Based on the public reaction to Google’s launch of the +1 feature for paid search ads, players in the SEM industry can be categorized into two camps: the folks who are immediately dismissing it as the next Google Wave (i.e. a soon-to-fail attempt at competing against Facebook in the social media sphere) and the folks that are choosing to just wait and see.  For those not in the know, the +1 feature allows people with Google profiles to click on a +1 button to recommend either a paid or an organic search result.  That person’s recommendations are publicly shared with his or her contacts on Google. (more…)

As a rapidly growing agency, Rise has the opportunity to audit a plethora of Paid Search (PPC) programs, and we’ve developed a strategy for analyzing PPC marketing campaigns that includes what we believe are the primary areas to focus on.  When analyzing a PPC program, you should always consider campaign structure, budget allocation, text ad copy, landing pages, quality score, bid strategy and reporting.  All these areas are crucial in a PPC program and should be part of any PPC audit process.  More detailed audits can include other components but an analysis of these seven components will provide significant insight into an account’s  status and how to improve performance if necessary. (more…)

Dayparting (as it relates to Paid Search) is a fairly simple concept, but one many companies have failed to utilize.  Simply, dayparting is the act of limiting or suspending part of your PPC program during certain periods (and running more advertising during your peak periods).  Today I will answer two main questions:

1. Who should be using dayparting (and why)?

2. How do I determine my peak periods? (more…)

As with many tools Google rolls out to its audience, there is a lot of buzz regarding a new feature the search giant is slowly releasing to advertisers: Automated Rules. As the title of this blog implies, we feel this functionality is a double-edged sword. While the automation is definitely desirable (and something that many advertisers pay substantial monthly fees to implement), it is very important to consider all impact any automation might have on your program. (more…)

Before everyone gets out their chairs to start a chain of comments, I ask that you notice the question mark at the end of the title. As you’ll see, we’re really just discussing one aspect of the long-tail keyword – competition (and saturation). First, I want to give a quick overview of the historical perspective on the long-tail keyword. Then, I’ll show some interesting data regarding recent trends in paid search (PPC) marketing. Some of this information may truly surprise you! (more…)

Rise was recently asked to participate in the beta program for a new Google Adwords feature, Contact Form extensions. Google is continuing their trend of innovating Paid Search with another extension (Site Links, Location and Product Listing extensions are the other features rolled out recently). We’re quite excited to participate in the test to determine this feature’s feasibility for lead generation programs. We’re also a little apprehensive about the feature and beta test, as we’ll discuss later in this blog. (more…)

***Rise Interactive is in the running for the People’s Choice Award given out by the Chicago Innovation Awards for FeedPro. We need your vote! http://bit.ly/dsHr7b***

One major challenge facing e-commerce clients, especially as we move into the holiday season, is managing product-based paid search campaigns as efficiently as possible. It is quite common for e-commerce retailers to bid on product-specific keywords, such as product name, model number and SKU. There are three scenarios of inefficiency that are unique to e-commerce retailers:

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Google announced the rollout of Google Instant on Wednesday to a chorus of questions and concerns from various members of the industry. While most concerns focus on the impact of Google Instant on SEO, I want to take some time to discuss the impact of this change on Paid Search (PPC) programs. (more…)

While setting up a recent Paid Search (PPC) campaign, the client asked, “Why should we spend money on branded terms? We’re already in the top positions in natural search.” This is a common question, especially for site owners that have spent considerable resources in SEO. Many companies believe that if they’re number 1 in the natural search listings (through SEO efforts), their work is done. There are three reasons we’ll discuss why almost every company should include branded keywords in their PPC campaigns. (more…)

For those agencies and marketers with a total focus on ROI, sometimes branding campaigns can be confounding.  How can I measure the effectiveness of my branding campaign to optimize performance?  The answer is something we call a “Brand Metrics Calculator”.  A Brand Metrics Calculator will convert all brand touch points into a common unit, and thus a common financial value.  This way the marketer can determine the effectiveness of multiple brand touch points and shift budget accordingly, as they would say in determining that a paid search campaign generates leads at a lower cost than say a banner campaign.   While this is not by any means an exact science, it allows the marketer to make data-driven decisions on how to invest marketing funds. (more…)