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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For the first time ever Google missed it’s earnings estimates. After listening to the conference call it became clear to me that Google just flat out spent a lot of money on hiring new people and acquisitions to keep up with the potential of their runaway growth. The stock got hammered in after hours trading as momentum players bailed. We’ve seen this before, but the stock always rebounds and moves higher.

Let me say this though, Cramer and the boys on CNBC’s Fast Money didn’t have much to say about the earnings report last night on their respective shows. I get the sense they’re all waiting to see what the street says this morning. No one really dared go out on a limb. Step up boys and tell us what you really think without having to kanoodle with the trading desks the day after.

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