7 Questions To Ask Before You Hire a PPC Management Company

If you've ever thought about outsourcing your PPC, then this post is for you. Pay-Per-Click Expert Paul Rakovich provides some very helpful guidance on choosing a PPC vendor. I normally don't post other people's stuff - but this is incredibly valuable... check it out!

My (Paul's) Experiences with Outsourcing My Pay-Per-Click Needs

The first pay-per-click management company that I hired kept raising my budget and jacking up my costs-per-click. Yet, I wasn't getting any conversions! So I decided to fire that PPC firm and manage my own pay-per-click campaigns. I studied under the top gurus like Perry Marshall. I bought all the ebooks and coaching programs. And, I spent more than $10,000.00 figuring everything out on my own until I grew a no name business into $50k per month in sales all from pay-per-click advertising. But, I worked day and night on my pay-per-click campaigns.

I spent a ton of time, money and effort on it. I couldn't handle it anymore so I hired another pay-per-click firm to take over the accounts again. They did a nice job and are still around today, but I saw some holes in their approach. Now, I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did. I want to help you choose a pay-per-click management company that's actually going to help you turn clicks into clients.

Here are 7 Questions You Need to Ask Before You Hire a Pay-Per-Click Management Company

1. This is going to piss people off: How many accounts does an account manager handle? Just because you have a "dedicated" account manager doesn't mean he/she isn't dedicated to 50 other accounts. This is not uncommon in some of the larger pay-per-click firms out there. If they work 40 hours per week that's less than 1 hour/week they are spending on your account, provided they do nothing but work on accounts every minute of the day.

2. Can I peek in and have access to my Google & Yahoo accounts? There's a new breed of PPC management that keeps everything secret. They are basically buying a click for $1.00 then charging you an undisclosed markup on the click. That's why their setup & management fees are low. They're making money on marking up your clicks.

3. What constitutes an improvement? You need to put in your order with the pay-per-click firm just like you would order a steak medium rare with a side of truffle fries to a waiter. Don't be afraid to ask for help and don't be afraid to speak up. For example: I want to increase sales while keeping my cost-per-sale under $50.

4. Do you track phone calls? If you are doing any part of the business offline then your pay-per-click management company should offer a way to track where your calls are coming from. Tracking calls back to specific keywords helps eliminate waste and will reveal high response terms you'll want to dominate.

5. What are your prices? Now, don't be cheap. There is no such thing as a Mercedes Benz for Honda prices. I'll admit some people don't need the Mercedes, but if you are spending $2,000/month or more, chances are you at least need a certified, pre-owned BMW.

6. What is your experience? I'm all for giving the new guy a try. I was the new guy at one point. Nothing, I repeat nothing can replace experience. Experience comes from long hours of hard work. There are no magic formulas. Good solid basics and some creativity will always win in the end.

7. Will you involve me in the project? No one knows your business as well as you. Get specific on how often you'll meet to review the results and plan next steps. A good pay-per-click firm will welcome your input. It is invaluable.

Now, it's up to you. But, if you fail to ask the above questions, then you're risking hiring and firing new pay-per-click management companies when things go south or spending tens of thousands of dollars learning how to do it yourself like I did. Learn from my pay-per-click outsourcing experiences.

Pay-Per-Click Expert Paul Rakovich grew a no-named business selling Tony Robbins CDs to doing $50,000.00 per month in sales with PPC advertising. Today, he manages PPC campaigns for plastic surgeons, dermatologists, clothing companies, dentists, lawyers, Internet marketers, a famous copywriter and more! Now get his FREE 5 PPC Fixes That Could Save You Thousands at http://www.clicksandclients.com & learn how to turn your clicks into paying clients.

Facebook and Twitter... Reaching Your Audience

Today just about everyone is writing about Facebook and Twitter. I have to tell you... I'm a skeptic. It's not that I don't think that both are great for communicating, but just like Myspace, are they really all they're cracked up to be from a marketing perspective?

I recently spoke to a customer who said, "I love facebook... I spend about $5,000/month and pay only $0.50 per click." When I asked him how many sales he had generated, his answer was, "I don't know." Even though it was a single conversation, I have a feeling that many marketers who think that Facebook and Twitter are such good ways to promote themselves have little or no data to confirm their success. Or, as the example above shows, think success equals traffic.

To be successful with your online marketing, you need to find new sources of traffic - this is true. However, you must focus on the return of your investment. Are you advertising on Facebook? Using Twitter to build a list of followers? If you are, than ask yourself, is the return I'm getting greater than my investment in time and/or money?

My personal perspective, as I learn more about Facebook and Twitter is that it's great for sharing information about you, your products, and or services. However, if you want to sell directly, you'll be greatly disappointed.

Follow me on Twitter by clicking here

Post #401: Good Marketing Tips

I recently wrote an article for a publication called, "My ten best marketing tips". I think the article is a bit long for posting here so I thought I'd break it up into 3 separate posts. So here are my top 3. Let me know if you're applying these techniques to your own marketing.

As a lifetime marketing professional, I've seen a great deal of marketing campaigns initiated in virtually every marketing area known to man. Some campaigns have been wildly successful while others have failed. I've often asked myself what the the difference has been between successful marketing campaigns and those that have been complete failures.

Today, the art of marketing is far more complex than it once was. However, many of the same basic principles still apply. Too often professional marketers and web site owners overlook the basic techniques that have separated successful campaigns from those that never turn a profit. Here is my all time list of effective marketing tips.

Know your audience. Successful campaigns get that way because marketers know their audience. They understand their needs, how to help fulfill those needs and how to create demand. Knowing and understanding your audience through proper market segmentation means a well targeted campaign that gets results.

It's all about the offer. The success of any marketing campaign is directly related to the appeal of the offer. Many people feel that a good marketing piece is measured on good copy or design alone. One of the most important aspects of any marketing campaign in the offer. Without a compelling offer you'll never see results.

Split test your marketing. Never run marketing campaign without testing different elements. One of the most common is a split test which allows you to simultaneously test two versions of something. It can be a web page, post card, or email. Split testing is essential for improving performance of all marketing campaigns.

That's all for now. I'll post the remaining tips in my next few posts.

To your success... Michael

Improve Your Web site Traffic

A question I've been getting recently is how to improve web site traffic. There are a few techniques that I use on a regular basis to improve site traffic. These techniques have helped me to drive traffic to specific sites, promotions, or affiliate products that I've sold from time to time.

Tip #1: Start to build a list. Whether you build a list by offering a free download on your website or by using inexpensive PPC advertising, having your own list allows you to encourage users to visit your site again and again. Over time, this can be one of your best traffic generators.

Tip #2: Make it easy to bookmark your site. Include a bookmark button at the very top of your web page. Doing so gives individuals easy access to your site and the content that you offer. You want it to be easy to find your site whenever someone is seeking the information you provide.

Tip #3: Include an RSS feed on your site. When individuals sign up for an RSS feed, they receive updates on a regular basis. This keeps your site and your information in front of them again and again. Don't underestimate the power of repetition.

Tip #4: Offer original content on your site. Author original content and post it on your site. Doing so results in a higher ranking on search engine results. It also attracts new users to your web site.

These tips seem pretty basic but they build upon one another. Over time you will attract a loyal following and more visitors. My main website now sees more than 100,000 visitors each month and it all started with orginal content that is easy to find, bookmark, and receive with an RSS feed.

Best
-Michael

Pay-Per-Click Marketing: Is It For You?

Most marketers I talk to often tell me that they are losing money with Pay Per Click marketing. I too have had mixed results with PPC. The question I found myself asking was, "who is using PPC and making money?" In my experience, it takes a lot of research to win at PPC, but win you can.

When I started with pay per click advertising, I struggled a great deal. Either I got tons of traffic and no sales or little traffic and no sales. Over time, with the proper tracking, I learned which bidding strategies improved my quality score and click through rates. Once I was driving traffic, the key was to improve conversions.

Improving conversions is not an easy task. Again, the only time I started seeing success was once I began testing - much like I did for years with my direct marketing efforts. The testing was time consuming and tedious. I would only change one element at a time and let it run for 2 -3 weeks before I could draw a conclusion.

The good news however is that once you make these distinctions: choosing the right keywords, finding your top performing ads, and optimizing your landing pages, you're basically on auto-pilot. So if you're struggling with PPC, just hand in there. I recommend that you break down the task of PPC marketing into small steps and attempt to make progress one stage at a time.

Best of luck with your PPC. Whatever you do, don't get discouraged simply stay the course!