Banner ads – one small part of the enchilada
by: Julie Brooks

Online ad spending for small businesses can take so many forms – banner ads, text ads, pay-per-click ads, directory listings – that often, companies selling online advertising will shortcut it by referring to their products as “banner ads.”   As one recent blog put it:

In general, businesses selling online media advertising have learned or are learning that there’s a big world beyond banners, and that they had better learn to play in it. One-note strategies don’t work like they used to–prospects have too many other choices they can make.

via Media Life Magazine – Local online ad spending is red hot again.

Sure, my company sells banner ads, and some of the larger, well-placed ones actually get very good click-through consistently.   But we simply don’t sell a product that consists solely of a small graphical banner ad and nothing else.   And we never have.    All of our advertising products at the very least consist of:

1.   A graphical banner ad, or photograph which links to the customer’s website or a landing page, plus

2.   A listing description of about 20 words.

Sometimes, the advertising package includes a rotating text ad which looks similar to a Google AdWords ad.

An entire promotional package can also contain sponsored feature stories or calendar items, so-called advertorial support.

Why is it risky to rely on just a banner ad for advertising?

1.    About 3  to 10% of Internet users employ ad-blocking software via their browsers or computers. They won’t see any banner ads at all.   Some feel that ad-blocking software is unethical.

2.   If the banner ad uses Flash, it will not show on iPhones or iPads.

3.    While constant bombardment with,  say,  Toyota ads can be shown to exert a positive branding effect over time, most small businesses can’t afford branding campaigns.  They need tangible performance results – soon.   They are paying for engagement, not exposures.

After all, Google sells about $30 billion worth of Google AdWords per year.  These are those small text ads which appear above and beside Google search results,  as well as being plunked in the middle of a majority of free content anywhere on the web.

If graphical banner ads alone were so effective, don’t you think Google would be selling those instead of text ads?

That’s why it’s important for small businesses to never buy advertising which consists only of small banner ads – they’re just not going to get the bang for their buck.

 

 

Julie Brooks is the CEO of eCape, a South Dennis-based website design and marketing company. One of Cape Cod’s most prominent thought leaders in Internet marketing, Julie runs regular workshops for small business owners in the Cape Cod and South Shore. She is certified as a Trained Presenter by Constant Contact, and is available to run workshops or speak to local business or nonprofit organizations.

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Google’s free gift which 85% of business owners apparently don’t want
by: Julie Brooks

You probably haven’t claimed your Google Places page yet.  Here’s why you need to do this.

Poor Google.  It has worked hard to create state-of-the-art maps for everything in North America and many other areas of the world, complete with satellite images, roads, landmarks, and most importantly, business information.   It has used its genius to scrape together a business information page, which it calls a Google Place page, for almost every business with a phone number in the USA.

Steven Ellard, CPA

Google Pace page for Steven M Ellard, CPA

It’s true. Google has made a mini-website for your business which is what people see when they click on your business name on Google maps.  It’s been there for years.  Did you know it was there?  Is the information on it accurate?  Are there any reviews of your business?  Are any of them bad reviews?

Google has made it free and relatively easy for businesses to verify, authorize, and enhance their Places pages, all part of the “claiming” process. But Google is sad because only 10-20% of American businesses have “claimed” their Google Places pages.

Google is famous for flubbing the final part of many of its great projects – the part where you have to get people to actually use it.   Think Google Plus.  Think Google Wave.   Of course, Google maps are a huge success and millions of people are using them to navigate on their mobile phone and to get directions from their computer desktops.

But the part where businesses are supposed to help Google out by claiming their listings, and in so doing, help themselves?  Not going so well.

I  estimate that 95% of the businesses we work with at eCape (all of whom are located on Cape Cod or in the SE Massachusetts area) have not yet claimed their Google Places pages.  Here are some of the reasons they’ve given.

#1.  “I didn’t know it [my listing] was on Google maps.”

#2.  “I didn’t know Google had maps.”
#3.  “I think my son [or daughter] claimed it but now I can’t find it.”

It’s a relatively simple process to claim your Places page.   You fill in your correct information and upload photos and videos.  There is a verification process which involves Google calling your phone with a PIN, or mailing you a postcard with a PIN.   (After all, how else would Google know it’s you who’s doing this?) It takes a week or two to get the

Google place page graphic

This signifies that a Google Places page has been "claimed" by the owner.

postcard.    You save the work you’ve done and once you’ve entered your PIN, your listing now has a check mark on it proclaiming that this an “Owner Verified Listing.”

My company, eCape, does provide a Local Search setup service which make this process painless for our customers.   All businesses large and small need to take advantage of this free feature by Google because for a rapidly increasing part of Internet users, how they see your business is by using Google maps on their phones.  And the way your business is listed on Google maps is your Places page.    Does it accurately reflect your business?

Useful articles:

Google: Mobile map search surging past desktop use

Optimizing your Google Places Page

Great, succinct article: How to Use Google Places to Optimize your Business

 

 

Julie Brooks is the CEO of eCape, a South Dennis-based website design and marketing company. One of Cape Cod’s most prominent thought leaders in Internet marketing, Julie runs regular workshops for small business owners in the Cape Cod and South Shore. She is certified as a Trained Presenter by Constant Contact, and is available to run workshops or speak to local business or nonprofit organizations.

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How is Google AdWords like divorce?
by: Julie Brooks

Because it’s expensive, but sometimes it’s worth it.

The New York Times’ You’re the Boss business blog had a great article awhile back about how a Long Island mom, Amy Gottesman started a party planning business, struggled to find effective marketing channels, and finally hit the jackpot with Google AdWords. (AdWords are the paid ads which in the search results when you do a Google search. They’re on the right, and sometimes, above, what’s called the “organic”, or “natural” results. How can you tell they’re ads? They say “ads” above them. AdWords is how Google makes its money. Most people don’t know this. )

Gottesman currently spends about $3,000 per month on AdWords and realizes about 6 times that amount per month in revenue. So for her, it’s obviously an excellent ROI. Without AdWords, she says, her business would “instantly die.” Google makes about $20 billion per year on AdWords, and other sites offer pay-per-click (PPC) advertising as well, including Yahoo!, Bing, and Facebook.

Think of it like this: Google, which commands about 75% of the search market in the USA, is THE commercial real estate of the Internet. Ms. Gottesman’s $36K per year budget sounds expensive, but for her, it’s worth it.

The good news is that there is a no minimum buy-in for Google AdWords, and you can quit at any time. The bad news is that setting up a Google AdWords campaign can be daunting for the moderately skilled Internet user. AdWords has a ton of useful functionality, but if it’s not set up correctly with correct keyword research and parameters, you can waste money. This is why there are AdWords consultants and companies who will set up and manage your PPC campaigns for you.

It is important to note that Google AdWords is not an effective tool for all small businesses, and also that it does not necessarily have to be expensive. I would estimate that there are fewer than 50 Cape Cod businesses who use Google AdWords regularly at the level of $500/month or more, and no more than 100 who do so regularly spending $250 per month or less. I think more Cape Cod businesses, particularly stores, should be doing Google AdWords.

Is Google AdWords right for your business? It’s all a matter of numbers and who your target market is. Here (http://www.thesaleslion.com/google-adwords-your-business-best-friend-or-worst-enemy/) is a helpful article to help you make the decision.

eCape offers a Google AdWords setup service which many local businesses have used.

Julie Brooks is the CEO of eCape, a South Dennis-based website design and marketing company. One of Cape Cod’s most prominent thought leaders in Internet marketing, Julie runs regular workshops for small business owners in the Cape Cod and South Shore. She is certified as a Trained Presenter by Constant Contact, and is available to run workshops or speak to local business or nonprofit organizations.

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There’s No “I” in Custom
by: Julie Brooks

In addition to our 5 popular web design options, eCape can do a completely custom website for a client. And custom means anything you (the client) can think of. Not anything I (the web development company) can think of. In all my years of running a web development company, it never crossed my mind that a customer would want a website which allows users to perform the following actions:

 

1. Type in a word and click “submit.”

2. See the word spelled out in individual photographs – each photograph contains a letter. (In this case, each photograph was taken on Cape Cod.)

3. See the word previewed in either black and white or sepia photographs.

4. Be able to swap out different photo versions of each letter in the preview.

5. Be able to preview the word in a choice of three different frames (white, grey, or black).

6. Be able to purchase the letter photographs framed or unframed, with the price calculated depending on the number of letters.

 

You get it. We didn’t exactly have anything lying around on the ol’ server we could dust off for this one. But the client (as it turns out, a very nice couple from New Jersey, Jan and Chris Capece) strolled into my office and told me what they needed.

And that’s how how their website, LettersfromtheCape.com, was born. Before I met them, I had never heard of this hot new trend called letter photography. They’ve developed a business based on their own letter photographs they’ve taken all over the Cape.

This was a wonderful project to work on, and by golly, pull it off we did, with the sweat and inspiration of Nate Welch, our web developer. It took 6 weeks from start to finish, and I feel honored to have helped these clients bring their business to the next level. It just goes to show that anything is possible, but nothing happens unless you ask for it.

 

Julie Brooks is the CEO of eCape, a South Dennis-based website design and marketing company. One of Cape Cod’s most prominent thought leaders in Internet marketing, Julie runs regular workshops for small business owners in the Cape Cod and South Shore. She is certified as a Trained Presenter by Constant Contact, and is available to run workshops or speak to local business or nonprofit organizations.

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