SWOT Team: Pondering Paid Search—From Clicks to Ka-Ching!
by Yvonne Bailey and Hank Stroll

Search engine marketing has helped to level the playing field for companies that lack the patience, expertise or dedicated team it requires to get their sites ranked high using “natural” search.

As pay-per-click search engine marketing heats up, marketers have seen cost-per-click rates increase to an average of over $4.00. Many companies, focused squarely on keeping their traffic volume high, are happy to pay the price for a 1.5% visit-to-lead conversion rate, but what about the other 98.5%?

The argument is that pay-per-click ads are keyword targeted and should deliver a more qualified site visitor. Savvy marketers prepare dedicated landing pages that help these visitors navigate directly to a targeted point of interest with an opt-in carrot at the end of the stick. Why is it, then, that so many site visitors leave the site without opting in or making a purchase? This issue's dilemma asks: What methods can you use to increase your conversion rates when paying per click for site visitors?

Click bank running on empty? Let us know what keeps you up at night. What dilemma do you take with you when you leave the office? Your peers would love to help. Write to us and ask our SWOT Team about your dilemma. Tap into the collective strength, wisdom and experience of this group. It works, and you could win a free copy of our book, A Marketer's Guide to e-Newsletter Publishing.

Revisit our previous dilemma—read below for your peers' best advice for determining whether using an in-house or a third-party email list is best.

Unite and make a difference!

This Issue's Dilemma

SWOT Category: Internal Weakness

When we're paying per click, how can we convert more of our site visitors into customers?

We have invested heavily in search engine marketing over the past nine months. We dabble in over 100 keywords and obtain highly targeted traffic for our efforts.

Despite this success, we are still only converting about 1.5 percent of our traffic to leads, and at this rate we're paying almost $300.00 per lead. As a software company, we offer three opt-in entry points: a request for information, demo and a free trial. What can SWOT Team readers suggest to help us boost our conversion rates?

—Anonymous, VP of Marketing

Previous Dilemma

SWOT Category: Internal Weakness

Should we continue renting from third-party list brokers?

When it comes to our email marketing efforts, we have always rented lists from third-party brokers. I understand that the new CAN-SPAM laws make the issues of compliance fairly tough on this group.

For our own security, we are considering building our own in-house opt-in list. What has been the experience of other SWOT Team members in dealing with list brokers since CAN-SPAM came into effect? Should we make the switch, or is there a way to verify that the brokers we deal with are in compliance?

—Anonymous, Marketing Manager

Summary of Advice Received

Anonymous, your concern is shared by many SWOT Team readers. With so much information floating around in the headlines about CAN-SPAM regulations, it's expected that we may have more questions than answers until the dust settles.

The irony here is that while legitimate marketers may be losing sleep over CAN-SPAM, illegal marketers all over the world have merely bumped up their efforts to hit inboxes in droves. Despite the regulations, SPAM doesn't look like it will dissipate anytime soon.

Your question is a valid one. How do you stay on the right side of the law and avoid any appearances otherwise? A couple of our responses came directly from list brokers who offer assurances on how to meet with compliance.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hank Stroll (Hank@InternetVIZ.com) is publisher at InternetVIZ, a custom publisher of 24 B2B e-newsletters reaching 490,000 business executives.

Yvonne is a “customer engagement coach” and President of EVE Consulting, helping companies achieve sustainable market leadership through the power of customer engagement.