Social Media Access Via Mobile Grows

Madeline Bennett | ClickZ | August 1, 2012

Mobile users are continuing to turn more frequently to their cell phones for social and gaming purposes, according to the latest data from analyst Comscore.

For the quarter ending in June, 36.9 percent of mobile users accessed a social networking site or blog on their handset, up almost a percentage point from 36.1 percent compared to the first quarter 2012.
Mobile gaming increased by the same amount, up from 32.6 percent to 33.4 percent quarter on quarter.

The numbers might only be slowly creeping up, but the overall pattern shows a greater proportion of mobile subscribers are using their handhelds for traditional desktop tasks.

The biggest growth areas for mobile content use were music and apps. Those using their handset to listen to music grew by 2.3 percent to 27.6 percent, while 51.4 percent have used a downloaded app, up from 50 percent last quarter.

But the humble text message is still by far the most popular use for mobile devices, with three quarters of users sending a text over the period. And SMS isn’t losing any of its popularity, growing 0.7 percent since March.

The news is not so rosy for certain mobile providers, with Comscore revealing that Research In Motion has dipped 1.6 percent to 10.7 percent in its share of smartphone subscribers, losing out to Google's Android and Apple's iOS, which grew to 51.6 percent and 32.4 percent respectively.

Android is also winning in the battle of the handset. Although Samsung and LG both dropped slightly in their share of the market, they remain the top two vendors, with 25.6 and 18.8 percent of mobile users respectively. Still, Apple's strong position is highlighted by the research as it managed to creep up by 1.4 percent to 15.4 percent, despite industry concerns that it would lose mobile users in the face of competition from popular Android devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Nexus, and the continuing wait for the iPhone 5.

Original Article...

Facebook Ad CTR: Up 11% in Q2 2012

Jason Hahn | July 25, 2012 | DM Confidential

According to TBG Digital’s “Global Facebook Advertising Report: Q2 2012,” Facebook ad engagement increased by 11 percent in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Facebook ads in the U.S. saw average cost per thousand impressions (CPM) rise 25 percent.

The report measured 406 billion impressions in more than 190 countries, according to TBG Digital.

According to the report, Facebook ads displayed a 41 percent increase in CPM year-over-year. From the first quarter of 2012 to the second quarter, CPM surged 58 percent. Germany saw CPM rise 31 percent quarter-over-quarter, while the U.S. saw CPM rise 25 percent quarter-over-quarter.

The rise in CPMs is “great news for Facebook, as they signify that their inventory continues to work better for them,” according to TBG Digital.

Click-through rates (CTR) for Facebook ads rose 11 percent in the second quarter in the five major territories analyzed (U.S., U.K., Germany, France and Canada). In the first quarter of the year, CTR decline 6 percent. Germany saw CTR rise 44 percent, while the U.S. saw CTR rise 11 percent and the U.K. saw CTR rise 9 percent.

TBG Digital notes that the launch of Facebook’s mobile ad targeting feature in early June may have helped CTR for its ads. The increase could also be partly due to a general improvement in targeting techniques and ad creative.

Cost per click (CPC) for Facebook ads rose 23 percent quarter-over-quarter in the five territories monitored by TBG Digital. The U.S. and Canada saw CPCs of more than $1.00 for the first time.

According to the report, the top 10 sectors in terms of Facebook ad CTR in the second quarter were:

1. Health (0.064 percent)
2. Pets & Animals (0.060 percent)
3. Not for Profit (0.056 percent)
4. Entertainment (0.054 percent)
5. Food & Drink (0.048 percent)
6. News (0.044 percent)
7. Beauty & Fitness (0.044 percent)
8. Retail (0.039 percent)
9. Computers & Electronics (0.036 percent)
10. Home & Garden (0.036 percent)

In terms of CPC, the top 10 sectors were:

1. Jobs & Education ($1.42)
2. Finance ($1.34)
3. Retail ($1.02)
4. Computers & Electronics ($0.95)
5. Games ($0.91)
6. News ($0.91)
7. Beauty & Fitness ($0.87)
8. Home & Garden ($0.84)
9. Autos & Vehicles ($0.83)
10. Internet & Telecom ($0.80)

According to TBG Digital, the average CTR of the “page like story” ads were 53 percent higher than the CTR of the “page like” ads.

Also, the report found that Facebook mobile ads have a CTR that’s 14 times higher than CTR for desktop ads.

Source:

http://clearslide.com/view/mail?iID=A8GU559Z78B9DX9V4Q8A

Original Article...

4 AdWords Optimization Tips to Try This Week

Lisa Raehsler | ClickZ | July 24, 2012

Every paid search account needs new ideas to keep moving forward with a positive return on investment (ROI). The following tips can be implemented in less than 15 minutes and make a lasting positive impact on the performance results. Try one tactic per day, and then take Friday off.

1. Negative keyword lists.
Negative keywords are a critical component to any AdWords campaign optimization because you can filter out irrelevant clicks and impressions on keywords. Excluding keywords can save click spend and make the overall campaign more effective. A recent feature release now allows advertisers to manage negative keywords across multiple campaigns. The new negative keyword lists can be associated with many campaigns and can be easily applied to any campaign with a few simple clicks.
Get started building a list by accessing the "Shared Library" section of AdWords, then creating a new list in "campaign negative keywords."

2. Mobile review.
 Have you checked your mobile traffic lately? Often advertisers don't bother with setting up mobile-only campaigns because they believe there is not enough demand to justify it. Within the AdWords, you can select "segment" to see activity by device from the campaign, ad group, display network, and even keyword-level tabs. This will provide interesting insights into opportunities as well as areas of possible inefficiencies. Recently I discovered a group of keywords that had a much lower average cost per click (CPC) in mobile. One keyword was just $0.06 per click in mobile vs. $1.03 on computers. This keyword also had the volume to justify a new campaign and strategy. This is just one of the insights you can gain by analyzing data by device and taking action on the findings.

3. Automated rules.
Automated rules in AdWords won't replace good old-fashioned manual management but may help to save time and streamline processes. One way to use automated rules to directly impact the bottom line is to adjust bids on keywords based on the cost per conversion.

Increase bids for your keywords that are good converters and at a low cost per conversion. For example, a rule can be set to increase max CPC bids by 10 percent for keywords with more than 20 conversions and a cost per conversion under $7. Even though you will not pay the max CPC bid price, it's best to set a maximum bid that the automated rule will never exceed.

Within the keywords tab, select the "automate" button and "change max CPC bids." When increasing bids, set the requirements for conversions (one per click) >=20 and cost/conversions (one per click) < $7. Also consider decreasing bids for keywords that are not converting to more efficiently focus budget.

4. Display Ad Builder.
The display ad builder is a neat little tool that can make getting into the Google Display Network quick and easy. Some companies don't have the budget or resources to create banner ads, so the Display Ad Builder tool will allow them to choose from a variety of templates using their own text, images, or logos. A banner ad doesn't need to be fancy to be effective so this can be a good option for smaller advertisers.

It's quite easy to create an ad from the "Ads" tab within any campaign or ad group that contains text ads - select the checkbox next to any text ad, and from the drop-down menu above the ads table, select "More Actions," then "Generate Display Ad." Several simple templates are available to get started. Now, if only the display targeting was as easy!

 

 Original Article...

HVAC Contractor Obtained 4 Jobs in 4 Days with Live Chat

Brian Starzec | HVAC Business Solutions, LLC | July 24, 2012

We implemented our HVAC Live Chat on our client's website - Ferrugia Mechanical - last Thursday, July 19th. Since then, Ferrugia Mechanical has:

Already Replaced 1 Air Handler
Scheduled 1 Equipment Replacement Lead
Scheduled 2 Service Leads

In addition, 1 more lead has not been scheduled yet as of this writing.

Why These Customers Preferred Chat over Calling

We communicated with the customers that engaged Ferrugia Mechanical via the Live Chat and they specifically chose to chat because they wanted to speak with a live person that could answer their questions.

They naturally assumed that if they dialed the phone number after hours they would have just received an answering service rather than being able to speak with someone that could actually help them through the Live Chat.

The Live Chat provided the reassurance that the website was active, closely monitored and that their needs would be met immediately.

Website Response Spiked
"I don't know what you guys changed but since adding the chat I am starting to receive submissions through my contact form when I wasn't getting very many before."
- Michael Ferrugia, owner of Ferrugia Mechanical

This was a pleasant surprise to all of us and was in-line with the customer feedback. By having the Live Chat, website visitors felt confident that completing the Contact Us Form would actually result in action.

What is Live Chat?
A service provided by HVAC Business Solutions that engages your website visitors with a proactive invitation to chat - see the image below:



If the chat invitation is accepted, one of our trained agents answers the visitor's questions and attempts to convert the visitor into a lead.

If the visitor is interested in setting an appointment, then our agents obtain the contact information (name, email and phone number) and immediately send it either by email or text message to a contact person at the HVAC company. If during business hours, we also offer to connect both parties by phone.

Live Chat Stats
Here are some recent stats conduct from an Internet marketing survey in 2012:

Chatters are 7.5 times more likely to convert
Chatters spend 55% more per purchase
The average percentage of website visitors who accept proactive invitations to chat is 8.5%
Best practice to answer chats within 10 seconds

Live Chat Benefits
This service is about gaining new business by demonstrating your ability to respond quickly and effectively to your potential customers:

Convert Your Website Traffic Into Business
Engage Visitors 24/7
Increase Customer Service Levels
Deliver Immediate Customer Assistance

Our Service
The bottom line is that we monitor your website 24/7, engage with visitors and convert them into leads.
No Contracts
No Monthly Fees
Pay Only for Leads
24/7 Chat Service

Give us a call if you are interested in learning more about our Live Chat service and how we can help you obtain more business from the traffic that is already on your website.

Sincerely,
Brian

40% of Consumers Say a Targeted Online Ad Has Made Them Feel Uncomfortable

Jason Hahn | DM Confidential | July 18th, 2012

A new report from TRUSTe finds that online behavioral advertising (OBA) has made 40 percent of consumers feel uncomfortable, while a majority of consumers say online privacy is an important issue that they think about often.

According to TRUSTe’s “2012 U.S. Online and Mobile Privacy Perceptions Report,” conducted online by Harris Interactive, 58 percent of responding consumers say they don’t like OBA. Meanwhile, 42 percent of smartphone users say privacy and security are top concerns, and 85 percent say they won’t download apps they don’t trust.

The report also found that 60 percent of adults are more concerned about online privacy today than they were last year. TRUSTe notes that 49 percent of consumers check for independent privacy certification or seals, up from 41 percent in 2011.

“Our 2012 findings show that managing consumer concerns through good privacy practices must remain on the forefront in order to stem mistrust,” said Chris Bable, CEO of TRUSTe. “With increased understanding about choices, the survey also shows that consumers react more positively to the potential value of new online technologies, such as OBA.”

According to the survey, negative feelings toward OBA drop from 69 percent to 40 percent when users believe that their personally identifiable information isn’t linked to their browsing behavior. Meanwhile, 61 percent of consumers are inclined to do more business with a site that offers opt-out choices for OBA, up from 55 percent last year.

The report also found that 94 percent of consumers deem privacy an important issue, with 55 percent saying it’s a really important issue they think of often. Meanwhile, 69 percent of consumers say they trust themselves most when it comes to protecting their own personal information online.

TRUSTe found that consumers are taking matters into their own hands when it comes to protecting their privacy, as 76 percent don’t allow companies to share their personal information with a third party, 35 percent have stopped doing business with a company or using their website because of privacy concerns, and 90 percent use browser controls to protect privacy.

Meanwhile, 40 percent of consumers say a targeted online advertisement has made them feel uncomfortable, 50 percent will opt out of OBA to manage their privacy and 53 percent believe personally identifiable information is attached to browsing behavior.

Regarding mobile concerns, TRUSTe found that 62 percent of smartphone users are aware that advertisers track mobile activities for mobile ads, but only 1 percent likes this.

Original Article...

7 of the Most Popular Social Networks for Business

Rebecca Corliss | HubSpot | July 17, 2012


People expect different type of content on each social media network. Not only does that mean the content you post to each network needs to be unique; it might also mean that you shouldn't be hopping on every single social network out there to meet your company's business goals.

But how do you even make that decision if you're new to the social media game? The best way is to get to know the different "personalities" of each network so you can understand how to leverage it best for your business. Using this article as your guide, you'll get to know some of the most popular social networks, learn what their super powers are, and determine whether they're a good fit for your brand. So let's analyze the key players in the social space, and talk about each of their strengths and weaknesses to help you decide who you should be hanging out with!

Getting to Know Twitter, The Buzz Generator

Twitter hit its 5 millionth user this past February, and the network is active and abuzz with links, chatter, one line self reflections, and just plain content. To inbound marketers, all of this content probably seems pretty great -- but it also means it takes a lot of work to get your  content to stand out in the crowd. Just look at how often HubSpot posts on Twitter to get our content some visibility in the news feed!

 

Twitter's Superpower

Twitter brings a viral, buzz-generating component to your marketing. For example, when a business has a massive group of people either sharing content or using a hashtag all at once, that has a big, very visible impact. Twitter is right for you if you are looking for a network where you can build a large audience that you can incite to action -- potentially all at once to create a viral effect. Mind you, that type of audience growth takes time ... but the value of creating such a large network sure pays off!

Getting to Know Facebook, The Humanizer

Facebook is most-used social networking site around the world. In fact, a recent study found it to be the top-visited social media site in 126 of the 137 countries studied. Still think your audience isn't using social media? Think again.

People use Facebook to keep in touch with friends, view their grandkid's baby pictures, discover content their friends are sharing, and more. It's a truly powerful connector. But how do companies fit into this social network that focuses so heavily on the human connection? Users expect companies on Facebook to act more like friends, and less like, well, companies. This means your updates should be friendlier, and show personality through photos and videos that make your brand seem more relatable. That's why we use Facebook to share things like important milestones in our company's life, just like you would with your friends and family!

 

 Facebook's Superpower

Facebook as a social tool will help a business become more likeable. By engaging like you naturally would with friends, your fans will respond and interact with you and your content in the way they feel most comfortable on that network -- colloquially. Use this to build a loyal fanbase who will view, click, and share your content so your reach continues to grow. If your company is not comfortable being a bit more flexible and friendly in its tone, however, Facebook might not be the best bet.

Getting to Know Quora, The Authority Builder

Quora boasts a slightly smaller user base than Twitter and Facebook with 1.1 million monthly users. But even though the network is smaller doesn't mean you should balk at its marketing potential. If you've ever participated in Quora's Q&A, you'll know that the quality of questions asked and answers provided is extremely high. While Quora might not be the right network for your business as a major traffic driver considering the lower usage volume, it could be a great place to build your company's authority and thought leadership, generating much higher quality leads (albeit at a lower volume) in the long run.

 

Quora's Superpower

Use Quora to build the authority of specific employees. For example, you could encourage your sales and marketing employees to search for questions your leads commonly ask, and provide insightful answers to which you can point future leads. What a great way to build trust and rapport!

Getting to Know Google+, The Search Optimizer

Google+ launched business pages in fall of 2011, at which point Google+ usage picked up as brands started creating their own pages and building their following. But since then, its been reported that usage has significantly decreased -- eMarketer reported that users only spend an average of 3.3 minutes on Google+ in a single session, down from 5.1 minutes in November 2011. Yikes. Looks like it's not incredibly active as a social network ... so what's the value? The value comes from its SEO support.

 

Google+'s Superpower

When you post your content to Google+, you're making it more likely your company's content will rank well in Google's SERPs. That's because, much to the dismay of many other social networks, Google is considering factors such as +1's of content when deciding how high to rank a piece of content. Google also started to index and feature Google+ status updates, author names, and 'Add to Circles' buttons in search results, making your activity on Google+ even more important for a strong organic search presence.

Getting to Know Pinterest, The Artist

Pinterest, the "newest" social network on the block, has actually been around since 2008! Gaining some serious popularity earlier this year, the network is an excellent tool for sharing and spreading a company's visual content. After all, images can often tell a far more profound story or give insight into a feeling in a more powerful way than mere text. If you're producing more visual content, you can easily share that content through channels like Pinterest by "pinning" it to a board. 

 

Pinterest's Superpower

Pinterest is easy to maintain and grow if you're more reliant on visuals than text in your industry. We do, however, recommend writing descriptions for every image you pin to provide further explanation for those looking to learn more about your pin. And before you go saying Pinterest is just for wedding planners and hairdressers, remember that your visuals could include anything from photos, to graphs, to infographics! They key with Pinterest is, when someone clicks your image to see the source, you're directing them to your website so you can convert all that Pinterest traffic. So go on, have a little fun with your social media marketing!

Getting to Know LinkedIn, The Professional

LinkedIn has a very distinct personality. It's the most suited-up network, generally rather conservative, and reserved for business-focused conversations. For B2B companies, LinkedIn is an incredibly valuable channel. In a HubSpot study last year, in fact, we found that LinkedIn is 277% more effective for lead generation than Facebook and Twitter. Since LinkedIn users are generally in a business-focused mindset, lead generation content that's extremely valuable and provides a solution to a common problem in your industry can work incredibly well.

 

LinkedIn's Superpower

Use LinkedIn to target other businesses -- if that's your goal, of course. Use your content to provide solutions to business-related problems, and people will naturally share your content in an attempt to boost their own clout, not to mention click your content so you can generate more leads. Don't be afraid of posting white papers and reports here, either -- this is the type of content that typically performs quite well on LinkedIn.

Getting to Know YouTube, The Story Teller

YouTube is different from the rest of the bunch for obvious reasons -- it's geared specifically towards video! And it has a lot of video. In fact, YouTube reports that 3 billion hours of video are watched each month on the social network. Video is a powerful story-telling mechanism, so it's no wonder marketers are using video to celebrate customer success, get customers excited about an event, or use music to teach someone something new. 

YouTube's Superpower

Use YouTube to tell important stories about your company, to entertain your audience, and even to educate them (ever thought of creating a how-to video?) As with most visual content, sometimes it's easier to get your message across with something a bit more interactive; and that's when YouTube comes in handy! You can also embed your videos in your blog or on other social networks so the videos can get more reach. Plus, YouTube is owned by Google ... you can bet those videos will be indexed in organic search!

After you understand the different personalities of each of these social networks, you're better equipped to determine which ones match the personality and needs of your brand. If you're just starting out in social media, it should help you approach these networks with less of a blind eye, and create content that better matches the tone of the content already on that platform.

Based on your brand, which social network do you think is the best fit for you? How does your use of each social network differ?

Original Article..

Paid Search up 17% in Q2 2012, Keyword Pricing up for the First Time Since Q3 2011

Jason Hahn | DM Confidential | July 18, 2012

According to Covario, paid search spending rose 17 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, keyword pricing increased for the first time since the third quarter of 2011.

Covario’s quarterly global paid search spend analysis showed that spending on paid search advertising was up 17 percent year-over-year in the second quarter, and up 5 percent from the first quarter. The company called the second-quarter growth healthy, but noted that it was down from the spending that was observed during the previous three quarters.

“We expect things will further heat up in the second half of 2012, especially since early signs indicate creeping CPC inflation for paid search globally, which must be factored into advertiser budget plans,” the report noted.

In the Americas, spending was up 15 percent year-over-year and up 1 percent quarter-over-quarter. Covario maintains its forecast that annualized increases in spend for 2012 will fall in the 18-20 percent range.

In Europe and the Middle East, spend was up 2 percent year-over-year and up 1 percent quarter-over-quarter. Meanwhile, in Asia-Pacific spend was up 41 percent year-over-year and up 23 percent quarter-over-quarter, thanks to continued investment in China, Japan, India and the Australia-New Zealand regions.

Paid search impressions were up 7 percent year-over-year and 10 percent quarter-over-quarter, while clicks were up 18 percent year-over-year and down 1 percent quarter-over-quarter, and cost was up 17 percent year-over-year and up 6 percent quarter-over-quarter.

Google continued to dominate the global landscape, claiming 86 percent of spend, 91 percent of impressions and 68 percent of clicks.

Covario notes that spending on Google was up 16 percent from a year ago and up 5 percent from the previous quarter.

Yahoo-Bing, which continues to benefit from the implementation of “broad match,” saw its share of spend grow around 30 percent year-over-year and 3 percent quarter-over-quarter. The alliance maintains 7 percent of spend, 3 percent of impressions and 5 percent of clicks.

In the Americas, Google has about 90 percent of the search engine market, while Yahoo-Bing has about 9 percent.

Cost per click (CPC) for the five major global search engines (Baidu, Bing, Google, Yahoo and Yandex) was $0.80, up 6 percent quarter-over-quarter, the first increase since the third quarter of 2011. Baidu’s CPC was $0.19, while Bing’s was $1.32, Google’s was $1.01, Yahoo’s was $0.80 and Yandex’s was $0.61.

Original Article...

Nine ways to either tiptoe into mobile or take the plunge

Robin Neifield | ClickZ | June 11, 2012

You probably don't need convincing that a mobile strategy is necessary, but many digital marketers have been reluctant to jump in the water, waiting for all the ripples of devices, markets, and approaches to settle. They won't. In this very fractured digital media environment, mobile plays a unique and increasingly critical role, providing a wealth of personal, immediate, and location-smart ways to interact with specific audiences.

The U.S. mobile environment is turbulent but full of growth and promise. The majority of mobile phones are now smartphones, many with larger screens and more sophisticated user options. Apps, tablets, and converging devices as well as the growing availability of good, useful, and functional mobile experiences have given consumers the opportunity to increasingly choose mobile over other digital connections. This ease of use and the attending dramatic adoption rates are largely responsible for the growth in mobile ads, mobile email, mobile websites, and mobile apps that follow and feed the consumer trends. The impact is felt across channels and verticals but it need not be an all or nothing commitment for you. Only you can assess how important mobile viewing and interactions are to your business, and the "right" strategy will be dependent on many variables including your audience demo and smartphone or tablet adoption, your competitive environment, available budget, and digital goals.

Your minimum requirements may range from a tiptoe approach that cautiously tests your mobile opportunity to a full-out plunge into the mobile waters. But what may be a small test for a large or mobile-critical organization may seem like a plunge to a smaller business or one less reliant on mobile marketing, viewing, or interactions. Keeping that in mind - here are some ways to either tiptoe into mobile or advance to take the plunge.

Mobile Tiptoes

• Prepare for any mobile recommendations or budget requests by checking your site stats on a regular and recurring basis. What percentage of your audience is coming from a smartphone or tablet? Distinguish between the two. Set up your analytics to assess the behavioral characteristics of these groups. How did they find you? Are they new customers for you? Are they good customers?
• Make sure your site experience on the most popular mobile devices is a good one. You'll have to do some rigorous quality assurance (QA) across devices and platforms. Mobile-friendly sites need not mimic every function or include all the content on your website, but they should satisfy the mobile user's needs and provide a positive, integrated experience that allows for more interaction, if desired.
• If you are running a paid search program create a new ad group for mobile searchers that recognizes the different frame of mind of the on-the-go consumers. Their potentially timely and location-based needs may vary sharply from other searchers and that should impact your copy, bidding, and testing strategies. It also helps with budget management to have them in their own ad group. Make sure you have the mobile-friendly landing pages to send users.
• Ensure that your email is readable and actionable from mobile devices and test segmenting mobile readers for a different messaging strategy and cadence.
• Make good use of social options with mobile viewers. Users are an easy click away from sharing, rating, reviewing, commenting, etc…and you don't want to lose that opportunity.

Mobile Plunges

• Build mobile-specific destinations and experiences. A mobile site or an app can be a new point of entry that provides a unique experience for your viewers and may also bring new users to your brand family.
• Expand your concept of push marketing beyond email to include opt-in text advertising. While the great majority of emails are never seen by their intended target, the vast majority of SMS messages are opened and seen within minutes of sending.
• Incorporate mobile ads, including video ads, into your media plan to reach your audience where they spend an increasing portion of their time online. Take them through a mobile funnel to mobile conversions and track that separately.
• Make mobile commerce easy or integrate with other e-commerce opportunities to start or finish the sale in mobile.

What's next for the very mobile inclined? Follow retail leaders as they wrestle with how to make their brick-and-mortar stores more online shopping-friendly or conversely work to guard against mobile price shopping comparisons. We can expect more offer pushes via text including indoor exact location positioning. Augmented reality could breathe new life into QR codes or replace them completely, and Articulated Naturality Web (coming) is augmented reality and then some: imagine pointing your smartphone to a restaurant and getting a coupon for a competing restaurant across the street; pointing your phone to the sky and getting a weather forecast.

Whether you are in tiptoe mode or plunge mode, remember that the mobile experiences and opportunities that you provide do not stand alone. Your mobile consumer may and probably does touch you in multiple ways, so strive for consistency and use each channel in the most impactful way possible.

Original Article...

Every Email Version Is Your 'Mobile Version'

Mike Hotz | ClickZ | June 27, 2012

What a difference a year makes.

Return Path reported last month that mobile device email opens increased 82 percent over March 2011. At the same time, email read on the iPad increased 54 percent. Marketers are seeing an average of 30 percent of emails opened on mobile devices, with this rate expected to climb to over 50 percent by the end of 2012.

Some other telling results: 63 percent of U.S. smartphone users say they would delete an email not optimized for their mobile device. Only 2.4 percent of smartphone users said they would open an email on both their mobile devices and computers.

In May 2011, I recommended that you start optimizing your email creative for viewing on mobile devices ("Optimize Your Email for Mobile").

This new research indicates that the time to prepare is behind us. You can no longer think you've done your job if you simply link to a "mobile version" in your preheader.

Every version of your email is now a mobile version with almost nine of every 10 email readers checking messages via mobile devices every day.

It is now imperative to make your email creative easy to view on a mobile device. Your creative needs to adapt whether your subscriber is reading it on a desktop, a tablet, or a mobile device.

Design With Mobile in Mind
As more subscribers use their smartphones to view your email, it becomes even harder to get the subscriber's attention in the mobile inbox. The mobile inbox takes up a third of the viewing space, leaving you only 200px to get your message across.

As a result, the subject line counts as your headline. Mobile users are relying heavily on subject lines to signal messages they should open immediately, so yours needs to be compelling and make an impact.

Consider these tips:

• Keep subject lines to 25 characters.
• Decrease number of navigation items to three.
• Continue to use HTML text. Most mobile email clients default to disabled images.

You also must keep the following creative considerations in mind when you are designing your creative for mobile devices:

• Increase font size. Many designers recommend a minimum of 14 pixels for body text and a minimum of 22 pixels for headlines. Apple will automatically increase small fonts to a minimum of 13 pixels. On Android devices, 16 to 18 scale-independent pixels are considered medium and large text sizes.
• Add contrast. Many factors make reading on a mobile phone challenging: smaller screen, lighting conditions, distractions, etc.
• Add padding between sections. A typical adult finger covers 45 pixels when pressed against a mobile screen. Make sure that your calls-to-action are padded at least 10 to 15 pixels to avoid frustrating tap errors.
• Use distinctive colors for links.
• Create larger buttons and links. Avoid clustering links in lists to make tapping more accurate.
• Design whole sections to be clickable.

Test a Responsive Layout
The ultimate in mobile-friendly emails is created using a responsive layout. Responsive-layout email creative relies on the same HTML code for all versions and uses media queries to style the HTML based on screen size.

Subscribers viewing the creative on larger screens (desktop, tablet) see the full design, while subscribers using native email apps see the smaller mobile version.

REI is an excellent example of a marketer that has gotten this concept right. Its navigation condenses down from four items on the desktop version to two across on the mobile view.

The primary imagery and content in the creative can scale to drop extra space when viewed on a smartphone. Tertiary messages are designed so that the image can be hidden while the overall message stays intact.

Desktop/Tablet version	Smartphone version

The Last Word
If you have been on the fence about getting your email creative in shape for mobile devices, now is the time.

Your subscribers' move toward mobile is not showing any signs of slowing down. You can no longer assume that mobile users are returning to their desktops to get the full email experience.

Don't try to fit everything in your desktop version of an email message into your mobile version. The secret is to plan to streamline content and ensure that your subscribers get your message and take action no matter which device they use to view your content.

Research shows that 63 percent of U.S. consumers who have made a purchase via their smartphone did so in response to a marketing message delivered via mobile email.

If you ensure a good experience across devices, you can bank on a continuing increase in opens, clicks, and conversions.

Original Article...

Google Claims Nearly 80% of U.S. Search Advertising Spend in Q2 2012

By Jason Hahn | DM Confidential | July 4, 2012

IgnitionOne recently released its “Online Advertising Report: Q2 2012.” Among the findings was that search spend in the second quarter of 2012 slowed down from the growth observed in the first quarter of the year. Also, Google claimed for nearly $8 out of every $10 spent on U.S. search advertising in the second quarter.

In the second quarter, paid search spending grew 15.5 percent year-over-year, slower than the 30.3 percent growth seen in the first quarter and the 22.4 percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2011.

According to IgnitionOne, clicks were up 13.2 percent year-over-year in the second quarter, also slower than the 29.1 percent increase seen in the previous quarter.

Total cost-per-click (CPC) was up 2.1 percent year-over-year, with Google’s CPC down 3.1 percent. “This continued decrease can be blamed on increasing reliance on mobile, which has cheaper CPCs as well as increasing use of new ad formats which are generally lower PPC clicks,” according to the report.

Bing/Yahoo, on the other hand, saw its CPC surge 24.3 percent, about the same as its increase in the previous quarter. IgnitionOne attributes this to the alliance’s promotion of best practices, “which led to greater competition in auctions through the increased use of broad match keywords as a stepping stone for exposure across other match types.”

In the second quarter, Google held 79.1 percent of U.S. search engine ad spend, while Bing/Yahoo claimed 20.9 percent. Google grew its share of search ad spend by 11.4 percent year-over-year, while Bing/Yahoo increased its spend by 32.9 percent year-over-year.

Spending on mobile search ads is up 333 percent year-over-year, according to IgnitionOne. Impressions are up 130 percent and clicks are up 325 percent.

According to the report, mobile search claimed 14 percent of total search advertising spend in the second quarter, a 12.3 percent increase from the previous quarter. Tablets accounted for 60 percent of mobile search advertising spend in the second quarter, while mobile phones accounted for the other 40 percent.

IgnitionOne pointed out that travel search advertising spend grew 37.8 percent year-over-year, compared to its 22.8 percent growth in the first quarter. Impressions grew 61.9 percent year-over-year, a notable rise from the 34.3 percent growth in the previous quarter.

The report also shared an estimate that Facebook’s real-time bidding advertising platform will drive an incremental 12-15 percent in retargeting budgets and drive overall display spend higher.

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SEO Results in Less than One Month

Brian Starzec | HVAC Business Solutions | July 2, 2012

On June 12, 2012 we launched two websites for one of our customers - Air Clinic - and then proceeded with SEO.  Roughly two weeks later, on June 27, we ran our initial progress report and were delighted that both websites went from only ranking on their name to ranking on the first page of Google for several air conditioning specific keywords for service and repair (see the images below).

Normally we wouldn't see this type of result so quickly, but it does show that it is possible to achieve results with the right set of circumstances - take an existing website, update the code properly, then apply search-engine approved SEO techniques with a very specific local target and it is possible to get achieve results sooner than expected. 

If you are interested in improving your website's rankings this summer, please contact us immediately - 713-270-6400.  We only work with one company for a given targeted area and we provide a guarantee on our services. 

Primary Website After Two Weeks of SEO

Second Website After Two Weeks of SEO

Please note that in the rankings report above, the number listed in the search engine column reflects the overall rank for the keyword. 

21 Internet Marketing Stats That Will Blow Your Mind

Kipp Bodnar | HubSpot | June 29, 2012


Sick of hearing the same "the internet is changing marketing" speeches? Want hard data to reference so that you can properly forecast and adjust future marketing plans and budgets? Just want to sound smart in board meetings? Look no further; this post will show you some current data about the state of the internet marketing world that are both helpful, and frankly kind of shocking. Take a gander!

21 Internet Marketing Statistics That May Surprise You

1) The more posts per day, the less engagement -- when a brand posts twice a day, those posts only receive 57% of the likes and 78% of the comments per post. (Source: Track Social) Be mindful of your publishing frequency on Facebook, and start testing with your own page to see what frequency is right for your community. Tweet This Stat!

2) The click-through rate on triggered messages is 119% higher than “Business as Usual” messages. (Source: Epsilon and DMA) Using personalized and timely lead nurturing with marketing automation is an important strategy for improving the overall performance of your email marketing and customer generation. Tweet This Stat!

3) On average, companies respond to only 30% of social media fans' feedback. (Source: Factbrowser) Engagement is rare. Stand out from your competition by caring and engaging with your social media community. Tweet This Stat!

4) The average tablet user spends 13.9 hours per week with the device. (Source: OPA) The tablet is quickly becoming the new laptop. Survey your customers and leads to understand how they are using tablets, and let that data influence future marketing strategies targeted at tablet users. Tweet This Stat!

5) Text messaging users send or receive an average of 35 messages per day. (Source: Forrester Research) Peer-to-peer communication through text messaging has become of core part of society's communication infrastructure. Is there is any possible communication that your customers and prospects would like to receive via text message? Tweet This Stat!

6) Email opens on smartphones and tablets have increased 80% over the last six months. (Source: Litmus) Mobile devices have become a major source of email usage. Make sure that your email marketing message displays properly on mobile devices to maximize the results of your sends. Tweet This Stat!

7) 27% of TV sets shipped worldwide in Q1 of 2012 had internet connectivity. (Source: Display Search) Internet connectivity is becoming standard for all devices. With the internet becoming a bigger part of the living room, plan for how this change might disrupt your current broadcast marketing tactics. Tweet This Stat!

8) By 2016, more than half of the dollars spent in US retail will be influenced by the web. (Source: Forrester Research) Commerce is shifting more and more online. Make sure that you have a method to easily sell your product or service online. Tweet This Stat!

9) In any given week, less than 0.5% of Facebook fans engage with the brand they are fans of. (Source: Marketing Science) Brands aren't providing the right kind of content and experience to engage their fans. Ask your Facebook fans what type of content they want to see, and then give it to them! Tweet This Stat!

10) 45% of the world's 2 billion internet users live in Asia. (Source: Ecommerce Europe) If you actively sell and market to Asian markets, the internet is a channel that can't be ignored. Understand how internet usage and habits differ in Asia compared to the United States. Tweet This Stat!

11) 61% of emails received at professional email accounts are non-essential. (Source: Mimecast) Inboxes are overflowing with marketing email. Use personalization, proper timing, and offers valuable to the recipient to break through the clutter and be seen. Tweet This Stat!

12) 20% of Facebook users have purchased something because of ads or comments they saw there. (Source: Ipsos) People are influenced by, well, other people. Use paid and organic marketing on Facebook to influence the conversion actions that drive your business. Tweet This Stat!

13) 17% of the top 1000 search terms on Twitter "churn over" on an hourly basis. (Source: Twitter) Twitter is all about novelty and news. Publish more frequently and focus on timely content to appeal to Twitter's hungry users. Tweet This Stat!

14) U.S. consumers send 2.304 trillion text messages per year, up from 2.052 trillion in 2010. (Source: CTIA) Wow! That is a ton of text messages. If you are marketing to heavy texting demographics, consider incorporating a text message opt-in as part of your campaign. Tweet This Stat!

15) 40% of the accounts and 8% of the messages on social media sites are spam. (Source: Businessweek) Email isn't the online platform with a spam problem. Take the time to customize your social media account and content so you stand out from the spam bots. Tweet This Stat!

16) 88% of adults in the US have a cell phone, 57% have a laptop, 19% own an e-reader, and 19% have a tablet. (Source: Pew Internet) The cell phone is the dominant communication tool in the United States, but information consumption is fragmented. Optimize your digital marketing for all of the screens and devices used by your target audience. Tweet This Stat!

17) 64% of smartphone owners are using their mobile devices to shop online. (Source: eDigitalResearch) The smartphone is ripe with impulse shopping revenue. If you sell goods online, target specific campaigns to smartphone users. Tweet This Stat!

18) YouTube users watch more than 3B hours of video per month. (Source: YouTube) Video is a major part of the online experience, but it's different from traditional broadcast productions. When integrating online video into your inbound marketing strategy be sure to consider not only production value, but length. Most successful online videos are less than two minutes long. Tweet This Stat!

19) About 1 in 3 bloggers are moms. (Source: Nielsen) When looking for blogging expertise, look no further than the mommy bloggers. Everyone has influence and expertise you can learn from and leverage. Tweet This Stat!

20) 73% of smartphone owners access social networks through apps at least once per day. (Source: Lightspeed Research) Social is mobile. Make sure that content you're sharing on social networks -- like your blog articles and landing pages -- are optimized for mobile devices. Tweet This Stat!

21) 91% of online adults use social media regularly. (Source: Experian) Social media is fully integrated into communication culture. Make sure it is an integrated part of your marketing strategy, too. Tweet This Stat!

Which of these internet marketing statistics was the most surprising to you?

Photo Credit: stevendepolo

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13 Little Landing Page Tweaks That Can Make a BIG Difference

Pamela Vaughan | HubSpot | June 28, 2012


It's no news flash that inbound marketers have to produce a lot of content and offers. After all, without these valuable assets -- and plenty of 'em -- inbound lead generation would be quite a challenge. And with every new offer, marketers must also spin out a new landing page to go with it.

But because landing page creation has become such a regular practice, and considering that many tools make it so quick and easy to create a new landing page in minutes, attention to landing page optimization can also easily fly out the window. So if you've been guilty of launching landing pages left and right all willy nilly, you may be overlooking some little details that can take the performance of your landing pages from good, to great. Got 15 extra minutes on your hands? Audit one of your landing pages, and see if you can make any of the following little tweaks that can make a BIG difference in your lead-gen results.

13 Little Tweaks That Can Make a BIG Difference in Landing Page Performance

1) Punch Up Your Headline

Every landing page should have an attention-grabbing headline that clearly indicates what the offer its featuring is about. If your landing page visitor read nothing else on the page but the headline, would she know exactly what she'd receive by completing and submitting the form? If it's not clear, make it so.

In addition to clarity, punch up the prominence and language of the headline. Does it stand out? Make it bold, and use a header tag. Is it compelling? Use strong verbs, adjectives, and keywords (for SEO!) like you would in a blog post title. Your headline is probably the first thing your visitors' eyes will gravitate toward when they reach your page, so you need to make it count. For example, just take a look at HubSpot's landing page for one of our ebooks, pictured below. The headline is bold, it clearly states what the visitor will receive ("Free Guide"), and it uses compelling language ("Mastering").

2) Shorten Your Copy

If your landing page looks more like a blog post than, well, a landing page, it's probably a good indication that you need to shorten your copy. A landing page with lots and lots of explanatory text is not only initially daunting to the reader, but it also buries the value of your offer. Shoot for around 100 words of copy or fewer in your landing page description so your visitors can quickly read and understand what your offer is about -- and be enticed to convert. 

3) Make the Value Clearer

Speaking of value, does your landing page make it totally obvious what your prospects will get out of redeeming your offer? It's not just enough to tell them that they'll receive, say, an ebook on creating calls-to-action; you need to emphasize the value in it. Remember, you're trying to convince your landing page visitors that filling out a form and providing their personal information is worth what they'll get in return.

In our landing page example above, for example, the copy on our page clearly indicates that our CTA ebook will teach you how to "improve your calls-to-action and optimize them for maximum conversions." In other words, as a potential ebook downloader, you 'get' that after you've read our ebook, you'll know how to get more conversions out of your CTAs. When visitors clearly understand the value of downloading the ebook, and they're more inclined to fill out the form to obtain that valuable information.

4) Break Up Text

A final point about landing page copy to piggyback off the last two. You may only have 80 words of copy on your page, and it may clearly emphasize the value of your offer, but if it's all in one big chunk of unformatted text, it might also be all for naught.

Separate your landing page text into bite-size chunks that are easily scannable. As I said earlier, your landing page visitors don't want to waste their precious time trying to understand why they should redeem your offer. And if at any point, they feel like it's not worth determining, they'll leave -- offerless. Consider using bullet points to help describe your offer and highlight the value it provides, as we've done in our previous landing page example above.

5) Move That Form Up 'Above the Fold'

Do your visitors have to scroll down on the page or search high and low to find where or how they can redeem your offer? No bueno. If your form is below the fold (in other words, your visitors have to scroll down on the page in order to find it), move it up so it's more prominently visible. Worse -- if they don't understand that they need to fill out the form to redeem the offer in the first place, make it clear. There should be no guesswork involved in offer redemption from your prospects' perspective.

6) Shorten (or Lengthen) Your Form

"(Or Lengthen)"? Stay with us folks. First of all, understand that the more form fields you have, the less likely it is people will want to fill them out. Therefore, the length of your form needs to align with your lead generation goals.

So if your sales team has too many leads on their hands and they don't have the time to qualify them all, you might want to make your forms longer so they gather more information about your leads, enabling your sales team to better qualify them up front. If you're not generating enough leads, on the other hand, it might make sense to shorten your forms. The fewer fields you require, the less friction you'll create, and the more people will be willing to complete the form. Get it? Got it? Good.

7) Improve Your Form's Submit Button Text

What does the text on your landing page's submit button read? It it reads, "Submit," you might want to make a little tweak. According to research conducted for the Science of Lead Generation, landing pages with submit buttons actually labeled "Submit" tended to have lower conversion rates than those that used other wording. Why? We think it's because of the level of commitment the word "submit" implies, compared to other words like "Click Here" or "Go."



Use this data as a starting off point, and test different button text to see what works with your pages and your audience.

8) Add a Link to Your Privacy Policy

Try this quick and simple trick for reducing visitors' landing page form anxiety. You have a privacy policy that explains how you'll use your leads' information, right? (If not, add this to your general to-do list.) You know how to create a link, yes? Great.

Add a link to your landing page -- preferably right on the form itself -- that directs form-wary visitors to a page that outlines your privacy. This will help quell any fears they might have about how you plan to use their information, and make them more likely to complete the form. It will also make you seem transparent, trustworthy, and credible (because you are!).

9) Add Social Sharing Buttons

Want to easily extend the reach of your offers? Put your visitors to work! Your landing page visitors have their own networks of contacts, and many of them are likely not in yours, so if they share your landing page in social media, you'll be expanding your reach beyond your direct network.

But really, you don't want to actually make it work for them to share your offers with their networks, so how about you just make it as easy as possible for them to do so? Add social media and email sharing buttons to your landing page and its thank-you page! Just be sure that the URL you include in these pre-populated updates links to your offers' landing page, not the thank-you page where leads can access the offer (remember, you want to capture that conversion first!). If you're not sure how to create these handy little buttons, check out our guide to creating social media sharing links and buttons here.

10) Add a Visual (or a More Compelling One)

We humans are visual creatures, so it's no wonder we've seen an increasing emphasis on visuals in marketing lately. (Think about all those infographics, memes, and the rise in visual-centric social networks like Pinterest.) Hey, they don't say "a picture is worth a thousand words" for nothing. So if your landing page doesn't include some kind of visual -- or a compelling one, for that matter -- adding one is an easy upgrade. Even though you've explained what the offer is and the value they'll get from it through your copy, it can still seem like a mystery to your visitors. Thus, we recommend including a visual that more tangibly shows the visitor what they're actually going to get.

At HubSpot, for example, you'll notice that the majority of our ebook landing pages feature an image of the ebook's cover page. This gives potential downloaders a very tangible idea of what they're going to receive when they fill out the form. Remember: Surprises are fun when it's your birthday, not when you're providing a random company with your personal deets.

11) Remove Distractions

Think of your landing page visitors like kids in a candy store. If you put a lot of bells, whistles, and different choices in front of them, you'll never be able to corral them. That's why it's critical to limit as many potential distractions as possible on your landing pages. You want your visitors to focus on one thing and one thing only -- completing the form to redeem the offer. So don't include anything on your page that might prevent them from doing just that.

Remove any website navigation so visitors aren't tempted to visit another part of your website, and get rid of any other calls-to-action for other offers you might have on the page.

12) Conduct an A/B Test

A/B tests are great for tweaking and optimizing your landing pages, especially because sometimes even the simplest A/B test can yield really powerful results. Another great thing about A/B tests is, there are so many possible variables you can test -- and you don't even have to limit these tests to your landing pages.

But since landing pages are the topic at hand today, let's focus there. Some simple landing page variables you can try A/B testing include page layout, design, copy, images, and number of form fields. Be sure to pay close attention to your analytics so you know how your A/B test performed. To learn more about how to conduct A/B tests the right way, you can download our complete guide here.

13) Promote It!

While promoting your landing pages may not exactly be a "tweak," it's important not to overlook. After all, if you don't promote your landing pages, all of the above tweaks won't really make much of a difference! Be sure that along with every offer's landing page, you create CTA buttons that you can use in blog posts (just check the bottom of this blog post for an example) and on other website pages. Furthermore, promote links to your landing pages in your website's resource center, social media updates, email marketing sends, and lead nurturing campaigns. You put all that work into creating the offer and optimizing the landing page, so make sure you squeeze the most ROI out of it as possible!

Speaking of ROI, let your landing page analytics be your guide as you make tweaks and optimize your landing pages. If you notice a tweak has actually hurt, not helped your page, you'll be able to track that, and switch it back!

What other little landing page tweaks have you noticed made a BIG difference in the performance of your landing pages?

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