Remarketing with AdWords has trended gradually upwards over the past five years.

Interestingly, according to Google Trends, the term retargeting is also big, but is only about half as popular as the term remarketing, and is the term of choice in Russia, China and France. There are many articles about what remarketing is. This isn’t one of them. This piece is about what makes it so fascinating, and why it works, and why it sometimes might not.

Preaching to the Choir

Most AdWords advertising attempts to select an audience by various parameters, such as demographics, geography, time of day or week. Breaking that down further it goes into language, income, education. But remarketing is unique in that it creates an audience among people who in some way already know you. They have seen your website, or your email or landing page, where they picked up a pixel.

In a sense it’s similar to a 1st level connection in LinkedIn, in that they are a person that basically knows you directly in some way. Your audience for remarketing knows something of your website or company directly, and we have proof of that. They left their fingerprint at the scene.

What happens then is that your ads are shown to this audience of people on other websites across the Google Display Network, but to them it’ll be like seeing an old friend. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” they might think, or in the case of a product ad it’ll be quite obvious. For example if you’re looking at a very specific synthesizer at GuitarCenter.com and you start seeing ads for it everywhere you go, then yeah, they are following you.

A pixel is embedded on your homepage (for example) – a pixel is a small, invisible piece of code that tells Ad Exchange to save visitors’ cookies to your “Homepage” list. As people visit your homepage, their cookie is added to the user list. You can then create a campaign in Ad Exchange that targets messages only to visitors whose cookies are on this list. Your remarketing messages is not shown to people whose cookies are not on the “Homepage” list.

Further on Down the Funnel

But your retargeted audience is much smaller than say, a wide open display network campaign whose goal is to increase brand awareness. Those campaigns don’t expect a high CTR (click through rate) because they aren’t as tightly targeted. But a remarketing campaign reaches people who have already taken a step into your world; they entered your funnel as it were, and you already have them. There was no need to capture their email and get them to convert on a landing page or sign up to a mailing list. You already have their eyeballs.

But is that enough? Just because a person has visited your website doesn’t mean they’re necessarily a good fit or even in your target market.

Super-Remarketing on Facebook and Twitter

One writer from Wordstream believes he coined this new term, which he defines as being remarketing run through Facebook and Twitter, where you can further define your market by:

• behavioral and interest targeting
• recent visitors
• AND by economic demographic targeting.

Now we’re not just remarketing to anyone who has somehow acquired the pixel. We then refine the audience further using the tools of these social media giants. You’ll be showing your ad there on Facebook to people who have visited your website, IF they further fit into your demographic, behavioral and economic criteria. I would call it remarketing plus plus.

Can you imagine if TV or radio advertising was like this? You wouldn’t have to watch yet another ad about a prescription medicine that has nothing to do with you. You’d be watching ads on the latest guitar pedal, or video game, if that’s your thing.

How Much is Too Much?

If you’ve ever been stalked by a particular company, or one of their products, then you know what I mean. Look folks, I was on your website for a completely different reason, OK? Stop following me!

On the Kissmetrics blog this topic was expliored back in 2016. The article explored the idea that retargeting could actually be sabotaging your sales. What are the elements and factors to watch out for?

Factors such as trust in the advertiser, and one’s stage in the buying process become very important. People who are still in the research phase of the buying cycle are more likely to welcome a company’s retargeted ad, vs the ones who are in a post-purchase phase. Or maybe they see that ad on an unrelated site, such as one about motorcycles, and that dentistry ad may not be too welcome.

What the article doesn’t explore though, or admit, is that ads are in general a kind of necessary evil. Some people are hostile towards ads in general as a matter of principle, and to varying degrees. In such cases it doesn’t matter that it’s a retargeted ad at all. Plus they are going to see some ad in that space one way or another. That’s the website’s choice, and visitors understand and accept that. But the article does admit to there being a fine line “between trust and privacy.”

Wordstream states that remarketing ads actually fatigue at half the rate of generic display ads, and that conversion rates actually increase with more ad impressions. Thus, while it’s good to be mindful of your audience and to avoid “abusing” them, the fact is that remarketing works. It really does pull the rabbit out of the hat as it were. To me it’s remarkable, because in general the sites I’ve been visiting are the things I’m interested in anyway, so I don’t mind seeing a retargeted ad. In fact I sort of welcome seeing that Korg synthesizer again. It’s a happy thought. And let’s face it, remarketing won’t show you ads from websites where you haven’t been. So it’s personal, it’s 21st century, and it’s here to stay.

Ladies and Gentlemen…. REMARKET!

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https://blog.kissmetrics.com/retargeting-myth/
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https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2015/10/01/remarketing-facts

The post What is it about Remarketing? appeared first on Marketing Digest.

Are you wondering how to get more website visitors?

You have just established your local business online. You have a new website built. It’s on SSL. It’s mobile-friendly. Great!

You have started content marketing, you’ve set up a blog, and you are sharing content on social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You have also started doing SEO. Things look promising.

Google AdWords Marketing

It’s been 3 months now, and you are wondering, “Where is the traffic?” You’re getting impatient.

Sure, your new unique visitors have increased quite a bit — by 10 to 20%. There’s progress, but this is not the pace you want.

You also have 2 to 3 tough competitors in your radius, and they are clearly visible on Google for terms with high search volume. They have great websites. And they have been running SEO and social media marketing for years!

The way things are going, your current digital marketing efforts will not produce that much of an impact because your competitors are doing the same and are ahead of you in the game. They have already established their steady flow of organic and social traffic.

How were they able to accomplish this? SEO is momentum based. The longer a business has been doing SEO consistently, the stronger their rankings will be in the search results which will be difficult to beat. Same with Social Media Marketing, connections and followers grow over time. The reach of a business in social media rests on the size of their network and extended networks of people.

What should you do to break out?

Use Pay-per-Click Advertising. PPC can give you a fighting chance for online visibility over your competition. Continue to do SEO and Social Media Marketing, these will work you in the long term. But stepping into PPC will give you a better level playing field for quick traffic wins. And not just traffic, but conversions as well.

PPC is like a snap-on turbocharger.

Almost instantly, you will become visible on Google search like your more organically established competitors. Businesses that have high organic Google rankings do not do PPC anymore because they don’t need it. And so you can potentially dominate the paid search results section Google search.

This visibility will give you more traffic! There’s no need to wait for your SEO and Social Media Marketing to build up. Almost instantly, you’re in the game! As long as you bid and pay for your target keywords.

Pay-per-Click allows your ads to be displayed on Google for search terms you target. And as the name implies, you only pay when someone clicks on your ads.

However, PPC can be costly if the campaign is not optimized. The key to profitable PPC campaign is continuous optimization. Here are some of the elements that need to be optimized.

• Keywords
  Your keywords must be based on search terms associated with high-buying intent. Keywords must be grouped according to relevance. Keywords that get clicks but do not lead to conversion must be removed.

• Location Targeting
  Narrow down Google searchers by defined locations or a location radius that matters to you.

• Ad Copy
  The copy on each of your ad must address the need of your target customers. It must be emotionally charged to get them to click.
• Landing Page
  Your landing pages must be optimized to convert the visitors who clicked on your ads. The copy, the visuals, the call-to-action, and other supporting elements must work in unison to drive your visitors to purchase, book an appointment, or compel them to visit your shop or office.

These are some of the many things that go into a successful PPC campaign which also include a tracking system for your ads, traffic and conversions, a system to help you split test ads, landing pages, and calls-to-action.

Having a highly optimized PPC campaign can be very rewarding resulting in more clients and more conversions instantly. PPC requires highly technical skills from a certified Google Partner, to help you get started, contact me today at Brian@CustomerFinderMarketing.com.

The post Turbocharge your Way to More Traffic and Customers through PPC appeared first on Marketing Digest.

Businesses of all sorts are capitalising on the effectiveness of Google AdWords and Facebook Ads as key pieces of their integrated online marketing strategies to hone in on new customers, garner maximum visibility, and increase their leads.

These two platforms are the top dogs of online advertising, but they’re quite different from each other in terms of functionality, so business owners need to utilise tailored strategies in order to get the most out of each platform and see a remarkable return on their advertising investment.

Unfortunately, sometimes we are limited by our budgets, and therefore are obliged to choose between the two, selecting either Google AdWords or Facebook Ads for our first go. Whichever you try first, you should be sure to give the other a go later on.

This guide will help you understand the differences between Google AdWords and Facebook Ads, the strengths of each, and (if you must choose) what factors to consider that fits your online marketing strategy.

Google AdWords: Paid Search

Paid search platforms like Google AdWords focus on targeting keywords and using text-based advertisements triggered by search queries.

Here’s how it works: Advertisers bid on keywords, specific words or phrases that users Google might use in their searches, which would allow their ads to be displayed with those search results. When a searcher clicks on an ad, the advertiser is charged a set amount of money (hence the name “pay-per-click advertising,” or PPC). PPC is too complex a topic for us to cover in this guide, but at its root is the principle that businesses pay for the opportunity to find new customers via the search terms they use when they use Google.

Cast a Wide Net with Google AdWords

Google is the world’s most popular and most widely used search engine, and as a result, it is considered the undisputed leader in online advertising. With more than 3.5 billion search queries entered every single day, Google offers its advertisers access to an unparalleled potential audience who are actively searching for goods and services.

Google’s advertising options are split into two primary networks: the Search network and the Display network. With the Search network, users can see your ads next to their search results, on other parts of Google like Shopping or Maps, or on their search partners’ websites. With the Display Network’s more visual ads, you can target your ads to appear in certain contexts, to certain audiences, or in certain locations and incorporate visual elements like high-resolution images and interactive maps.

Tremendous Reach

Google’s massive reach is one of the main advantages as an advertising platform. Its users make more than 40,000 search queries every second and more than 1.2 trillion web searches every year. As Google becomes even more sophisticated, its already impressive search volume is projected to increase, and along with it, the potential for advertisers to reach even more potential customers.

Simply put, no other search engine can compete with the potential audience of Google, and this alone recommends Google as a marvelous addition to your digital marketing strategy. But when you factor in Google’s increasingly accurate search results, it’s plain as day why AdWords is the world’s most popular and widely-used PPC platform.

Wide Variety of Ad Formats

Although PPC ads in AdWords are text-based, there is still an impressive selection of features that advertisers can utilise to make their ads more compelling. Ad extensions, location targeting, sitelinks, user reviews, ads on Google Shopping and Google Maps, and a plethora of other features give advertisers an incredible degree of control and customization. Additionally, through the Display Network, Google has introduced ad formats that go beyond typical text-based advertisements by incorporating eye-catching visual elements such as interactive map data and high-resolution images.

No matter what your product, service, or audience may be, it’s likely that Google has an ad format that will help you appeal to your target market, and they’re always developing new formats and features.

Facebook Ads: Paid Social

Facebook Ads, on the other hand, is the gold standard in “paid social” (the practise of advertising on social networking platforms) as it has the highest number of monthly active users of any social network worldwide. Because of Facebook’s impressive user base, Facebook Ads have become a key component in the digital advertising strategies of many businesses.

Unlike paid search, paid social guides users to businesses like yours based on their demographics, interests and behaviour.

Get Focused and Visual with Facebook Ads

Facebook is the world’s leading social media platform, so it stands to reason that it’s also the world’s leading social media advertising platform. Facebook Ads not only have an expansive built-in audience, but provides highly specific and accurate audience targeting that can help your business reach new customers who share interests and consumer behaviours with your existing loyal customer base. And you can do this in an engaging, visually enticing way.

Audience Granularity

Like Google, Facebook has a massive global audience, with more than 2 billion monthly active users. However, rather than exposing its advertisers’ messages to the entirety of this vast sea of humanity, Facebook expertly leverages its enormous audience with the impressive granularity (levels of detail) of targeting available to advertisers. This highly detailed targeting capitalises on the nature of social media to include not only users’ demographics but also their interests, behaviors, demographics, including life events.

An Innately Visual Platform

Unlike dryer text-based PPC ads, Facebook ads are as visually stimulating as the platform itself. The best Facebook ads are pitch-perfectly integrated with the images, videos, and other visual content that populates users’ News Feeds.

Like Google, Facebook constantly strives to improve the experience of not only its users, but also its advertisers, and its nature as an inherently visual platform is a major selling point to both.

Impressive Return on Investment (ROI)

One aspect of Facebook Ads that tends to surprise newcomers is the potential return on investment that it offers, and just how far a limited ad budget can go with a savvy strategy.

Although the budget of a Facebook ad campaign will vary depending on factors such as its scope and objectives, Facebook Ads are startlingly affordable, especially in light of their potential impact. This highly competitive pricing makes Facebook Ads an excellent option for businesses with limited resources as well as companies with flush marketing budgets, offering an impressive potential return on investment (ROI) for campaigns of any size.

Effective Separately, Transformative when Combined

Both Google AdWords and Facebook Ads are impressively potent advertising platforms that can meet the needs of nearly any business. As we’ve outlined, the two platforms have complementary strengths and are most effective when deployed in concert as a part of your business’s integrated online marketing strategy.

Harnessing the exponential power of both Facebook’s paid social and Google’s paid search is a highly effective advertising strategy, as long as you tailor your strategy to account for the respective strengths of each platform. Although your overarching marketing messaging should arguably remain consistent across all campaign components, an understanding of how to use each platform for maximum ROI and business growth is vital to success.

The post Google Ads OR Facebook Ads? Which is Better for Your Business? appeared first on Marketing Digest.

Your online reputation will play a crucial role in your online success, and it’s more important than ever to give value to the opinions posted by your customers. According to research carried out by Marketing Land, 90% of consumers have said that online reviews play a significant role in their buying decisions. 88% of today’s consumers trust online reviews just as much as a personal recommendation. What you may not realize is that reviews are also one of the most important factors when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO). Read on to find out more about the impact reviews have on click through in PPC (Pay Per Click) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing).

Receive Noticeable Star Ratings

When star review ratings appear in Google search results, potential customers can quickly decide whether they feel they can trust what you have to offer enough to click through to your website/landing page. This increases traffic, and potentially sales, however, it’s not necessarily an easy task to achieve. Google uses third party review sites to help establish your star rating. You need to have received at least 30 unique reviews over the past year, with the rating averaging 3.5 stars or higher. Since star ratings can result in increased conversion rates, it’s worth your while to find out more about how to take advantage of them, as well as Google’s guidelines regarding how to be eligible.

Reviews Generate Fresh, User Generated Content

Unique content is king when it comes to search engine ranking and reviews are the perfect form of user generated content (UGC). User generated content is one of the easiest and most effective ways to drive unique, original content for your website, and you can bet that your target audience will want to read honest reviews from your previous customers.

Increase Long Tail Keyword Traffic

Because consumers that leave reviews are buyers of your products/services, the language they use is comparable to your target audiences. As a result, a steady flow of reviews will make it possible for you to target more traffic via relevant keywords right from your own customers.

Encourage Social Interaction

Incorporating reviews into your social media strategy as a way to prove the quality of our products or services. Showcasing a collection of impressive reviews on your Facebook business page will help your product or service gain in popularity, increasing the all-important social reach, ultimately generating more sales.

Google Favors Highly Rated Websites

Google takes a website’s ratings into consideration, favoring the ones with the highest ratings. Reviews enhance authority and social proof, meaning that it’s not just about including reviews on your website, you also need to concentrate on finding ways to improve them.

Online Reviews and Local SEO

Local search engines are all about online reviews and for one primary reason – consumers appreciate and rely on online reviews to make their buying decisions. Local SEO is focused on providing consumers with fast, accurate information that they can use immediately or in the future.

If you’re not doing this yet, it’s time to make reviews a part of your online marketing and SEO efforts, improving click throughs in PPC and SEM, ultimately increasing revenue.

The post The Influence Reviews have on Click-throughs in PPC and SEM appeared first on Marketing Digest.

PPC Insights: Learn the Basics and Importance of Keyword Optimization

One of the key pieces in an effective online marketing campaign is having the right keywords. The trouble is that it can be difficult to do so when you’re starting out. It can be easy to make mistakes when your campaign is at its early stages. This can affect various parts of your marketing since keywords are used for optimizing your websites and advertisements. Fortunately, there are ways to improve your keyword knowledge.

The Basics

The first thing you should do is learn more about keywords. PPC news sites like Marketing Digest have articles that can help explain the basics to you. An article on the WordStream (@WordStream) blog provides the basic facts on how keywords are used and optimized. The article states several terms you have to remember when dealing with keywords.

First, there’s match-type. This describes how your keywords are matched to searches. Broad match is the most general as it allows for misspellings and synonyms. Modified broad is more specific, but still allows variation. The next match type is phrase match that allows keyword phrases in different positions. The final match type is the most accurate; exact matches require the keyword to have no variations. Knowing which match-type to use for your ads is important in reaching your audience. The other term to keep in mind is your keyword’s quality score. Keywords are rated from one to ten on how effective they are. A good rule of thumb when using keywords is to use those that have a rating of five and above.

Optimize Your Keywords

It doesn’t stop when you’re done with your initial keywords. You’ll need to develop them further so that they can perform better. Another article on the WordStream blog provides further PPC insights about optimizing keywords. The article gives several pieces of advice on how to ensure you’re getting the most out of your keywords. For one, you’ll need to stop using low-performing keywords and replace them. Using online tools to find more keywords to use is another step. Finally, you should increase bids on keywords that hold potential for your business.

Enhance Your Campaign’s Performance

If you want your marketing campaign to really take off, you’ll need to start with the basics and go on learning from there. Become knowledgeable in keyword usage by frequently reading informative articles posted on online marketing news sites.

The post PPC Insights: Learn the Basics and Importance of Keyword Optimization appeared first on Marketing Digest.

Online Marketing News: Techniques for Savvy Marketers on a Budget

According to CyberAlert (@CyberAlert), a Gartner survey found that companies spend 10.2 percent of their revenue on marketing alone. Most companies already spending that much also intend to further increase their budgets for digital marketing and overall marketing. At such high costs, it’s no wonder why many small startups are looking to trending online marketing news for tips on how to cut down marketing expenses without sacrificing quality of results. Here are some effective techniques for savvy online marketers on a tight budget.

Advertising on Bing

Google may still be ahead of the search engine race, but Bing is slowly catching up. According a WordStream (@WordStream) article titled “7 Ways Bing Ads Beats Google AdWords”, Bing has had a huge growth in search advertising. Reportedly, Bing has a 23 percent year over year growth and now holds 19.7 percent of the US search market share. Compared with Google’s paid search clicks which went down 11 percent this year, things are looking up for Bing. Here are some other benefits of using Bing Ads:

• 33.5 percent cheaper costs per click (CPCs) than Google.
• Lesser competition for small and medium-sized businesses.
• Allows for more control of campaign and ad group levels through sophisticated ad scheduling.
• Better mobile device targeting options.
• More control and transparency over search partner targeting.
• Allows control over search demographics.
• Better social media extensions.
• Has option to include close variant queries as matches.

With these perks, marketers on a budget should seriously consider Bing Ads and not treat it as just a fallback plan.

Advertising on Facebook

Almost everybody is on Facebook today, which is why advertising on the platform is a great idea. The obvious benefit is getting to appear on your target audience’s News Feeds. It’s incredibly cheap, too.

Retargeting Advertisements

Still want to ramp up your marketing? Getting into retargeting advertisements is one of the best online marketing tips you can get from the experts like Marketing Digest. With retargeting, your ads will appear on other web pages people visit. This is very effective if you have high foot traffic but are a little low on online sales and traffic. An Entrepreneur (@Entrepreneur) article titled “How to Implement a Killer Online-Marketing Strategy for $15 a Week” noted that not only does this keep your brand at the top of mind of your customers, but it increases brand awareness as well.

The post Online Marketing News: Techniques for Savvy Marketers on a Budget appeared first on Marketing Digest.

Read PPC News Regularly to Help Develop Your Pay-Per-Click Campaign

One of the essential components of any online marketing campaign these days is pay-per-click advertising. It may seem confusing at first, but with ample research and professional assistance, things can get easier. For novices, here’s a basic rundown.

PPC ads work by paying the advertiser every time the ad is clicked. The advertisement shows up on various pages where the advertiser has an advertisement bar; you can usually arrange for a time period when they show up and associate them with keywords. You allocate a budget to the campaign and every time the ad is clicked, the payment is automatically deducted from the budget. When the account is empty, your ads stop showing.

Starting Your Paid Search Account

If you’re tasked with handling your company’s paid search account, you’ll do well to browse through and read articles in PPC news sites like Marketing Digest for tips and other pointers. For example, an article on the WordStream (@WordStream) blog details the basic structure that you need to be aware of when building your account. Knowing the proper account structure helps you target your ads properly and ensures better results.

Here are the six components you need to be aware of: First, there’s the campaign, which has the campaign topics. Next, there’s the ad groups. These are specific advertisement groups that are under your campaign’s topics. For example, you’re advertising a furniture store, these are the separate sections for different types of furniture. Under the ad groups, there are the keywords. These are what trigger the advertisements to show up; when someone types these into a search engine, your ads will show up. Negative keywords are also part of the structure. When these words are used, they can keep ads from showing up, making sure that you don’t waste your money. The ad text and landing pages are last. These are the advertisements themselves and where people go when they click on your ad.

Knowing When You Need Help

Having knowledge about how to structure your PPC campaign is just the beginning. You’ll need more PPC tips to ensure you get the most out of your campaign. Knowing when to ask for professional help is part of that. Another article on WordStream talks about the warning signs that show that you need outside help. For example, if your account is disorganized and a mess, you’ll want some help to straighten things out. A novice won’t be able to clear things up and streamline them; contact a pro to get you back on track.

Be Informed

Surfing and reading articles in marketing news sites give you the insights you need to succeed. Check them on a regular basis to ensure marketing success.

The post Read PPC News Regularly to Help Develop Your Pay-Per-Click Campaign appeared first on Marketing Digest.

PPC Insights: Top Metrics to Measure Progress in Paid Search Campaigns

If you currently manage a Google AdWords account as a means of complementing your other online marketing efforts, especially SEO, then you’re probably aware of the numerous metrics at your disposal to track and analyze. Sometimes, the process can get rather confusing as well as overwhelming. It’s a bit difficult to pinpoint which actual metrics you need to focus on, and also which ones are effective and provide the most returns when boosted.

Since bandwidth is often limited, it would be a good idea to thin out the herd into a concise list of key metrics that actually provide meaningful PPC insights into what’s really working and what isn’t regarding your paid search campaigns.

According to a featured article on the Unbounce (@unbounce) website, there are three broad categories of PPC metrics that actually matter: Good, Better, and Best. Good metrics focus on traffic generation and direction. Of course this is a very crucial factor to consider in measuring the success of any ad campaign as the click-through rates (CTR) and cost per clicks usually underline one of the core functions of PPC, however, remember that profit generation is the actual aim of any business.

Better metrics focus on conversion rates as a means of tracking the progress of ads. Popular platforms like Bing Ads and Google AdWords allow for conversion tracking to be set up and run concurrently. This is better than mere traffic generation because it tells you how your ads have actually converted visitors into potential buyers of your product or service. What it doesn’t tell you though, is how many of them become actual paying customers.

The Best metrics are those that place much emphasis on return on investment (ROI). This tells you how effective your campaign is in achieving actual sales. This statistic is further corroborated by Koozai’s (@Koozai) blog post titled “What’s Your PPC Goal? Find Out Your Ideal Metric” that provides the recommended formula for calculating ROI as:

ROI = (Revenue – Cost of goods sold) / Cost of goods sold. Take for instance that your product sells for $150, but takes only $75 to produce. If you advertise on AdWords at a cost of say $50, and are able to sell 5 of these products, your total sales then amount to $500. Your investment returns will be calculated as $(750 – (375 + 50) / (375 + 50).

Trends in online marketing tend to change over time and it has become absolutely necessary to be able to stay informed on the latest PPC news, SEO strategies, and content development updates, among others. Reliable news sources like Marketing Digest can furnish you with all relevant information to help lead you to a better decision when it comes to your internet marketing endeavors.

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Practical PPC Tips for Succeeding In the Healthcare Marketing Industry

As many healthcare marketers would attest, pay-per-click (PPC) ads are among the most powerful and profitable ways to direct targeted and high-quality traffic to your clients’ websites. When implemented correctly, PPC campaigns can be very lucrative for the healthcare industry, especially for private practices. Whether your clients are pediatricians or general physicians, it is important to remember that many prospective patients today find their doctors online.

People use search engines to search for medical practitioners who’re located nearby and read online reviews. Hence, it is extremely beneficial for your clients’ practice if it can be easily found by prospective patients online. Even so, running a successful PPC campaign isn’t limited to creating a website and choosing the right keyword phrases with the most persuasive calls to action. A WordStream article (@WordStream) outlines some useful PPC tips that are designed to help healthcare marketers convert clicks into actual patients.

Listed below are some of those tips:

Understand your target audience – Having due cognizance of your clients’ target audience is the first step toward achieving an effective PPC marketing campaign. This will give you a clear idea of the optimized keywords, ad texts, and possible landing pages that would appeal to the people searching for your clients’ services.

Make sure your mobile strategy is excellent – The majority of web users today access the Internet using their smartphones and tablets, so your ads must be optimized for mobile devices. This is extremely useful in emergency situations as patients (or possibly concerned bystanders) may simply whip out their phones and search for specific medical services.

Mobile ads and PPC landing pages are preferable nowadays if you hope to make an impact with your marketing campaigns.

Contact information should be readily accessible – Potential patients in need of your clients’ services cannot be treated over the Internet. Therefore, your clients’ contact info should be easily obtainable. If possible, include it in all the landing pages of your ad campaigns for optimal visibility.

Another article from WordStream suggests that healthcare marketers need to fully understand how medical practitioners find their clients, as well as take care not to fluff their clients’ ads with too many marketing terminologies. After all, what people really want are practical solutions to their health problems, not wade through secondary information.

To learn more actionable PPC marketing tips and brush up on PPC news, make sure to regularly browse informative online publications, like Marketing Digest.

The post Practical PPC Tips for Succeeding In the Healthcare Marketing Industry appeared first on Marketing Digest.

Chrome to Begin Pausing Flash Ads by Default to Improve User Experience this September

On June 5, 2015, the Google AdWords team announced that Chrome would begin pausing many Flash ads by default to improve user experience. While acknowledging that interactive media and video gives consumers rich and engaging experiences, the AdWords team also acknowledged that such media can negatively impact browser speed and battery life.

Back in March, Chrome introduced a setting that was designed to increase page-load speeds and reduce power consumption by pausing certain plugin content (which included many Flash ads). The new setting would be turned on by default by September to enable Chrome users to enjoy faster performance and view more content before charging their batteries.

On August 28, 2015, the AdWords team reminded account owners about the impending roll out on September 1st. Though most Flash ads uploaded to AdWords are automatically converted to HTML5, the process isn’t always seamless. To ensure that account owners’ ads would continue to show on the Google Display Network, the AdWords’ team advised account owners to follow these steps before September 1st:

• Identify Flash ads in their account that aren’t eligible for automatic conversion.
• Convert these Flash ads to HTML5 ads. Account owners can convert their Flash ads to HTML5 ads using any of the following methods: (a) automatic conversion by AdWords; (b) create HTML5 ads with Google tools; (c) uploading one’s own HTML5 ads.

While Adobe Flash is still widely used to host multimedia content, security and performance issues have prompted calls to convert multimedia content into the more secure HTML5. “Using HTML5 to design your ads can help you reach the widest possible audience, including Chrome users, across devices and screens,” noted the AdWords Help page.

Google tactfully chose not to highlight the unresolved security vulnerabilities in Flash (though this remains one of the most common ways for malware to infiltrate computers). While Adobe has taken measures in recent years to boost Flash’s security updates and code reviews, it is still widely used by hackers to infiltrate computer systems.

With these and other pending technical improvements, Chrome users can look forward to better and more secure browsing experiences.

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