SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING Brought to you by… Jeanie Enyart, Training Director, Advance Internet

Agenda Why Use Search Engine Marketing? The Three Doors of Search – Map / Business Listing Search Engine Optimization Why and How to Use All Three How The Post-Standard and syracuse.com can help.

Why Use Search Engine Marketing? It’s Where the People Are! It’s Where the Money is Being Spent. It Gets Results.

Search is the way people seek information. Americans conducted 16 Search is the way people seek information. Americans conducted 16.9 billion searches in August 2010, up 2% from July 2010. Google – 10.2 billion searches Yahoo! – 3.5 billion searches Microsoft Bing – 2.2 billion searches Ask Network - 598 million searches Source: comScore, September 16, 2010 4

Top Tier Search Engines They command 90% of all search traffic. Google has a 67% share of the total. (Bing 17% & Yahoo 6%) As of January 2013 5

People Love Search Engines 50% of consumers surveyed said they turn to search engines to find a local business. Consumers use search engines 72% more than they did just two years ago. Source: Nielsen Online/WebVisible Survey, February 2009 6

Follow the Money In 2009, $10.7 billion was spent on search engine marketing. 47% of all online advertising dollars were spent on search. Advertisers are savvy – they buy media that works. Source: IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, 2009 Full-Year Results, April 2010 7

How old is Google? __________ 8

Search Engines – Three Doors Search Engine Marketing - Paid Search (also known as search engine advertising) The Google Map and Business Listings Search Engine Optimization – Free Search (also known as organic search) 9

Google Map and Listings Keyword Paid Search Google Map and Listings Organic (free) listings appear below the fold. 10

Google Map and Listings Keyword Paid Search Google Map and Listings Organic (free) listings appear below the fold. 11

Search Engines – The First Door Search Engine Marketing - Paid Search (also known as search engine advertising) 12

Keyword Bid + Quality Score = Rank (Position on the Search Engine Results Page) 13

When you buy keywords, what are you buying? It’s an auction. The highest bid gets the first placement on the page (assuming quality scores are equal). Bidding is the maximum amount that you’re willing to pay per click. You are bidding on keywords, keyword phrases, geographically modified keywords and long-tail keywords (may be dozens of words). You are reaching people who have “raised their hand” – they are actively searching for your product or service. You don’t pay for your ad to appear. You only pay when someone “clicks” on your ad. 14

Geo-Targeting Keywords Geographically targets the ad message National, State, City and DMA (Designated Market Area) 8 COUNTIES IN THE SYRACUSE NY DMA Cayuga, NY ~ Cortland, NY ~ Madison, NY ~ Oneida West, NY ~ Onondaga, NY ~ Oswego, NY ~ Seneca, NY ~ Tompkins, NY 15

Geo-Modifying Keywords Geo-modifiers are Geographic Locations That Modify a Keyword Example: Florist in Syracuse, NY, wants to target Lafayette, Tully and Little York Keywords Used in Ad Campaign Lafayette + Florists = Lafayette Florists Tully + Florists = Tully Florists Little York + Florists = Little York Florists 16

Quality Score – the rest of the story… 17

Quality Score Factors The Relevance of the keyword search to your business and Web site. Are you buying keywords for your business products and services? Are you buying keywords that people are using TODAY to find you? The Relevance of the keyword search to your 3-4 line text ad. Are you running different text ads for different keywords? When users click, do they go to the relevant page on your Web site? Bounce rate (do online users look at one page and hit the back button?) Is your Web site easy to navigate and user-friendly? Does your site include products and services searched most often? The Click-through rate for your 3-4 line text ads. Your total search engine marketing budget. 18

When the user enters a keyword, the ads appear (for free … until they are clicked) 19

What Are The Elements of The Search Ad? SD Studio Special Occasion Makeup and Hair Come in for a free consultation. Ad Title (25 char.) Description line 1 (35) Description line 2 (35) yourspecialday.com Display URL (35) Ad Title: States the business type and service area. In general, business name or brand is not used. Description: Should communicate specific products or services, an offer or what makes the business unique. Search engines set guidelines that must be followed, such as forbidding the use of superlatives (“the best”), excessive punctuation or unusual abbreviations. Display URL: Allows a shortened, more readable version of the actual click URL. For example, if the click URL is “http://www.example.com/products/?id=2445677”, the display URL might be “example.com/teak-furniture” Headline writing 20 20 20

Does Your Ad Stand Out? Make sure that each ad you write reflects the keywords being searched. Write different ads for different keywords. Include a compelling reason to click your ad or call you versus your competitors. Promote your competitive advantage. Include a discount or special offer. Once the user clicks, take them directly to the page on your Web site that speaks to this particular search. 21

That’s 30 hours of your time Search Engine Marketing Should You Do It Yourself? Choose the appropriate search engines to advertise on (2 hours) Initial research of appropriate keywords (6 hours) Create advertising copy for each search engine (different rules for each one) (5 hours) Daily management of keyword bids and budget (12 hours/month) Monthly optimization of keywords, advertising copy (4 hours/month) Multiple bills from multiple search engines (1 hour/month) That’s 30 hours of your time in the first month*! Do It Yourself Search Engine Marketing We choose search engines for you. We research the keywords. We create advertising copy for each search engine and for keyword groups. We manage keyword bids and budget. We optimize keywords and advertising copy. We pace the campaign to ensure that you reach customers all month long. We consolidate bills into one statement. And… we provide a landing page or proxy site. And … we provide comprehensive reporting. We are your local, trusted, multi-media experts, dedicated to your success. syracuse.com The Post-Standard: Your Complete Search Engine Marketing Solution * Source: WebVisible Media Management 2006 experience with thousands of search engine marketing campaigns over the last three years.

Search Engines – The Second Door The Google Map and Business Listings 23

Google Map / Organic Search Keyword Paid Search Google Map and Listings Google Map / Organic Search 24

Google Map and Listing Business owners can claim their Google listing for free. 25

http://www.Google.com/Places 26

The Map is Not for Sale (Yet). To increase your chance to appear…add: Consumer Reviews. Links to and from reputable sites. Original content. Frequently updated content. Content (and words) that is relevant to searchers. Google has recently started offering a $25 upsell in some markets that enhances the location on the map. 27

Search Engines – The Third Door Search Engine Optimization – Free Search (also known as organic search) 28

Search Engine Optimization It’s not really free – it’s expensive to pay to optimize your site effectively. You don’t control whether or not you appear or where you appear. You don’t control your message. Organic “free” search syracuse.com Business Listing 29

syracuse.com Business Listings 30

syracuse.com Business Listing Business Name Phone Number Address Map & Directions Links to Website Products & Services Days and Hours open Keywords & Categories to increase SEO Consumer Reviews Social Marketing Links 31

Let’s return to Search Engine Marketing… Once a potential customer sees your ad … and decides to click, where should they “land”? Landing Page? Proxy Site? Your Web site? 32

What Is a Landing Page? Prominently displays contact information and offers an explicit call to action. Tracks specific actions help measure conversion – emails, directions. Optional call tracking phone number. Key SEO elements build organic search value on the major search engines. Clearly defined layout and formatting for ease of use by potential customers. Includes several custom content sections to highlight your products and services. Display of printable maps and driving directions using Microsoft Virtual Earth or Google Maps. Hyperlinks to specific pages on your Web site. Support for multiple images, graphics, and logos. 33

The Landing Page Call tracking number About Us 34

Call Tracking Phone Number This unique phone number appears on the landing page or your proxy site, rings through to your business phone, and allows you to track valuable business information, including: Phone Number that placed the call Name associated with phone number Length of the call Recording of the call (for up to 90 days from the date of the call) Date/Time of the Call The Call Tracking Phone Number doesn’t replace your business phone number. It supports it. The phone rings at your business exactly the same way it would if the customer called your regular business phone.

What is a Proxy Site? It’s a dynamic (real-time) mirror of your Web site. It includes embedded tracking information. Calls E-mails Driving directions Page prints Forms sent Video views 36

Or Simply Click-Through to Your Own Web Site… However, nothing will be able to be tracked. Calls Emails Directions Printing the map We only recommend this if you are doing e-commerce on your site. 37

The Merchant Center Includes a Summary of key performance indicators: Impressions - Clicks Calls - Cost per click Cost per call Proves the value (ROI) of Search Engine Marketing. Assists you with SEO decisions. Helps you make other media decisions. Provides other value business information (how calls are handled; what days/hours that people are calling you).

In Summary… Use Search Engine Marketing Open All Three Doors of Search – Search Engine Marketing Map / Business Listing Search Engine Optimization Maximize All Three The Post-Standard and syracuse.com can help.