Paid Search (PPC)

DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC. Offers Businesses the Opportunity to Learn More About Online Advertising

September 16, 2016 by Dabrian Marketing Group Leave a Comment

DaBrian Marketing Group, a Google Certified Partner, will hold a Google Connect education event provided by a Google employee on September 28, 2016.

Reading, Pennsylvania – DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC, leaders in online advertising and digital marketing solutions, will host a Google Connect event from 11:30am to 1:30pm on September 28, 2016. The event will be hosted at DaBrian Marketing Group’s offices at 500 Penn Street, Suite 201 in Reading, Pennsylvania, and will feature Tim Reis, Director of Performance Agencies, and David Chung, Mobile Site Transformer, at Google. This event is only available at Google Partner locations. Reis and Chung’s live-streamed presentation will focus on online advertising capabilities and Google Adwords.

According to Google, 74 percent of people get frustrated with website offers, ads, and promotions that appear to have nothing to do with their interests. In addition, 76 percent of people who conduct a local search on their smartphone visit a business within 24 hours, and 28 percent of those searches result in a purchase. This event will help businesses to gain a better understanding of what their company could and should be doing to effectively use online advertising, delivered straight from a Google employee who specializes in this work.

“In discussions with potential clients, they often assume that Google AdWords is just search which simply is not the case. We help clients to identify opportunities that align with their business, geography, and target audience,” says Daniel Laws, Jr, President and CEO of DaBrian Marketing Group. “Through this event, businesses can discover the true power of Pay per Click advertising and how DaBrian Marketing can manage their ad campaigns that will successfully allow them to stand out amongst their competitors and gain the leads they want most.”

DaBrian Marketing Group is a full-service digital marketing agency and Google Certified Partner that specializes in pay per click advertising, online advertising, and Google Adwords. They are local experts and offer their clients extensive experience with the Google AdWords platform and certifications. The company is able to access frequent updates from Google directly because of a close professional relationship they have developed when they need advice. This Google Connect event is free of charge and lunch will be provided. To register, visit the online registration page.

DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC.

DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC provides clients with the most innovative digital marketing solutions to solve their business challenges. Their diverse staff has a commitment to analytical measurement and analysis as well as their commitment to a community, job growth, and talent retention in the local area. For more information, visit DaBrianMarketing.com.

Contact Information

DaBrian Marketing Group
Email: Search@DaBrianMarketing.com
Phone: 610.743.5602

Source: DaBrian Marketing Group

Pay Per Click Ad Copy Writing Just Got… (Easier?) Longer

September 12, 2016 by Justin Miller Leave a Comment

PPC ad copy character limits have been one of the most challenging components of Pay per Click. Google AdWords has announced/released Expanded Text Ads (ETA). While this new update to the Ad format gives advertisers more characters to use, does it make this challenge any easier?

The new Ads increase the character limit on the Headline, add an additional new Headline, and combine the two description lines into a longer single block of text. Here are the specific details:

	Old (Traditional) Ad Format	New Expanded Text Ads (ETA)
Headline 1	25 Characters	30 Characters
Headline 2	N/A	30 Characters
Description Line(s)	35 + 35 Characters	80 Characters
Display URL	35 Characters	Your URL + 15 + 15 Characters
Total	130 Characters	170 + Your URL

When Are Pay Per Click ETAs Coming?

While ETAs are available now, October 26th January 31, 2017 (Google just gave you more time) is when Expanded Text Ads will be the default text ad format shown when you conduct a search on Google or create a new Ad Copy in AdWords.

Why Is Google Making an Ad Copy Change?

This change furthers Google’s attempt to align a user’s experience on all devices (desktop, tablet, and mobile). In addition to a consistent user experience, Google is reporting that the testing of Expanded Text Ads has boosted Click-through rates (CTR) as much as 10-20%. These additional clicks bring more visitors to your site and offer more opportunities for new leads, online sales, and revenue.

What Is NOT Changing - Ad Extensions & Customizers

All Ad Extension (Location, Call, Sitelinks, Callouts, Review, and more) will continue to work with Expanded Text Ads. However, if your Ad Copy and Ad Extensions are duplicates of each other, then they will be less likely to be shown.

Along with Ad Extensions, Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) and Ad Customizers will continue to work within Expanded Text Ads. With the increase in character limits, not only will these features work, but they are easier to fit into your Ads.

My Thoughts on Pay Per Click Expanded Text Ads

I am very excited for this change! More characters mean we can communicate more features, benefits, and unique selling propositions. As I am writing new Ads in the Expanded Text Ad format, I am working on utilizing DKI and Ad Customizers. I look forward to improved Quality Score, higher CTRs, and lower Cost per Click. More importantly for our clients, these new ads should result in more Conversions (Leads and Sales) at a lower Cost per Acquisition (CPA), and higher Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). Larger character limits may not make Ad Copywriting easier, but it will be interesting to see how advertisers use them. How are you planning on utilizing the additional characters in your PPC Ads?

Leave your questions or comments about Expanded Text Ads or PPC Management below or contact DaBrian Marketing Group.

Why Your Small Business Needs Digital Marketing

August 8, 2016 by Dabrian Marketing Group 4 Comments

As a business owner, your time is precious, budget is limited, and your hands are always full with a thousand different things. Currently, you have a website and are running ads in the local newspaper, but you know it’s not enough in today’s digital world. In order for your small business to be competitive in your respective industry, you need to utilize digital marketing.

Why Your Small Business Needs a Digital Marketing Agency

By hiring a qualified and reputable digital marketing agency, you will gain an entire team focused on your goals and objectives without the additional salaries and benefits to your payroll. As easy as it is to hire a digital marketing firm, you can just as easily fire them if they’re not performing to your standards. You pay for performance. Simple as that.

You will have more time to focus on your area of expertise. There are a lot of facets involved in digital marketing as you can see in the word cloud below.

You don’t have the time to learn it all, let alone manage it effectively and efficiently. You will quickly become overwhelmed. Hiring a certified partner agency with the likes of Google, Bing, Hootsuite, and Big Commerce, you won’t have to waste time training employees. An agency will allow you to hit the ground running as you and the agency focus on the areas of expertise you each possess.

Digital Marketing Helps David Fight Goliath

Digital marketing helps level the playing field. Done properly, it allows you to reallocate your marketing investment and target the audience you want to reach more efficiently. An agency will utilize their expertise and experience and be able to show exactly what is working and what’s not via analytics. The best practices large corporations use are the same ones an agency will (or should) be using. Let them use their expertise so you can use yours.

The fact is, many companies are still not utilizing digital marketing, so there is a real opportunity to grow quickly. This is especially true when you can eliminate the learning curve and hire a certified partner agency right from the start. They live and breathe SEO, PPC, email marketing, social media, click-through rates, and conversion rates. An agency understands that your success is essential for their success and ultimate survival. That is a rather big motivation, wouldn’t you say? So you’ve waiting long enough, hire a certified partner agency before your competition does.

For more information about our digital marketing services, leave a comment below or call us for a free consultation!

Don’t Let Just Anyone Manage Your AdWords! Get a Google Partner!

July 25, 2016 by Justin Miller Leave a Comment

Potential customers are searching for your products and services on Google. While you have invested in SEO (search engine optimization) and are acquiring organic traffic, you could be reaching more customers with PPC (pay per click). The problem is: where do you begin? Keywords, Ad Copy, Bids, Match Types, Ad Extensions, Landing Pages, Budgets, Placements, Mobile Ads, Display Ads, Day Parting, and Bid Adjustments to name a few…

Don’t worry! There are digital marketing managers and agencies that can help you. However, be very careful when selecting someone to manage your Google AdWords account and digital marketing dollars. Here are a few things to look for as you search for help with your PPC:

Search for a Google Partner (Agency)

The first step to becoming a Google Partner is having at least one employee get individually certified with Google AdWords. One must take and pass at least two exams to become a certified individual. The first must be the basic Google AdWords Fundamental Exam. Afterwards, one can choose which speciality exam(s) to take. These exams cover Search, Display, Shopping, Video, and Mobile.

One employee must be individually certified for an agency to be an eligible partner, however, the agency still needs to meet performance requirements. These requirements dictate that the agency have a proven record with managing over $10,000 in 90 days as well as continuing to grow (in Ad Spend).

Not All Google Partner Agencies Are Equal

An agency with one certified employee in one domain of Google AdWords can showcase the same badge and “Google Partner” status as an agency with 10 certified employees in all five of AdWords categories. Recently, Google has addressed this concern by awarding agencies with specializations. These specializations require an agency to have at least one employee certified in a certain category and maintain a minimum of $10,000 managed spend in that category (search, display, shopping, video, or mobile).

Look for an agency that has employees that are both certified and experienced with managing ads within the categories that you are/will be running. Don’t forget to allow room for growth. Just because you aren’t thinking about video ads now, doesn’t mean that you won’t create them in the future. Having an ally that knows how to manage them helps to boost the performance of your other (search, display, etc.) ads as well as grow your business with profitable advertising.

Don’t Forget Google Analytics

Although it is not a requirement to be a Google Partner, having employees that are certified in Google Analytics ensures that the agency knows how to measure the efficacy of your ads and their performance beyond simple clicks. Connecting Google Analytics to your Google AdWords account allows for the tracking and monitoring of users that come to your website via PPC ads and their interactions with your pages. Having a PPC manager that understands Google AdWords, Google Analytics, and your business’ goals ensures that your Return On Ad Spend (ROAS) is maximized.

Before hiring a team to run your Google AdWords, make sure that they have the knowledge and experience to deliver the results that meet (or exceed) your expectations. First, look for the Google Partner Badge. Secondly, make sure that the agency has at least one person who is certified in the category or domain that you want to run your ads. Finally, look for individuals who are certified in Google Analytics to ensure that they can measure and showcase Return On Ad Spend (ROAS).

If you have PPC questions, if you are looking for help managing your Google AdWords, or if you just want to audit your current account, contact DaBrian Marketing Group(a Google Partner), today!

Agency Transparency, is your business being taken advantage of?

June 6, 2016 by Dabrian Marketing Group Leave a Comment

Whether you have just started down the road to hiring a marketing agency, or you have already built a trusted relationship, understand your rights and be wary of ways a great advertising agency relationship can go bad without agency transparency.

Cost Accountability

Way back in 2014, Google updated their Third-Party Policy. The Policy, speaking directly to advertising agencies in the role of management, notes Google’s strict guidelines for cost reporting and management fees. Up until this point, it was generally the client’s or customer’s duty to research and to understand exactly for what services an ad agency was charging them as well as the cost of those services . Some agencies would invoice clients for Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising without noting the difference from their actual PPC spend and the fees that are simply associated with managing the PPC account. The Third-Party Policy is a great starting point for all the questions that one might ask of their soon-to-be advertising agency before to signing any contracts.

Ownership Openness

As an agency, we create login information for many clients for many different purposes. We take on the role of password gatekeeper as well as security answer holder. Often, the login information that an agency creates is not shared with the respective client. Sometimes, this is purposeful; but, at other times it may simply be a part of the established client-relations process. Now, Google’s Third-Party Policy notes that a client’s Google Adwords Customer ID must be shared with that client. Search Engine Land, putting it best said, “and this should be obvious, give your clients their customer IDs when they ask for them.” Other login information should be openly shared, as well. Whether we have created a subscription account to industry insights, or we are managing your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform – it is your data, your right.

Separation Anxiety

Whether it be a tumultuous relationship needing to end or a pleasant bond that has run its course – breaking up with an agency is hard to do. Be prepared and search the language of your agreement for payment, ownership, and timeliness clauses. Read the blog post entitled, “5 Signs It’s Time to Fire Your Marketing Agency”, work up the courage, and write out your frustrations. Even if you are not ready to depart from your marketing agency, understand your power and use it. In many cases, a website can be “lost” if ownership is not clearly defined or access is not granted. A business owner can lose a tiresome and costly website in the blink of an eye if website hosting is ever disrupted. The Site Wizard wrote a great blog post entitled, “How to Rescue Your Website from the Clutches of a Bad Web Designer or Bad Web Host” which sends a warning to all those that host their website elsewhere.

Agency Transparency, Know your Rights

Don’t leave your data, your accounts, or your wallet vulnerable to an uncomfortable demise. Communicate your expectations with your marketing agency and expect transparency, in return.

For more information about our agency’s transparency guidelines, contact us or leave us a comment below!

Google Adwords Audit/Grader

May 16, 2016 by Justin Miller Leave a Comment

Google AdWords Audit/Grader – Example Google AdWords Audit (This will accompany a YouTube Video)

The first three pages of the audit is like an executive summary including a general performance grade (ie, excellent, average, poor, etc.), a few facts pertaining to the activity of your account over the last 30 days, a report card, and finally an overall grade out of 100. While this quick 3 page summary is a great overview, the more granular sections of the audit really help uncover what can be done to improve your account performance.

Quality Score Optimization

Having a good Quality Score is important to keeping your Cost per Click (CPC) low while keeping your Ads showing in the prime Ad Positions (1 – 4.) This account has a low Quality Score, which we will see is negatively impacting other areas of the account performance.

Click Through Rate (CTR) Optimization

While CTR is above 1.00%, it could be higher. The Ad Position is mostly between 5 – 10, which is bottom of page 1 or even worse Page 2. Focusing on improving Quality Score will help increase Ad Position and boost CTR.

Account Activity

This given account has had a lot of changes happening over the 30 day time frame. This is great to see that the problem areas are being addressed, specifically the over 200 changes to keywords, and almost 500 changes to Ads.

Text Ad Optimization

Testing Text Ads is a must for account managers who are trying to maximize Clicks and ultimately Conversions. While this account has over 100 text ads with more than 10 per ad group, your account may only need to have 2-3 per ad group so that each ad gets enough impressions (views) to determine which ad copy relates better to your target audience. (Sometimes less really is better!)

Long-Tail Keyword Optimization

Short 1 Word keywords will get a lot of impressions, but utilizing multiple word keyword phrase will help you better reach your target audience. Again, less (in this case Impressions) is not a bad thing and can lead to more/better Clicks.

Impression Share (IS) Optimization

How often are your Ads getting Impressions compared to how often they could be shown. This account is losing a large chunk of Impression Share due to low Ad Rank (or position). This is another area that would benefit from improving Quality Score.

Landing Page Optimization

Clicks are nice to get, but where does that Click take the user? A good landing page will encourage the user to take action – Lead Generation, Sales, etc. Make sure you are testing multiple Landing Pages to see which is going to help you achieve your goals.

Mobile Advertising

People are coming to your site on mobile devices. Are your Ads helping to drive that traffic, and is your site (Landing Pages) mobile friendly? There is no good/bad percentage to have here, but it is important to know how users are getting to your site and interacting with your ads.
PPC Best Practices

While there are more than 8 best practices that Certified Google Partners are required to adhere to, this audit performs a quick check to confirm your account adheres to the following 8 PPC Best Practices:

Network Targeting
Geo Targeting
Language Targeting
Conversion Tracking
Multiple Text Ads Running
Modified Broad Match Type
Negative Keywords
Use of Google AdWords Ad Extension

If you would like to see an audit of Your Google AdWords account or speak to a Certified Google Partner pertaining to your PPC, you can contact DaBrian Marketing Group via phone (610) 743- 5602 or email at Sales@DaBrianMarkeitng.com