Category Archives: Advertising

This is my place to talk about advertising that actually works

2011 SEO Ranking Factors

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I had the honor to hear Rand Fishkin present the 2011 SEO ranking factors. This was probably the best presentation on SEO I have even been to and I just had to share the 4 things that I thought were amazing to learn!

130 top SEO gurus got together and filled out in depth surveys to figure out what helps you rank on Google. Rand and the SEOmoz data scientist built models and backed their findings. He did want everyone to understand that all of these findings could simply be correlations and not the root cause.

Here were my key takeaways:

#1 Getting Links is still a big part of it.

Nothing out of the ordinary here. The more people linking to you the better.

But the percentage of how much a pointing link actually matters overall dropped from 2009. In 2009 it was 67% and now it is 43%. Other factores are starting to matter more now.

2011 Search Ranking Factors

#2 No follows count.

Google likes it when you comment, tweet, and have profiles across the web. It shows that you are a human and will help your links rank higher. So don’t just get people to link to your blog. Comment and contribute to other peoples blogs and social profiles.

#3 Short URLs

The norm has been the more keywords you can stuff in your URL the better. This isn’t the case based on the data Rand presented. Google does like clean URLs but try to make them short when possible.

#4 Get authority figures to tweet your link

If you can get real people to tweet about you it alerts google that you have an important link. It also helps if you can get a twitter use with authority to tweet your link (a verified account or someone with a lot of followers)

A shortened version of the presentation I saw is available online here and the complete data set finding is available here.

Did any of 4 items that I listed above surprise you?

#1 Way to Get Sales: Tell Customers What They Want

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I just did a guest blog post for Everything PR that talks about my sales experience at Sears and how I learned how to sell washing machines. I also go through 7 examples of companies (EverNote, Sharpie, Ginzametrics, Odwalla, Bose, and others) that do an amazing job telling customers what they want. Check out the post here.

Shazam is The Future of TV Advertising

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Shazam LogoI never saw this coming. Shazam has completely transformed the TV Advertising experience. Big brands have already started embracing it. All you need to do is whip out your phone and Shazam the tune playing during the ad and it will direct you to a mobile site where you can directly buy the product.

Tide and Old Navy have been playing ads with Shazam nationally. Here is the Old Navy ad.

Screen Shot of Old Navy Ad displaying the Shazam Icon on YouTube

The Old Navy ad is very cool. You can buy the exact outfit the person is wearing on click of the “Shop The Look” button after you Shazam the song playing in the commercial.

Shazam and OldNavy Iphone Screen Shot

Shazam has done something awesome for TV ads. Increase conversions! No longer do you have to direct the viewer to a website address. What are the chances that someone will whip out their phone and actually type in the web URL? Very low… I don’t think I have ever done it. Conversions from TV Ad -> product view -> purchase is going to be on the up and up!

Another major benefit is we can now have a better understanding of how well TV Advertisements perform.

Way to go Shazam! Brilliant name, brilliant technology, and now brilliant application to TV advertising.

How to Find Keywords that Will Get You Paying Customers

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A question I get asked a lot is how to find good keywords that will bring new paying customers. I got inspired by SEOMoz’s 10 Steps to Great SEO and decided to do a full step by step write up on finding keywords.

Step 1: Get into the mind of the customers

Miss Cleo Comic talking about using your psychic powers to get into the mind of the customerIf you already have an existing customer base. Go through your email interactions with them. What are they asking for when they contact you? Start creating a list of all the keywords they mention in their email.

If you don’t have an existing customer (like in most cases). Describe your product to potential new customers and have them explain it back to you. Write down all the keywords they say.

The goal here is to come up with keywords that address customer wants. When in doubt ask yourself this question: “What will they Google?”

You should have a list of at least 20 keywords. The more keywords you can come up with at this stage the better. Remember their are no bad keywords at this stage.

Example: My product is HapTap – The first toy for Instant Messaging.

Keywords: Keyboard, Toy Keyboard, Emoticon Keyboard, Fun Keyboard, Kids Keyboard, Smiley Face Keyboard, Web Chat Keyboard, Fun Computer Peripherals, Fun Peripherals, USB add-on keyboard, Geeky Toys, Nerd Toys, USB Toys, Gift for Kids, Mini Kid Keyboard, Computer Toys, Laptop Toys, Computer LapTop Toy

Step 2: Compile a list of keywords and dump it into an Excel spreadsheet with the following columns:

A. Keyword
B. Search Volume
C. Keyword Difficulty
D. Estimated Conversion Rate
E. Estimated Average Conversion Rate
F. Heat Index

Screen Shot of the Keyword Template Spreadsheet

I created an Excel Spreadsheet template. Click on the button below to download it.

Download Free Keyword Spreadsheet

Step 3: Look at the the keyword volume using Google Adwords Keyword Tool for each keyword. Enter in the keyword volume into your spreadsheet.

Screen shot of the Google Adwords External Keyword Tool

Some of your keywords will have a “-” under “Global Monthly Searches” this pretty much means no one is searching for that keyword.

Step 4: Determine difficulty by Googling that keyword and seeing who else ranks for it.

You can use SEOmoz’s tool that gives you an actual percentage of what the exact difficulty is.

Or… you can also do a poor mans version of this:
Assign 80% Value – If WikiPedia is the #1 link for that keyword – The Difficulty is Hard
Assign 60% Value – If a reputable brand (Amazon, Walmart, etc) is the #1 link for that keyword – The Difficulty is Moderate
Assign 20% Value – If a link farm or a no-namer is #1 – The Difficulty is Low

Add the keyword difficulty into your spreadsheet.

Step 5: Determine keyword value. We need to make sure the keywords you pick will actually yield paying customers. Some keywords might have a lot of traffic but will lead to 0 conversions. Other keywords might have low traffic but bring in great paying customers.

The Best Keywords

(taken from slide 37 of SEOmoz’s Presentation)

In order to determine keyword value you will need to place some Google Adwords from our keyword list and measure the conversion rate.

If you haven’t launched your product yet try building a landing page with Unbounce or Weebly and ask for email sign ups. If someone clicks on your ad and enters in their email address saying they are interested … that is a good sign that you have the right keyword.

Enter in your conversion rate and how much you made on each conversion.

Step 6: Look at your Heat Index and focus on the Hottest ones.

If you use my spreadsheet template. You will need to change the value ranges in the heat index key that pertain to you. Heat Index is calculated with this formula: (100%-keyword-difficulty)*Search-Volume*Est.-Conv.-Rate*Est.-$$-Conv.-Rate

If you haven’t had the chance to checkout SEOmoz’s Presentation. I strongly urge you to check it out. One of the greatest SEO talks I have come across.

Please let me know what you thought about my debut comic, my keyword template, or this post in the comments.

My Favorite Comments on the Groupon Superbowl Ad

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I thought Groupon’s Superbowl Advertisement was awesome. It is definitely the most talked about commercial. Here is a small list of why I liked it:
#1 Everyone is talking about Groupon wether you liked the ad or not. Millions more will learn about the brand.
#2 Once people realize that Groupon is actually trying to help Tibet people won’t hate them for their provocative ad.
#3 A bunch of press will contact Groupon asking for a follow up of what they were thinking and they will be able to direct them to their charity initiative.





Here are some of my favorite opinions/comments I have read about the Groupon Ad:

“Dude, chill. More people than ever are now talking about Tibet, learning about the issues. It was edgy and funny, not everything needs to be safe and comfortable. If that’s the kind of thing you need, go watch Frasier.” – random dude on reddit

“An important thing in marketing is how someone that had never heard of your company or product (groupon), nor had any of the information above, is going to feel about the company after that ad.After this 30 second spot, they are going to think that groupon are insensitive dicks. They took the culture of people who are suffering and turned them into a joke for privileged people to be cheap and save money.
The ad is only “inside” and “ironic” to people that already understand what groupon is, how it operates and its history. That is definitely not your target audience on Superbowl Sunday, especially for $3 million dollars a pop.
Honestly, had they simply said something like $1 from each groupon sold in February will be donated to Tibet relief they would have looked like heroes, but for them, their marketing company, ad agency and focus groups to all miss that and then to blow $3 million on this epic fail which will probably cost them customers, is pretty daft.” – Cdf12345

“People get mad at Groupon for being tasteless. Groupon CEO gets invited to explain themselves to various media outlets. CEO apologizes, explains the whole donation thing, people are satisfied, and Groupon gets more free exposure than the other Superbowl commercials.” – mynewtempaccount

Train your viewers to view your ads (and how Reddit rocks at this)

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I pretty much always ignore the right hand side of all blogs and websites that I visit. I do this so often that I don’t even notice the ads anymore.

The more and more we get bombarded with ads the easier and easier it is to just ignore them. This is why companies really have to work hard on getting you to notice ads. Take a look at Techcrunch and WSJ. They have to show you a fullscreen ad to get you to notice their sponsors.
On Reddit I have an entirely different reaction. I notice the ads more and more. Mainly because every few days I notice games on the right hand side.
Adding fun or useful content in your ad slots every now and then will get your viewers to notice your ads more often.
The goal is to train your audience to actually view all aspects of your site and then Bam! insert an advertisement so they actually see it. If you are familiar with Pavlov’s law it is all about training your viewers where to look.
Here is Google’s Heatmap from 2008:
Google noticed this and now you will find a ton of ads on top of the page (just not on the right hand side).
Compare Google’s heatmap to a few other sites:
1. A wiki like site:
2. The U.S. Census Bureau
My point is if you want more people to notice your ads. Doing a complete ad takeover isn’t your only option. Train your viewers to notice other parts of your website from time to time.
2/19/2011 UPDATE:
My buddy Ali of Peanut Labs just pointed out that Facebook does a great job with this as well. Recently (last 2 months) they show you nostalgic pictures of you and your buddy and then BAM! lots of interesting ads to click on beneath it.
Thank you Kadavy for helping me with this blog post.

How I would improve this "Get Fit Immediately" Ad

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I loved this ad. Because it brings in new sales (not sure if the product works). I asked the owner how many people bought it and he said about 10-20 people a day. He also said people come in and ask about it all the time. This is amazing to me because he is selling it out of a general convenient store… not a health focused store.
Here is what I would do to improve this ad:
1. Show me before and after pictures. Can my gut really be eliminated by wearing that thing?
2. Show me the price. Looks expensive… but I would consider buying it if it was $19.99. This advice might not be good for the convenient store because customers won’t come in and ask about it.
3. Guarantee me results with a full money back guarantee.
4. Tell me I can try it on in the store
5. Show me a real customer testimonial
What would make you want to buy this product?