Before we get to the Q&A, a little background on Kevin. He has been working in PPC and SEO for over 5 Years in the Kansas City area. He currently works for Sweet Spot Marketing, an Overland Park agency dedicated to providing online marketing services.

Question 1. Pay Per Click (PPC) What is PPC in 100 words or less?

Pay Per Click primarily refers to the sponsored listings in search results. These ads appear in the right column, & depending on the keyword search, can also range from 0-4 ads above the SEO rankings. Advertisers bid on a cost-per-click model in a silent auction setting. Search engines rank ads based on the advertisers bid and quality score. Ad impressions are free, the only time the advertiser is charged is when the searcher clicks on the ad.

Question 2. What is the major difference between PPC and SEO?

PPC is paid placement similar to a newspaper ad. To get a PPC ad live in search results can take a matter of minutes. SEO rankings are often called organic rankings because no money exchanges hands with the search engines. SEO ranking factors are derived from complex algorithms based not only on how a site is built, but how the site is perceived in relationship to the rest of the web.

Question 3. Why should I spend money online when I already have ads inthe newspapers or phone books?

All surveys and studies in the last 8-10 years have shown exponential growth in online usage. Consider your target audience and you may find that they have not subscribed to a newspaper or looked at a phonebook in years. With the online cost model, and the amount of analysis and transparency you receive, the question today might be why are you still buying ads in the newspaper or yellow pages?

Question 4. How would PPC benefit my company?

PPC is great for 2 main reasons. 1) You can manage costs to hit your return on investment goals and show profitability in advertising and 2) PPC can reach targeted masses who are interested in you. You only pay when someone clicks on your ad, so you can be sure the advertising budget is wisely spent.

Question 5. If my product / company is already ranked pretty high in search results should I still use PPC?

Yes. You should not think in terms of SEO vs. PPC. The companies that do it right know how one can one help the other. I’m sure every company can find places where their organic rankings are weak, or the competition is strong, and having the additional real-estate on the page makes a real difference.

Question 6. Do I have to spend thousands of dollars a month like my big competitors do to get comparable results?

Most companies will keep spending money as long as they are making money. A larger budget almost always means larger sales volume, but that doesn’t mean all those sales came at the same profit margin. A good PPC manager can maximize the budget based on conversion metrics so you get the maximum number of sales, while remaining at the proper profit margin.

Question 7. Where should I advertise on the internet google, yahoo msn, or facebook?

This can be a case by case basis, and I recommend you consult your PPC manager. Facebook and other content network sites are good for certain goals. From a sheer search volume perspective, Google has more searches that Yahoo or Bing have combined, so you should likely start there.

Question 8. We are getting ready to launch a new project what is the best way to get the most coverage?

“Coverage” can mean many things. The number of keywords, geo-targeting, content network, etc… If you don’t know the answers to these question first, consult someone who can help you. For example, if you are a B2B service you may want to have a lot of keywords, but only target a certain metro from 8-5 Monday-Friday. It all goes back to what are the goals and budget. After that, someone with experience can tailor a campaign to get you the best coverage not the most.

Question 9. We have pretty good site traffic but we do not get many conversions. Why?

If the traffic keywords are relevant, consider landing page optimization. Have you tested different landing pages and call to actions to see if you can improve this?

Question 10. If I make a website will I have hundreds of sales per day right away?

Likely not. Consider your online business like a typical brick and mortar location. It may take weeks or months to attract regular clients and spread the word. As you get feedback and data, you refine processes and optimize the PPC marketing to get better over time. Eventually you become better and hit your goals.

Question 11. I did a search for my company name and it shows up on a map in the search results why does it do that?

Map listings are another way search engines are connecting searchers with companies. You can claim and verify your listing to add more information about your company and get more placements.

If  you have any more questions about PPC please feel free to contact us or contact Kevin over at Sweet Spot Marketing

1. Directories – Go to Google or your favorite search engine and enter in the type of company you are and directory. For example for KC Web Geeks I would enter Web Design Directory.   Once the search has been completed go though and open all of the links in either new windows or tabs this way you can keep your search results handy.  Start looking at the sites that you have open and start submitting your business.  Some of them will be free others will not be.  Just read over the site suggestion or submission rules / regulations before hitting the submit button.  Some will even require to have a link or button of their website on yours. This will be your decision if you think by having their link or button on your site would be worth the “advertising” space they will be given.

2. Facebook – are you on Facebook? Do you have lots of Facebook friends? if so create a Facebook page for your company.  Once you have created it added a few photos and maybe even pulled in your favorite RSS feeds.  invite all of your friends to come be a fan of your company. Also ask them to invite all of their friends as well.  This is simply no different than a word of mouth advertising campaign.  Just like your website you can choose to update this as little or as much as you want. The more you update it the more people will be reminded about your company with status updates.  While you are setting up your Facebook account have a look at ours and friend us.  KC Web Geeks on Facebook.

3. Twitter -  If you are not familiar with twitter please head on over to the Twitter Wikipedia page. Not all companies are suited for a twitter account.  keep in mind with twitter the most important part of it is the social interaction between users.  If you do not engage with other users they will simply think the account was  just set up to take up the twitter name. Twitter will only be as successful as you make it to be by the interaction you create.  People still like to be talked to and interacted with just as if we were standing next to each other talking. Even though its all electronic.  You will also want to create a twitter profile that briefly explains who you are and link to your site.  A catchy but nice looking background is also a must in this day and age.  One cant forge the profile photo or avatar.  Many company’s will connect their twitter account to their blog to let everyone on their twitter followers list that something new has been posted.  To see an example of completed twitter account head on over to the KC Web Geeks twitter account and friend us.

4. A Blog – Creating a company blog can help show that you are using your website. Not only is it beneficial from a client perspective it is also liked by Google.  Having web content that changes often will be cause for people to come back to your site. Also it allows Google spider your site more often and notice a change. Some topics you can blog about are things that are going on in your industry, current events or news about your company.  Keep in mind you might not want to blog about Janet’s daughter Susie losing a tooth.

5. A Newsletter – Does your company put out a newsletter? If not you might want to think about starting one. They can be both printed mail or e-mail. A newsletter does not have to go out every week but it does need to be consistent. You can always start with a bi-annual newsletter and depending on how successful it is and how much news you have to talk about you can always add more though out the year.  You will need to add a newsletter sign up and unsubscribe option to your site.  The other option is to use a free or relatively inexpensive system to do all the heavy lifting for you.  MailChimp and Contstant Contact are some of the best services on the market.

There are many more things you can do to help improve your brand that we will continue with in coming weeks.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us and we always welcome your comments.

~ Adam

Today a very interesting  subject line caught my eye: “Making Ideas Happen: RSS Creativity, The Yes Men, Pink Sumo Wrestlers” This came from Behance.  A design and creative idea market place. They provide helpful and inspirational tidbits about creative subjects.  What caught my eye was not the “RSS Creativity” nor the “The Yes Men” it was the “Pink Sumo Wrestlers”. Why this caught my eye I have no idea. I opened the email and starting looking for the bit about the Pink Sumo Wrestlers. I did not find it so I went directly to the website.

I have become a perfect lead for them. I opened the email and went directly to the site to read the article.

How does your company treat email marketing? Have you seen successes with Witty Subject Lines?