SEO, PPC & Adwords Marketing Tips | The Forge

Right now, Google’s famous ‘Do no evil’ mantra seems irrelevant, even hypocritical.  I’d like to take a look at Google’s 10 guiding corporate philosophy principles and see how relevant they are in light of their new ‘net neutrality’ proposal. In the last update to their corporate page Google stated: “We first wrote these “10 things” several years ago. From time to time we revisit this list to see if it still holds true. We hope it does – and you can hold us to that. (September 2009)”

Well, Google – we do hold you to that, and I think it’s time you took a review of this page and ask yourself if these items are still true.

1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.

Google, you clearly have strayed from your path of focusing on the user.  In fact, you seem more focused on colluding with huge penny-pinching businesses nowadays.  If you focused on users, you never would have reversed direction with Android – an open mobile OS that was said to eventually free users from the chains of giant mobile carriers.

Today, we are seeing the opposite with Android; users are getting tied to lengthy carrier contracts through offerings of super phones (recently Verizon’s Incredible and Sprint’s EVO) which are filled with irremovable bloatware.  Google, this definitely is not focusing on the user – it is focusing on making carriers and corporations happy.

2. It’s best to do one thing really, really well.

Google, admit it – you are trying to become more than a one trick pony.  No longer are you purely focused on search, but you’ve now got your tentacles wrapped around the mobile sector (among other things). We were OK that you went in a different direction to build Android (even if we knew it was just another way to display your ads to users), but you seem really confused now.

You’re kind of like Michael Jordan – you were really good at basketball, but when you started playing baseball everyone started to realize that you suck at it.  Google, you’re starting to suck at stuff.

3. Fast is better than slow.

I’ll give you this one Google – you are sticking with this philosophy.  In your ‘net neutrality’ writeup you propose creating a new second internet that runs in the fast lane, allowing companies to develop innovative and wonderful pay-for services that require more bandwidth. Only problem is: if there is fast lane it leaves the old internet, the one that most people use, stuck in traffic.

4. Democracy on the web works.

Google, how democratic would the new internet you envisioned really be? I can see it now: carriers denying apps that don’t suit their purposes and people denied internet services because they aren’t paying for the ‘premium’ internet.  Google, if democracy means letting businesses walk all over people by denying them freedom of choice in broadband and the wireless spectrum, then by all means, democracy works.

5. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.

This one is true Google.  You know that you’ve hit on something really big with this mobile thing. People need answers everywhere they go, and now that your Android is the #1 selling mobile OS in the United States, they can conveniently Google anything, from anywhere (and click on the ads to prove it!) Although you tout Android as being ‘open source’ – it seems that your services like Google search and Gmail are a ‘must add’ to any Android handset on the market.

6. You can make money without doing evil.

To address this one I’d like to refer to Huffington Post writer Marvin Ammori: “You have to hand it to Google. Going from “Don’t Be Evil” to “Greedier than BP” overnight is a pretty impressive trick.”

7. There’s always more information out there.

Google, you’re making us question who will have access to this information in the future.  Your CEO Eric Schmidt referred to the proposed second pay-for internet: “This means that broadband providers can work with other players to develop new services. It is too soon to predict how these new services will develop, but examples might include health care monitoring, the smart grid, advanced educational services, or new entertainment and gaming options.” So these fantastic new health care and educational services will only be available to people willing to pay for it?

8. The need for information crosses all borders.

Apparently not for people in China.  Although you made a short stand by pulling your service from China due to censorship disputes, you eventually gave in.  It seems that the prospect of tapping China’s huge market was too alluring for you to stand up for what was right.   This situation seems vaguely familiar: throwing internet freedom aside in order to try and make more money…

9. You can be serious without a suit.

Google, I’m not sure anyone buys this hippy-dippy corporate culture bullshit anymore. Don Draper wears a damn fine suit and I’d love to see his take on Adwords.

10. Great just isn’t good enough.

As much praise as you get for your algorithm, there are several other search options out there (Bing in particular) that have been gaining on you in the past year.  I don’t think you realize how many people use Google simply because ‘its Google’.

They liked the way you did things simply, they liked the idea of not going ‘corporate’ with Microsoft, they liked how you stood for what was right.  In other words, people found a reason to like you.  If people start to realize that you are just another corporate giant out to make a profit I wouldn’t underestimate their ability to realize that “Google just isn’t good enough” anymore.

For of us who work in the world of SEO & PPC Marketing, its safe to say that we use a ton of Google’s products.  Gmail, Adwords, Google Docs, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Voice, and Analytics are just a few of Google’s tools that we utilize on an everyday basis.

One problem we’ve encountered over the years is the logistical nightmare of managing a ton of Google accounts at the same time.  You’re signed into your Adwords My Client Center account in Chrome, Personal Gmail account in Firefox and a client’s Google Local account in IE.  It becomes quite a hassle.

Finally, Google has started to make some headway on this problem by letting a user sign into multiple Google accounts at once, all from one browser window.  Simply go to your Google Account Settings, and switch the ‘multiple sign in’ button to ‘on.’  It looks like Google is still working on getting some extra features working in multiple accounts like Docs and Spreadsheets, but this is a great first step.  Way to go Google!

For a franchise organization with multiple territories, one of the keys for Adwords success is to make each territory as distinct as possible.  One way this can be achieved is by utilizing location specific display URLS within your ad text.  This display URL should usually correspond to the specific location or market area where the territory is located.  For example: www.elpolloloco.com/SanJose

Not only does a location specific display URL make each territory distinct from one another, but the strategy also can increase an ad’s CTR from local visitors.

For inquiries on our franchise marketing services, feel free to contact us at contact@insightforge.com

Bidding on competitor PPC keywords has basically become standard practice in a variety of industries, especially with large franchise organizations that are battling for market share.  Even though quality score isn’t going to benefit from this strategy (your ad campaign and landing page won’t be optimized as such)  a franchise can still benefit from ‘grabbing’ some of it’s competitor’s customers.

One thing to keep in mind with local franchise is to not only bid on large, national competitor keywords, but to also keep in mind local competitors that only exist within the territory’s geographic service area.  Start out by developing a list of local competitors and searching for them on Google to see what pops.

For inquiries on our franchise marketing services, feel free to contact us at contact@insightforge.com

Opening a franchise has always been a great way for an entrepreneur to start a business. While it doesn’t have the same romantic ‘allure’ of building a company from the ground up, starting a franchise also doesn’t have the same level of risk involved with a traditional  start up. Franchise organizations often provide their franchisees with a number of services to ensure they get off the ground successfully, including benefits such as brand name recognition, operational blueprints, centralized customer service as well as marketing campaigns. The Insight Forge team has experience in helping franchise organizations blueprint and execute their online marketing strategy across multiple locations – primarily in the realm of PPC advertising and Search Engine Optimization.

The online marketing strategy for a franchise organization differs from promoting a standalone local business. Every task needs to be multiplied by the number of franchisees involved. There are some marketing ‘themes’ that must be carried across all franchise locations, while other details need to be caressed to an individual geographic level.

To date, there are a number of guides on PPC advertising and SEO strategies for local businesses. Local business owners have the benefit of a ton of resources to help them promote their shops, including websites, yelp reviews, search engine listings and more. Franchise Organizations, which essentially are a conglomerate of multiple local business, don’t have nearly as many online marketing resources. I’d like to turn this trend around by provide a short guide to online marketing for franchises specifically, including details on PPC advertising and SEO strategies.

Franchise PPC Marketing

When we talk about PPC marketing, we are primarily referring to Adwords marketing, given Google’s dominance of the search engine market.  However, Bing and Yahoo are making some headwind, so we don’t like to totally disregard other search engines.  The primary difference between an Adwords campaign for a single business and multiple franchises territories comes from a management perspective; maintaining multiple franchise territories in different locations requires honing in on distinct geographic permeations, while also maintain an cohesive  brand association.

Landing Pages: Anyone familiar with Adwords knows that landing pages are a big deal – they figure into quality score as well as your end goal of getting a conversion.  In other words,  a good or bad landing page can make all the difference.  The big issue with franchise landing pages is the constant battle to maintain brand continuity across multiple franchisees while at the same time providing adequate keyword differentiation for each  location.   This is equally as important for Franchise SEO, which we will discuss in the next post.   We recommend making a template of a landing page and segmenting each section into dynamic or static – which parts simply cannot change and which have flexibility from location to location.  Try to push for as much ‘dynamic’ material as possible, as this will give each landing page the chance to stand out and ’sync’ with your campaign’s keywords and ads.

Keywords: Although you will have standard keywords across all of your franchisees because you perform one type of service, you need to make sure that every keyword fits specifically into each geographic location.  For example, although ‘rubbish removal’ and ‘junk removal’ are synonymous phrases – ‘rubbish’ is primarily used in Europe whereas ‘Junk’ is used in the U.S.   These types of distinctions need to be made on an individual keyword level – don’t simply import a standardized list of keywords from franchise to franchise and expect them to perform.

-   In regards to having multiple businesses in various locations, you will also have to consider two types of keywords – those with ‘geographic modifiers’ and those without.  For example, if your pizza delivery franchise has a location in Memphis, two variations of keywords could be ‘Pizza Delivery’ or ‘Memphis Pizza Delivery’.   Each of these types of keywords should be separated into different campaigns and targeted  on different geographic levels.

-  Competitor Keywords are another option to consider.  Although not often condoned, bidding on a competitor’s name has become a standard practice in the world of Adwords marketing.  For franchise PPC marketing, you need to consider ‘big’ competitors that are national and have locations across the board, as well as ‘mom and pop’ shops that will be dynamic per location.

Ads: For franchise Adwords marketing, you’ll want to make sure each of your different campaigns has ads that are as specific as possible to the franchise location.  This includes using geographic modifier keywords within ad titles and copy as well as in the display url.

- Ad Extensions: Extensions are a great way to highlight your franchise location as a local business that will attract customers in the area.  In your campaign settings under ‘ad extensions’ you can add an address extension to your ads either through a connected Google Places account or by entering each address manually.  When your ad pops, it will have an address under it, which can help boost your CTR and quality score.

Geographic Targeting: Just as with a standalone local business, geographic targeting in your Adwords campaign will be an essential tool in adverting for multiple franchise locations.   You need to consider the service range of each individual franchise – literally how many miles away from their storefront can they adequately provide services to customers?   You also need to consider potential overlap between franchises.  For example, if you use broad match keywords for ‘Memphis Pizza Delivery’ and target the campaign to a national level, these ads have the potential of serving for another franchisee out of Boston with someone simply searching for ‘Pizza Delivery.’  You don’t want your franchisees bidding against one another.  Try to use exact and phrase match keywords to prevent this from happening, and if you need to use broad match to pull in more clicks in a smaller traffic area, try to use as many negative keywords as possible.

Although there are general themes you can import from one franchise campaign to another, in the end you’ll want to become an expert on each of your franchise locations.  How far reaching is their service area? What kind of words do the locals search for to find your service?  Who are the nearby competitors?

NEXT:  Franchise SEO Strategy, Franchise Google Local Listings, Franchise Social Media and more.

Insight Forge is your premiere San Francisco SEO, Adwords and Development shop.  For inquiries on franchise marketing campaigns or any general questions contact us:  contact@insightforge.com

The Associated Press reported that online advertising has felt the recent economic slump, falling 5% in the first half of 2009.  Although online advertising as a whole has felt the pressure, search advertising seems to be doing fine.  Google Inc., which controls 2/3 of the search advertising market, reported  a 4% gain during the first half of the year.

So what does this mean? Maybe nothing, and we are simply seeing fluctuations due to an unsteady market.  However, it could also be a sign that search marketing is continuing to eat away at other forms of online advertising.  Consumers continue to rely heavier on web search as a prominent source of educational, entertainment and business related information and media.   This supports the fact that getting basic SEO on a website now will provide enhanced dividends in the future.

During an economic downturn, if consumers are still attuned to peripheral  Pay-Per-Click ads (like Google Adwords), they must be even more familiar with getting what they want within the actual search results.   As far as spending money on marketing, getting a higher search ranking for a website would probably place among the highest cost / benefit ratios of any advertising budget.