One (1) Simple Tactic that Carnival can Learn from the BP Oil Spill. As you can see, even (2) two years later BP is still in Reputation Management mode.

Information Provided by Spyfu.com

Carnival’s Reputation Management (or their lack of)

When searching for “Carnival Cruise Lines” in Google, Carnival makes no mention of the latest disaster or even apologies about the event. Instead, they are trying to get the incident off everyone’s radar and continue with business as usual. However, when searching for long tail terms like “carnival cruise line triumph”, Carnival has purposely decided NOT to advertise, and that is POOR Reputation Management. Also, as you can see, Law Firms are taking advantage of this, even though some of the Text Ad Messaging is a little lackluster at best.

More Law Firms “Cashing In” on Disaster:

In typical fashion, which is a good strategy nonetheless, are using PPC Marketing to reach out to victims and/or people who know the victims of the Triumph disaster. However, the messaging of these Text Ads does raise a few eyebrows for their lack of Persuasion and Interaction with the searcher. But in general, these Ads are exactly what people expect to see from Law Firms. Non-Personal, Straight to the point, and that they have lots of experience.

In conclusion:

Carnival Cruise Lines is making yet another terrible mistake, not only with their current situation, but with their future. Online Marketing, especially PPC Marketing is very important media vehicle for Branding and Reputation Management. Overall, PPC Marketing makes up just a fraction of Media Advertising Budgets and the fact that there are not addressing the incident to the victims, potential customers or even the mass public is frankly a disgrace. If there is one thing about PPC Marketing that is still not fully understood, it’s the reinforcement of Protecting Reputations when needed.

Screenshot of NRA’s PPC Text Messaging:

Quick Notes: This text ad does a great job in utilizing Sitelinks, Multiple Calls to action and also Reputation Management.

Keyword Expansion Trends over the past years:

Quick Notes: Even though the NRA is a huge organization, the keyword expansion looks significant in the graph, however they are very small in terms of overall visibility. It’s very obvious the NRA knew they needed to ramp up awareness due to the Political Pressures and Gun Violence in the news.

Budget Trends over the Past Years:

Quick Notes: Even though (again) this is not a significant amount of budget, it clearly identifies a strategy to increase awareness and memberships.

In Conclusion:

Please understand this Post has nothing to do with personal and political views. It’s about the Strategy and the timeliness of the NRA’s initiative to increase Memberships and protect their brand image. Even though I am a little surprised at the minimal amount of budget and keyword visibility, because they are the NRA, I do believe it’s an effective strategy for them to take.

According to many Blogs and News organization, the NHL is in Bad Shape and they need to plan to get the Fans and Sponsors back. In a recent article by The Globe and Mail, entitled Marketing master must figure out how to regain NHL’s mojo, author David Shoats talks about the rough road ahead for John Collins, COO and Marketing Guru to pick up the pieces. Shoats states “The league’s chief operating officer and marketing guru has the toughest job in hockey now, along with every executive on most of the league’s 30 teams who is in charge of selling tickets.”

How Can They Leverage PPC Marketing?

When someone types in “NHL” or “NHL Lockout” their needs to be a Text Ad messaging that identifies with the fans that the “NHL is Back and Better than ever”. Perhaps a coupons for discounted tickets or merchandise. Raffles for contests, etc….

How much has the NHL spent in Google?

According to the great folks over at SpyFu, the NHL has been “all over the map” with their ad spend trends and the fact that there is no visible pattern is a little troubling as a marketer. Now, the obvious trends that we can see with both the NHL and NBA is around Holiday Shopping in November and December respectively.

What Keywords are the NHL Buying?

Well, let’s just say they should re-evaluate their current PPC Strategy. After looking at their paid keywords which are specific to nhl.com only, I am not sure that Garry Bettman would appreciate the NHL spending $$$ on terms like “nfl jersey“, “nfl games” and shockingly “nfl beanies“. So, with this brief investigation, they may have more problems with their PPC than Reputation Management at this point.

In Conclusion:

The NHL needs to stop spending Ad dollars to sell licensed merchandise, and put that money into saving the sport. PPC Marketing should be used to bring back the Fans and get them excited again. In this case, PPC should be used because of the timing factor with the news cycles. Whatever the NHL decides to do, remember PPC Marketing is has many useful benefits and should not be overlooked.

Comparison Breakdown:

Estimated Daily PPC Budgets:

According to Spyfu data, both the campaigns are showing the same gradual increase in PPC Budgets as we get closer to the election. However, it is safe to say that President Obama has a solid lead on Romney across the board from SEO to PPC.

Keyword Visibility Comparison

Now that we know that the Obama campaign is spending more and getting more visits that the Romney Campaign, I wanted to give my readers a little more insight into the size of their respected Adwords campaigns in terms of not only spend, but the amount of keywords being used. What is interesting here is not the obvious gap in keyword volume by the Obama Campaign, but more importantly the keyword overlap by the Campaigns bidding on each other. In another report I created, Romney is bidding on controversial campaign topics such as “obama plan, obama tax plan, obama care, etc..”

Here’s a snapshot from Spyfu which shows the big difference in Keyword Volumes:

In conclusion:

The information provided in the post is more for us PPC Geeks out there who wonder about this stuff. It’s clear Obama, (even in the 2008 Election) is far more savvy than his Republican Foes (but Ron Paul had an excellent website and online grass roots strategy). No matter what happens on November 6, 2012, our country will decide on the next President of the United States. One this is clear however, Google will be the ultimate winner in the end. (once again)

My take on this Ebook:

The reason why this eBook is so valuable, is because it not only caters to newbies, it also gives those veterans out there a quick guide on best practices and a fresh new perspective in creative writing. It’s obvious that the text ad examples are both creative and edgy, but Elizabeth does a great job explaining the benefits as well as “how to” tips that I don’t even remember such as…. “Hold down the ALT key while creating the ad and type in: 0153 for the TM and 0174 for the ®.”

Very Entertaining to Read:

Even as a blogger, I am not much of a reader (I’d rather watch the movie). But what Elizabeth has put together makes me laugh at both the “PPC Geekdom Level” and well as the “OMG” level. Now, I am sure that many advertisers might shy away from “Late Night” type language, but it does raise the question of how best interact with the searcher. Marsten not only provides some really great examples, she also refers identifies which type of advertisers who would benefit from them. Here are some funny, yet interesting examples:

Now, below are my favorite examples of pushing the limits of Text Ad writing

Using Sound-based terms to engage searchers

Sound Dirty with Double entendres

Click here to Purchase “Write Ad Copy that Inspires Greatness” by Elizabeth Marsten

I do not normally endorse books, but I have to say that this eBook is definitely worth the $9.95. The humor alone pays for itself.

It’s also important to note that running mate, Paul Ryan is getting very little exposure in PPC and does not have his own messaging/platform being exposed. Anyways, judge for yourself. Here are some screenshots recently taken:

Google Search for Mitt Romney

Key Difference: Has a clear message that engages the Searcher by asking a question.

Google Search for Paul Ryan

Key Difference: There is clear lack of messaging and CTA to donate only.

Yahoo/Bing Search for Mitt Romney

Key Difference: This ad does not follow the messaging as the Romney Ad in Adwords. (inconsistent)

Why Bing needs the help of PPC Gurus

When an advertiser approaches either a PPC Marketing Firm or a consultant for either taking over an account or the creation of a new one, suggesting Google Adwords as their primary platform is not always the best strategy. Don’t get me wrong, there are still many problem areas with Bing Ads, especially their Search Partners and irrelevant traffic, not to mention their Content Network. However, Bing/Yahoo provides advertisers with a different audience amongst both Bing and Yahoo properties. With that said, PPC Gurus need to convince advertisers (aka, the client) the benfits of Bing and that they should allocate a percentage of their Ad dollars. Moreover, to make that easier on the client, giving them $100 in free ad dollars simply to test the platform would make them feel like it’s a “WIN-WIN”.

Strategies for Budget Allocation to Bing Ads:

Well, let’s admit it. Google has the largest audience and they have embraced their advertisers by giving them optimization recommendations (even though poorly executed) as well as been very generous with their $100 coupons for new accounts and have made Agencies lives much easier by supporting them through programs such as Google Engage. Typically, the strategies to migrate Adwords Campaign to Bing/Yahoo can be seen in 2 steps:

1. Migrate everything in Google to Bing at the launch of the campaign
2. Migrate only the top performers from Google into Bing

In Conclusion:

If the title of this article doesn’t reveal my age or even what songs are in my head sometimes, I am always a sucker for the underdog. In this case, I am animate making things easier for PPC Marketers and Advertisers succeed online. PPC Marketers should not “write off” Bing as part of their strategy and Microsoft has a duty to reach out to Agencies and PPC Experts to promote their platform and give advertisers more confidence in them. Sometimes, I wonder if the people ar Microsoft are not confident about their product. Is this the reason why they took forever “put aside their pride” and enhance Adwords Integration? Are they not comfortable giving out $100 coupons to new advertisers because they are afraid they will see poor results. Search Marketing is more than Google, and Microsoft needs not an Ambassador Program, they need an actual Ambassador.

Well, here’s a few examples that come to mind

1. Irrelevant Broad Match-based Head Tail Terms
2. Campaigns with both Search and Display Networks activated
3. Recommendations to increase traffic without focus on CTR%, Quality Score and Conversions
4. Text and Banner Ads showing up on Gaming and Sex sites within Google’s display network
5. Increase CPC’s and daily budgets without reasons why

What advertisers need to do to recover from being burned from Adwords recommendations

1. Just stop listening to Google’s Recommendations completely.
2. Focus on conversions, NOT just traffic.
3. Identify conversion(s) goals and develop an an accurate Cost/Conversion and ROAS%
4. Diversify to other platforms. (ie. Yahoo/Bing, Facebook Ads, Trellian’s Direct Search, LinkedIn ads, StumbleUpon Paid Discovery)
5. Focus on the “after the click” side of PPC Marketing (Landing Page Optimization, Phone, Forms and Social interactions)
6. Hire a PPC Expert/consultant for an Audit or ongoing management and optimization.

Important Factors to consider in PPC Marketing

For PPC Gurus, these tactics above are pretty obvious, but can sometimes be a “blessing in disguise” to educate advertisers that there is more to PPC Marketing than just adwords. Here are is a simple graphic which lays out some of the important elements that are needed for a successful PPC experience.

Other Factors that Influence PPC Performance

• Competitor Budget Depletion (monthly and daily) that can affect AVG positions throughout a 24 hour period
• Utilizing Adwords Dimensions which can help identify Opportunities for effective Dayparting and GEO.
• Quality Score Ratings are based on “before the click” data, NOT “after the click”. Look at conversions first before your pull the plug
• Reviewing past history of PPC and SEO to gauge seasonality and expansion to other networks. (aka, QUICK WINS!)
• Constantly test Landing Pages based on interaction levels and conversions.
• Don’t forget to integrate social media into Landing Pages, to get the most “bang for your buck”
• Utilize Ad Extensions (sitelinks, locations, call, product, social, mobile app)
• If daily budgets are depleted, use Dimensions to see when this is happening
• If advertising across multiple countries, utilize dimensions to measure conversions by country and create separate campaigns just for that winning country

In conclusion

Yes, it does feel like there are a million different bells and whistles, as well as tactics at our disposal. However, understand that Google’s #1 concern is getting advertisers to keep on spending money. There best practices that they preach are not always the ones they recommend. Furthermore, there is PPC life beyond Adwords and more advertisers need to leave the nest. PPC should be all about performance and nothing else.

Learning or “stealing” from the Google model:

It’s a “no-brainer” for Microsoft to copy Google’s MCC interface as most PPC Marketers are used to the functionality and expect nothing less. However, unless Google can somehow sue Microsoft for stealing their processes, it’s a smart move by Microsoft to take advantage of the existing behaviors of PPC Marketers for easier adaptation of their Agency Enablement option. I am just surprised that it took this long to finally listen to all of the past complaints.

Deeper Look into the adCenter Agency Enablement Features

• Linking / Unlinking:  Easily link or unlink your agency relationships without losing your account or performance history.
• Onboarding:  Send a new or existing advertiser a request to manage their account for quick and easy onboarding and account management.
• Billing:  More control and flexibility for both agencies and advertisers over billing preferences.
• Account Level Agency Management:  Agencies can manage client accounts at the account level, rather than the customer level, providing advertisers greater flexibility in tailoring their account management needs to the unique needs of their business.

Click here to read more about adCenter Agency Management

Romney Campaign needs to Protect Brand Reputation:

The Romney campaign should be careful to utilize negative keywords to prevent embarrasments like this below. In fact, the Ad below the Romney Ad is a sign that this term “mitt romney gaffes” is worth a closer look.

Misspellings: Missed Opportunities or Strategic Thinking:

I am left scratching my head when I see a Text Ad being shown for a Misspelling of Michele Onama, yet when I search on the correct name “Michelle Obama” there are no ads shown. Are they trying to reach people who are poor spellers?

The Good vs. Bad with Obamacare in PPC Marketing:

This one has both a “GOOD” example of reputation management as well as a “BAD” example being done by political opponents Obamacare. It appears that the Obama campaign is doing a good job in utilizing PPC for sticking to their guns on the issue, however the opponents are lacking some basic keyword expansion.

Where are the Opponents of Obamacare?

Opponents are bidding on “obama care” but not “obamacare”. Seems like a lost opportunity.

In conclusion:

When it comes to Politics, especially the Presidential Election, Fundraising, Reputation and Messaging are the key factors in measuring a successful PPC Campaign. Now, it’s easy to do some “Monday morning Quaterbacking” but we can clearly see some “Gaffes” in the PPC Marketing tactics. These screenshots are just a few examples of both “gaffes” and good examples of leveraging PPC Marketing. The Presidential election will not be won from PPC. However, PPC Marketing is a vital part of the conversation on TV and Social Media.