INSIGHT blogArchive: January 2009

Archive for January, 2009

Click Fraud Climbs to a Record Breaking Level

29
January
2009

Rates for click fraud spike in Q4 of 2008, the highest in two years

Christine Pepin
Media Coordinator

A new report released by Click Forensics showed click fraud rates of 17.1% in Q4 compared to 16.6% last year during that time.  The source of 31.4% of all click fraud comes from botnets which are collections of worm and virus ridden computers. In the month of December, 7.4% of click fraud originated in Canda, 4% in Germany and 2.3% in China.

The rise in botnet activity and increased competition within the click industry has resulted due to the poor economy.  With these factors occurring more often, cybercrime has also increased.  In addition, the CEO of Click Forensics has identified another contributor: more dollars filtering into pay-per-click advertising.  Google, Yahoo and other search engines have measures in place to protect their advertisers from these fraudulent behaviors, however they are not full-proof.  With an ailing economy, we as online marketers must be vigilant that click fraud may get worse.  As CEO Tom Cuthbert identifies, with ‘industry cooperation’ we can help to lower these click fraud rates.

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Paid Search Draws Inauguration Travelers to Local Rental Sites

21
January
2009

Inauguration rental sites gained fast widespread attention, largely due to paid search advertising

Christine Pepin
Media Coordinator

Yesterday, the country welcomed a new administration and leader of our country into the White House, President Barak Obama.  In the weeks leading up to this historic day, local DC residents knew that millions of spectators would travel to the city and there would not be enough hotels to accommodate them.  As a result, several rental sites were created, such as InaugrationRent.com, a site allowing for local homeowners or landlords to post available houses and rooms for rent.

The success of these sites, however, came to depend largely on Google Adwords campaigns which brought significant exposure and awareness to their services.  Companies promoting inauguration-type services began to see the value in capitalizing on paid search as it works extremely well when fast or short-term attention is needed.  Immediately after the election, searches for the keyword “inauguration” grew.   At first, on the week following the announcement of our new president only one sponsored ad appeared for a search on the keyword “inauguration.” It didn’t take long, however, for other companies to begin optimizing on this keyword.  Google spokespersons noted that searches for “inauguration” increased 75% last week and are up over 75% from when Bush was inaugurated in 2005.  Today, a search I made on the keyword “inauguration” only yielded two sponsored ads.

According to JupiterResearch, paid search spend continues to grow and will reach over $26.8 billion by 2009.  Despite this projected growth, a survey by Microsoft Advertising reveals that most companies are “intimidated” by search engine advertising.  In addition, JupiterResearch reports that even the bigger companies that have the budget to run paid search campaigns still have trouble managing them on their own. 

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Increase Online Brand Awareness With Content Sites

20
January
2009

Recent data finds that content sites increase brand awareness.

Stefanie Berliant
Media Coordinator

A recent study released by the Online Publishers Association (OPA) reveals that ads viewed on content sites have a larger effect on brand awareness than those seen on portals or ad networks.  Content sites also performed significantly better with regards to brand metrics such as aided brand awareness, online ad awareness, message association, brand favorability, and purchase intent.  

Some may be surprised with these results, but this data follows online marketing logic.  People will use web portals when they need information and know where to find it (like weather reports, headlines, etc.).  Since they know where to look to access the information they need, they take little notice as to what else is presented to them on the webpage. This mentality is also the same when people are using search engines. Again, people have a focused purpose and take little notice to “irrelevant” information presented to them on a webpage. However, on content sites people are slightly more aware as to what is on the webpage since they spend more time on it reading an article or viewing a video.

To increase your company’s brand awareness online, place your ads and marketing dollars on content sites. For more information, see the chart below from eMarketer.

Online Advertising's Effect on Brand Metrics

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Successful Landing Page Components

20
January
2009

For conversion-focused campaigns, properly designed and tested landing pages are just as important as the ad text that gets the visitor there, affecting everything from the bounce rate to campaign ROI.

Keith Vera

Account Manager

The importance of landing pages in the success of a PPC campaign is often overlooked. For conversion-focused campaigns, properly designed and tested landing pages are just as important as the ad text that gets the visitor there, affecting everything from the bounce rate to campaign ROI.

Most successful landing pages contain the same components, but before we get into what those mostly universal items are, the first thing a landing page needs to deliver on is what the PPC ad promised that got the visitor to click initially. Irrelevant information on landing pages will result in a lost visitor almost instantly, even if your site does offer what they are looking for. If that information is not immediately evident that visitor has most likely departed your site in favor of a competing site. To make sure a page delivers on the ad promise, a quality PPC landing page should contain the following:

- Product or Title paralleling what was offered in the PPC advertisement

- Information regarding the product or service, outlining the benefits concisely

- Prominent call-to-action above the fold



Now of course there are other factors on the actual page build that are important, but these three points are consistent across all of our most successful PPC campaign landing pages. Let us know your thoughts, and what has worked for your PPC campaign landing pages.

For a great source on landing page design I highly recommend MarketingSherpa’s 2008 Landing Page Handbook.

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New Studies Offer Tips for E-mail Marketing

19
January
2009

Two companies recently released studies on e-mail marketing that recommend using short subject lines and sending messages early in the work week.

Ryan Moss
Media Coordinator

eMarketer predicts that the amount of money spent on e-mail marketing will continue to increase during the next five years. About $472 million was spent on e-mail in 2008 and eMarketer expects that amount to reach around $630 million by 2013. As e-mail marketing continues to become more popular, companies have allocated more money to analyze the tactic and determine some best practices.

Two companies, Smith-Harmon and Epsilon, both recently conducted studies on e-mail marketing and came away with some fascinating results.

As seen in the chart below from Smith-Harmon’s study, Monday and Tuesday were the most popular days to send retail e-mail during 2008. As expected Saturday and Sunday were the two least popular days.

Epsilon’s study examined the relationship between the length of the subject line and the response rate. The study showed that shorter subject lines typically perform better with regards to open and click rates, although the correlation isn’t as strong as predicted. Other factors to consider are the order of words in the subject line, word choice and brand/audience awareness.

When sending out an e-mail campaign it is extremely important to pay attention to the minor details. As mentioned above this includes the length of the subject line and what words you use. Also, consider that if there is a high volume of e-mails on certain days, then other days might be better suited for your e-mail campaign.

Most Popular Dats to send retail e-mails

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2009: A Happy New Year?

6
January
2009

eMarketer recently released seven predictions for online marketing in 2009.

Stefanie Berliant
Media Coordinator

2008 closed on a low note with a drastic downturn in the economy, affecting nearly everyone in their professional and personal lives.  With a bad economy came budget cutbacks, and marketing was usually the first to go. eMarekter predicts that the trends for online marketing in 2009 will echo 2008’s negative events and that 2009 will get worse before it gets better.

eMarketer expects that in 2009, marketing budgets will decrease with traditional media (newspaper, radio and magazine) budgets declining the most.  The Internet will still grow, but at a slower rate. Ecommerce will also slow in growth due to the tendency for consumers to save money during a recession.

However there are some positive predictions for 2009. Many companies will likely reevaluate their marketing strategies as well as their goals and the measurement of these goals, which will create more effective and efficient marketing plans.  Additionally, display advertising will likely be one of the tactics to undergo reassessment on how to measure ads for branding purposes.

It is important to remember that things will get better in 2009. The economy is cyclical and will return to “normal,” so it is best to keep a positive mind frame instead of slipping into despair.  In the meantime, start fresh with the new year and apply resolutions to work smarter and not harder. Live and work simply, but invest in quality tools and supplies. Organize and plan your space and time. Delegate and outsource work to others who can produce at a cheaper cost. Be smart with spending and go green. All of these tips will reduce stress and save money at home and work and increase productivity. Those organizations that last through this tough period will only end up with a larger market share when the economic tide turns.

To read more about eMarketers 2009 predictions click on the link below.

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