I Met a Rockstar at Search Engine Strategies/Chicago

I attended Search Engine Strategies in Chicago yesterday.  Not a bad show and I liked some of what I saw from exhibitors, especially the Trellian keyword demo.

The highlights were 2 presentations on landing page optimization and pay-per-click strategies.  Getting people to your site and converting them to customers, donors, volunteers, advocates, partners, etc are the 2 major keys to website success and ROI.

David Szetela heads up Clix Marketing in Louisville and he conducted the Power PPC Advertising Clinic.  He presented great information and in a way that even beginners could understand, which was important because some of the attendees are working on sites with partners or vendors.  David's tips and insights will help them manage their paid campaigns.

Half way thru his presentation, I'm thinking, "This guy is good!"  The information terrific and easily understood.  Then, I learned that he really is a ROCKSTAR!  He hosts PPC Rockstars on Webmaster Radio.  You should check it out.  It's available on iTunes.  I'd suggest reading his blog too.

Let me share some of the takeaways:

Strive for only one possible action on landing pages.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) AND Pay-Per-Click used together are worth more than the sum of their parts. (10 organic links plus 60 PPC links = 100)

50% of web surfers do not type in a URL into their browser, they type the domain name into the search box. SEO and PPC can really help attract new users because so many surfers use the default search engine page when they begin searching. (We've noticed this a lot in website traffic reports.  We'll see www.thedomainname.com as one of the keywords used to find the site.)

Use a benefit or call to action in your paid search ads.  It helps improve conversion. "Free shipping!" at end of URL works better than in the headline.

He spent a lot of time discussing the use of descriptive words or actions in the web address you show at the bottom of your ad.  If my website development firm were selling refrigerators, the URL www.WebAsylum.com/refrigerators will convert better that www.WebAsylum.com.

Ads don't need to be in the top 10 to be profitable.  He has some running as low as 35th place that are more profitable than ads that appear higher.  A good mix of both helps the overall campaign.

Here's a tip I think he attributed to Perry Marshall.  If you keep searching on the same term in Google (sometimes a dozen times or more), Google ultimately delivers what they think are the best ads (highest quality score) for that particular keyword or phrase.

Capitalize initial letters in a domain name.  www.WebsiteROIGuy.com is better than www.websiteroiguy.com.  However, initial caps works best with American visitors and less well outside the U.S.

Landing pages should reassure visitors that they have come to the right page.  In most cases have ONE offer or callout and reduce or eliminate all off-page links.  If your ad is promoting, cooking ranges for example, you can show a selection of ranges with links to specific products.  Don't have the landing page for a "range" ad also show refrigerators.

Don't show too many products.  Additional products they are not expecting will lower conversions.

Place the action button on the lower right of the page.  That's where people expect it.

Test everything, even the caps recommendation above.  Split testing of ads and landing pages should be done frequently.  Keep what works best.

Google considers mis-spellings as unique - so bid on all mis-spellings.  One additional example was a woman who bids on the term "Christmas ornaments."   He recommended also bidding on "Christmasornaments."

David Szetela doesn't have the big hair many rockstars do and he didn't eat a live bat during the presentation, but I thought his performance was terrific.

This stuff will help your ROI.

More rockstar stuff from SES later today!

-- Kurt Scholle

Comments

[David Szetela]

Thanks, Kurt!

-David

[Los Angeles seo]

hi kurt! i wanna say thank you for the information you've shared in your site.
-faith-

[Brisbane SEO]

A search-engine friendly Web site is a user-friendly, search-friendly, and persuasive site that converts visitors into buyers.Additionally, the site must satisfy the needs of site visitors. Ultimately, the site must be profitable for the Web site owner.

[seo consultant]

Hi,
Very nice informative post.SEO is a long time process and we can have the results we want in just one click..

[Jeff Korhan]

Kurt - Cool stuff. I'll spend some time with it. This is a post that rocks!

[cheap domain names]

i would have loved to go to this class. i need to learn more about seo work.

[increase website traffic]

this is so good to see. you need to keep going with this.