Arbitrary destruction of reputations turns people into slaves. -Nassim Nicholas Taleb, recent Facebook post Ever been taken down by an “ambush audit”? It’s not fun. Tempted to win new business yourself by ambushing an incumbent agency? Tempting, but… Is your organization actually built around approaching businesses and cold-pitching them, with the “ambush audit” as the […]
What Do These Google AdWords Features Really Do?
There are tens of thousands of PPC account managers out there today, which has led to a surprisingly wide range of account strategies. Can they all be right? If you’re an opinionated PPC pro like myself, you’re bound to think someone else’s theories are, well… weird. That bias being acknowledged, let the sparring begin! Even […]
Not Goliath? Dominating AdWords Won’t Be Easy
With all the talk of bootstrapped startups, advantages of “nimble players,” and Davids taking down Goliaths, you might be excused for exhibiting an excess of optimism as you enter the PPC fray, even if you’ve heard scary stories about rising click prices. I’m a big proponent of the personality, ingenuity, speed, and agility you find […]
Unleash Your Quality Score Beast Mode (Bing Ads Edition)
Thinking of getting fancy with Quality Score? It may be better to be more straightforward. Read on. Quality Score is the driving force in the PPC ranking algorithm at all major search engines; indeed, it has been since Google AdWords Select was released in 2002. You could do far worse than to model your strategy […]
Google, Partners, and Loyalty (Or: Thanks for the Espresso Machine, But…)
It’s been just over three years since Andy Rooney died. For a time, there may have been a shortage of curmudgeonly commentary on our planet. Luckily, I’m here to pick up the slack. Or if you like, pretend Andy has come back to life, channeling Eminem: “This looks like a job for me… cuz we […]
Are Your PPC Campaign Results Better Than They Look? Or Worse?
At this time of year, the pressure is on to “be ready” for the upcoming hot season, and to “work with increased budgets.” Various cheerleaders and naysayers in your company (and especially, our friends at the search engines) may be pushing you and pulling you every which way, trying to find justifications in current profitability […]
10 Ways to Make the Most of Attending or Speaking at an SEM Conference
Part 4 in a series. Parts 1 (SEM Conferences: Reflections at the Crossroads), part 2 (Dying Hard or Hardly Dying? The Economic Viability of Live Digital Conferences) and part 3 (21 Non-Obvious SEM Conference Takeaways) here. Here are the remaining ten hopefully unusual insights from the past 12 years of conference-going. This list isn’t directed […]
21 Non-Obvious SEM Conference Takeaways
Part 3 in a series. Parts 1 (SEM Conferences: Reflections at the Crossroads) and 2 (Dying Hard or Hardly Dying? The Economic Viability of Live Digital Conferences) here. Now you’ve heard about why the conference world might be changing, and also why the conferences remain important. Now for the fun. What have I learned at […]
Dying Hard or Hardly Dying? The Economic Viability of Live Digital Conferences
Last time, I addressed the current state of flux in digital marketing conferences. My take included one expert perspective from an executive leader of one of our major conference series, Mike Grehan. Several others have since weighed in. Matt McGowan, Mike’s past colleague at Incisive Media (and now a strategist with Google), notes that so-called […]
SEM Conferences: Reflections at the Crossroads
It’s no secret that the state of digital marketing conferences is in flux. Some conference series have become long in the tooth; others are ascendant. How dire is the situation? Whoops, I might have let the cat out of the bag. “Flux” is usually a code word for “trouble.” The old logic may be unraveling. […]