Digital Marketing – Search, Banners, Retargeting

The Emergence of Direct Response
In the early days of the Internet, marketers saw this new channel as a way to build a brand, to increase awareness of their product or service. They were drawn by low costs, the pay-per-click model and the speed-to-market.

But they soon saw that no one was responding to their ads. Campaigns designed to heighten brand awareness didn’t necessarily produce any leads or sales.

Soon marketers began to apply the proven techniques of direct marketing. They began to embrace targeting techniques, offer/response correlations, copywriting techniques, response tracking and A/B split testing.

That’s how online marketing is working today.

Beyond the Click
If you have any experience with online marketing, you know that the first goal is to generate a click – but you also know a click doesn’t necessarily mean a lead.

Many of your prospects will click on your ad, but will take no action once they get to your landing page. In fact, most people will not fill out the form on your landing page. So they leave and you don’t know who they are – but you still paid for that click.

That’s why it’s so important to have a landing page that converts those clicks into leads.

And once they do convert, it also important to have a process that escorts your prospect through to a desired call to action – whether it’s an appointment, estimate or a purchase.

The Importance of a Lead Magnet
To maximize your click-throughs and conversions, we recommend using a so-called lead magnet which provides an incentive for a response.

A lead magnet can be any type of document or tool that your prospects will want to acquire. It could be a white paper, ebook, how-to tips, cheat sheet, case study, video, calculation chart, worksheet, self-assessment guide and more.

At minimum, a downloadable information kit could be used to motivate a response.

Google Ads
There are many online advertising platforms and networks. We use three different ad programs on Google.

Google’s most popular program is its search advertising program where you can run advertising on their search engine pages. This intent-based marketing is highly competitive and, in some industries, highly expensive.

Google also offers a display advertising program where your ad can appear on its vast network of websites, news sites and blogs.

Google uses pay-per-click (PPC) advertising meaning you only pay when someone clicks on your ad.

Google also offers retargeting (aka remarketing) which allows you to put your advertising in front of people who have previously visited your website.

A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH

Online Marketing encompasses many online activities:

• Your Website
• Landing Pages
• Content-Based SEO
• Local Search
• Lead Magnets
• Google Ads – Paid Search
• Google Ads – Display Network
• Google Ads – Retargeting
• Facebook Ads & Boosts
• Facebook Ads – Retargeting
• Organic Social Media
  (Facebook/LinkedIn/Twitter)

Our Services

Google
If advertising is in your plans, you need to consider Google.  Google is the largest network on the web – by a lot.  We use and recommend three different programs under the Google umbrella:

Google Search – Google Search has become the new Yellow Pages.  When someone wants to find a specialist in your field, they will type in your specialty for your location, and if you are a Google Search advertiser, your ad could show up on Page 1 of the search pages.

Google Display – this is a very different and less expensive option for reaching your target audience. With the Google Display Network, you place your ads, not on Google’s search page, but on the millions of websites, news sites and blogs that make up the Internet.

Google Retargeting – this is an advertising program that targets a very specific audience – people who have visited your website.  These are people who have shown some interest in what you sell.  It makes sense to stay in touch with them.

Facebook
While Google provides a worldwide network of websites, news sites and blogs, Facebook runs all of its advertising on a single platform.  Below are two paid advertising campaigns.  These should not be confused with Facebook social media where all your outreach is free.

Facebook Ads – Facebook places your ads in front highly targeted segments of the Facebook population with sponsored posts and sidebar ads. 

Facebook Retargeting – here you can use the same advertising platform to continually market to your own list of customers, prospects or previous responders.

Fees – Management fees vary by the number of programs – one program is $495, two programs is $695, three programs is $895.  Fees do not include creative costs (for display ads) or media costs (click costs) paid directly to the platform.

Landing Page Creation & Hosting
Most online campaigns – search, display and retargeting – are designed to generate a response in the form of a click.  So where do your prospects go when they click on your ad?  Many people send them to their home page, but a better choice would be to send them to a dedicated landing page that is designed to convert those clicks into leads.  We develop landing pages for your online campaigns.  Our fees to create your landing page and related thank you page start at $400.  Hosting costs, if needed would be paid directly to the landing page service provider.