Category: SEM

Join more than one thousand search marketers next week to discover actionable tactics that will drive more traffic, leads, and sales: Attend SMX online, December 8-9, for just $249! Your All Access pass unlocks 45+ tactic-rich sessions programmed by the Search Engine Land experts you know and trust, covering crucial topics like… Google algorithms and penalties Optimizing code for semantic HTML5 Emergent digital commerce channels 2021 digital advertising trends Budget-friend paid search strategies Google My Business optimization … and beyond. You’ll learn from seasoned search marketers including Elizabeth Marsten, Brad Geddes, John Mueller, Zenia Johnson, Peter Meyers,…

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Smaller search engines are able to monetize their results with Google’s advertiser base to reach searchers on those properties with as few obstacles as possible. DuckDuckGo is a search engine that was founded in 2008 with a focus on protecting searchers’ privacy, notably showing all searchers the same search results and refraining from building profiles of its users. Its search volume has risen steadily over the years, and in October 2020 was up to nearly 60 million queries daily. This rise could be evidence that Google’s dominance is not prohibitive…

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In part 2 of his series on evaluating PPC candidates, columnist Brett Middleton shares some tests you can administer to determine whether a potential hire is a good fit for your business. Previously, we discussed how to find good PPC candidates for your particular company, but now it’s time to evaluate those candidates. It comes down to this: You’ve held dozens of interviews with candidates almost impossible to tell apart. They all have similar credentials. They’ve worked in the right industry or environment, have used similar tools to what your…

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Whether you’re taking on a new account or reviewing one you’ve already been managing, columnist Amy Bishop’s tips will help you uncover optimization opportunities. Maybe you’re looking for ways to improve your paid search account, or maybe you’re looking at your agency’s newest prospect with fresh eyes. It could be that performance seems to be off lately, or maybe you’re just looking for some new testing ideas. Whatever your reasons, auditing even the most well-kept account is sure to stir up some opportunities for improvement. Not sure where to start?…

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PPC automation is not “PPC on autopilot” so you need to keep monitoring the machines to avoid mediocre results. Explore Silicon Valley and you’ll see the bubble-topped Waymo minivans essentially “self-teaching” how to drive without a human in charge. In air transportation, the largest and most modern jets are becoming almost foolproof, with the pilots in command for less and less of any given flight. Automation is great… when applied as one part of a more strategic approach to solving needs in our society. But automation isn’t foolproof. It’s not…

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It’s great to proactively manage your paid search accounts, but columnist Ted Ives makes the case for backing off a little when it comes to bid adjustments. The AdWords advertising system utilizes an auction-like process to decide which advertisers’ ads get to show and in which order. By bidding higher or lower, you can appear at higher or lower positions — depending on what your competitors are bidding. Account managers use many approaches for setting and tweaking bids over time, and bid optimization is one of the oldest features in…

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There are 4 steps to evaluate your investment of branded keywords – judge performance then segment and calculate incrementality and adjust your targets based on that incrementality. Advertising on branded keywords is often misunderstood. Advertisers either take too much credit for branded keywords, or they deem the impact of branded keywords completely zero (Did eBay just prove that paid search ads don’t work?). The question that is often asked: Should we invest in branded keywords? However, the question we should ask: How much should we invest in branded keywords to have…

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Brands may be at Google’s mercy when it comes to the price of branded traffic, but Columnist Andy Taylor outlines steps they can take to reduce their CPC pain. In Q1 and Q2 of 2017, Merkle (my employer) reported on a positive trend for advertisers that showed a decline in brand cost per click (CPC) year over year. The CPC of brand terms is often determined by Google’s algorithm as opposed to the competitive landscape, so brands are often left to Google’s mercy in determining the price paid for this…

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Earlier this year, Facebook broke some bad news. Organic reach is officially being choked, making it harder for brands to reach the audiences they’ve worked so hard to build. Because of this, I believe marketers will look to SEM (search engine marketing) to recapture lost attention. The problem is, there’s already so much competition. How […] Earlier this year, Facebook broke some bad news. Organic reach is officially being choked, making it harder for brands to reach the audiences they’ve worked so hard to build. Because of this, I believe…

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Contributor Brett Middleton explores the current challenges and opportunities facing this budding industry, given the differences in local, state and federal regulations across the US. The cannabis industry is one of the fastest-growing in the US, with a diverse and exciting startup landscape. And yet, it faces an uphill battle when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) and marketing. There are no AdWords or Facebook advertising programs available and no current opportunities to advertise a cannabis company among any of the larger advertising platforms. This seems unlikely…

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