Today is our birthday—ten years! A decade. It’s crazy.

We’ve changed a lot over the past 10 years, growing from a small SoCal search marketing company into an international organization serving over 100,000 customers in 14 countries. And of course Search Engine Marketing itself has changed completely. How?

Growth

This is kind of obvious, but it’s the biggest change. Used to be, search marketing was explored with the leftovers of companies’ marketing budgets. Humble beginnings for a now $20 billion dollar industry. These days companies are shrinking their display and TV marketing budgets to buy more online ads and…

Online Videos

When we started, we didn’t offer online videos. Back in 2001, there was no real reason to. But today, online videos are the fastest growing ad medium. We went from no videos, to extremely low-tech videos made in PowerPoint, to partnering with professional automated video production company Stupeflix. Then, this June we began accepting live footage from customers to incorporate into these videos.

Marketing Style

Marketing styles are constantly evolving. Currently, we’re moving away from interruptive marketing and towards an informal exchange between business and consumer (like blogging). The goal is to create trust. Consumers are skeptical of traditional marketing messages and want transparency so they can make informed decisions. This is especially important when marketing to millennials (people ages 18-34).

Social Media

Yelp. Facebook. Twitter. Social media has become a huge force in marketing. Recently we began offering a reputation monitoring service. We track and provide an overview of reviews and ratings, what’s being said on networking sites and how your reputation compares to your competitors.

Mobile Search

This is probably the biggest change happening currently. More and more people are searching for products/services on their mobile device. Your website or landing page may look great on a computer screen, but how will it look on a phone?


SEM has grown a lot over the past 10 years. And, for the small to medium business owner, this is good news. No longer does one need a big budget to create a strong, effective marketing campaign.

So good luck marketing! And Happy Birthday to us!

-Written by WebVisible’s Austin Sheeley

After spending 3 inspirational days representing WebVisible at the DMS 2011 conference in Denver (put on by BIA/Kelsey), one thing seems more true than ever: SMB owners have their hands full. They recognize the importance of internet advertising, but often wear multiple hats, juggling sales, marketing, and branding in one hand, and customer service, retention and innovation in the other hand. Outsourcing is often the only viable solution for many of their day-to-day business processes, including lead generation and marketing on the Internet.

 

As a company founded and known for excellence in supporting reseller and partners with small business advertising solutions, WebVisible manages many of the same processes upstream. Pay Per Click online advertising, lead generation, SaaS driven marketing solutions and Reputation Monitoring are all part of our value proposition. Our goal is always three-fold: deliver easy to use marketing solutions for WebVisible clients via an automated advertising system, provide scalable solutions for our partners, and innovate, innovate, innovate.

 

I read an article recently about Steve Job’s formula for success at Apple, who lists the following as one of his top mantras for success: “Make it all one platform”. Apple’s commitment to blurring the distinction between software and hardware with respect to providing a singular user experience has driven every-day consumer experiences with mobile devices into the cloud. iPhone is iTunes is Mobile.me (now iCloud). Their customer loyalty is unparalleled, and it’s largely due to their commitment to platform integration and unified user experience.
 

WebVisible recently unveiled a cutting edge Reputation Monitoring product. It stood alone with a separate log-in for a short while, but is now baked into our Merchant Center Dashboard alongside Geneva, KPEye and all of the other behind-the-scenes technology that our customers, partners and resellers benefit from on a daily basis.  

 

Steve Jobs’ desire to make Apple ‘just one thing’, with no distinction between hardware, software, products and services is largely paralleled with the Reputation Monitoring iFrame integration for two reasons:

 

1.) Fusing access to our Merchant Center and Reputation Monitoring dashboard effectively turns two activities into one, making it easier for a business owner to keep track of online advertising and reputation. If you’re wondering how or why this is, think about the area code of your cell phone. Area codes are perceived as a single unit of information, not three separate numbers.  Single sign-on access for a dashboard benefits from the same psychological principal.

 

2.) The second is a bit more of a game-changer, as it leverages the well-known statute of negative word of mouth, and that it travels 10 times faster than positive word-of-mouth, albeit in reverse.  

 

Delivering world-class results to our advertisers is easy. Helping them to carve time out of their busy schedules to spend time engaging with our Merchant Center to revel in the success of their SEM campaigns is a bit more challenging. If an advertiser invests in a successful advertising platform that delivers dynamite results, if they don’t engage with the platform, they might not recognize the success of the campaign even when we are exceeding their expectations.

Business owners are busy, and they don’t know what they don’t know.

To this end, the real magic in platform integration is that by giving our advertisers the ability to identify and respond to negative (and positive) reviews in a unified dashboard, their retention rates increase.

Why is this?

How do negative reviews relate to lead generation, advertiser retention and platform engagement?

 

By putting Reputation Monitoring right alongside the ability to track SEM campaigns simultaneously, something remarkable happens. Marketing and Reputation Monitoring merge into the same platform and become synonymous in terms of the mental energy it takes for advertisers to set aside on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Advertisers’ log in to their Merchant Center dashboard more often, and retention increases alongside client satisfaction. 

According to the principle of the speed of word of mouth, the desire to vet out and respond to or eliminate negative reviews online is also far greater than the desire to read positive reviews. Since advertisers are already online and logged in checking their reviews, they naturally check the results of their advertising campaigns since it’s only a click away. Merging these previously separate platforms together drives advertisers to engage more frequently, for longer, and with greater attentiveness. With platform integration, the distinctions between marketing Reputation Monitoring blur into a singular activity, encouraging more frequent and increased platform engagement with our advertisers.

Lead generation services and reputation monitoring tools are now interrelated, interdependent and act as drivers and motivators for one another. The power of harnessing innovation via platform integration is gestalt-esque, resulting in a downstream increase in both perceived and objective value in the eyes of advertisers, and an upstream lift in retention rates for resellers.

1 + 1 now equals 3.

Apple isn’t Apple because of it’s product mix alone.

 

Apple is Apple because of it’s unified user experience.

 

When it comes to the complexity of Internet advertising for small businesses, platform integration is as crucial as ever for today's SMB.

If I was a betting man, I ‘d say that Steve Jobs would be proud of us :)

Eric Rosen
Manager of Business Development
WebVisible

To learn more about why online advertising agencies worldwide make WebVisible as their Interactive Advertising Software Platform of choice, click here.

I came across a story recently that I wanted to share, as it is about something very dear to me—milkshakes.

Wanting to improve their milkshake sales, a fast food company segmented its market “by product (milkshakes) and by demographics.” They then surveyed each demographic to find out what characteristics they liked in a milkshake—thick, thin, fruity, chocolatey, etc. The company adjusted their milkshakes accordingly and…

Nothing happened.

Sales did not improve.

Enter Harvard professor and marketing guru Clay Christensen. He believes in marketing according to "jobs-to-be-done" and advised thinking in terms of customers “hiring” their milkshake to do a “job.” To figure out what job this was, he staked out one of the fast food company’s restaurants and recorded “Who was buying milkshakes, when they bought them and whether they drank them on the premises.”

Turns out, 40% of milkshakes were bought by commuters first thing in the morning. The next morning, Christensen returned and asked the customers “What job they had hired the milkshake to do.” After receiving many a blank stare or raised eyebrow, he learned that the customers had a long, boring drive ahead of them and needed something to do—such as sucking a thick milkshake through a thin straw. Milkshake drinking was a more interesting activity than, say, doughnut eating, not to mention tidier and deliciouser.

And so, with this new information, the fast food company concocted a milkshake better fitting their customers’ need—a thicker and more interesting (i.e. chunky) milkshake—and the day was saved!

Why do customers “hire” your service or product? If you run a business transporting vehicles, do they hire you to save them a boring trip? Or to save wear and tear on their car? Maybe you sell windows. Do your customers “hire” these windows to save money on energy bills or to make their home more beautiful? Or some other reason entirely?

Knowing what “job” customers “hire” your service/product to do can help you market more effectively. To learn how we can help you market online, check out our fancy new website. Good luck!

By: Austin Sheeley

Some business owners skeptical if the long-term payoffs are worth the cost

You’ve seen the emails and heard the radio ads. Internet-based “daily deal” coupons are becoming a large part of the online advertising industry. But are such offers worth the cost for an auto repair shop or other small to medium-sized business? Some say no, while other business owners report they are gaining new customers–and profits–from the venture.

A June 2011 survey of small businesses by MerchantCircle finds that the leading reason companies like daily deals is customer acquisition (58%). At the same time, the top reason for not offering a daily deal again (42.4%) was their failure to attract new customers. Hmmm, perhaps more data will help answer our question.

Two surveys back up the belief that daily deals attract new customers. The first, a survey conducted by Utpal M. Dholakia at Rice University, found that new customers made up more than 77% of deal buyers. All of them spent over the value of the deal offer and, on average, about 20% became repeat customers. The second study, done by ConsumerSearch.com and The About Group, discovered that an overwhelming majority of those who had used a daily deal returned– even without another discount. Fifty-three percent of redeemers went on to become regular customers.

Businesses who were skeptical about the value of daily deals expressed concern about giving discounts to consumers who would have patronized the establishment anyway. According to a ForeSee Results survey, there is some basis for this concern. The largest share of daily deal users – thirty-eight percent—said they were already loyal to the business offering a deal. However, nearly a third of those taking advantage of a daily deal special were new customers, and the same percentage were customers who had either visited only occasionally or had stopped patronizing the establishment altogether.

So what’s the answer? Are daily deals worth it? Looks like the jury is still out. But one thing is certain. As this graphic demonstrates, an on-going search engine advertising campaign will put in front of people who are ready to buy, when they’re ready to buy – not when your “daily deal” happens to hit their email box. This is especially important in the auto industry, where people who need services or products typically need them right now.

WebVisible has more than 10 years of experience helping local businesses establish an effective online marketing presence through fully-managed online search advertising programs that generate predictable results. Contact WebVisible today for more information on how search advertising can help grow your auto-related business.

As a small or medium-sized business owner, it can be difficult to differentiate your business from competitors who are marketing a similar product or service. In order to attract new customers, begin to think mobile! Mobile phone users rely on their phones to provide them with the services they need. By taking advantage of mobile technology, you can stand out from your competitors and target potential customers in your immediate area.

Mobile local search use continues to grow. In January 2011, 77.1 million mobile subscribers accessed local content on a mobile device, up 34 percent from the previous year. Local content users accounted for 33 percent of mobile subscribers, with 87 percent owning a GPS-capable handset (up 9 percent from the previous year).

To take advantage of mobile search, make sure you are meeting the following requirements:

• Make sure your website is mobile-friendly. Mobile phone users are unlikely to view documents such as product brochures or menus  if they have to be downloaded.
• Content and images should load quickly in mobile browsers.
• List your business on search engine maps so customers can easily find you .
• List your business on free local search sites, such as CitySearch and Yelp.
• Register your business location on free mobile search apps, such as Foursquare and Facebook Places.

The search engine marketing professionals at WebVisible can help your business utilize mobile search technology. We offer cloud-based landing pages, which are easily accessible from mobile phones.

By: Elizabeth Smith

At WebVisible we want to do everything we can to add more value to our solutions, so we’re always keeping a close eye on how users interact with search engine marketing messages and online advertising. While ad text and landing pages continue to gain traction with users, online video is a medium that hasn’t gotten a lot of attention in the search engine marketing space until recently.

The good news is that it’s growing, and growing quick! According to a recent study by Visible Measures, viewership choice-based videos (videos the user chooses to watch) is on the rise. Online audiences saw as many as 600 million online video ads in Q2 of 2011, which translates to a 15% increase over the previous year. Online video ads are on track to surpass conventional television advertising! That’s impressive growth for a medium based on optional viewing, and Webvisible is capitalizing on that growth through our online video offering.

Video ads are proven to be a highly compelling advertising medium. Included in our landing page packages, our video product helps give our customers’ businesses a unique voice and a face. Whether it’s a dental practice or a law firm, we will put together a 30-second narrative or live action video tailored specifically to the needs of the business, complete with voiceover, eye-catching visuals and a script that emphasizes the best and most distinct aspects of the advertiser. And with our video team accepting live footage directly from customers, our videos have become an even better opportunity to speak for any advertiser in any industry.

Internet users are watching more online ads than ever before, and Webvisible’s there to ensure our advertisers reap the benefits. If you’re looking for new ways to get in touch with new users and potential customers to increase your bottom line, get in contact with WebVisible today!

By: Philip Betz

The notion of promoting local businesses is the foundation upon which WebVisible was built on. We eat, sleep and breathe local. And at a recent meeting, we literally ate local. At the request of one of our QA engineers, Mack, we ordered from a pizzeria across the street from our building. Before the meeting, Mack spoke about the delicious quality of the New York style pizza, but more specifically he spoke about the importance of supporting local businesses. Many of the popular pizza companies are owned by larger companies. Pizza Hut was a previous subsidiary of PepsiCo and is now a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. Dominos Pizza is owned by a private equity firm that was founded by former Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney. Why give those other guys our money when we could be supporting a company on our own block? Buying local is our motto and should be put into practice more often. Instead of pumping money into these large businesses, consider the benefits of investing in your bucks in your own backyard.

Community Prosperity

Locally owned businesses help strengthen community bonds through social and economic relationships. Suddenly, you and your neighbor have something to talk about besides property lines.

Spurs the Local Economy

Unlike large companies, locally owned businesses convert much of their revenue back into their local economy. By shopping local, you’re helping locally owned businesses help you. Talk about paying it forward.

Good for the Environment

Looking for ways to reduce your carbon footprint? Instead of fighting traffic to get to that wholesale store, walk to your local market or town center. Local businesses tend to gravitate around lively compact shopping centers. Instead of driving to three different stores, walk around your local shopping center. It will help reduce gas usage, pollution and possibly your stress.

Increases Competition, Lowers Prices

A wide range of local businesses in one area helps to increase competition, which in turn ensures low prices. Bargain hunters, unite!

Reduces Cookie-Cutter Products

In a world where more products are mass produced, a little variety can be a good thing. Local businesses have the flexibility to select products and services based on their own interests and community needs. A broader range of product choices are made available. Whether you want an original pair of shoes or quality New York Style pizza, the choice is yours.

By: Melody Gandy

WebVisible is a leader in paid internet advertising, and our leadership continues to grow as we drive greater improvement and innovation. As we add to our products and bring quality advertising solutions to our customers, we've been able to make some great strides in the way we use videos on our Landing Pages. We've adopted new and flexible software, streamlined our techniques to get videos out in a faster timeframe, and we have continued to improve the processes we use to create videos that add real value for the customer. Our single most exciting improvement, however, is the addition of a live footage option to our video offering.

While we do produce our own in-house videos complete with voiceovers and compelling visuals, we've found that many of our customers already have video footage of their own available and would love to get it out there for users to see. So, whether it's a law practice or a dental office, we've given customers the option to submit their footage and have it incorporated into the video that comes with their Landing Page. From footage of a normal business day to testimonials from customers and employees, if it's a video, we may be able to use it!

We're excited to use customer-submitted video primarily as a way to further separate each of our customers from the competition and highlight the greatest aspects of their business. Our objective, as always, is to drive more user connections through phone or email to increase our customer's bottom line, and our new live footage initiative is yet another tool WebVisible can use to meet that goal. If you're interested in other ways we can show off the best parts of your small or medium-sized business, contact us today!

Most people understand the need for a refresh in life every once in a while. After two years,

WebVisible has decided to hit the refresh button and launch an all new www.WebVisible.com. The new Web site is more user-friendly with fewer pages than the previous one, showcasing the new products and services we are offering to our customers.

We have taken on a new approach in how we aim to help our customers be found online. Our low price introductory product, Web Presence, includes enhanced Landing Pages, a Video Spot, Mobile Landing Pages, Call Tracking Numbers, and Profiles and Directories, including custom profile listings on the major search networks such as Google, Bing and Facebook. It's extremely essential to keep track of your brand's online reputation, so in an effort to help our customers accomplish that, we have released our newest product, Reputation Monitoring. To learn more about all of our products and services, take a look at the Product Tour.

Visit www.WebVisible.com and click around. We would love to hear your feedback about the new Web site!

According to a recent Affinity Express survey of small to medium businesses (SMB), it appears the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is often overlooked. As shown in the following chart from the survey, 77% of SMBs are using websites and landing pages to market their businesses, but only 31% are using SEO to assure customers will easily find them online.

There are probably many reasons as to why the use of SEO is rather low in comparison to website and landing page usage (ie. limited resources, lack of knowledge, or perhaps businesses feel their products or services will speak for themselves). Whatever the reasons, SMBs need to realize that in today’s market, SEO is an integral part of any online marketing effort. It is not an option, it is a necessity.  Since most consumers today are searching online to find potential products and services available, a business must optimize the chances of their website being found on major search engines by using SEO.

SEO can be challenging for any business, especially smaller ones with limited resources since keeping up with the competition, popular search terms, and the ever-changing algorithms search engines like Google and Bing use is a continuous process. To meet this challenge, many businesses find out-sourcing this task more efficient. WebVisible is a Software as a Service (SaaS) company and leading name in local online advertising, known for being a true expert in bringing the Internet as an advertising and customer acquisition medium to small businesses around the world. WebVisible’s award winning Geneva software platform (named 2008 Internet Product of the Year by the American Electronics Association) contains a powerful optimizer – a rules-based campaign management algorithm that continuously learns and improves the placement and results of our clients’ advertisements. With over ten years of experience, WebVisible offers proven SEO results.

To learn more about how WebVisible can provide SEO solutions and other Internet marketing services, please feel free to contact us.

Just because you’ve got your website in order, doesn’t mean you’ve got a consistent or accurate Web presence. Why? Because you may not entirely be in control of your online identity.   

We talk to many small business owners who think that since they control the content on their own website, they’re in control of online information about their business.  But they’re not. Others who don’t have a website at all, think they don’t have a Web presence.  But guess what?  They usually do. There are online directories that collect and publish information on local businesses.  Often, the information being presented about the business is wrong.That’s one of the first things we do for WebVisible clients.  We investigate their Web identity, and we help those local businesses make sure they’ve got a consistent identity across all those listings.

Consistency is important. The obvious reason: you want people to be able to find you. So you want to make sure your contact information is correct. The not-so-obvious reason:  Search engines use that information in their organic search rankings.  When they find inconsistencies they’ll drop your ranking down the page. The flip side – you’ll get a natural lift in web presence just by making all those listings consistent. Much like credit report monitoring, WebVisible provides “reputation monitoring,” to make sure your directory listings are accurate and consistent. 

WebVisible CEO Ron Burr talks more about this with Will Crist, host of Pilgrim Talks, which airs live every Wednesday from 5-6pm PST on www.OCTalkRadio.net.  You can find Ron’s interview on iTunes as a business podcast by typing Pilgrim on the 405 in the iTunes podcast search box. 

Have you had the experience of finding incorrect information about your business in a directory listing?  Tell us about it. 

What does Search Engine Marketing (SEM) in Japan have to do with the Japan Exchange Teaching Programme (JET)?  Other than their 3-letter acronym status, the only other thing they might have in common is that I am involved with both: I served on a panel this past weekend at the Los Angeles JET Pre-Departure Conference.  It’s no secret that WebVisible is delivering SEM solutions to Japan.  However, many of you may have no idea what the JET Programme is and why it’s relevant to anything related to Paid Search, Search Marketing trends or Search Marketing technology. 

The JET Programme is a 33 year old program created in the UK and ultimately adopted by and consolidated into the Japanese government-run program that exists today.  The aim of the JET Programme is to foster International understanding and English language education. 

Each year the JET Alumni Association of Southern California (in conjunction with the Japanese Consulate) host a conference that is designed to prep the newest group of JET participants for the complex journey of living abroad, working with a Japanese staff, learning language, managing finances, etc, called the Los Angeles JET Pre-Departure Conference. 


I walked away from this year's conference, I left with a great anecdote that is definitely worth sharing. When I speak on panels at these types of events, my sole aim is to ensure that JETs understand the invaluable strategy of listening and reading between the lines in Japanese society.

During my final panel this past Saturday, a new JET asked the question that prompted me to write this article:

“Why do you JET alumni make the time to come and share your expertise with us at a Conference like this?  What was so special about the JET Programme that you are here now?”

Here’s the answer I gave him:

“Great question.  For me, I am able to leverage the skills I learned while I was a JET every day at work.  Literally.  The time I spent living and learning the Japanese culture pays off infinitely each day I speak with our Japanese clients about SEM, sales strategies, Search Marketing technology, etc.  It’s the time on JET that I was humbled and learned to keep my mouth shut and watch the subtle orchestration taking place behind the scenes in my office.  It’s that same time on JET that I was able to understand Japanese people.  Coming here to the Pre-Departure Conference is my way of giving back and saying thanks to the JET Programme for having such a tremendous impact on my personal and business life.”

Sounds pretty corny, huh?  As cheesy as it sounds, it couldn’t be any more true. 

Each day when I arrive at the WebVisible offices,  I open my Outlook to see the emails that arrived over night, open the bridge for our twice-weekly conference calls or create a presentation intended for our Japanese clients, I reengage the skills and insight I learned as a JET living and working in Japan.  The unique combination of skills I employ to ensure our Japanese clients are getting the best value from WebVisible technology and services are those that I could only have learned while living, eating and working with my Japanese colleagues and friends during my time as a JET.   They can’t teach this stuff in school.

Those are the reasons I become excited about attending these types of conferences and speaking on the panels.  It’s my way of saying “thanks” to a programme that played a large part of the success I find as an individual and as a member of the WebVisible team.

- Contributed by Brendon David, Senior Manager, Partner Operations

During a typical week, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) devote their time to delivering products and services, balancing checkbooks and growing customer relationships. At the end of the week, finding time to focus on online advertisement can be a challenge. A successful campaign isn’t determined solely on the initial set-up; the subsequent monitoring and fine-tuning process is just as important. A good advertisement campaign begins with relative content and continues with ensuring ad copy is compelling, keywords are attracting leads and traffic is being directed to the right audience. The amount of work put in to managing an advertisement campaign takes many hours, not minutes, a week. For SMBs those are hours that could be better spent running your business. Staying abreast of your field is difficult enough, without the added job of making sure your business is visible to customers.

At WebVisible, your advertising campaign will be carefully monitored and adjusted to meet the unique needs of your business. While our experts run your campaign, SMBs can view how their campaign is performing at any time. SMBs can track the progress of their campaign through Merchant Center, where every click, call and connection received is documented. With the Geneva Technology Platform, our team is able to track:

 

1)      Which Ads are Performing and Which Ads Aren’t Receiving Clicks

2)      Which Keywords Are Getting Leads

3)      Which Keyword and Ad Combinations Achieve Conversions

 

With this information, SMBs are able to see what products and services are in demand and can determine which direction the business should be focused on. One of the many benefits of a Software as a Service company is that we take the work off your hands, leaving you with more time for your business and customer relationships. While relevant advertising campaigns are important for SMBs, developing customer relationships is also important for establishing credibility and trust. At WebVisible, we fine tune advertising campaigns so SMBs can focus on what they do best: growing businesses and building customer relationships.

- Contributed by WebVisible's Meldoy Gandy

According to Patrick Hare on Web.com, it can be very difficult for any professional to reach the number one spot on the search engines – but particularly medical professionals. Most doctors might think that their patients find them by simply typing in their name -  but this is not usually how searchers think. They usually type in search queries, or keywords, about the service they want to find.

For those who have more experience with online search,  it can still be tough to decide which keywords are the ones you want to bid on. Someone searching for a dermatologist might just type in “Dermatology,” but is that term going to get you the best return for your advertising dollar?

The professionals at WebVisible suggest It is best to use a good mix of general and specific medical terms in your keyword list. The reason being, most people begin their searches very general. “Dermatologist.”

As they begin sifting through the results, the searcher will refine their keywords to lead them to the exact information they are looking for. These “long-tail keywords”  are the two to four-word keyword phrase that is going to be your sweet spot. “Dermatologist, PPO, Portland, Oregon.”

You know this person is not just beginning their search,  but they are further down the search funnel – and this is right where you want to intersect them.

Here are some pointers WebVisible uses that should help optimize of your keyword lists, and make a robust medical campaign:

1. If you are local, mention your targeted area in your ads and on your landing page. Make sure your service area is visible and clear. This could include general terminology that is unique to your area. For example: Doctors in San Francisco could use “Bay Area”, and those in Dallas could use “Metroplex” in their ads and still get the same results.
2. List all of your specialties. Include any special equipment or brand that is used in your facility. This will make it easy for a client to see that you perform the service they are looking for.
3. List all insurance providers you accept, as well as any form of payment plan that is available.
4. Use patient testimonials. This could include images or quotes of patients who received your services. Avoid using before-and-after and procedure images. For example: dental clients do not want to see a drill being used on a patient. Also, keep in mind the nature of the image. Plastic surgery images could be rejected by certain search engines, depending on what you are trying to show. The images need to reflect the final result as opposed to the process. You can always use stock images if you do not feel you have any images that are appropriate.
5. Provide a consultation request form. Make it easy for people to get in touch with you. The form should be simple and generic. Keep in mind this is just a request for a consultation, not the actual consultation.

If you are interested in finding out more about WebVisible, and how we might help your medical office or practice get the most out of your Online Marketing, give us a call.

- Contributed by WebVisible’s Tara Brown

Using social media can be a really tough strategy to figure out. Not everyone can make it work for them, and not all businesses are conducive to Facebook, Yelp, etc. If you are a dentist, you might feel like this is especially true about you.  Not to worry, we at WebVisible are here to give you some tips on how to navigate the world of social media and use it to your advantage.

Facebook can be hard to utilize as a dentist; people aren’t dying to share details about their latest cleaning with all of their friends.  One strategy a lot of businesses try to do is to share interesting articles and info about their business, but again, hard to do as a dentist.  One tactic that can be useful is to invite all of your patients to be your friends, then offer them exclusive deals and coupons, as long as they reply to a post on your page. This will give your customers an incentive for staying connected and give you a publicity boost when those posts are displayed in news feeds.  You can also encourage customers to request appointments on your wall, again giving you free exposure on news feeds. Just be sure to respond quickly!

Yelp, while still primarily a way to find a great restaurant, can be a good place to practice ‘reputation management,’ that is, taking control of how people review your business. Rewarding customers who post positive reviews with a discount or other promotion is a good step, just make sure you are rewarding after unsolicited reviews. That way, you will avoid being accused of buying your rating. You can also check Yelp for negative reviews, and by taking the steps necessary to rectify the angry customer’s problem, you can turn them from a dissatisfied customer into a happy, repeat customer. Hopefully, a customer who requests their appointments on Facebook and writes positive reviews for you online!

For all their good, social media interactions cannot be solely relied upon to bring in new customers. An online advertising campaign, particularly one with WebVisible, can help you promote specific services and reach those customers who want them.  Social media just makes keeping your customers involved and happy that much easier.

– Contributed by WebVisible’s Aaron Schmidt

You are not alone. According to Copyblogger, using those four words in the subject lines of your emails will get them read more than any other. The primary reason this is so effective? It lets your reader know someone is one their side in the face of problems. If they are not alone, then there is a possibility that someone can help.

In the case of a lot of different kinds of marketing, that need for help can be especially true. For example, people aren’t coming to an attorney for routine check-ups or regular maintenance. They look up lawyers when they need help, be it estate issues, contract negotiations or a DUI. Or in the case of emergency dental procedures, often clients are not at a place where they can wait, do research, or ask around.

Setting yourself up as the helpful savior is not merely an effective email marketing tool either; it can be applied to any of your SEM efforts, search ads, landing pages and more. Instead of a subject line, maybe it’s your landing page headline: “Losing Your Home to Foreclosure–You Are Not Alone.” A good landing page makes sure that you are the person your potential clients choose for help. It is your forum to explain just how you can help them get out of their particular problem. Overall, it says: Look no further– I have all the help you need right here.

This kind of focused marketing will not only give you a direct connection to your potential clients, but it will help your quality scores too. Search engines love nothing more than strong cohesion between your keywords, ads and landing pages.

You can also tweak this strategy slightly to help your clients see problems before they have them. Are there legislative changes coming that may have gotten buried on page 10 of a newspaper but will still have real consequences for your current and potential clients? Use your online marketing presence to become a trusted, friendly voice. More and more relationships are started and maintained online these days, and business relationships aren’t immune. The Internet is no longer just a place where people find you; it’s where they get to know you. Once they trust the online version of you, they are much more likely to email or call and set up a meeting that will lead to tangible business for you.

When it comes to creating new business through a pay-per-click advertising campaign, the landing page plays a crucial role in conversion. Your landing page must not only convince potential customers that your business can solve their problem but that they should contact you for help.  With over more than ten years of testing and research, WebVisible has developed a founding principal to effective landing page design: less is more.

In today’s digital age, web surfers have thousands of potential business partners at their fingertips. With so many options to choose from, we have come to expect immediate gratification in our online searches. Fickle web surfers will rarely devote more than a few seconds on any particular website before deciding whether they should call or move on. This means your landing page must get its point across immediately. 

The best way to make your impression quickly is to limit the amount of clutter and excess information on your page. Web searchers tend to skim landing pages rather than read them thoroughly. The format of your page should be easy to process with just a quick eye scan. Highlight key points by placing them in bullet points. Put important keywords in bold to draw the eye. Use logos and images to establish your credibility without words.

Remember that a lead has not converted until he or she takes action, so your landing page should emphasize all the many ways customers can reach you. Place focus on your phone numbers, calls-to-action, forms and email addresses. The customer should never have to work to find your contact information.

Once you’ve created a bold, easily-processed landing page, the temptation to add additional content around the edges is understandable. It might seem reasonable to supply extra information to give users the option to learn more. The reality is that the longer you keep your potential leads reading, the more opportunities you’re giving them to leave without taking action. Resist the urge to add more content, and let your customers contact you directly with their questions.

WebVisible landing pages are designed around the principal of doing more with less. The use of our landing pages helps clients convert leads more efficiently, decrease their cost-per-lead and ultimately receive more business.

You have a legal practice and you’re not sure what to call it. Sure, you have a name, an office and a rolodex of clients. But what are you calling yourself online?

Are you a lawyer or a law firm?

Don’t worry if you don’t have an answer ready. It’s a tricky question, as you want the experience and strength a “law firm” implies while holding onto the personal touch and client relations that a “lawyer” can bring.

One term isn’t necessarily better than the other. According to You Say Law Firm, I Say Lawyer, “law firms” generates 68.3 million searches a month and “lawyer” pulls in 66.3. Two million searches a month isn’t much of a gap, but you can still play the keywords better in your favor if you know what to look for. So, whether you have a law office or legal practice, you need to be aware of month-to-month legal search trends and what your potential clients are putting into their search engines. It can make a difference.

For instance, those who are interested in advice, blogs, reviews and all-around basic research are more likely to seek out law firms (56.6M) than lawyers (49.8M). Attorneys that are looking for work are also much more likely to browse for law firms instead of lawyers.

Typically, a law firm is more known for its name and reputation, whereas a lawyer is favored by its type. When those typing away get more specific with their needs (family, criminal, medical, etc), they prefer “lawyer” over “law firm” as its keyword root at a nearly 4:1 ratio. The only exception is divorce.

Some other quick trends to note:

-          Law firms find themselves sought out with more vague geographical keywords (local, national, American), whereas lawyers tend to trend with specific counties or cities.

-          The keyword “attorney” is actually preferred over “lawyer”.

-          Keyword values such as “best” and “top” are favored with both law firms and lawyers.

-          Searchers want to find the law firm size that fits them (“small” or “largest”) or want to find a lawyer’s affordability that fits their budgets (“free” or “cheap”).

So, there you have it, a few things to know in the world of legal keyword trends to help build your online presence. Remember, consumers see law firms and lawyers in two different lights, and it’s up to you to know which spotlight to call yours!

- Contributed by WebVisible’s Jake Kilroy

Same Keyword, Different Ad Group

Let’s say you have an online advertising campaign for your auto industry with two ad groups: “Products” and “Services.” You put two different keywords into those groups: “oil change” and “change oil” respectively. Although these keywords are technically different (because of the order of their keyword tokens), if they are broad-matched, they will trigger from the same search query! Online advertisements bid against each other for top placement – this means your own ads will bid against each other, all in trying to get the same customer to the same website for the same reason! Don’t let this happen to you! You can try restructuring your keywords, so the above two terms appear in the same ad group, or use phrase-match/exact-match to prevent this.

Target Different Regions

You can target adjacent geographical areas using the same keyword and not be in danger of competing against yourself. However, if you plan to use custom targeting, be careful the areas you select don’t overlap. A search that is triggered in this overlap may potentially start a bidding war.

What Can You Do?

So what is the best strategy to ensure your keywords are in top shape? There are a few things you can do:

1. Double-check your keywords. Free keyword-editing tools (like the Google AdWords Keyword Editing tool) are available and make it easy to edit and restructure keywords across multiple ad groups.
2. Keeping your ad groups more closely related will help them perform better and improve your quality score.
3. Use the Search funnel to ensure your keywords are being targeted to the right people.

Another good idea is to hire an SEM agency to manage your campaign. They can provide insight and ensure your advertisements are performing optimally, so you can concentrate on running your business. To learn more, visit WebVisible.com.

- Contributed by WebVisible's Alex Aguilar

Clickz put together their top 5 sins of paid search this week, and while I agree with all five, I want to focus on the one “sin” that will waste your marketing budget faster than anything else. Not to mention, it will lead to irrelevant impressions and a low click through rate that could mean death to your quality score before you’ve barely begun.  That sin is bidding on keywords that are too broad or loosely related to your business. Clickz’s example focuses on the sin of loosely related keywords, but choosing broad keywords that relate directly to your business can be just as harmful, not to mention a tremendous waste of your marketing budget.

If you are a doctor opening a new practice and looking to draw in clients, it might seem reasonable to use the keyword “physician” in your campaign. After all, it is directly related to your business. However, the problem lies in the fact that it is directly related to lots of other things too. If someone searches for “physician insurance” or “physician conferences”, your ad will come up and most likely the people searching those terms are not going to be in need of your services any time soon. If any of them happen to click on your ad, that uses up your budget without any tangible results for your business.

Think about who your clientele will most likely be. Do you practice in a suburb with a lot of families? “Children’s physician” or “Family doctor’s office” would be much better choices than “physician” alone. What sets you apart from other doctor’s in your area? Do you take after hours appointments? If so, keywords like “after hours doctors” or “urgent medical care” should definitely be in your keyword list.  And always remember to use negative keywords liberally.

While all of this may seem confusing, a little common sense about what kind of clients you really want to attract will go a long way towards helping you come up with a well-rounded keyword list that makes the most of your budget. On the other hand, if all you want to do is focus on your patients rather than making keyword lists, contact WebVisible and let us help you find an online marketing package that fits your needs.

-Contributed by WebVisible's Valerie McNutt