Firstly, the time frame of thirty days to track online display ads can now be customised to make sense to the business in question. For example, companies offering exclusive offers will likely be responded to by their customers within a shorter time frame than businesses offering Spanish lessons, where a customer may take time to decide if they want lessons and sign up. The flexibility of the time frame now provides advertisers with more valuable information of how effective an online display ad is , and more importantly how their target users interact with the ad.

The second improvement made by Google is that advertisers are now able to exclude any duplicate view-through conversion reporting across the search and content networks. If enabled, users who have clicked on search ads will be excluded from any online display ads reporting associated with the content network. This means that search-users’ clicks will only be attributed to search ads. Google also firmly state that if advertisers choose to use the exclusion settings for their campaigns, this will affect future data within the account.

The changes made by Google will undoubtedly improve online display ads conversion reporting and encourage PPC advertisers on the Google Content Network to make full use of conversion tracking. Moreover, by making the reporting more relevant can also aid in effectively targeting online display ads .

The independent artist who sells her designs via Etsy contacted Paperchase having discovered this ‘badly traced’ plagiarism; only to be ignored. Rather than getting expensive lawyers involved HiddenEloise turned to her blog and her story has now sky rocketed across social networking site Twitter, asking readers to contact Paperchase directly.

Now this story has reached the top 10 trending topics on Twitter it spells disaster for the company which has so far failed to comment on the claims and has no social networking presence; allowing the scandal to spread at an alarming rate!

The lesson here is, brand management on social networking is crucial. Big businesses can mess up but without being atuned to social networking sites like Twitter Paperchase is leaving their online reputation at the mercy of the bloggers.

Facebook PPC advertising is arguably the most exciting, targeted and effective new medium of advertising in the online marketer’s toolbox. Not only are the numbers impressive with more than 350 million active users averaging more than 55 minutes per day on Facebook in 70 different languages, but the hugely targeted approach is unparalleled. The ads can be targeted by keywords, sex, age, location, language, political views, relationship status, education status and workplace. Google Adwords , which has proved its success in its own right, only uses keywords and location to target potential traffic.

The brand identity Facebook has itself acts as a fantastic platform to create your own personality to position your brand as a fun, youthful one with innovative connotations and the news of the effectiveness of Facebook PPC has hardly gone unnoticed. A new report released from eMarketer , states that Facebook “will surpass its former rival, MySpace, in ad revenues in 2010, when marketers worldwide will spend $605 million (£381 million) on Facebook versus $385 million on MySpace”.

According to analytics firm Hitwise , Facebook was the “most visited site in the United States on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.” This is a huge milestone for Facebook as it was the first time the company was the most visited site in the U.S. ever, beating out the search giant Google!

Consumers who have been exposed to a brand through social media and paid search are 2.8 times more likely to search for that brand’s products. This sounds impressive, but it is important to note that social media PPC works far better for a brand with an emotional appeal. Charities and brands with powerful identities are particularly successful with the most noticeable example being Coca Cola who have the attracted over 4million users to their Facebook page. That figure is only beaten to the number one spot by Barack Obama’s page!

To conclude it is important to note that social media acts as a great integrative PPC tool and it probably won’t drive a huge amount of short-term revenue. The click-through rate (CTR) in paid search increases by 50% when consumers are exposed to both influenced social media and paid search.

After a successful two years, Facebook PPC advertising is really starting to come into its own and along with other social media sites can truly bring the definition of return on investment back to life!

Social Media can be a little over whelming, especially since there seems to be so many different sites: Facebook, MySpace, Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon to name but a few. Twitter has been the flavour of the month just lately receiving tons of publicity. It’s been in, or on just about everything, from the Daily Broadsheets to a regular feature called ‘Twitter Tattle’ on Alan Carr’s Chatty Man, (yes, I’m guilty but someone has to watch it!).

However, what do you do if you’ve managed to finally grasp Facebook establishing a fan page for your business, where you can at least understand what everyone is writing and now you are being told you need to get Twittering or should that be Tweeting? That’s fine, but if you took your first look at it and thought what on earth is everyone talking about with all the @’s and #’s and confusing your DMs with your RTs you might find this guide very handy. It’s called Twitter 101 .

The guide gives businesses a complete overview of Twitter: "What is Twitter", "Getting Started", "Learning the Lingo", "Best Practises" and "Case Studies" not to mention that they also provide a resources section and the option to download slides of the guide. It is a definite must read for any business considering or, even currently, using the microblogging service. It explains everything. Even the most sceptical will be able to see how using a Twitter account with only 140 characters can have an impact on the business.

Although it stands to reason that Twitter may be seen as a new phenomenon but, it does not usually work as a standalone business tool and should be integrated into your marketing plan carefully.

Why not follow us on Twitter .

Thus the result of such a service is that consumers can search on any term they wish and see what people think of it. TweetFeel gathers all the recent posts relating to the searched term and then decides as to the nature of the post i.e. positive or negative. It then filters the posts into positive, negative feelings and then gives a percentage. It classifies post using terms such as love, rocks, awesome, best for positive responses , then sucks and don’t like for negative responses. TweetFeel also counts happy and sad emoticons.

What better than to try it out for yourself? Here in the office we have strong feelings about Top Gear – love it or hate it (a bit like Marmite !) so a quick search on TweetFeel gave a result of 50 people in favour and 3 that weren’t, positive result of 94%.

However, in the results was the post "Ugh, top gear is good, but it can be just to obviously scripted. Let it be more spontaneous!" was counted as positive though it does have a negative undertone. As Conversition Strategies itself says "100% accuracy is an impossible goal" but this method has given them a higher and more comprehensive level of accuracy compared to similar services which have been previously offered. Whilst tools like this may have an influence on how brands conduct themselves within Social Media it is worthwhile to remember that they are still in their infancy and will need to be used appropriately. We look forward to watching such tools evolve and becoming more utilised in the workplace.

Everyone this morning is in shock that a legend has died after suffering a cardiac arrest yesterday lunchtime in Los Angeles. It was originally reported that Michael Jackson was in a coma, however Michael’s brother later reported that the legend had passed away.

Already social media sites such as Facebook and twitter have been overwhelmed with updates and tributes to the star. These started late last night when the first reports of Michael Jackson being rushed to hospital began. After speaking with many friends and colleagues this morning it seems that a vast majority of people were informed of Michael Jackson’s death via a social media platform. This demonstrates the importance of Social Media – it is now a regular source of information as well as a network for friends to stay in contact.

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There are a large number of internet marketing companies in the market place so when trying to choose a company to place your business with it can often be overwhelming. In fact, some people are so overwhelmed they make no choice at all and continue on using their own resources! Although there is a lot to take in, most businesses would benefit from the services of a one of the reputable internet marketing companies out there – the key is to choose the right one!

Whether you are looking to choose an internet marketing company or already have an existing provider it would be worthwhile to keep the following points in mind:

• Your website is a place for you to advertise to your customers. Remember this when you are writing website content: it’s a fine line between writing for your site and for the search engines , do not be tempted to overuse keywords.
• Is the agency offering to improve your site rankings or give your company a web presence?
• Have they promised your site 1st page rankings? No agency can promise you this. If they have it will be worth finding out what techniques they are planning on using. Black hat techniques will give your site fantastic results in a very short space of time HOWEVER, they will also ensure that your site is banned by the major search engines such as Google.
• Does the agency continually invest in R&D? The internet marketing industry is fast paced and it is imperative that companies keep up to date with what is and could be up and coming.
• Will the agency be prepared to report to you on a regular basis? Internet marketing is an ongoing project therefore it requires regular meetings and updates to ensure campaigns do not lose focus.
• Is the agency willing to provide you with references before you make your final decision?
• How long is the contract? If the internet marketing agency is confident in the results they are able to provide for you then it will not be necessary for them to tie you in to a long contract.

If you are in the process of researching internet marketing companies or you are not happy with the service your current agency is offering why not give us a call to have a chat with one of our team. Alternatively, go to our Contact Us page and send us an email .

Businesses struggling to drive sales forward have slashed budgets and reduced employee numbers in order to "trim the fat". However, they are facing the challenge of how to increase customer awareness and avoid unprofitable marketing spends. Where better to do this than online? As more and more people turn towards the internet as their primary research tool it is absolutely vital to ensure that a company’s online presence is working for them. It is all very well having an impressive looking website but if your target audience cannot find it how much use will it actually be to your company? Step in those companies who specialise in Search Engine Marketing.

SEM (which includes Search Engine Optimisation and Pay Per Click) can lay claim to the following benefits, low spend but high return on investment, long term increased web traffic, as well as improving brand awareness. SEM is a measurable business tool which is receiving increased media coverage due to its impact to successful marketing campaigns. Brands who were one-step ahead of the game, such as Uniqlo, have invested time and money to ensure that their long term marketing strategies have SEM at the centre.

Uniqlo, established in 1984, now has over 760 stores worldwide. Uniqlo are among the top 10 speciality apparel retailers in the world and Winner of a 2008 Time Out London Award. A focus on quality and value has stood Uniqlo in good stead throughout the economic downturn. Clothes are designed as individual pieces so that customers can tailor their own look. Recent media coverage, including features on Gok Wan’s Fashion Fix, has proved that the High Street has just as much to offer as the high end stores. Such an image has been reinforced thanks to the likes of Peaches Geldof and Jessica Michibata (Jenson Button’s girlfriend) being frequently been associated with Uniqlo in the press.

4Ps Marketing was setup by two young entrepreneurial marketing graduates who saw just how much potential this field has to offer and were fed up working for companies that offered awful results. The duo went on to become Google AdWords Qualified Individuals before establishing the agency. The London based agency now stands out from its competition by taking a uniquely marketing led approach within a traditionally technical discipline.

Uniqlo have recently invested in a collaboration with SEM agency 4Ps Marketing placing emphasis on the search engine Google. Through tailored Search Engine Optimisation and Pay Per Click campaigns Uniqlo are ensuring they reach their target audience. Using the likes of Google Analytics the campaigns have been monitored and optimised to full advantage. With the results of the Uniqlo and 4Ps collaboration speaking for themselves as online revenue has recently increased by 30.76%.

4Ps Marketing and Uniqlo have both shown that if you innovate within a recession you can still grow and find profit even in the tougher times.

Search engine optimisation or SEO is a broad topic; there are many ways to gain high organic search engine rankings in Google and other major search engines. However, not all these tactics are the same; there are some differences in strategy, depending on the route a company chooses. SEO is a part of search engine marketing (or SEM) and is used by a variety of businesses throughout the world.
SEO Strategies

Transactional search engine strategies are ideal for selling directly from the search engines. An e-commerce website or sales based company, using this strategy, would aim to be listed in search engine results for keywords that are related to the products or services they sell.

Branding search engine optimisation is a strategy that involves targeting keywords in order to associate a brand with popular search terms. For example, the aim for a company in fashion – who might not necessarily be selling a product – would be to target keywords that related to the fashion industry in order to associate the company brand with those terms.
The Advantages of Transactional SEO Results

There are many advantages to transactional search engine strategies and the main focus is, of course, the ability to sell directly from the search engines. Transactional results are those that have been acquired by a user searching for a specific product or service.

An ecommerce website would greatly benefit from this type of SEO and it is usually the most common route taken by young ecommerce companies. The advantages of this form of SEO are numerous, but the overruling gain is that a user will be searching for exactly what the company is offering. Therefore the traffic from the search engines is extremely targeted, which we all know means more sales.
The Advantages of Branding SEO Results

Again, there are several advantages to brand search engine strategies and the one that usually takes precedence is that having your brand name listed in Google, or any other search engine’s results will achieve great exposure for your company.

This form of SEO is usually used by companies who are not selling a product or service directly and is likely to be popular with companies who want to be related with certain news topics or subject matters. For example, a company who is focusing on creating a greener environment won’t be selling product, but would want to be related to that search term in search engine results.
The reality

The reality is the strategy you use will be self selected by the services you offer. If you offer high end consultancy services to blue chip companies then you will take a branded approach. If you sell large numbers of small items through an e-commerce website you will use a transactional strategy. If you are a large retail brand selling online you are likely to use both.

The key is planning your SEO strategy within the wider SEM strategy and in turn within the wider marketing strategy. Understanding the differences between transactional and branding strategies is essential when assessing the ROI of any SEM strategy.

Author: 4Ps Marketing London

Believe it or not maketing is a very commonly miss typed word. Thousands of people search for maketing in Google and manage to repeatedly misspell / miss type the word Marketing for Maketing.

Most people type Maketing because they are typing too fast on the keyboard and drop the R as oppossed to a true miss spelling.