AdWords vs. Organic Search: Why Bother With Expensive Clicks?

A reader wonders, "Why should I bother with AdWords when I just click on the organic listings? Wouldn't it be better if I could just get a top organic listing, and that way I wouldn't have to pay Google for traffic?"

Excellent question! Here's my answer:

Make sure you leave your comment below and get in the mix.

Transcript of video:

Hi, Howie Jacobson here staring at my camera, pretending it's you. I got a question from a reader, Jane, who wants to know: "Why should I bother with AdWords putting ads on the Google search results page when, when I go to Google, I just click one of the top organic listings? Why should I bother with an ad if people like me prefer the organic listings to the ads?

So a lot of people do that. They ignore the ads and just look at the listings. Some studies of how much things get clicked on search results pages show that the top organic listing can get 40, 50, or 60 percent of all the clicks on the page.

So an AdWords ad that only gets one to five percent of the clicks is clearly not going to be as significant as getting that top organic position. So if you were to ask me: "Should I get the top organic position for a keyword?" I'd say absolutely, no reason not to.

Now, the question is can you? How long will it take you? How much money and time will it cost you? Is there an easier way to get onto that page? So if the answer is no, you can't get onto the page organically, then you can buy your way on with AdWords, which is one of the chief functions.

Another function of AdWords is once you've gotten onto the organic listings how do you know what your listing should say. You have the choice. You get to create the title tag, and you get to create the description line which will be the listing, the thing that's going to compel people to click or not.

You can use AdWords to very easily test messages so that when you are, in fact, ready to be in the top organic position or anywhere on that page organically, you know what text to use to get the click.

And finally, if you have that top organic position, most people find that bidding on the same keyword for AdWords actually gives them a boost in both cases. So they're not cannibalizing the free clicks with the expensive clicks. They're actually getting more and making more profit.

So I hope that answers your question. I see you have another question, which I will answer in another video. So everybody, thanks for watching. Have a great day.

The 5 Costs of “Search Mode”

Search marketers are well aware of the psychology of the searcher: impatient, unforgiving, narrowly focused, and extremely goal-directed.

That's why we focus on hyper-relevance of ads and landing pages, because we know that the searcher has no tolerance for anything that doesn't advance the cause of their search.

But is it good to live life from the position of searcher? What are the costs of being in "Search Mode" so much of the time?

As entrepreneurs, we're always being encouraged to "go for what we want," to be singularly focused on our goals, and to always strive for success.

Awesome.

But unless we're careful, that puts us in never-ending "search mode." And living from that place has costs.

Here are my heart-felt thoughts on the subject. Agree or disagree, please post a comment below.

Managing the AdWords Signal to Noise Ratio

AdWords is practically engineered to be overwhelming. When you add to it the ocean of "AdWords education" from people like me, all trying to convince you that you don't know enough, and the demands and temptations of the entrepreneurial lifestyle, you have a perfect storm recipe for debilitation.

In this 8-minute video, I share the causes and the cures for that overwhelm. And yes, there's a product for that ;)

If, after watching, you'd like to find out more about the Traffic Surge course that officially begins on November 23, you can read all about it here: http://askhowie.com/trafficsurge . 

If you find this video helpful, please leave your thoughts, questions, and comments in the Comments section below. Thanks!

Marketing Lessons from Watermelon Seeds

This morning I was browsing the Thompson and Morgan English seeds catalog. I'm not much of a seed guy generally. In my experience, seeds require a lot of work and care, involve getting my hands dirty on a regular basis, and may or may not mature into anything I want around my house.

Far too much like childrearing for my taste.

Yet every year I get seduced by the seed catalogs. 

Burpee, Thompson & Morgan, Seeds of Change; once I start looking at the photos and reading the descriptions of tall, hardy, easy-to-grow-anywhere, beautiful and delicious plants that can be mine for the price of a pint of Windhoek Lager, I forget about all the effort and discomfort.

I can visualize the rhubarb chard waving cheerfully from the raised bed in the back, tantalizing me with its "rich ruby-red leaf stalks and dark greeny purple foliage.

I can almost taste the California White Garlic, so "delicious and full-flavored," so "easy to grow and quite productive.

And I already marvel at the beauty of the Somniferum Lilac Poppy, with its "huge, 3-4in fully double flower heads stand proudly above glaucous foliage followed by large, attractive seed heads." I see exactly where they will grow, because Thompson & Morgan tell me: "Best sown in large drifts as an easy-to-grow border filler that ads height and interest to the garden.

Oh good Mssrs Thompson & Morgan, have you no shame?

Do you not know how your voluptuous prose and lush photography overwhelms my will-power?

Do you not realize that your appeal to my senses leaves me senseless?

Of course you do.

And if you can sell seeds to me, consummate man of leisure and technology, then we all need to pay attention to your marketing methods.

Marketing Secrets of the Seed Pushers

1. Focus on results, not process

Nowhere in the seed catalogs can I find a picture or description of a 45-year-old man kneeling on the damp earth, pulling up morning glory vines and calepina grass, both of which seem much more admirably suited for North Carolina soil than the delicate and shy plants I have pigheadedly stuck in the ground.

Neither are there photos of phlox felled by frost, chrysanthemum crunched by caterpillars, or heliotrope hacked by hail.

Instead, all I see are beautiful photos and evocative descriptions of the Happy Ending, the hardy and beautiful/delicious plant that I grew from that teeny weeny seed, and which now delights me and my friends, family and neighbors (especially the neighbors, whose gardens cannot possibly compare with mine!).

Take a look at your website – how much is about the desired results, and how much is about you and the details of your delivery mechanism?

Are you painting a picture that your prospect is drawn to naturally, on their own steam of desire, or are you trying to push and nudge and cajole and wheedle them into a sale despite their lukewarm desire?

2. Appeal to the senses

The photos of the plants are of course beautiful. But the seed catalog writers are synesthetes (I had to look it up too the first time, it means that if one sensory pathway is stimulated, then others are stimulated at the same time – like imagining numbers as having colors and musical instrument tones as possessing odors). How else can you explain the prose that compares colors to tastes, and smells to sounds, and tastes to physical sensations?

Phlox Creme Brulee is described as a "mouthwatering medley of colours" (when will those British learn how to spell "colors," I wonder ;). 

Mesembryanthemum, we read, "creates a glowing display of gorgeous apricot, frilled blooms." A calendula hybrid is named "Sherbet Fizz." The Blueray Blueberry bush becomes a "blaze of crimson" in the fall, according to Burpee. The Ruby Watermelon "bowled us over with its super sweet and juicy, perfectly crisp and firm ruby Red flesh," Burpee gushes.

OK, so maybe your products don't taste or smell or look spectacular. But that's no reason to skimp on the poetry. Can you appeal to multiple senses in your writing? Our five senses are windows to our souls. We take in the world through sight and smell and sound and taste and touch. Give us something our senses can grab hold of, more than words on a page.

3. Show proof

The seed companies have it easy here. Each photo of a bushel of luscious red berries or multi-colored (see, British people?) dazzle of petals states outright, "This can be done. This is not theory or conjecture or wishful thinking. These suckers grow, and they look just like we say they do."

You may have to work harder to show proof that your products and services give the results you promise. Case studies, demonstrations, testimonials, endorsements, media citations – they all give your prospect some confidence that they're not the guinea pig here. This thing is tested and it works. There's no reason it won't work for you too.

Someday I'll wise up and just plant the seed catalogs. Until then, here's to another summer of hope, sweat, and beans.

The Sad Story (and Happy Ending) of Traffic Surge

Traffic Surge 2.0 launches next week for real. This is the pre-launch. (You can tell because I'm not trying very hard to sell it to you. That's for next week.)

I've taught Traffic Surge live three times, to quite good reviews. I figured that I could rest on my laurels and just take the webinars, transcripts, videos, handouts, and all that jazz, and just sell it as a home-study course. You could go through the course while I live the Internet lifestyle on a beach in South Africa.

But then reality intervened. Turns out that 90% of Old Traffic Surge is no longer accurate, due to Google's annoying habit of changing everything it can, whether anyone wants them to or not.

If I had just tried to sell Old Traffic Surge as homestudy, you would have been annoyed, frustrated, and half-nelsoned as you tried to apply the principles. 

Which would have been fine with me, of course, except for that nasty business with all the refunds. 

So I had to scramble to save Traffic Surge.

I've designed a hybrid course – part home study, part live course. With the best bits of each format, and none of the disadvantages.

Part Home Study

It's home study, in that you read and watch and do at your own pace. Unlike home study courses that are just sloppy transcriptions of webinars (which I was fully planning to do, you understand, until I realized that the webinars had become outdated rubbish), Traffic Surge 2.0 includes well-written, well-documented, and graphically pleasing modules with lots of screen shots so you know what I'm talking about.

The How-To videos are no longer 95-minute long webinar recordings, with half the time spent on nonsense like "Where's the link for today's class?" and "What's the weather like in Seattle today?" (rainy)

Now, the videos are crisp and clear and short, and consist of me showing you, step by step, how to do the things I describe in the written manual.

Part Live Course

Traffic Surge 2.0 also consists of a support site, including a Q&A forum, a place for students to upload your homework for critique, and place for late-breaking news on Google changes and updates. It's a combination of study hall, diner, and library.

We also hold one live Implementation Call each month, so you can jump in and have that live class experience, and also the accountability that comes from having real humans and real deadlines looming in your face (in a nice way). 

And to make it as convenient as possible, the Implementation Call consists of a matinee at 1pm Eastern Time US and an evening show at 8pm Eastern Time US. So whether you work at home and prefer to call in during lunch hour, or you want to catch an hour of great content after your day job, there's a call to suit your preference.

And let's be honest, there's a recession going on, regardless of what the economists say. So not only is Traffic Surge 2.0 not more expensive than previous versions, it's actually much more affordable. 

I've added a 12-payment plan, so you can get started on your road to online marketing mastery for just $87 a month.

To read more, and perhaps take advantage of the pre-launch launch, go here: 

http://askhowie.com/trafficsurge

To Life,
Howie

PS Do you wanna hear a beautiful song about New Orleans, love, and vegetables? A song that rhymes "okra" with "enough to choke ya"? A song in which I play the fiddle?

If so, click the link below for a recording of "No Love Today," written by Chris Smither, and performed by the Roosevelt String Band:

http://howiesongs.posterous.com/no-love-today

The New Function of Advertising

Many thanks to Drayton Bird for sharing this amazing video with me. In 16 minutes you'll have a totally new appreciation for the power of advertising to improve products by leaving them alone.

Though Rory Sutherland spends only about a minute and a half talking about mobile marketing, his message is profound – pay close attention.

And if you don't laugh out loud at least 8 times, write me for a full refund of the 16 minutes.

I'm really bummed that I can't make Drayton's EADIM conference where Rory and a bunch of other charming rogues and geniuses are sharing their best marketing ideas, but you don't have to be. Find out more here.

The New “Google-Pleasing” Landing Page Strategy

The latest round of Google AdWords algorithm changes had me seriously questioning whether it was still possible to advertise eBooks and other information products. 

It seemed like Google was banning every site with a long-form sales letter than sold any kind of digital product.

And we've known for a while how much Google seems to hate sites with Weight Loss or Get Rich themes. 

So when Glenn Livingston told me he sells information in the Weight Loss market using AdWords, and has Quality Scores of 7-10 for his keywords, I had to know more.

This 76-minute webinar bares all. It's brilliant, and it's going to save more than a few online businesses whose value proposition is sharing information that's hard to find anywhere else. That makes me happy.

The audio quality of this webinar, through every fault of my own, sucks. That makes me unhappy.

But it's listenable, although you'll have to work pretty hard once Glenn starts talking. (If you can't make it out, complain in comments and I'll consider getting it transcribed.)

Two things before we get started:

1. Here's the PDF of the presentation. Print it out and have it in front of you during the webinar (4 pages, including cover).

2. If you want to learn more from Glenn – for free, in exchange for your email  address and permission for Glenn to follow up with you – and do it on my sneaky affiliate link, go to UltimateAdWordsResearch.com. 

And now, enjoy (and profit from) the New Landing Page Webinar:

My Personalized Google Instant Alphabet

Google Instant gives you suggestions as soon as you type a single letter. It's a bit distracting, and pretty annoying, and potentially extremely disruptive to search.

Mike Marshall and I were talking abou this at his Search Engine Academy this afternoon. After chatting for a while, we decided to start the Google Instant Alphabet project. 

Here's how it works: Enter the letter A, and see what listing comes up first. 

Here's my personalized alphabet (at least customized for geography):

• Amazon
• Best Buy
• Craigslist
• Durham Bulls
• Ebay
• Facebook
• Gmail
• Hotmail
• Imdb
• Justin Bieber
• Kohls
• Lowes
• Mapquest
• Netflix
• Orbitz
• Pandora
• Quotes
• REI
• Skype
• Target
• USPS
• Verizon
• Walmart
• Xbox
• Youtube
• Zappos

Justin Bieber? Really, Google?

Is yours similar? Identical? Do your own (it will take about 3 minutes), and post your Google Instant results to comments below. Together, we'll figure this thing out.

And maybe I'll become so famous that my name will eclipse Hotmail some day… ;)

Is Your PPC Ready for the Holidays?

If you run an ecommerce store that sells to consumers, you need to completely change the way you use AdWords and Bing during the holiday season.

Wanna know more?

Check out this free 40-minute webinar presented by Kristie McDonald. (Kristie is my partner and chief "Get-it-Done" Officer of The PPC Agency, and she ran her own ecommerce store selling radio controlled toys for several years. So she knows a lot of cool ways to optimize the gift-giving crowd.)

And if you're looking to outsource your AdWords campaigns because they're not performing well, or because Google has made things so darn complicated you're spending way too much time on AdWords, give us a holler and we'll see if we think we can help.

Jingle jingle!

A Conversation with a Direct Marketing Legend

Today I had a lovely chat with Drayton Bird, the legendary direct marketing copywriter and teacher.

Legendary, at least, to those of us direct marketing fanatics who would collect trading cards of folks like him ("I'll give you two Eugene Schwartzes and one John Caples for your David Ogilvy, Rosser Reeves, and Drayton Bird").

He's brilliant, charming, modest, and by his own admission, could listen to me blow smoke up his bum for hours (you are reading this, right, Drayton?)

Anyway, I interviewed him for just under an hour, and our talk ranged far and wide:

•  recollections of his favorite sayings of David Ogilvy (like "You can't save souls in an empty church)
• data showing that companies with the most MBAs on staff are the least profitable
• data showing that in most Western countries, about 30-40% of workers fantasize about punching their co-workers (and you think you need to keep emotion out of B2B selling ;)
• how to make package delivery into a sexy topic
• the hero's journey
• why you should travel to London at the end of October for the European Academy of Direct and Interactive Marketing Conference
• Drayton and I having a polite disagreement over whether my wife is expecting a baby or not (I believe I won, but you'll have to be the judge of that)
• how to "raise your game" mentally, and how to just beat yourself over the head needlessly

Here's the audio, you can click the arrow button to play, or right-click the download link to listen on your desktop, iPod, or Droid.

You really should attend the EADIM conference. Click my affiliate link to head over to the conference site and find out more. (Note: I will not be teaching there this year, as sad as that makes me, so if you see copy that says otherwise, it just hasn't been updated yet.)

Drayton is the real deal, and the time you'll spend in his care and under his guidance will pay off handsomely. If you have the time and can scrape together the funds, you can't afford to miss EADIM 2010.

Is Your Marketing HOT – or Not?

Imagine a game in which you tap out the rhythm of a well known song: say, “Happy Birthday to You” or “The Star Spangled Banner.” Your partner’s job is to listen to your tapping and name the song.

What are the chances that they can figure it out just from your tapping, without melody or words?

In a 1990 experiment, tappers were asked, after tapping a song, the odds that their listener could correctly identify the song. The average prediction was 50%.

In fact, only 3 out of 120 listeners correctly identified the song. That’s 2.5% or 20 times worse than the tappers predicted.

Doh!
Cliffhanger? Keep reading…