Yesterday I finished a massive set of research in which I had to delve into the past of a PPC campaign to work out why something that was working had turned into something that was not. It took a lot of time and thought even to get started, the big question being, 'Just how do I handle this amount of data?'
Given some thought the plan emerged and with careful consideration of all the facts, the data was 'made sense of'. As it did the story it told unfolded in front of me and when finally I looked at the figures, showed just how far off track the campaign had gone, in just a few short months.
Google of course are the beneficiaries here, their 'Optimisation' and 'Missed Opportunity' practices causing keywords to be added that quite simply did not work (A lesson here for all, don't just add the ones that Google suggests willy nilly). On the upside a few gold nuggets were found, but overall, my customer had spent many thousands of pounds to no avail...
All of this comes down in the end to organisation. Organisation to only add the right words in the first place is of course hard, as you don't know that until you try it, but Organisation to check and remove the bad ones is easy, all it takes is time and an understanding of what 'good' and 'bad' are. However, such are the time pressures on many businesses, that they simply don't do this job too well 'in house', the result being that Google's coffers swell even the more.
Organisation, or should I say, lack of organisation, is one of the reasons people are having so much trouble getting home at the moment, with the airways around Europe being closed because of that volcano in Iceland. Organisation could not of course have stopped the eruption, but it could have saved a lot of people a lot of trouble. The swift mobilisation of Europe's Navy's and Air forces (the latter with their low flying transport planes) could have got 1,ooo's home and the commandeering of cruise ships in the Mediterranean could have brought 1,ooo's more home.
Of course, the governments of all shapes and colours did little and the situation has just got worse, until that is yesterday when they started to do things like getting the Royal Navy moving. So, in the end 'Organisation' was called in and the situation will I'm sure start to improve.
The question is, just like the Google campaign above, why were things left to get into such a state? Surely action on Google would have saved thousands of pounds, but that is in reality nothing to the pain and misery that is the very real problem for many travellers around the World at the moment.
The moral of the story is that one should always keep a close eye on situations and as soon as they start to slide, take action sooner rather than later, this being true whether or not you are dealing with PPC campaigns or volcanos.
More tomorrow
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Does Your Company Monitor the Twittersphere?
I've commented before on the fact that the jury is out when it comes to whether businesses in general feel that Twitter is of any use for marketing. Some are undoubtedly throwing a lot of time and cash at the issue, while others dally and others do nothing at all.
This both surprises and does not surprise me at the same time. It surprises me as I know for a fact that every 'Twitter' course that is held around here is immediately booked up by businesses (mostly small) that want to know more. On the other hand, looking at what Twitter is, it does not surprise me that many have yet to leap onto the bandwagon, as they are in reality unsure of how high to jump and not sure whether it will be worth the effort if they do.
To be sure, Twitter is easy to use, but if the whole idea is to 'Engage' with your customers, I can tell you from experience that that is not easy. Whilst being a Twitter convert myself, I can still see that a lot of what goes on is just people shouting their messages about, I'm just not sure how much listening is going on. This of course means that for the purposes of 'selling' that Twitter may in the end not bring in results for some.
Whether or not you see Twitter as a route to market or not, you should however be aware of the 'darker' side of Twitter (at least it could be 'dark' as far as your business is concerned). The 'dark side' I am talking about here is that of the complaints (nothing to do with StarWars - stand down Luke) that you see sprinkled about on Twitter.
These 'complaining Tweets' may not worry some businesses at all (e.g crazycameras), while others are, rightly or wrongly, of the opinion that anyone complaining about them on Twitter is something that they should be concerned about. These companies are thus actively scanning all the Tweets made and if they see their business name or one of their products mentioned, are quickly in action, asking if they can help (or thanking the Twitterer for the praise) .
As I've said before, you could Tweet anything you like about some businesses and they will not turn a hair, but for others your Tweets will quickly bring in offers of help and assistance. I have seen this twice, once with BT and once with www.mobiles.co.uk. In both cases my Tweets were picked up and some help given. In my view this is excellent and shows that the medium can help people resolve issues, at least some of the time.
I don't know about you, but the fact that someone responds to my messages, be they of annoyance or a cry for help, makes me feel that bit 'warmer' to the business in question, something that may keep me as a customer or at least stop me telling all my mates to avoid 'x' as they are a right shower. Either way, the 'care' shown will be of advantage to the business in question.
The moral of this story is that if you are unsure of whether to use Twitter to market your business, at least take the time to monitor the Tweets to make sure that your name is not being taken in vain, as it may well save your business some grief and some customers.
More tomorrow
This both surprises and does not surprise me at the same time. It surprises me as I know for a fact that every 'Twitter' course that is held around here is immediately booked up by businesses (mostly small) that want to know more. On the other hand, looking at what Twitter is, it does not surprise me that many have yet to leap onto the bandwagon, as they are in reality unsure of how high to jump and not sure whether it will be worth the effort if they do.
To be sure, Twitter is easy to use, but if the whole idea is to 'Engage' with your customers, I can tell you from experience that that is not easy. Whilst being a Twitter convert myself, I can still see that a lot of what goes on is just people shouting their messages about, I'm just not sure how much listening is going on. This of course means that for the purposes of 'selling' that Twitter may in the end not bring in results for some.
Whether or not you see Twitter as a route to market or not, you should however be aware of the 'darker' side of Twitter (at least it could be 'dark' as far as your business is concerned). The 'dark side' I am talking about here is that of the complaints (nothing to do with StarWars - stand down Luke) that you see sprinkled about on Twitter.
These 'complaining Tweets' may not worry some businesses at all (e.g crazycameras), while others are, rightly or wrongly, of the opinion that anyone complaining about them on Twitter is something that they should be concerned about. These companies are thus actively scanning all the Tweets made and if they see their business name or one of their products mentioned, are quickly in action, asking if they can help (or thanking the Twitterer for the praise) .
As I've said before, you could Tweet anything you like about some businesses and they will not turn a hair, but for others your Tweets will quickly bring in offers of help and assistance. I have seen this twice, once with BT and once with www.mobiles.co.uk. In both cases my Tweets were picked up and some help given. In my view this is excellent and shows that the medium can help people resolve issues, at least some of the time.
I don't know about you, but the fact that someone responds to my messages, be they of annoyance or a cry for help, makes me feel that bit 'warmer' to the business in question, something that may keep me as a customer or at least stop me telling all my mates to avoid 'x' as they are a right shower. Either way, the 'care' shown will be of advantage to the business in question.
The moral of this story is that if you are unsure of whether to use Twitter to market your business, at least take the time to monitor the Tweets to make sure that your name is not being taken in vain, as it may well save your business some grief and some customers.
More tomorrow
Thursday, 1 April 2010
Addiction to Google's Page Rank
I was talking to a potential customer last week and they raised the question of Page Rank, while another was ringing me up with a worried tone in their voice as their Page Rank had dropped from 4 to 2 overnight. These sorts of conversations are not new, but do show how people worry about how Goolge 'view' their pages, perhaps more so than any actor that of the critics of the press. It goes to show just how powerful Google has become these days.
But What is Page Rank?
I'm not going to go very deeply into this (it gets very very mathematical) but I can give you an idea of how it works. Basically Page Rank is a ranking system, the rank based on the supposed 'importance' of any page on any website in the World.
This importance is calculated from the 'importance factor' passed on when page A links to page B (B being the one whose Page Rank is being assessed). If it was just a matter of counting the number of links to a page and using that to find it's Page Rank the job would be easy, but not very accurate (at least in Google's eyes) so they go one (well OK several) steps further.
Not Just the Number of Linking Pages
So, if it's not just the number of linking pages, how is Page Rank calculated, what is the additional 'magic formula'? This is where it gets complicated, as before a page can pass on 'importance' to another page, its own 'importance' (Page Rank) must be assessed. This of course means looking at the pages that link to it, and thus the ones that link to them and so on. You can see why this is a job of a (very big) computer and in essence goes on for ever and ever. All I can really tell you is that somehow, Google produce a Page Rank for a page and then, when it links out, pass on a fraction of that importance, as Page Rank, to all the pages that that page links too, the 'importance' of that page being divided amongst all those outgoing links.
It is obvious then, that a page with lots of links out of it, passes on less 'importance' to each of the pages it links too, than a page with just a couple of links on it. This is just one of the reasons that those links pages that you see on sites, in reality add little in the battle for Page Rank, there being so many links out of that one page, a page that will have scarce little importance to pass on in the first place.
It is also obvious that a link from a page with a high Page Rank is going to pass on more importance, hence the reason you pay more for links from a High Page Rank page (if you buy them that is - please be careful here)
Just How Accurate is Page Rank?
This is a moot point, I have heard some pundits say that the score you see in the Google tool bar can be widely inaccurate, while others still worship it like a God and will not dispute it. For my part I have seen a Page rank of 5/10 on a page in a site with just 5 pages, and not one single link in from any other site?, so I am not totally convinced of its accuracy, but it is a useful guide and I always like to see it go up.
The Importance Behind Page Rank
What really matters though, is not the actual Page Rank figure, but what is behind it. You see what it is the number of links to a page in a site, how those links have been created and yes, how influential is the page which holds the outgoing link, that really counts.
My view is a simple one, get in as many links as you can from a wide range of page types, with a wide range of 'importance' (and IP address) all the time using that most valuable resource the 'anchor text' (the bit you would click on) wisely - more on that another time. Sure, if you can land a link from a Education or Government site, or one like the BBC, then great, but if not, look at it as a numbers game, sure has worked that way for our customers over the years.
There is more to this subject (Page Rank Sculpting for example), but that will do for today
More soon
But What is Page Rank?
I'm not going to go very deeply into this (it gets very very mathematical) but I can give you an idea of how it works. Basically Page Rank is a ranking system, the rank based on the supposed 'importance' of any page on any website in the World.
This importance is calculated from the 'importance factor' passed on when page A links to page B (B being the one whose Page Rank is being assessed). If it was just a matter of counting the number of links to a page and using that to find it's Page Rank the job would be easy, but not very accurate (at least in Google's eyes) so they go one (well OK several) steps further.
Not Just the Number of Linking Pages
So, if it's not just the number of linking pages, how is Page Rank calculated, what is the additional 'magic formula'? This is where it gets complicated, as before a page can pass on 'importance' to another page, its own 'importance' (Page Rank) must be assessed. This of course means looking at the pages that link to it, and thus the ones that link to them and so on. You can see why this is a job of a (very big) computer and in essence goes on for ever and ever. All I can really tell you is that somehow, Google produce a Page Rank for a page and then, when it links out, pass on a fraction of that importance, as Page Rank, to all the pages that that page links too, the 'importance' of that page being divided amongst all those outgoing links.
It is obvious then, that a page with lots of links out of it, passes on less 'importance' to each of the pages it links too, than a page with just a couple of links on it. This is just one of the reasons that those links pages that you see on sites, in reality add little in the battle for Page Rank, there being so many links out of that one page, a page that will have scarce little importance to pass on in the first place.
It is also obvious that a link from a page with a high Page Rank is going to pass on more importance, hence the reason you pay more for links from a High Page Rank page (if you buy them that is - please be careful here)
Just How Accurate is Page Rank?
This is a moot point, I have heard some pundits say that the score you see in the Google tool bar can be widely inaccurate, while others still worship it like a God and will not dispute it. For my part I have seen a Page rank of 5/10 on a page in a site with just 5 pages, and not one single link in from any other site?, so I am not totally convinced of its accuracy, but it is a useful guide and I always like to see it go up.
The Importance Behind Page Rank
What really matters though, is not the actual Page Rank figure, but what is behind it. You see what it is the number of links to a page in a site, how those links have been created and yes, how influential is the page which holds the outgoing link, that really counts.
My view is a simple one, get in as many links as you can from a wide range of page types, with a wide range of 'importance' (and IP address) all the time using that most valuable resource the 'anchor text' (the bit you would click on) wisely - more on that another time. Sure, if you can land a link from a Education or Government site, or one like the BBC, then great, but if not, look at it as a numbers game, sure has worked that way for our customers over the years.
There is more to this subject (Page Rank Sculpting for example), but that will do for today
More soon
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