What is Google AdWords?

Advertising through Google AdWords allows an immediate and targeted reach in relation to potential customers.  The ever changing applications within AdWords allow a more defined and effective campaign to be set up, run and adjusted in response to performance. Varying methods of campaign delivery and cost application ensure a totally flexible solution to paid advertising online.

How Can We Help?

Google AdWords is a powerful, cost effective way of promoting your business online – if planned and set up correctly.  Many people who contact us already have campaigns running and are looking to improve the ROI (return on investment) – we often review their campaigns and find that in a few simple steps we can save them a considerable money and ensure that their daily budget is spent wisely.

We have extensive knowledge and experience in setting up and running Google AdWords campaigns and can assist any business, in any market, with any budget.

We review/paln any campaign by:

• Fully reviewing campaign to date (in consultation with client regarding campaign goal specifics)
• Researching new keyphrases
• Creating new AdGroups more focused to the chosen phrases
• Re-grouping phrases
• Matching phrases correctly
• Reviewing daily budget and keyphrase CPC levels
• Creating multiple, effectively optimised AdText
• Reviewing delivery methods
• Scheduling campaign effectively
• Creating campaign reports to deliver as required
• Integrating campaign performance data with online marketing reporting

We can help you get more from Google AdWords | Contact Us Today

If you would like more information relating to this post please contact me or join me online: Twitter | Facebook

When you make a search within Google you will note that more often than not the top results are related to ‘local business listing’ (including location maps).  We are regularly asked by our customers how to get their businesses listed in these results and what additional value it will have in relation to their sites’ SEO – the method of listing your business is easy (you just need a Google account) and the value in terms of SEO is huge and best of all … it’s free to list!

• How does it all work?
  
• How do I claim my listing?
  
• How do I make the most of it’s features?

Google have recently combined its Local Business Centre and Place Pages into one entity, and in addition added some new features.

In order help you get listed properly and make the most of the service, Google have recently published an in depth webinar explaining all. If you looking for more information or are new to the Google Business Centre/Google Places we highly recommend that you watch this, it really is a must see:

Has your telephone number or email address changed as your business has grown?  Perhaps you have moved premises?  What about all the extra services you now provide and those ones that you no longer find cost effective to offer anymore?

When we first work with customers, especially accommodation providers, we urge that they search the net for all references to them and their business.  It is quite frightening to see what comes up sometimes i.e. room rates set at £25 when actually the price is now £50.  So now begins the work of tidying up and updating and in future keeping on top of it.

All a bit daunting and time consuming.  Well obviously you know that we can do it for you don’t you?  Whether it is you or us who carries out this work a good place to start is to have all your information in one place so you can copy and paste where required:

1. Business Name
2. Contact Name
3. Telephone Number
4. Email Address
5. Website Address
6. Services Provided
7. 10 / 50 / 100 / 500 word descriptions about your business

Once you have these in place then it is just a matter of trawling through every mention of you and your business, oh and a quick tip… don’t send every business listing or web link to your home page – send them to the most relevant page on your website for that particular directory or listing.  Another tip, make your first stop the Google Business Centre – absolutely imperative that this is completely up to date.

The Early Years – offline marketing

Tracking the return on marketing spend

Before I started my own SEO & Internet marketing company I worked in the hotel business for over 20 years and latterly up until 2003 in the marketing of hotels.  One of my tasks was to source associations, organisations and companies such as Visit Scotland, the AA, Best Loved Hotels – that would work to raise the profile of the hotel whilst generating enquiries that would create bookings.

In order to merit the annual fees these sources had to generate business and it was a difficult task ensuring that each enquiry/booking could be attributed to a referring source. The correct processes and procedures had to be in place in order to ensure that all enquiries were sourced correctly – and human error played it’s part to muddy the waters!

In the early years most of the associative marketing activities were done offline but as time has gone on this has changed and online marketing has become the key business driver of any hotel or accommodation provider – gone too are the days of large budgets available to hotels in an ever more competitive market.

Online Marketing – taking control

online marketing - hotels and accommodation providers

Most (if not all!) hotels and accommodation providers have websites and many have taken control of their own online marketing.  Arguably cheaper and more effective than offline (traditional marketing) many have sought the help of companies like ours who understand their industry and can provide effective SEO (search engine optimisation) in order to achieve good search engine rankings and stay competitive within their market sector.

Whatever the activity, whoever provides the service and whoever your business is listed with online – all must be able to be measured in terms of what business through enquiries and bookings is being generated.

Many of the services purchased in the pursuit of effective online marketing are ‘untried’, you will have only heard about their ability and effectiveness to generate business – whether through recommendation or word of mouth.

Measuring Online Success – ROI (return on investment)

You must be in a position whereby you can make an informed decision as to the ongoing validity of continuing to use a particular online marketing service and for this you must be able to measure its success – each must pay its way!

If I pay company £X /year to be listed on company Y’s website and it generates £Z in business, my ROI is ABC%

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In part 2 | How to – measure your online marketing efforts

If you would like more information relating to this post please contact me or join me online: Twitter | Facebook

Clients Crianlarich Hotel nominated for industry awards

Hot on the heels of some great reviews and the award of 3 stars from the AA, The Crianlarich Hotel has been nominated for Turnaround Hotel of the Year, Best Value Hotel and Good Food Hotel at the Scottish Hotel Awards 2010.

Our clients are surprised but absolutely thrilled by the news. The awards are on Sunday 25th April and we wish them all the best!

If you would like to lend your support please vote using the below link.

The Scottish Hotel Awards – nominate, vote & support

Join them online on: Twitter | Facebook

3 star Scottish Hotel at Crianlarich

One of our new clients, The Crianlarich Hotel have recently been awarded 3-stars by the AA.  Situated in Crialarich, ideally located near to Loch Lomond, The River Tay, Glencoe, Oban and the Western Isles, the hotel has also just  installed a new kitchen, totally transformed the reception and opened their new restaurant.  It is also rumored that the AA may return to inspect their food with a view to awarding them their first Rosette – our fingers are firmly crossed for them.

This great 36 room Scottish hotel, in a perfect situation is well worth a visit and we wish them all the best in gaining true recognition for all their hard work.

Join them online on: Twitter | Facebook
Read Guest Reviews on: Trip Advisor (97% of travellers recommend)

So, whats the point of 1000’s of followers if they are following for the sake of it?  What we all want are followers who are interested in what we have to say, are keen to learn from our experiences or are just being nosy and want to keep a gossipy eye on what we are doing – I fall into that category I think!  Many of us have both a business and a personal Twitter account some of us link them both together but still the big question is how do I get more people to follow me?

So, this is the theory:

1.  Who is the most influential person/business you are following on Twitter who is in the same line of business as you and who you would consider a mentor in their field?

2.  Start following the people that are following your mentor.  Do this is blocks of 50 per day.

3.  After 3 days, anyone who has not followed back from your first 50, unfollow them.

4.  Repeat the process every day, unfollowing people if they havent followed you, and start following 50 more people. (A good tip here is to create private lists in order to keep track of when you initially followed them, so as not to repeat)

5.  Anyone who has followed you back, make sure you interact with them – not just an automated tweet saying thanks for the follow – actually go and look at their posts and find something that you can associate with.

OK, reality check – have any of us got the time to do this every day?  I know I haven’t!  So, in our business we have taken this theory and put it into practice but with a much longer time frame associated, but, I am pleased to say it is working and we are closer to doing more business with more people.  We are starting to build our followers up and I would like to think they are following us because they think we might have something interesting to say – of course they might stop following us next week because they are bored with us but then that is completely out of our control!

Are you a quality follower?  Well then you can follow Aviemore Business and we will speak soon.

Google Ad Innovations

Google are currently testing a new type of paid advertising, specifically geared towards e-commerce websites.  Much the same as traditional AdWords, the new innovation will incorporate a CPA (cost per action), whereby the advertiser only pays for the ‘click’ when the user click on the ad and completes a purchase on the website.

This new type of PPC, called Google Ad Innovations, integrates with the Google Merchant Centre account and is still only in early Beta testing – only a few advertisers have been given access to it’s developing functionality, but more will follow over time until it is rolled out within the Google service portfolio.

This could be major development in how many and how often e-commerce businesses utilise Google products for selling products online.

More information at http://bit.ly/dbJ4cc | More about SEO and Internet Market at www.aviemorebusiness.co.uk

NEW! AdWords search funnels

True to Google’s tradition of constantly adding new stuff, AdWords search funnels have now been added to Google AdWords (found under the reporting tab > conversions).

AdWords Search Funnels are a set of reports describing the ad click and impression behavior on Google.com that leads up to a conversion. In addition to a Top Conversions report, Search Funnels consist of 7 reports including Assisted Conversions, First and Last Click Analysis, Time Lag, and Path Length. For an overview of these new reports, see the intro video

So if anyone can help out here at all I / we (must include husband who doesn’t like change at the best of times) would be eternally grateful.  Thanks!