons.  And whereas price and discounts are more important to lower performing customers, top performers place more value on the experience – such as VIP treatment and exclusive services.

Structuring reward mix: When meaningful reward options are delivered in a timely fashion, customers will be wowed and will continually come back for more. Once a customer is truly impressed in this way, their perception of the sponsoring company is increased and so is retention.

Customers that are engaged and satisfied with loyalty programs are those that are frequently redeeming their rewards and engaging. Providing customers multiple ways to earn credit or points towards rewards will effectively boost engagement and overall performance. If there are not multiple ways to earn and point values are not aligned with earning potential and award mix, then participants will become less engaged in the program and will likely churn as a customer.

Earning points doesn’t always have to be tied to purchasing a product; participating in surveys or games are also cost-effective ways for customers to earn credit, and companies to gain more value and interaction.  The more opportunities to drive customers to the program website, and to earn and redeem rewards through various behaviors, the closer the sponsoring business will be to increasing retention long-term.

Properly aligning the point values with the award mix is extremely important. Merchandise offerings are very popular in loyalty programs, but if the point value is $0.01 and the customer can only earn 100 points for each behavior, they will only be earning $1.00 at a time. This structure makes it very difficult for a customer to earn enough points to “burn” them on something meaningful if high-priced merchandise is the only option. So if $0.01/point is desired, then a more attainable reward offering should be considered – such as gift cards.

Communication: Before planning communications for a loyalty program, the business must fully develop the key messages, and the desired behaviors of the customer. Each industry, company and program will be different.

From there, companies should consider what frequency of communication will be most effective. Is it necessary to communicate monthly? Only when customers purchase? Only when customers reach certain thresholds? There is no right answer because each audience will have different preferences. In fact, within each company’s customer base will be consumers that prefer differing levels of communications, just like varied reward preferences exist.

Next is determining which communications mechanisms are most effective for each customer. In today’s hyper-connected world there are myriad options: email, snail mail, text, phone call, social media and more. Communications can’t be one dimensional, either. Program messages included in emails and text messages have to also be echoed by sales associates and with in-store awareness.

Finally, businesses must try to be as “real time” as possible in the execution and communication of their loyalty programs, in order to keep customers engaged. For example, sales associates proactively telling customers how many points they have and assisting them in redemption during the sales process will be highly rewarding. Conversely, a loyalty program that remains hidden solely on a website or kiosk will be cumbersome to clients and easily forgotten.

Technology platform: The reward environment must be built with the customer in mind. Making the program tools simple to use and easy to understand is key. This is another area where marketers have the choice of tailoring the loyalty program specifically to their customers. Should the program be completely managed online?  Have social media components? Include mobile components? Most programs now have an intersection of one or more of these options, but considerations must be made in accordance with customer profile and preferences. 

Measurement:

All of these options for personalization can only be made with the use of targeted, frequent measurement of the loyalty program success. To make sure that the program is moving the needle, companies must define a set of controls to understand success metrics and then continuously measure against them and optimize the program. Are certain rewards very seldom redeemed? Replace them with something that could be more valuable to the customer. Are desired behaviors very rarely seen after text message communications? Perhaps an email communication would be more effective. Is customer service frequently flooded with requests for support? Online support and FAQs could help satisfy the customers, etc.

Achieving Satisfaction:

True loyalty is attained when both engagement and satisfaction converge. When a customer is truly satisfied they become excited and want to find more reasons to participate, i.e. they purchase more products or buy a product from another line of business to earn points or credits faster. Ongoing, active status in a loyalty program will eventually result in customers feeling like part of a trusted community. In return, they will reciprocate the feeling with continual support of the brand.

By Glen Holbert. Glen Holbert is the Executive Vice President of Sales at Parago, a leading provider of end-to-end engagement management programs for consumers, sales channels and employees. Glen joined Parago in 2008 with over 20 years of sales and leadership experience in the incentives industry. He is responsible for the revenue growth of the organization, building and maintaining a solutions sales organization, and expanding the company’s reach into new industry segments and programs. Prior to joining Parago, Glen worked with some of the nation’s leading incentive companies including MotivAction, LLC, BI Performance, Maritz Inc., and Marketing Innovators International.

AMA Podcast: Making Those Penguins Go Away

Just a quick post today to share my latest interview for the American Marketing Association.  Sponsorship Program Manager, Anna Carbonara asked me a variety of questions about SEO... good timing given the recent Penguin Update by Google.  


Listen to the interview as I share some of my best search engine optimization secrets for achieving a top ranking for your website or blog. Access the podcast here!

Staying Current With Google: This Month, Penguins!

One of the most important aspects of search engine optimization (SEO) is staying current with the latest updates to the Google algorithm.  At the end of last month, Google announced their latest update: Penguin.    

The goal of this update to how the search engine ranks websites is quite simple and consistent with previous updates – to eliminate spam in Google organic search results. Each time a new update is released, rankings of established sites change.  This is due to the way in which Google weighs the authority or importance of a website.  

Which websites were impacted the most?

Google has yet to share their secret sauce with us, but we know that algorithm updates have an impact on existing search results.  Where you’re ranked for a given keyword is based on a number of factors such as web site age, site load speed, inbound links, and so on.  Sites that have a significant number of inbound links that were acquired in an unnatural way have been largely discredited. 

Due to the nature of SEO, Google can detect if you acquired inbound links quickly or from non-authoritative sites.  As such, they have removed their authority or influence when calculating search rankings.  Google sees artificial link building as ‘gaming the system’ and therefore discredited sites that depend on this method for inflating their own authority.

Google has openly encouraged websites to improve their rankings through natural link building instead of artificially.  Sites that create valuable content including white papers, widgets, or other quality content, attract links from other websites pointing to their content.  In addition, social media sharing and bookmarking signal to Google that a particular site is seen as valuable.

Which Sites Survive the Penguin SEO Update and Which Get Burned?

Sites that engage in link building in an unnatural way are more easily identified and therefore impacted by the most recent Google algorithm changes.  Examples of poor link building techniques include: paying for links, duplicating anchor text, submitting duplicate content to article directories, and acquiring links from questionable sites.  Your authority is directly related to the quality of the sites pointing to your website.  If you’re only getting links from a bad neighborhood, that doesn’t look good.

The truth of the matter is that Google’s Penguin update took another step forward in their quest to provide quality search results.  By discounting sites designed simply for the purpose of passing authority from one site to the other, as well as non-authoritative sites, Google is focused on improving the quality of their results.

The best strategy has been, and always will be, the development of quality content for your website.  If you want to stay in Google’s good graces, think differently about your link building techniques.  Focus more on your own website and the value you can create for others.  By creating value and a positive user experience, you’ll attract links from other sites naturally and improve your rankings.