Google Adwords Click to Call Bidding & Setup

Sometimes I think the Google people think they are so smart they just have to write what they think they should write with regards to rules and answers rather than what would make sense to actual humans. The other option is that they just are not that smart. I suppose another option is that I am just not good at understanding their systems and communication process, because on some occasions I feel like I do when I cannot find what I am looking for at the grocery store and it is right in front of me.

Anyway, here is my latest correspondence. I would post it in their help forums but I can only seem to figure out how to post a new question, not a new answer...

I was trying to setup a click to call feature on one of my clients Google Adwords PPC programs. Don't know how I missed this, but I do not think it was obvious that this was the issue during setup.

After setting up the campaign I bid $10/ call for the CPP program. After all, if we were willing to pay $3 per click, then $10/call seemed reasonable. However, the system says my bids were "ineligible". So I emailed Google and here is the response they sent to me-my comments are in ALL CAPS.


Hello Dan,

Thanks for writing in.

Dan, the click to call feature is available for your campaign. However if
you enable the campaign, all click to call clicks will be charged a flat
fee of $1. OF GREAT-THEN WHY LET ME BID MORE THAN $10?

Maximum cost-per-phone call (CPP) is the maximum price you're willing to
pay each time a user manually dials your Google forwarding number. This
feature is only available to call extensions users in the US and UK.

In your campaign, it is not possible to enable cost per phone-call and
change the call cost based on various factors. This is because for the CPP
to be eligible, it requires a certain number of clicks and click-per-call.

Dan, as our campaign has not yet received any clicks, the cost per call
feature is not currently available. I recommend that you enable the
campaign again so that you receive 30 clicks and at least around 17 click
to calls in the last 30 days. OK-SO I AM NOT ELIGIBLE FOR A CLICK UNTIL I GET A CLICK, OR ARE YOU SAYING I AM NOT ELIGIBLE FOR A CLICK TO CALL UNTIL I RECEIVE ANY CLICK?

I hope this helps. Do write back in case of any queries.

We value your feedback. You may receive a satisfaction survey in the next
24 hours--please fill it out. It's a very short survey (we promise!) and
your feedback will help us improve our customer service.

Sincerely,

Karthik
The Google AdWords Team

I WILL LET YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY.

Business Website Videos

I am asked all of the time; "What is the benefit of putting a video on my website?", and the follow up question; "How much time and/or money should I invest in putting a video for my site?"

Of course, this always leads to more questions...

What is the purpose of the video?

Are you trying to build trust and credibility?

Is it to build a more personal relationship with your clients or prospective clients?

Are you trying to improve your search engine rankings?

Are you trying to show how a process, product or your business works?

Who is your audience?

One of the first steps I would take is to take a look at what other businesses are doing in your area and around the country. Many videos can be found on YouTube, but you will need to go through some sites to see how other businesses are using videos on their sites.

If you take the time to do this, you will likely see videos that will give you some great ideas for how you may want to use video. You will also see videos that make you cringe.

1-High-end/high quality videos.

Why use a videographer as opposed to a do it yourself scenario?

If you do not, you may do more harm to your image than not having a video at all.

You may have fun shooting the video. You may have done your darndest to make it look incredible. Rarely does that translate into a video someone else will be impressed by. As you look at videos on other sites you will see some absolutely horrible videos that try to look professional and fail miserably.
(By the way, there is a great time and a place for very cheap/free videos, and I will discuss that in point "2-" below)

How much should you spend on a high-end video?

These types of videos are shot by a "professional" or "semi-professional" videographer. They usually require a half day to full day of shooting, professional lighting, a story board, at least a "loose script" and after the shooting a significant amount of time editing.

I have seen good quality videos for as low as $695, but these are often very hit and miss because the company selling them usually has very little control over who actually shows up to shoot the video. They tend to use a national network of full and/or part-time videographers. As a result you may end up with the equivelent to a nightmare version of "the cable guy"-and often you do not know until they show up how good or bad they will be.

I would ask not just for references from the company, but references from the actual videographer who is going to do the work. You may get a very good result from this type of service, or you may be very disatisfied. It is a crapshoot.

Important: many of the video services that large companies sell that do not specialize in videos but sell them as an add-on product are reselling the same $695 video service for $1,500-$3,000. They still offer some advantages in that at least you have a big company backing the service, but they have very little control over who shows up. The sales rep that sold you the video will often try to show up the day of the shoot to help make sure things go smoothly, but he or she often has little control over who the videographer will be.

If you can spend more than $695-say $2,000-$20,000+, then I would look for a local company or individual that allows you to see some of the work done by the people who will be working for you. Again, you don't just want to see their portfolio of videos, you want to find out about how the process goes and specifically who will be working with you.

A good quality 60 second to 120 second video will likely cost you $1,500 +, but you may have to spend more than that to find someone with a great track record that you can trust. As you know; time is money. If you spend 1/2 a day working with a cheap videographer and the end result is not worht puttng on your site because it will actually hurt your image-how much would THAT cost you?

2-When can I use a free, cheap or YouTube type video?

First of all, I have seen a number of businesses utilize video clips from shows they have been on and commercials they run on TV. You already have these, so why not post them on your site and on YouTube?

The two videos I put on this blog post are examples of videos I should be posting every day-but only on a blog, or a place on my website that people go to to "hear from the Dan". You can build trust, relationship-even "intimacy" in the most appropriate sense of the word with these types of videos.

It enables people to see the "real" you and determine whether or not you are someone they want to work with. They don't expect it to be nor do they want it to be an over produced video because they want to learn something about what you do and who you are. You can utilize these types of videos in addition to a professional video you put on your home page, but don't try to replace a professional video with one of these "blog" type videos.

You can shoot these types of 30 second to 2 minute videos in your office from your computer's camera (or buy a pc camera for $40 or less), or even use your smart phone. I told myself when I purchased my iPhone 4 I was going to use it all the time to blog post because it has a "video yourself feature". I have a hard time getting around to doing it, and so will you, unless you make it a daily or weekly habit.

All you need to do is commit 5-10 minutes to shoot the video and post it to your blog. It may take you longer the first time you do it, but as you do it more regularly you may be able to keep it below 5 minutes.

This type of blog post is easier than even writing a blog post, therefore you can do more of them and possibly every day.

SEO Benefits: This type of activity can help you with your search engine optimization efforts, because search engines are actually "listening" to videos now, so they are great ways to add more content to your site for the search engines to index.

My friends criticize the professional looking photo I have on my lawyer marketing site because they know it is not even my real smile. It's a professional pose, and it is appropriate for where I placed it on that blog. My less professional looking blogs have pictures of me mountain biking, playing with my kids, etc. The point is that like pictures professional videos build your "professional credibility", the blog type videos build relationships and and a more personal trust.

I hope you found this information valuable. It is not rocket science. If you have good common sense you probably resonate with much of what is in this post. If you have new ideas you would like to share, or any questions, please feel free to post them here!

Of course, you can always give me a call for free consultation.

Happy Holidays!

Bobby Dean - No Sausage

Some of you have heard me talk about my buddy Bobby, well here he is on TV today: Way to go Bobby!!! Way to represent!

 Bobby Dean Video

This Saturday at Restoration Community Church

Message from Ron Johnson today...

Ready to summit?  All summer we have been on a spiritual journey together through our Happy Trails series.  This week we will conclude our series by talking about the traits of the spiritually mature and how to reach our spiritual potential in this life time. 

I love our church.  I tell those who have not come that we have the greatest people you could ever meet in our community.  God is doing something unique here.  He is making us into a one of a kind church with a special destiny.  I thank God this morning for the honor to be a part of your lives and what God is doing among us.  Let's pray we meet God in a special way Saturday night.  I look forward to seeing you then.

Blessings,

Ron

Ron Johnson
Restoration Community Church in Denver Colorado

Improving Your Online Presence Part 6: Video Blogging & Marketing

Videos and SEO.



Video blogging is a great way to improve your online presence.

Why post videos online?

1. Content, content, content. The search engines yearn for it, and you need to be providing more and better content than your competitors.
2. People are watching more and more videos every day. Don't believe me? Don't take my word for it: search "how many people watch videos online".
3. It's a great way to communicate to your prospects and customers.

Mistakes to avoid:

1. Don't worry too much about the quality of the videos that you put on a blog. You want quantity, not quality from a production perspective. The new iPhone 4 is a perfect tool for recording videos.
2. DO make certain that the videos you put on your site look good and represent your business in a professional manner.
3. DO make certain you have great content on your site. No one wants to have their time wasted watching a video of someone who cannot communicate well, or with bad information.
4. Relax and be natural-DON'T read what you are going to say. It makes you look ridiculous!

Enough for today. There is a lot more to discuss about videos. Where should you host them? How much should you pay for a professional video?

I will post more on this topic soon...

Improving Your Online Presence Part 5: How to Utilize Social Media for Marketing Your Business

Social Media Marketing Strategy Development
I suspect that the followers of this blog were more interested in this topic in this series "Improving Your Online Presence" than any other topic.
I presented on this topic in front of a group of small business owners a few weeks ago, and to be honest, at least one person was frustrated because I was asking as many questions as I was answering.
It probably has to do with my "Jesuit" education, but I believe the best way to find better answers is to ask better questions.
In the midst of one small business owners frustration she asked "How do I utilize Linked In, Twitter or Facebook to gain high value clients?"
My answer; "That's a great place to start."
In other words; you need to ask a lot of really good open ended questions to get your brain moving in the right direction.
Once you know your business goals, then start applying questions around social media and those business goals like the business owner I mentioned above.
Simple, right?

Ok-ok - let me get to the part where I give some helpful advice on social media marketing.
First of all, assuming you understand your business goals, the next step is determining how social media might help you achieve those goals.
While I have not heard of any type of business that cannot benefit in some way from social media, there are two things you need to know from the start:

1. It is likely that your social media strategy is going to be partially or almost completely unique to your business.
2. Spending a lot of time on social media may not be an efficient way for you to market your business online.

In fact, just as there were many businesses that blindly threw millions at Internet marketing back in the late 1990s and early 2000s without first developing an ROI based strategy, there is a risk that businesses will do the same with social media marketing. There is a lot of buzz around social media marketing, it is considered cool and sexy by some right now, but that doesn't mean that just jumping into to social media is going to make or break your business. You are probably at more risk of wasting time and money than making money from social media. Whatever you do, make certain you do not fail to look at search engine optimization, pay per click marketing or offline marketing.

The best advice I can give you on social media marketing is that you need to be prepared to invest resources to make it work. Which is not so different from offline social networking efforts - it takes resources, but the right work can be very beneficial for your business.


Step one: Determine how social media can help you meet your goals. In order to do this you are going to have to spend some time learning about social media. You can either spend time on the Internet or reading books on social media. You could also hire a consultant. Of course, you need to determine if you have more time or more money. If you are really busy and your time is very valuable, then it may make more sense to hire someone to develop a social media plan for you. Just make sure they take the time to understand your goals, and that the road map they give you to meet those goals has measurable results.
How much time do you need to invest? At least in the neighborhood of 10-20 hours.

Step 2: Once you have come up with a plan, you need to determine if it is going to be worth it to implement the plan. It not only takes some resources to develop a plan, it is going to take even more resources to implement it. Again, this is a balancing of time and money. Your time may be better spent doing other things to grow your business. If you have come up with a good plan, you are going to need to dedicate a significant amount of time weekly or daily to implementing it. How much time? I would estimate 1-10 hours for setup, and 2-40 hours a week of work-depending on the details of your plan, of course.

Step 3: You are going to need to track and analyze the results, make adjustments and implement the adjustments. While social media may be out of its "infancy" stage, it is still in the "toddler" stage. If you are not tracking and analyzing results, you are at significant risk of wasting a painful amount of time and/or money.

Here are some good resources for learning more about social media marketing:

• Books about Social Media Marketing
• Step by step process to developing a social media marketing strategy

Good luck-and if you need any help feel free to call me at 720-279-1876 for a free initial consultation.

Improving your online presence Part 4: Adding the right kind of content to your website

I remember back in the 1990s when doing something akin to simply changing a comma to a period every day on your website might improve your rankings on the search engines. Assuming you are doing everything as good or better than your SEO competitors, making a slight change to your website might help, but the chances of it making a difference are slim. Nowadays, you need to have a strategy for adding content to your site on a regular basis. Of course, if your site is not already well optimized relative to your competitors, adding content may not help you meet your SEO goals. There are other reasons to add content to your website, especially if your site is a resource for others. However, if you want to help your SEO rankings you need to have a specific content building strategy, and you probably should invest in an SEO expert to help you maximize content building and SEO efforts.

I like the idea of having a blog on your site, but here are some other ideas for adding content to your site:

• Product Reviews.
• Press releases.
• Client testimonial.
• Client success stories and case studies.
• A FAQ page you update regularly.
• All of the above could be done in short video snippets. 

Important things to remember:

• The content you ad to your site needs to be unique
• Be careful about adding content stuffed with keywords
• Look for internal linking opportunities for your keywords within the content you add to your site
• Don't forget to format your Heading tags and Meta-data correctly when you add new content to your site
• Try to get external links that go directly to your new content, not just to your home page.

Adding content can be tedious, but if you develop a plan for updating your website's content on a regular basis you will have a much better chance of having a positive impact on your web presence.


Good luck-and if you need any help feel free to call me at 720-279-1876 for a free initial consultation.