I have decided the phrase Ad Programmer – Google Ad Programmer – best describes the type of consulting services I offer clients.
Estibot.com Free Domain Appraisal Tool
July 16, 2010Recently I began receiving a flurry of offers on some of the domains I listed for sale.
While the free domain appraisal market may not be very robust or reliable, I found Estibot.com provided the most information of any free domain appraisal site.
Estibot.com
Estibot.com has a clean UI and functions as promised.
My First Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations Presentation
July 15, 2010I have been asked to give a two hour presentation on the subjects of Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations.
Its been some time since I have presented and quite frankly as the presentation date approached I wrestled with whether or not I even wanted to give such a general presentation.
Of course now that I have completed it, I feel completely different!
I did learn some things while preparing the content.
1. Creating content is labor intensive
2. Mind maps are the only way I can create anything on time.
3. Mind maps make creating Powerpoint content considerably easier
4. “All work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” Parkinson’s Law
Or said in another way, if it weren’t for the last minute nothing would ever get done.
While I didn’t allow enough time to get this presentation done perfectly, I did get my presentation done – albeit at the last minute.
The following is a mind map of my Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations Presentation.
Marketing Advertising Public Relations Mind Map
A Marketing Strategy Mindmap
July 14, 2010One of the greatest challenges I have had with operating in the digital world has been switching back and forth from analytical to creative thought all the while attached to a computer keyboard.
By definition computer keys whether alpha or numeric are binary and digital.
Yet, the creative process as far as I can tell is neither.
Creativity is analog.
Recently, I figured out how to draw simple images and post them to my blog.
However, even the simplest of concepts ultimately require further exploration and explanation.
Prior to producing all of my work on computers, mind maps were my creative tool of choice.
Using paper to facilitate creative thinking in an age when rapid digital iteration is a competitive advantage has caused me great consternation up until now.
I recently discovered a software program called Mindjet that is designed for capturing non-linear thought in the form of a digital mind map.
There are lots of cool features in Mindjet’s MindManager Mindmapping tool like this one for visualizing a marketing strategy.
Marketing Strategy Mind Map
If you are a visual and creative person like me, I highly recommend getting a copy of Mindjet.
Mindjet will help you get all of those creative analog thoughts sorted and mapped out… digitally.
Looking For An Ad Agency? Google Can Help
July 13, 2010I was looking at my Google Adwords campaign data and noticed a referral for the search query SEM Agency (Search Engine Marketing Agency).
A quick Google search for SEM Agency produced the first Adwords ad I had seen from Google promoting its Google AdWords Certified Partners program.
Looking for an Ad Agency?
I was one of the first people worldwide to receive the original Google Qualified Individual designations shortly after Google announced its program.
I qualified for certification again several years later and then let my status lapse.
Coincidentally for the past two weeks, I have been reviewing all of the Google Adwords Certified Partners program materials in preparation for taking the two tests necessary for gaining Certified Partner status – again.
While I never received any business from Google for being a Google Adwords Professional in the past, I think the Google Agency program and their marketing of it might now finally have some benefits for company’s like mine.
In the interim, if you want to search for a Google Adwords Certified Partner, Google provides a convenient way to search for partners @ the Google Adwords Partners Search page.
Find Google AdWords Certified Partners
Sample Google Adwords Bulk Post
July 11, 2010I have found one of the best ways to prepare for my Certified Google Adwords Partner exam again is to give all of the Google Adwords tools a thorough workout.
Even though I have been doing this since the Adwords program began, Google tools continue to evolve and require ongoing practice to keep current.
Toward that end, I uploaded 678 ad groups, 678 keywords and 2034 ads to one of my accounts in about fifteen minutes after several hours of market research.
Adwords Editor Bulk Upload
Thomas Watson, Sr. of IBM once to said “to succeed double your error rate.”
This is the beauty of Google Adwords – the ability to double one’s error rate while also squaring it at the same time.
Within a couple of days, I will have enough market data from the multifaceted campaign above to decide which critical path will predictably yield the highest returns for any further investment of my time, effort and capital.
Few if any other systems with the exception of the stock market can provide this kind of win or lose data in near real time at scale.
Which begs the question –
Why would any advertiser risk the time, effort or capital testing their marketing and advertising efficacy in any other way?
How To See A List of All The Pictures Within A Website
July 10, 2010Wonder what images are within a website?
Today I was searching within Google to see how many pages of this site were available within their index compared to how many were showing in my Google Webmaster Tools account.
Google.com shows 783 pages within this site while my Webmaster Tools account shows 684 pages.
However, my WordPress account shows I have written and published 854 pages on this site.
Google Site Search
After I left the Google search, I inadvertently ran a search for site:searchmarketingcommunications.com in Google Images.
To my surprise, Google Image search then produced the following list of 584 images within SearchMarketingCommunications.com.
Site Image Search
Turns out the Google site operator also works within all of their properties for any site – even Google Maps.
There is only one result within Google Maps for site:searchmarketingcommunications.com but its pretty cool – The Washington Monument.
I gave a search engine marketing presentation in Washington D.C. a while back and seeing the Washington Monument image brings back fond memories.
Site Operator Google Maps
To find out how many pages Google has indexed from your website go to Google and search site:yourdomainaddresshere.com.
Google Adwords Opportunities Tab: Decrease Cost
July 9, 2010Exploring my Google Adwords Opportunities Tab, I discovered a feature I hadn’t yet seen before within the Keyword Bid Ideas field the -“Show bid ideas that: Increase traffic | Decrease cost” links.
Adwords Opportunities Decrease Cost
I had used the increase traffic suggestions in several accounts yet hadn’t ever noticed the decrease cost option.
More about the “Increase Traffic” or “Decrease Cost” Keyword Bid Ideas:
Increase Traffic Decrease Cost
These two options appear when the Opportunities Tab is set to show ideas to meet the Adwords account goal of Balancing Cost and Traffic.
Balance cost and traffic
Of course decreasing advertising costs will also likely lower the number of ad impressions delivered and clicks generated.
Consider decreasing advertising cost an option only if and when all other Adwords account optimization tactics have been exhausted.
AdsenseForMobileApps.com
July 8, 2010Is the AdsenseForMobileApps.com domain producing a outsized share of referrals in your Google Managed or Automatic Placements Display Network campaigns?
If so, the following explanation from Google may shed some light as to how and why.
AdsenseForMobileApps.com
If you are targeting both the Google Display Network and have iPhone / Smartphone devices enabled in a campaign, your ads are eligible to be shown in mobile carriers downloaded apps.
While ad placements are above the fold and target an engaged audience, I don’t yet have enough measurable data confirming the performance of this type of audience advertising targeting.
Search Marketing Communications 
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