This week Keniston & Company has, in part, been listing one of our local clients on Local Search Engines. I guess it’s been a while since we’ve gone through this exercise, because Local Search Engines have really picked up their game.

Of the most impressive is Yellowbooks.com (owned by AT & T). Not only has Yellowbooks.com initiated a video listing option (with free video production) they also offer “Pay Per Click” packages. These packages guarantee distribution on the major search engine such as Google, Yahoo, MSN etc..etc..etc ..in any pre-specified markets across the country.

According to the rep we spoke with Yellowpages.com has many packages. The end result is that Yellowbooks ads distributed on Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. cost $2.25 per click on average. This is a fantastic price per click for most industries (auto, travel, lawyers) where clicks can cost as much as $10.

According, to our rep Yellowpages.com purchases large blocks of the most desirable keywords (travel, used cars, car dealers, lawyers, etc) from the big search engines as a discount rate and then resells them to their clients.

This reminds of me of the old days when advertising agencies would buy radio and tv ads from stations in bulk at cut rates and then resell them to their clients. This can be risky if no one wants the spots, but the risk/reward ratio usually favors the bulk media buyer.

The question remains, how and when do the Yellowpages ads turn up in a Google search? Keniston & Company is actually testing Yellowpages Pay Per Click package as an alternative to an independent Google Adwords Campaign.

We’ll keep you posted as to how it works out.

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Quick Steps to Search Marketing Success

Step 1:

Create Your Ad

The key to writing and effective ad is to be specific. For Example:

1. Direct your ad to a landing page rather than your company home page so visitors an easily see your offer.
2. Create at least 3 ads per ad group to test which perform best so you can maximize results.
3. Think like your customer and include features or benefits they are looking for.

Step 2: Optimize Your Keywords

Buyers find ads with their search terms, so to write keywords that work:

1. Ask your employees about words your customers use and add them to your campaign
2. Capitalize on use keystroke mistakes and use keyword tools to address common mistakes
3. Go beyond individual keywords and include relevant phrases.

Step 3: Target Your Customers

Based on what you know bout your customers, you’ll want to:

1. Target by geographic location like city, state, and country
2. Maximize every click by targeting by age and times of day
3. Run ads on specific days of the week or times of the day

Step 4: Manage Your Budget

To get the most out of your budget, you’ll want to:

1. Monitor various bid amounts to find your “sweet spot” between click volume and conversion.
2. Consider raising bid mount over time to gain a high search results page position.
3. Consider lowering bid amounts if you’re happy with lower page positions.

Denise Keniston

CEO

Kenistoncompany.com

* Published in part from Micrsoft AdCenter Promotional Material

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Google reports Q4 earnings after the bell today and I’m holding on to my stock. I see, firsthand, Google’s dominance as “the “Search Giant” first hand every day. I am a Google Adwords Certified Individual and I manage Adwords campaigns for several clients. What I can say is that the thirst for businesses, big and small, to make their presence known on the internet continues to build. Every week I talk to marketing managers, CEOs and small business owners who want me to create and manage a Pay Per Click Campaign for them.

Conversely, I hear less and less discussion about Yahoo!Search Marketing. Very few businesses even give Yahoo a second mention when it comes to Search Engine Marketing. Almost without exception, the excitement and sense of urgency surrounds Google Adwords and rightly so.

As someone who’s on the front lines of the Google Search Revolution while I know it’s possible the economic slowdown will affect Google’s earnings in the short run, I convinced Google’s rein of dominance is just beginninge.

Denise Kensiton

CEO, Keniston & Company

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Keniston & Company produces and syndicates a half hour long television program called, “Treasure Hunt”. This action packed game show is a hit in every market. Teams of two are given $150 and an hours time limit to find and buy items priced well below their actual value. Once the hour is up our Dapper Dan appraiser values the items and the team with the most wins and moves on to the Treasure Hunt Shop-Off where they’re compete for a trip to Europe.

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Keniston & Company is an internet marketing firm with deeps roots in traditional media buying. Since our inception in 1999 Keniston & Company has acted as the agency of record for some of the country’s largest companies and is widely regarded as experts in the field of media buying and contract negotiations which we outline in our Media Buying Brand Guarantee. In 2002, we created an “Internet Advertising” department (focusing on Search Engine Marketing and Pay Per Click Campaign Management among other things) which has grown exponentially and today accounts for roughly 45% of our annual revenue. Our staff includes Google Adwords Certified Individuals and expert webmasters and web designers who work together to develop thoughtful and effective media campaigns that combine traditional advertising and internet advertising.

RADIO SELLS THE INTERNET

The Keniston & Company Traditional Media department works more closely than ever with our Internet Advertising department. A perfect example of this is a campaign we recently launched for our newest client White Hen convenience stores located in and around the Boston area. Our objective for Q1 was twofold: to drive foot traffic to the stores to increase lunch time sales at White Hen’s fantastic deli, and secondly to promote their $.99 coffee campaign (any coffee, and size, and flavor only $.99) Our budget was limited, therefore we decided to advertise exclusively on radio ( no print or television) and if possible fold in some internet advertising as well. What we found is the radio industry is working harder than ever (and doing a pretty good job of it) to quantify and monitize their websites.

All of the major radio stations in the Boston market are aggressively pitching their websites and the biggest and most aggressive is WEEI Sports Radio 850am. The statistics aside, our research came back telling us this site gets a monster amount of traffic every month with live streaming times in excess of 2 hours. It goes without saying that likelihood of the New England Patriots going to the Super Bowl with it’s hero Tom Brady leading the charge makes this site and radio station the most listened in the market.

Our WEEI radio rep. pitched the usual spots packages, but he also had an interesting array of ways to advertise on their website. Among those choices were banner ads and “in person” advertising. If you don’t know, “in person” advertising is nothing more than a “virtual spokesperson” which takes advantage of the internet video boom in an unique way.

WEEI’s demographic is predictably male (80%-20%) split between males and females. To that end, we hired Ally as the White Hen spokesperson. We provided her with several :10 second scripts and taped Ally in front of the green screen at the WEEI studios on Wednesday January 16th . We developed a landing page for White Hen, and set up Google Analytics to track its success or failure.

(White Hen spokesperson seen in bottom right of screen)

WHITE HEN CONVENIENCE STORE Q1 CAMPAIGN:
THE FIRST DAY RESULTS

Our “Virtual Spokesperson” was up and on the site by Tuesday morning with fantastic results. WEEI was able to get us some statistics by the end of the first day as you’ll see in the graphic below.

The results are as follows:

1) WEEI’s Home Page was visited 9122 times giving our client White Hen 9122 impressions

2) Of those 9122 impressions we received 530 click throughs to our landing page

3) That is a CTR or 5.81%

Our thoughts are as follows. According to an informal focus group Keniston & Company conducted many WEEI website viewers didn’t have time to watch and listen to our spokesperson and then to click through to our landing page. Going forward, we believe :25 seconds is a more reasonable time to allow viewers to “take in” the message and then click through. We also believe this will increase our CTR which we hope to be at roughly 15-20%.

Keniston & Company will continue to invest in the website of major radio stations and other traditional advertising agencies will follow suit soon. In the meantime, Keniston & Company is on the forefront of what’s happening in the world of radio and the internet and we’re happy to be there.

Denise Keniston

CEO, Keniston & Company

www.kenistoncompany.com

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Restlyane’s “Hottest Mom in America” auditions are moving to the internet. If you couldn’t make it to one of the live audItions, held in several cities across America this summer, you can upload your 1-2 minute video on the “hottest mom” website and throw your hat in the ring. Hottie, Hottie!!!

In case you haven’t heard, Restylane, manufactured by Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation, is a natural cosmetic dermal filler that restores volume and fullness to the skin to correct facial wrinkles and folds, such as nasolabial folds. This product is much desired by middle aged American women who want to “add volume” to their shrinking faces. While it’s not as big as the botox craze, Restylane is currently being hawked all over the country by Pharma reps. and doubtless will be on the cosmetic surgery landscape for some time to come.

In any event, none of this would be interesting if it weren’t for the marketing campaign launched by Restylane on YouTube. Am I the only one who thinks the “big-budget-tv-commercial-masquerading-as-amateur-video” idea is DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!! DEAD as hell! Honestly, how predictable can you get? They probably even have a MySpace dedicated to the campaign!! As marketers I thought we were getting paid, in part, to be creative. Push the envelope. Come up with something new. The Restylane-YouTube video along with “Hottest Mom in America” campaign is so yesterday. To the marketers of Restylane, I dare you, I double dare you, to “not” shoot a grainy video and post it on YouTube. I double dare you to find a new outlet! A new and creative way to cut through the noise that permeates all channels of American culture.