Advertising

Should You Be Reading PPC Hero?

doug@websitemagazine.com (Doug Hughes) — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 06:00:00 GMT

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can be a powerful tool for businesses looking to reach new customers and grow their online presence. However, mastering the art of PPC can be challenging, especially for those new to the field. That's where PPC Hero comes in.

Tips to Improve PPC Campaigns and Reduce Cost Per Click

travis.bliffen@websitemagazine.com (Travis Bliffen) — Sun, 05 Feb 2023 06:00:00 GMT

Pay per click advertising can be an effective method of driving traffic instantly to your website or blog. In case you are new to PPC advertising, it is a method in which you create ads, select keywords, and pay each time someone clicks your ad and visits your website. You can gain a better understanding of the basics and even advanced tactics by participating in the Google Certification Program. As for those of you who are already somewhat familiar with PPC advertising, here are fifteen ways you can improve your campaign and lower your cost per click.

2023 Google Ads for Lead Generation

doug@websitemagazine.com (Doug Hughes) — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 06:00:00 GMT

Introduction to Google Ads for Lead Generation in 2023

Addressing Demand-Side Ad Fraud Woes

peter@websitemagazine.com (Pete Prestipino) — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 06:00:00 GMT

Sell-side platform Pubmatic has had enough with advertising fraud.

The company recently announced its new "fraud-free program" that will offer a money-back guarantee for its demand-side partners. If fraud is detected on its platform, Pubmatic's partners won't pay for it and their account will be credited (provided certain criteria are met). That's pretty significant as ad fraud is one of the most serious issues facing the digital industry today.

In addition to PubMatic's proprietary technology and promotion of ads.txt, PubMatic partners with MRC-accredited inventory quality vendors, such as IAS and White Ops. These partners conduct brand-safety checks and inventory screening across multiple formats and platforms. Pubmatic also indicated that data will be shared in a feedback loop to keep ahead of fraud schemes.

"This program is another milestone for PubMatic. The importance of transparency and an efficient brand-safe supply chain are ever important for buyers. Our product innovations and inventory quality team take a rigorous approach to stamping out ad fraud to benefit our demand partners, their advertiser clients and the industry as a whole," said Rajeev Goel, Co-Founder and CEO of PubMatic.

While this seems to be more of a reactive (rather than predictive, proactive or prescriptive) solution to the problem, it does indicate that PubMatic is putting its advertising partners first.

One Small Step for Google, One Giant Leap for Digital Advertisers

peter@websitemagazine.com (Pete Prestipino) — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 06:00:00 GMT

For as long as many of us can remember, advertising fraud has been a real and pervasive threat in the online marketing community. It's not getting better; in fact, it is getting worse by some accounts and far more sophisticated.

People-based Targeting & Measurement with Shopcom/LiveRamp

peter@websitemagazine.com (Pete Prestipino) — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 06:00:00 GMT

To meet the demands and expectations of today's users, enterprises need to augment their understanding of consumers with data from the broader ecosystem.

Kantar Shopcom, a WPP company focused on data integration and analytics within the advertising space, recently announced an enhanced partnership with omnichannel identity resolution provider LiveRamp which will make Kantar Shopcom's data actionable for people-based targeting and measurement through the LiveRamp IdentityLink Data Store.

This will provide marketers, agencies, technology providers, and publishers using LiveRamp IdentityLink with access to Kantar Shopcom's customer-level purchase data including CPG, retail, and retailer class of trade purchase behavior data for 300 million U.S. consumers (covering 90 percent of all U.S. household spending patterns from more than 450 retailers across 680 categories and 18,500 brands) and classified from over $3.5 trillion in sales volume.

Shopcom's assets have been mapped deterministically to the majority of smartphone users, including more than 500 million devices. The result? Marketers will be able to reach more of their target audience during a campaign.

"Today more people go online via mobile phone than desktop or laptop computers. Enhancing our partnership with LiveRamp enables marketers to reach more people where they actually are - on their mobile devices - at scale and target them based on actual purchase behavior," said Jen Bukich, Shopcom's VP of strategic partnerships & business development.

5 Tips to Select the Perfect Marketing Agency Partner

Matt Hensler — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 06:00:00 GMT

Swipe left, swipe right-if it were only that simple. It takes time to find the right partner in our personal lives, but often people don't put the same thought process into the business world, especially when choosing a marketing agency. The brand and agency relationship is a true partnership, and it should be a fit.

Some agencies take clients for the money, and some brands pick agencies because they will work with their limited budget, but to find a compatible partner requires time and work or it could be a costly mistake.

Over the years, business owners have asked how do you know if I should get an agency? Or how do I know if the agency is the right fit?

I have owned a social media agency, worked at agencies and worked on the brand side selecting and managing agencies, so I understand the value of the right mix for a successful relationship for both parties.

Below are five tips for starting an agency relationship with advice from some industry leaders.

1. Research

We're curious by nature, so do due diligence. Ask for case studies, client references or to talk to employees. Check employer reviews. I worked with an agency pitching new business, and the brand asked them about their low Glassdoor rating. The agency had high turnover, low pay and long hours, so they ended up losing the business.

"Ask about employee retention rate," said Shari Gold, CEO & Founder at Gold PR. "Clients value continuity and invest a lot in their agency partner. 65% of my team has been with me at least five years due to Gold PR's commitment to our culture."

Frequently changing account managers will be a nuisance, and likely upset the client. Also, inquire about their client retention rate. If an agency has had long-term clients, they are happy.

2. Chemistry

Gold PR, Motion, and Horizon Media leaders all agreed that chemistry is vital. I turned down business when I could sense it was not a fit.

"Ask who would be working on the business," said Kimberly Eberl, Founder & CEO at Motion. "Not only knowing the team but having chemistry with them is crucial to a great agency-client relationship. Clients have told me that they liked, but we won because they felt they would enjoy picking up the phone and talking with us, working with us."

Gold said, "one time, I had a client, who has been a client for ten years, ask 'is this an agency team that if I got stuck with at an airport overnight that I would hang out with?".

"Spend some time with the day-to-day people that will be running your business," said Julie Nayerman, Director of Business Development at Horizon Media. "Chemistry and compatible working styles are critically important to a successful agency relationship, which is often hard to judge from a pitch team comprised of senior leadership."

3. Expertise

There are public relations agencies, social media agencies, advertising agencies, search agencies, marketing agencies that focus on B2B tech and the list goes on and on. A focused industry agency can be a good idea but don't limit it to that, because skills can be transferable. However, you need to know that your agency knows your industry.

"Niche agencies provide an extra level of expertise in an industry," Heather Hammack, General Manager at STK. "As a GM of a restaurant, it's essential that our agency partner knows the ins and outs of the industry and trends to help us work as a collective team."

4. Expectations

I'm a firm believer in setting expectations-it makes everyone happier. Discuss working hours, expected response time, key performance indicators (KPIs), reporting and status updates in advance. There's nothing worse in a relationship than one person assuming something opposite of the reality.

"It's important for companies to set expectations on reporting to align with client KPIs. Clients are demanding more accountability," said Gold.

5. Network

Every agency has connections, but the right contacts can help a brand define success. Ask what types of relationships an agency has that can help the brand grow.

Chicago-based, Lodge Management Group relies on the community.

"Localization is critical for us," says Alicia Rhoads, Marketing Director at Lodge Management Group. "Deep roots in the community, its history, culture, people and politics make a win for success, in addition to connections to up and coming influencers and players who are changing the landscape faster than ever before are a must. "

It takes time to find the right partner in any situation, but following these tips from industry leaders will help save time and money in the long run.

Consistency Rules & The Role of Video Advertising Frequency

peter@websitemagazine.com (Pete Prestipino) — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 06:00:00 GMT

Advertising is not a one-time affair - it requires consistency if it's going to work.

Video advertising pioneer Yume released some rather interesting data that correlates the frequency of online video ad exposure with brand awareness and purchase consideration.

The research revealed that while one video exposure is sufficient to trigger increases across all awareness metrics, multiple exposures garner even higher brand awareness scores. For purchase intent and brand favorability specifically, ads were most effective at a minimum of nine exposures.

"As advertisers look to reach a maximum return on investment for their digital online video spend, this study helps to identify the ad frequency and ad length 'sweet spots' to drive purchase intent and brand favorability based on normative insights," says Mike O'Donnell, Senior Vice President North American Sales, YuMe.

"Every dollar counts when budgeting for digital advertising. By understanding the optimal ad frequency that often leads to greater results, marketers can ensure they're reaching the minimum number of exposures, rather than the maximum, to get the highest return on their investment."

Breaking Down Your Website Ad Spend: Why It Matters.

Sam Goldberg — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 06:00:00 GMT

Every once in awhile something new pops up that is worth noticing. No, I am not talking about salty caramel flavored ice cream, although I must say, that was a heck of an innovation!

In this case I am talking about on-screen advertising. Once upon a time, someone decided putting products on TV screens was a good idea. Then it was the Internet's turn. Ads started, literally, popping up everywhere. It wasn't long before consumer ad technology advanced past this via pop up blockers, and then ad blockers all together.

As a result, advertisers started writing content to lead consumers to believe they were reading an article when they were really reading an ad. Movie theaters got into the act and started advertising before movie showings. Today, pretty much every screen we come into contact with t is pouring ads at us as fast we can move past them.

Throughout this process something funny happened - ad targeting. While this was pretty far afield from personalization in advertising, targeting still generated a higher likelihood of interest for the consumer than non-targeting. If you're outdoorsy, then an ad for Cabela's is probably more interesting to you than an ad for Pottery Barn.

Targeting made things a little better for the consumer, and theoretically a lot better for the advertiser. Why waste ad spend on the wrong audience?

Another set of technology solutions evolved that benefited online advertisers-tracking technologies. Every marketing department on earth that wants to keep their jobs, would like to know where their marketing spend is most effective.

What ads create new customers?
Which publishers drive customers to businesses?
Is an ad on website XYZ 10 times more likely to convert a customer than an ad on website ABC?

Trackers had a great theory behind them - if we can tell you the source of customer one, then you're more likely to attract similar types of customers by advertising in the same place that attracted customer one. But that's not all!

Trackers will also tell you what type of interaction customer one had with your ad as well as the interactions with your website after the ad was seen.

Like many good ideas, the solutions remain incomplete. Reliability and accountability fell by the wayside, and opaque technologies popped up claiming to arrive at solutions, however these "solutions" were based on "trust me" technologies. By "trust me" I mean the inventor of the technology was not audited, could not be audited frequently enough for it to be verifiable, or actually refused to be audited. Oftentimes, if they were audited, the advertiser would still have no reliable way of knowing that the reporting from the technology was accurate.

Like most industries, transparency often comes later in the game. In the advertising technology industry, there is far too little transparency and separation between different companies. That's why you can get an overwhelm when viewing any of the LUMAscape visuals of companies - just look at the content marketing/native landscape:

The landscape is confusing and difficult to understand. To make matters worse, like many industries (see legal, accounting, and medical industries), advertising technology companies adopted confusing jargon and lingo to shelter those in-the-know of the morass from penetrating questions from those not in-the-know.

It is a natural evolution for industries to mature and finally deliver transparency and trust worthiness to its customers. That time is fast approaching for the advertising industry, and it can't come soon enough.
About the Author
Sam Goldberg is an entrepreneur, founder of multiple companies, and ad tech industry veteran. He specializes in business growth and partnerships. His newest venture, Kr8os, is poised to revolutionize the ad landscape.

QUICK HIT: Publishers Gain ML-driven Style Control Over Native AdSense Ads

peter.devereaux@websitemagazine.com (Peter Devereaux) — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 06:00:00 GMT

Publishers using native in-feed ads from Google AdSense on their sites can now choose to have the company's machine learning capabilities control the creative look and feel of those sponsored units.

Native In-feed ads, for the unfamiliar, are those designed to have a similar or identical look and feel to the rest of the content in a (content) feed. They've proven to be effective for publishers and advertisers but Google is always looking for opportunities to make it even better

When creating an in-feed ad unit today, publishers will now be able to select the " Let Google suggest a style" option. They can then enter a URL with a feed on it and then select an element from the feed such as font, color, or style for the ad unit to match.

While this new machine learning-driven option is certainly going to be appealing for style conscious publishers, Google did note that the manual functionality is still available.