Secrets of Search Marketing from Practice

+Thom Disch, President and CEO of Handi-Ramp, spoke in my Internet Marketing classes this week at +Aurora University about pay-per-click (PPC) and search engine optimization (SEO).  Internet Marketing is a class in our Digital Marketing Minor.

The timing was great as this is the week that the students are really getting into their PPC campaigns for the +Google Online Marketing Challenge (GOMC). The day students have prepared their pre-campaign reports and are ready to submit to Google next week.  Evening students are just starting their eight week class but have already picked their candidate companies.  Students will receive a $250 budget to create a campaign for a company and will have three weeks to optimize their campaign using the marketing analytics available in AdWords.

Search Marketing is Top Lead Source

Thom talked about using paid and organic search as key forms of digital media to bring leads to his small business. He bought Hand-Ramp about a decade ago on a 'shoestring' budget.  The company sells wheelchair and van ramps to assist entering vehicles, among other products.  The firm specializes in products for accessibility but can also help people get their dog in their van more easily with its pet ramp line.

Thom Disch from Handi-Ramp Helps Students Optimize PPC Campaigns for AdWords

Research and Plan Before Implementation

Thom emphasized the importance of planning before developing the AdWords plan and encouraged the use of tools like Google Trends and the Keyword Planner to understand search patterns before bidding on key terms.  He also warned that certain industries have terms that are quite expensive. The term "mesothelioma," for example, is bid on by plaintiff's attorneys in personal injury cases. The payoff from these cases can be quite high and therefore the search terms can run in the hundreds of dollars per click.

Monitor and Adapt to Optimize

Thom also said that keyword prices can change as the campaign progresses.  He urged the students to monitor their campaigns carefully and make good use of the marketing analytics tools in AdWords.  If possible, he suggested using a specific landing page for each campaign and linking Google Analytics to AdWords to get more insight into the results of the campaign. Thom also suggested the students set their budgets at a lower rate in the first week and then spend more money as they learn about what is working in their campaigns.

We thank Thom Disch for visiting our class and wish him continued success at Handi-Ramp. Thanks for making yourself available to the classes for future coaching. We look forward to working with you.

By Debra Zahay-Blatz.
You can find Debra on Google+ and Twitter as well as LinkedIn.

Link(edIn)ing Search and Social

Social Media Platforms Rank High in Search Engines

September 10th I am giving a talk at +Aurora University on how to create an effective LinkedIn Profile.  I am planning on talking about the importance of picking good search keywords so you can be found on LinkedIn.  If you want to work in social media marketing, put those keywords in your job descriptions, Profile Title and Summary sections. I gave this advice to a student last semester and within two days she started seeing relevant job recommendations targeted to her interests from LinkedIn.

Another aspect of a good LinkedIn profile is having a large number of connections.  Most experts suggest at least 500 connections as 'social proof' that you are influential in your field.  I have over 2500 connections, am listed in the top 1% of LinkedIn Profiles and my profile shows up in search results regularly.  As a result, my LinkedIn Profile comes up first when people search for me online.  If you are seeking to build a professional presence, you want this result also.

Search engines are putting more emphasis on social media platforms, which in itself is a reason to participate in social media. As you can see my guest blogging for econsultancy.com, my participation on Twitter and Slideshare, all come before my editorship of the Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing. The more active you can be on social media, the more you can control what others see about you online and how you are perceived.

Come hear more at the The Dunham School of Business (DSB) 2013-2014 Professional Development Series  The first session is Tuesday, September 10, 5-6pm in UBH. I will present, Get LinkedIn: The First Step in Personal Branding.  Hope to see you there.

By Debra Zahay-Blatz.
You can find Debra on Google+ and Twitter as well as LinkedIn.

Why Do We Still Have Mass Media?: What Today's Students Can Tell Us About Digital Marketing

Why Do We Still Have Mass Media?

Today's students (at least here at Aurora University) are already sharp and savvy marketers.  Many students in the first week of IMC classes here made the comment, "Why do we still have mass Media?" They didn't understand the reason for mass communication when digital communication has made it possible to interact on an individual level with customers through a wide variety of digital media.

Certainly the students have a point.  While allocation for digital marketing efforts has reached 25% of every ad dollar, consumers are moving more and more to digital media for their purchase decisions.  With 93% of consumers starting their purchase on search engines, the trend toward mobile purchasing and 'showrooming,' it seems that digital media offer opportunities that are more efficient, effective and have a greater chance of reaching the consumer directly.  So why aren't marketers moving more quickly to adopt digital marketing?

One Possible Answer to the Question

Don Schultz, Emeritis Professor at Northwestern's Medill School answers that question in this brief video.  Don suggests that old habits die hard and that marketers do things the way they have always done them.  I recommend watching this brief video and I am interested in your thoughts.  Do you think things will change as we educate the new generation of marketers in new forms of media.  Feel free to comment on this blog, email me at my new email dzahayblatz@aurora.edu or communicate on any of the many forms of social media in which I participate.




It looks like a great beginning to the semester with such insightful questions.  You don't have to convince mean that digital means direct being able to measure our results in a more meaningful way than mass advertising, a.k.a, delayed response.

By the way, welcome to my new Digital Marketing and Analytics Blog.  I opened it in honor of the new Digital Marketing Minor at +Aurora University which will be effective in the 2014-2015 course catalog.

By Debra Zahay-Blatz.
You can find Debra on Google+ and Twitter as well as LinkedIn.