Posted by: Kerry Houchin, Marketing Coordinator

What is it, and how does it work?
SearchWiki is a new tool that Google has unveiled allowing users who are logged into Google accounts to customize their search results.

Now, in addition to searching, you have the ability to:

• Move your favorite search results to the top of the listings
• Add a URL to appear along with Google’s results for certain searches
• Remove search results you don’t consider useful
• Make public comments about search results

One thing to note, however, is that the public comments are the only customizations that will appear to other users. If you move your website to the top of the results, you are the only one who will see that. read more »

Over the past week numerous 90octane staff members headed to a Bonfils Center in Westminster to give blood. The donations were prompted by an effort to replenish blood supplies for Zach Ficco, a patient at Lafayette’s Good Samaritan Hospital who is in need of transfusions.

During this time of year supplies are especially low and donation much appreciated. As 90octaners learned, one donation can save up to three lives. Join us in giving back this holiday season. Visit www.bonfils.org to find your local donation center or blood drive location.

Posted by: Shannon Denny, Project Manager

It seems more than ever marketers are striving to make the most of their marketing bucks. If you’ve previously run search engine marketing (SEM) programs, one of the best ways to stretch your dollar is to evaluate your campaigns’ past performance. Here are a few questions to ask when optimizing your current SEM campaign:

·     What type of traffic did your previous campaign drive? If you were satisfied with the number and quality of the leads you were receiving, then it’s safe to assume you can continue down the same path; however, if the leads didn’t necessarily give you the results you were looking for, consider the strategy of your past campaign. For a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaign, you may need to revisit the keyword strategy to determine what terms converted well. For an organic optimization (or SEO) program, see what position your website was showing up in, and try being more aggressive with any terms that aren’t performing to your expectations. read more »

Posted by: Jessica Shepherd, Project Manager

Can search engine marketing (or SEM) continue to sustain itself in the current economic slump? Here’s what some industry experts have to say…

A recent issue alert from BtoB Magazine reveals how search engine marketing remains strong despite the economic downturn. A new Covario study shows 32% growth for Q3 year over year for paid search in North America, while Forrester Research projects that paid search will grow 26% this year alone. Evan Andrews, an interactive marketing analyst with Forrester, said, “Because of its inherent accountability, search offers a safe haven for marketers and advertisers who are pushed by the recession to meet some pretty aggressive goals. You can track every cent and every click.”

Considering the current state of the economy and how some marketing budgets are being cut, it’s more important than ever for marketing tactics to be measurable. Take a glance at how digital tactics are affected during a recession in this MarketingSherpa chart:

My take? It’s no coincidence that advertisers are utilizing lower cost, measurable digital marketing tactics to maintain visibility and customer relationships. It’s critical to engage with smart marketing tactics that provide the best ROI for your business. That’s the bottom line.

Posted by: Leslie Russell, Senior Marketing Coordinator

Where has the time gone? It has been over a year since you last updated the metadata so important to your website’s search engine optimization (SEO), you can’t remember when the content on your site was last updated and some of your pay-per-click (PPC) advertising keywords seem a little stale. Now is the time to see which keywords have been performing, revamp your keyword list and get a refreshed search engine marketing strategy rolled out.

Start off by doing a little investigation on the success of your last keyword strategy.

Phase 1: Research

·      Review your site in-depth. Have you updated content or removed content? Are you keeping pace with trends in your industry?

·      Glance at your key competitors’ websites. Are they using different language and keywords throughout their content or metadata? Reviewing their sites may spark additional ideas for your keyword strategy. 

·      Pull analytics reports looking at non-paid and paid keywords.  Consider if all of these terms are still relevant, or if there are new terms you haven’t considered before.

·      Use keyword tools to gather recommendations of adjectives, synonyms, plurals, etc.

·      Take a look your organic and paid visibility. Are you getting exposure for the keywords you consider most important? If not consider how to make those words a higher priority in your refreshed keyword strategy. read more »

Posted by: Kelly Hall, Account Manager

Companies continue to utilize search engine marketing (SEM) to promote their products and services. Why? The simple fact is that prospects, as a result of the current economic conditions, are evaluating their purchasing decisions more closely than ever before.

In fact, prospects are now tasked with making smarter purchasing decisions. Faced with shrinking budgets, or simply calls to be more careful spenders, they are taking more steps to ensure that their purchases will 100% satisfy their business needs.  read more »

Posted by: Rosemary Riley, Senior Copywriter

If our recent series of posts on e-mail marketing hasn’t convinced you yet, check out these findings, courtesy of an eMarketer article from October 15th based on MarketingSherpa research:

Highlights of the full story include:

• E-mail ad spending was up 15% to $230 million during the first half of 2008 compared with the first half of 2007.
• As of Q1 2008, online marketers in the US said they were least likely to decrease e-mail marketing spending in case of a recession. Just 5% said they would cut their spending on e-mail if times got tight, compared with 41% who said they would cut display ads.

It seems e-mail isn’t going anywhere… at least not yet.

Posted by: Caitlin Diehl, Marketing Coordinator

With businesses investing more and more in interactive marketing efforts, it seems like there are hundreds of new e-newsletters popping up every day. How do you know which ones to subscribe to? Which ones are helpful, and which ones will only take up space in your inbox? Below is a list of some of my favorite e-newsletters available today and details on how they manage to stay on top with new competitors emerging all of the time.

·         MediaPost’s SearchINSIDER

o   INSIDER guarantees good content in a short, easy-to-read format. The blog is available through free subscription. It is sent to your inbox every day and provides valuable information about the search engine industry. Topics range from tips on word-of-mouth branding to social media marketing and even Google engine updates.

http://www.mediapost.com/blogs/search_insider/

  read more »