Recently, one of my colleagues asked me for list a differences/similarities between SEO and PPC. I decided to take that question to the next level and describe how SEO and PPC can compliment one another - this article is the result.
Bing Ads Announces Universal Event Tracking
5 Essential iPhone Apps for Internet Marketers
One of the keys to being successful at Internet Marketing is utilizing the ability to track metrics, analyze the data and make intelligent decisions based on what you see. You can save yourself a lot of time by having the essential data at your fingertips and the tools to make quick updates and changes on the fly. The iPhone App store provides many solutions to Internet Marketers looking to make their daily lives more efficient. Today I’ve decided to list 5 of my favorite apps that I’ve used to improve not only my clients' SEM efforts, but also my own. 1. Analytics App:
Analytics App lets you access your Google Analytics data from anywhere making it extremely easy and efficient to monitor the traffic your website is getting at any given moment. Features include:
- Support for Multiple Logins and Multiple Accounts
- “Today” and “Yesterday” Reports (something I wish Google offered)
- 55 Different Reports
The price tag is a bit high at $6.99 but definitely an app you’ll be using every day.
Analytics App
2. Ego:
Ego gives you one central location to check web statistics that matter to you. With support for Ember, Feedburner, Google Analytics, Mint, Squarespace, Tumbler Twitter and Vimeo, you can quickly view the number of visits to your website (including daily, hourly, and monthly numbers), feed subscription totals and changes, how many people are following you on Twitter and more. This app is a great value at $1.99.
Ego
3. Seesmic:
Seesmic is a Free App that lets you update and view multiple social networks in an efficient and powerful interface. You can manage multiple Twitter accounts, your Facebook page, a Ping.fm account (support for Wordpress, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Blogger and more) and organize it all in a customizable dashboard. This is a great tool for updating your followers, customers and business associates on your latest project or log post.
Seesmic
4. SEO Pro:
SEO Pro is an essential tool which allows you to monitor you SEO progress effortlessly. The app monitors Google Page Rank, Alexa Rank, Yahoo Inlinks, Yahoo Indexed, and daily changes to rankings. The app also lets you quickly view meta tags. You can keep track of unlimited URLs. The free version of this app only supports tracking of 1 domain and includes ads, the $1.99 version supports unlimited domains and there are no ads.
SEO Pro
5. Wordpress:
This one could use some work, but it’s a Free App so I tend to forgive its shortcomings. The Wordpress app allows you to easily manage your WordPress blog from your iPhone. You can moderate comments and create or edit posts and pages. I’ve personally used this app to fix a few typos from the road and even published an entire blog post over the 3G network. All in all a great tool to have in your mobile toolbox.
Wordpress App
QR Codes: Are they finally catching on in the US?
I'm a huge fan of QR Codes. If you've never heard of QR Codes, they are 2 dimensional "Quick Response" matrices that allow their contents to be decoded at high speed. QR Codes storing addresses and URLs may appear in magazines, on signs, buses, business cards, or just about any object that users might need information about. Users with a camera phone equipped with the correct reader application can scan the image of the QR Code to display text, contact information, connect to a wireless network, or open a web page in the phone's browser. I like QR Codes so much that I use them on my business cards:
Lately these codes have been getting a lot of press so I thought I'd link to the articles:
Why QR Codes Are Poised to Hit the Mainstream From Mashable Today, 7/20/2010
12 Clever Social Media-Friendly Business Cards also From Mashable 7/13/2010
Calvin Klein QR Code Billboards Mask Racy Ads - But You Can 'Get It Uncensored' From Stylelist 7/13/2010
Explore a Whole New Way to Window Shop with Google and Your Mobile Phone From The Official Google Blog 12/7/09
There has also been talk about Foursquare and Facebook using QR codes to make it easier for users to check in.
If you've got any example of how you are using QR codes to promote your business, please let us know in the comments.
Google Introduces the New Broad Match Modifier
Starting today, Google is rolling out the Broad Match Modifier to all US AdWords accounts. Back in May, the Google AdWords blog announced a new targeting feature called "the broad match modifier". This new type of keyword allows advertisers to have greater reach than phrase match, but more control than regular broad match. Rather than try to explain what Google has already expertly summarized, I'll quote the AdWords blog:
"To implement the modifier, just put a plus symbol (+) directly in front of one or more words in a broad match keyword. Each word preceded by a + has to appear in your potential customer's search exactly or as a close variant. Close variants include misspellings, singular/plural forms, abbreviations and acronyms, and stemmings (like “floor” and “flooring”). Synonyms (like “quick” and “fast”) and related searches (like “flowers” and “tulips”) aren't considered close variants."
To further explain things, Google provides a great graphic depicting the relationship between all of their keyword match types:
At WenzelPPC, we are excited to begin testing this with our clients. Stay tuned for updates on how we are improving our accounts using the new modifier and I promise to update you with any tips and tricks I discover while working with advanced keyword targeting techniques.
You can read more official Google documents about the Broad Match Modifier on the AdWords Blog here, and in the AdWords Help section here.