Best of 2008 (So Far) - Search Engine Marketing, Part 1

In my continuing effort to clean out my bookmarks and stay ahead of the game for the Best of 2008 series in January, here are a dozen of the most linkworthy articles and posts on search engine marketing so far this year.

Google Analytics Keyword Sleuth vs Search Query Performance Report by Google Analytics Blog

Mark Curtis offers up a detailed comparison of these two helpful PPC keyword research tools. Both are free, but one is considerably faster and more thorough.


SEO and SEM Shortcuts, Spying and Stats to Dominate Google! by SiteProNews

Writer Michael Small supplies some now-slightly-out-of-date but still useful statistics on usage of the leading search engines as well as advice on tools to help improve both SEO and search marketing results.


The AdWords Content Network - Better Than Ever by PPC Discussions

Reflecting the experience of many search marketers, blogger Jeremy Mayes gives 10 reasons why the Google content network no longer sucks for advertisers. Thanks to improved quality of sites in the network, along with other factors, the content network can now provide reasonably good lead generation performance often for considerably less than the cost of search-driven conversions.


Whats the best keyword match type? by CDF Networks

Broad match, exact match, phrase match, negative match...ever wonder when to use which? This brief yet helpful post provides some answers.


Four Tricks to Gain An Unfair Advantage on AdWords by Search Marketing Standard

"Unfair advantage" may be stretching the case a bit, but author Andrey Milyan nevertheless presents four tactics that enhance your SEM results with Google AdWords.


With A/B Testing - You Don't Think, You Know by Find Resolution

In this articulate and well-researched post, Jeff Campbell lays out a 10-step program for scientifically performing split tests to optimize campaign copy.


Why YOU fail with Google Adwords by SiteProNews

Leighton James ticks off ten common mistakes to avoid in PPC campaigns, from including too many poorly targeted keywords and failing to optimize landing pages to improperly using phrase matching options and modifying bids for the content network.


Avoid Scope Creep Money Pit SEM Jobs by aimClear Search Marketing Blog

In kind of an inside-baseball piece for search marketing agencies, Marty Weintraub shares his firm's goals and scope document, which is designed to set clear expectations, avoid expensive scope creep and, in the end, make projects fair for both agencies and their clients.


PPC Automation: Robots vs Humans by StraightUpSearch

This post makes the case for using a real live PPC manager instead of PPC automation software. In practice, both are probably needed. Particularly for large, complex campaigns, automation software can improve efficiency and reduce total costs. But the software itself is just a tool; for best results, it needs to used in the hands of an expert search marketing professional who can use it to streamline tedious tasks while applying human judgment in areas such as optimizing ad copy and aligning SEM programs with overall marketing goals.


Pay Per Click Advertising Tip #11 - Conversion Tracking by semvironment

Okay, it's kind of basic, but conversion tracking is essential to determining and optimizing ROI from search marketing programs. This post walks readers through the conversion tracking process on AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing and Microsoft adCenter.


Website Visitors Read Your Copy, Right? by Search Marketing Standard

Uh, no. Kevin Gold offers a couple of examples demonstrating that ad clickers don't read landing page copy in detail. In other words, they respond to what they think the offer is rather than what it actually is. As with all other elements of search marketing campaigns, the key is to test, test, test landing page copy to not simply maximize leads but also disqualify resource-consuming non-prospects.


PPC ads should always lead your online sales efforts by DMNews

Writer Tim Schaden makes a compelling case that PPC efforts should precede and guide SEO efforts. Because PPC produces almost immediate results—while SEO changes need weeks to take effect—it's the ideal testing ground for the productivity of various search phrases for a particular offering. Armed with analysis from PPC testing, SEO efforts can be focused on optimizing for the most valuable terms for a specific company, product or service.

Previous posts in this series:

Best of 2008 (So Far) - SEO Guidance, Part 1
Best of 2008 (So Far) - SEO Guidance, Part 2

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technorati tags: search engine marketing, Google Analytics Blog, Mark Curtis, SiteProNews, Michael Small, PPC Discussions, Jeremy Mayes, CDF Networks, Search Marketing Standard, Andrey Milyan, Find Resolution, Jeff Campbell, Leighton James, PPC campaigns, aimClear Search Marketing Blog, Marty eintraub, StraightUpSearch, PPC automation software, semvironment, Kevin Gold, DMNews, Tim Schaden

del.icio.us tags: search engine marketing, Google Analytics Blog, Mark Curtis, SiteProNews, Michael Small, PPC Discussions, Jeremy Mayes, CDF Networks, Search Marketing Standard, Andrey Milyan, Find Resolution, Jeff Campbell, Leighton James, PPC campaigns, aimClear Search Marketing Blog, Marty eintraub, StraightUpSearch, PPC automation software, semvironment, Kevin Gold, DMNews, Tim Schaden

icerocket tags: search engine marketing, Google Analytics Blog, Mark Curtis, SiteProNews, Michael Small, PPC Discussions, Jeremy Mayes, CDF Networks, Search Marketing Standard, Andrey Milyan, Find Resolution, Jeff Campbell, Leighton James, PPC campaigns, aimClear Search Marketing Blog, Marty eintraub, StraightUpSearch, PPC automation software, semvironment, Kevin Gold, DMNews, Tim Schaden

Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentralDOTcom

What Works Now in B2B Lead Generation, Part 1

MarketingSherpa has just released its 2008 B2B Lead Generation Handbook (that's a link to the free executive summary PDF; the complete report will run you a cool $500). The 22-page executive summary contains some useful information for B2B marketers and CEOs (plus a little bit of misinformation best disregarded).

B2B Marketing Has Changed Dramatically

The report authors spend considerable ink on the changes that B2B marketing has undergone since 2000. Parts of this analysis are very helpful, for example, "The easiest way to save money (during the 2000-2002 recession, when marketing budgets were being slashed) was to replace old media with cheaper new media. That meant replacing print brochures with PDFs, post-mailed newsletters with emailed newsletters, road shows and seminars with webinars, and print ads with online advertising, including search."

However, the coverage does have an element of navel-gazing: "Since the year 2000, B-to-B marketing has undergone dramatic changes—in strategy, budget, measurement, philosophy and tactics...the Internet has certainly been a big part of these changes." Yes it has, and so have the other factors cited in the report, but there isn't anything really magical about the year 2000—except that, as the report also reveals, that's the year MarketingSherpa first started paying attention to B2B marketing. There's a strong case to be made that B2B marketers have always been more aggressive than their B2C counterparts in adopting new technologies, due to their smaller budgets and more tightly targeted audiences, or at least that this has been case for the last two-to-three decades.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, B2B companies were aggressive at moving print materials to CDs, then moving CD-based content materials online. B2B companies were building websites, sending out email newsletters and buying ads on trade publication websites well before their B2C counterparts in many if not most cases, and were certainly active in all of these areas before 2000.

It's Critical to get SEO and SEM Right

As the chart below shows, buyers are far more likely to find vendors when they are ready to buy than to respond to vendor outreach that may or may not hit them at the right time.


That's why it's crucial that vendors be "findable" when buyers are looking, and why spending on search engine optimization and search marketing have become a significant portion of B2B marketing budgets. Social media also plays an important role here, and the report provides some tips in this area.

According to MarketingSherpa's study, a typical B2B company spends about 30% of its total marketing budget online, and about 30% of its online budget on pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. About 5% of online marketing spending is dedicated to SEO.

For Best SEO Results, Seek Professional Help

SEO is a no-brainer; even a moderately well-done effort will improve a company's online visibility and site traffic at a relatively low cost. According to MarketingSherpa, in-house SEO programs generally produce about a 40% increase in traffic over six months. But hiring an outside expert can grow visitor count even more dramatically: external programs led to 100%+ (i.e. more than doubling) increases in traffic within half a year.

However, the report's advice on hiring an outside expert is disastrously off base. "When hiring an agency or consultant, B-to-B experience is not as important as is dedicated SEO experience. You don't want to hire a team that does SEO 'on the side' as an addendum to online marketing activities...Many marketers hire two different agencies for PPC versus SEO and make sure the two teams play well together to take advantage of measurement and keyword synergies." MarketingSherpa rarely misses, but that may be among the worst pieces of advice the publisher has ever provided.

Separating SEO from broader marketing and PR activities is a really bad idea for several reasons. First, SEO and PPC efforts go hand in hand and need to be coordinated, from keyword selection ("head" terms for PPC, longtail terms for SEO, mid-length terms for both) and testing all the way through reporting (e.g. comparing PPC to SEO conversions, with a goal of maximizing both). Hiring two separate firms to do PPC versus SEO work is like having two shortstops on a baseball team, one to scoop up ground balls and the other to throw over to first base; it just doesn't make any sense.

Second, SEO efforts need to be aligned with PR and social media outreach efforts, both of which are key link-building activities. Having one agency in charge of a coordinated effort assures that all components are working together; hiring an SEO "technician" from a separate firm, who knows nothing about the bigger picture of B2B marketing and PR, greatly increases the likelihood of missed opportunities and synergies.

Third, SEO and PR/marketing shouldn't work at cross purposes. For example, any company offering insurance or financial services to Fortune 1000 enterprises needs to build and maintain a reputation for quality and trust. Having an SEO firm blast out spammy link requests, and worse, add a collection of questionable links to the company's website, can instantly nullify years of credibility-building efforts.

Finally, getting SEO and marketing assistance from different providers can lead to inefficient duplication of effort. One tactic commonly employed by gray-hat SEOs is to write keyword-rich "articles" designed more to get high ranking from search engines than for actual human reading. A marketing/PR firm, however, can write thought leadership content that appeal not only to search engines but also enhance your image among prospective customers, and can also help get value out of the article (through social media, for example) beyond simply publishing it to your site for SEO purposes.

SEO Must be Sensitive to IT

Your webmaster or internal web team will be understandably nervous about any outsider touching your site, particularly if it is also hosted internally. A good SEO firm should meet with your technical team first, explaining exactly what is going to be done (transparency is critical factor in selecting an SEO agency), when and how—as well as what won't be touched. For significant changes, such as modifying the URL structure, the SEO should be able to explain, in plain English, why the change is a high priority.

More to come...

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Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentralDOTcom

Hosted Email Service Price Comparison: Part 2

My first post on this topic generated a few comments and quite a few emails. Again, price is only one of several factors to consider when selecting a hosted marketing email platform. Here are three other key criteria.

1) Deliverability: A couple of people pointed out that some of the lower-priced platforms use shared IP addresses; if anything remotely spammy makes it way through, system administrators simply block these in total. Make sure that the platform you choose provides private IP addresses at your chosen message volume.

2) Service Level: Service tends to increase roughly proportionately with price. The lowest-priced platforms are designed for near-total self-service, with technical support provided primarily through email. Platforms priced in the midrange often offer additional levels of assistance. At the high end, a service like Bronto will do much of the work (strategy, creative design, monitoring) for you.

3) Target market: Despite the large number of hosted email platforms in the marketplace, there is less direct competition between the providers than one might suspect. It's competitive, certainly, but primarily between providers targeting the same segment of the market. For you as the buyer, this means selecting a hosted email platform that is focused on serving organizations like yours.

For example, services like Benchmark Email and Express Email Marketing—low-cost and self-service oriented—are targeted primarily at individual consultants and very small businesses who, generally, will be writing and designing their own newsletters and email marketing messages. For slightly larger organizations that may be working with an outside marketing agency to craft their messages, services such as StreamSend and Lyris offer a more sophisticated toolset. Non-profit groups can send up to 10,000 emails per month for free (and get a discounted rate beyond that level) through VerticalResponse. Larger companies may want to consider a full-service platform like Bronto or one with sophisticated features such as the Enterprise Edition from ExactTarget.

Finally, consider your need for special features, such as the ability to conduct email surveys, offered by platforms such as VerticalResponse and Constant Contact.

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technorati tags: selecting a hosted marketing email platform, key criteria, deliverability, shared IP addresses, private IP addresses, self-service, Bronto, strategy, creative design, monitoring, Benchmark Email, Express Email Marketing, StreamSend, Lyris, VerticalResponse, ExactTarget, conduct email surveys, Constant Contact

del.icio.us tags: selecting a hosted marketing email platform, key criteria, deliverability, shared IP addresses, private IP addresses, self-service, Bronto, strategy, creative design, monitoring, Benchmark Email, Express Email Marketing, StreamSend, Lyris, VerticalResponse, ExactTarget, conduct email surveys, Constant Contact

icerocket tags: selecting a hosted marketing email platform, key criteria, deliverability, shared IP addresses, private IP addresses, self-service, Bronto, strategy, creative design, monitoring, Benchmark Email, Express Email Marketing, StreamSend, Lyris, VerticalResponse, ExactTarget, conduct email surveys, Constant Contact

Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentralDOTcom

Hosted Email Service Price Comparison: Part 1

Hosted marketing email services are almost a commodity. Much like web hosting, email outsourcing is pretty much a no-brainer for all but the highest volume mail senders; email providers have already made the investments in deliverability, CAN-SPAM compliance, HTML tools and reporting, so there's no reason to build your own. And also similar to web hosting providers, there are few significant functional differences to separate one from another, so the choice largely comes down to personal preference, and—as with all commodities—price.

Email hosting services aren't quite a commodity, as there are still differences in functionality and service offerings. Virtually all of them, however, offer at least the same basic set of capabilities, including list management, tools for creating HTML and plain text emails, scheduling and reporting.

This chart compares current pricing levels for eight popular hosted marketing email platforms (click to enlarge):

So, which platform offers the best deal? That depends.

Low-volume senders: if you're sending fewer than 5,000 email messages per month, Express Email Marketing from GoDaddy offers the best price. Benchmark Email is a close second.

High-volume senders: above 5,000 emails per month, StreamSend clearly provides the most attractive pricing. Constant Contact, MailGenie and Campaigner (formerly Got) are all priced very similarly, at about 50% higher than StreamSend.

Irregular senders: Most hosted platforms are priced on a monthly basis and designed for marketers who send newsletters or promotions on a regular schedule. But if you only send out occasional messages—such as for new product announcements or special promotions—VerticalResponse may be the best choice. They charge by the email, with no monthly fee. You'll pay a bit more per email, but you're never charged for capacity you aren't using. VerticalResponse CEO Janine Popick also writes an excellent blog on email marketing best practices.

Again, price isn't the only factor when selecting a hosted email platform. While most services offer the same basic feature set, providers vary in terms of the number and quality of pre-built HTML templates offered, CRM integration options, usability and other factors. Many offer a free test drive so you can check them out before making a commitment. The bottom line is that with hosted email services, as with so many other things, it pays to shop around.

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technorati tags: hosted marketing email services, email outsourcing, deliverability, CAN-SPAM compliance, price, email hosting services, list management, marketing email platforms, Express Email Marketing, GoDaddy, Benchmark Email, StreamSend, pricing, Constant Contact, MailGenie, Campaigner, VerticalResponse, Janine Popick, CRM integration options, usability

del.icio.us tags: hosted marketing email services, email outsourcing, deliverability, CAN-SPAM compliance, price, email hosting services, list management, marketing email platforms, Express Email Marketing, GoDaddy, Benchmark Email, StreamSend, pricing, Constant Contact, MailGenie, Campaigner, VerticalResponse, Janine Popick, CRM integration options, usability

icerocket tags: hosted marketing email services, email outsourcing, deliverability, CAN-SPAM compliance, price, email hosting services, list management, marketing email platforms, Express Email Marketing, GoDaddy, Benchmark Email, StreamSend, pricing, Constant Contact, MailGenie, Campaigner, VerticalResponse, Janine Popick, CRM integration options, usability

Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentralDOTcom

Surprises from the SEOmoz SEO Industry Survey

Search marketing hub site SEOmoz recently released the results of a survey of more than 3,000 search marketers covering demographics, practices, tools used and other topics. Their article, The SEO Industry Survey Results, by SEOmoz staff members Nick Gerner, Rebecca Kelley, Jeff Pollard and Rand Fishkin, provides an excellent summary of the results, so I won't rehash all of that here, but rather offer just a few observations on some of the more surprising findings.

You Can't Win if You Don't Play

More than half of respondents reported that their company either doesn't use PPC advertising at all or spends less than than $500 per month on paid search advertising. That's about what would be expected from a survey of the general business population, but considering that the respondents to this survey were all search marketing professionals, that figure is astounding. How can that many companies not understand the cost-effectiveness and inherent measurabilty of SEM?

You Get What You Pay For

At first glance, the income figures reported seem absurdly low, but this result is skewed by the global nature of the respondents. However, even when looking at the geographic breakout of income levels, it's surprising to discover that even in the U.S., 10% of search marketers make $30,000 or less, nearly half earn less than $60,000 per year, and roughly 60% take home $75,000 or less annually.

Search marketing is strategic. Your website is very often the first, or at least the second, impression that your prospects get of your organization. A crappy website reflects poorly on a company. A website that can't be found is even worse. I've seen (and been asked to fix) $30,000-per-year SEO; it isn't pretty, and worse, it isn't effective.

I Like Your Website, But Not Really

Most disturbing of all was that roughly 50% of respondents—both in-house and consultants—"recommend the use of the nofollow attribute for links." The nofollow tag is possibly the most insidious bit of HTML code ever devised; it should be banished from the global standard for the language, or at the very least ignored by search engine algorithms.

Nofollow is the online equivalent of "I don't want to date you, but can we still be friends?" No, it doesn't work that way. Either give XYZ Company a real link from your website, or don't bother.

Their tools may be elegant though overpriced, but the SEOmoz survey makes great and informative reading.

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technorati tags: search marketing hub, SEOmoz, The SEO Industry Survey Results, Nick Gerner, Rebecca Kelley, Jeff Pollard, Rand Fishkin, PPC advertising, paid search advertising, search marketing professionals, SEM, SEO, nofollow attribute, SEOmoz survey

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icerocket tags: search marketing hub, SEOmoz, The SEO Industry Survey Results, Nick Gerner, Rebecca Kelley, Jeff Pollard, Rand Fishkin, PPC advertising, paid search advertising, search marketing professionals, SEM, SEO, nofollow attribute, SEOmoz survey

Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentralDOTcom

Best of 2007: Web Analytics

You've heard it a million times: "You can't manage what you can't measure." One of the most appealing aspects of online marketing is the ability to test and measure virtually anything, in detail and with great precision. But which metrics are really important? And how can you most effectively use web analytics to make productive changes?

Here are some of the best articles and blog posts from 2007 on optimizing the use of web analytics.

Practical Guide to Website Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) by Search Engine Journal

Writer Julie Mason details the key website performance indicators that "help you measure the effectiveness of your website with quantifiable and actionable results," including page views per visit, visits per lead and cost per lead.


Bloggers Ponder Google’s RSS Syndication Stats by MediaPost Online Spin

Following Google's acquisition of Feedburner, Max Kalehoff ponders the importance of the "reach" metric for bloggers. Personally, I'm skeptical. "For all the self-conscious bloggers addicted to their site and reader analytics — including those seeking to monetize through advertising — reach is sure to become one of the more scrutinized metrics." No, the only metric that really matters to "those seeking to monetize through advertising" is revenue.


How To Use Site Statistics Effectively by Performancing

Ryan Caldwell provides an interesting post advising bloggers and interactive marketers to "focus on active stats"—measures that can be directly affected—such as monitoring traffic sources, search referrals and key phrase referrals.


Does Your Web Site Need a Workout? by Search Engine Guide

The gratuitously repulsive opening paragraph aside, Kalena Jordan provides an excellent post on how to increase website traffic and revenue. After asking "Is your web site working hard enough for you?," Jordan supplies a 20-point website "fitness assessment" to help answer the question.


Outing The Heavy Clickers by MediaPost Online Spin

Dave Morgan gets to the bottom of click-through rate fascination. "Ninety-nine percent of Web users do not click on ads on a monthly basis. Of the 1% that do, most only click once a month. Less than two tenths of one percent click more often. That tiny percentage makes up the vast majority of banner ad clicks." Who are these "heavy clickers"? Read Dave's post to find out.

Previous articles in this series:

Best of 2007: SEO Analysis Tools
Best of 2007: SEO Keyword Research Tools
Best of 2007: News Articles on Social Media Marketing
Best of 2007: Blog Posts on Social Media Marketing
Best of 2007: Articles and Blog Posts on SEM
Best of 2007: Articles and Blog Posts on Google AdWords
Best of 2007: Articles and Blog Posts on SEO (Part 1)
Best of 2007: Articles and Blog Posts on SEO (Part 2)
Best of 2007: Website Design
Best of 2007: Blogging for Business
Best of 2007: Marketing Research
Best of 2007: Interactive PR
Best of 2007: SEO Copywriting
Best of 2007: Strategy and Branding

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technorati tags: web analytics, Website Key Performance Indicators, Search Engine Journal, Julie Mason, Feedburner, Max Kalehoff, Performancing, Ryan Caldwell, Search Engine Guide, Kalena Jordan, Dave Morgan, heavy clickers

del.icio.us tags: web analytics, Website Key Performance Indicators, Search Engine Journal, Julie Mason, Feedburner, Max Kalehoff, Performancing, Ryan Caldwell, Search Engine Guide, Kalena Jordan, Dave Morgan, heavy clickers

icerocket tags: web analytics, Website Key Performance Indicators, Search Engine Journal, Julie Mason, Feedburner, Max Kalehoff, Performancing, Ryan Caldwell, Search Engine Guide, Kalena Jordan, Dave Morgan, heavy clickers

Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentralDOTcom

Best of 2007: Articles and Blog Posts on Google AdWords

The last post here presented some of the best articles and blog posts on general search engine marketing practices. This post focuses on interesting observations and helpful advice pertaining specifically to Google AdWords, the largest SEM platform.

In Google AdWords, Bidding Wars Are a Thing of the Past: Beat Your Competition with These 4 Tactics by PPC Hero

Post demonstrating how tactics such as keyword group optimization, writing relevant ad text, and designing relevant landing pages can save you from over-bidding on keywords.

Techniques that Always Work?: Who Uses Dynamic Keyword Insertion? by Traffick

Blogger Andrew Goodman provides the how and why of dynamic keyword insertion in AdWords, and why, though it's a powerful technique, it doesn't "always" work.

Just a Bit Off Target With Pay-Per-Click by Future Now

Even sophisticated, major retailers can make SEM mistakes. This post shows how Target screwed up a PPC campaign, and how it could have been fixed.

AdWords Optimization Tips: More on Ad Text by the Inside AdWords Blog

The Inside AdWords Crew offers advice on mentioning prices or discounts in ads, what elements to test, and how to most effectively track the performance of different text ads.

Google Campaign Optimizer No Substitute for Experience by StraightUpSearch

A prescient blog post on the importance of trusting experience and established best practices in SEM over Google's optimization tool. As this post notes, "Research and testing...(has) revealed that this tool does everything but 'fine-tune' an AdWords campaign. Test cases yielded scores of woefully irrelevant, broad match keyword suggestions as well as sky-high max CPC recommendations. All of which would have sent a perfectly profitable campaign into a tailspin."

Split-Test Your Adwords Ads In 2 Minutes Or Less by NetBusinessBlog

Blogger Dee Barizo provides step-by-step instructions on testing Google AdWords text ad performance to optimize campaign results.

Give the Google Content Network another try by John W. Ellis Search Engine Marketing

It's a very rare occurrence when a blog post causes me to completely change my mind about a firm conviction, but that's what John Ellis accomplished with this post. Like John, "I have avoided advertising on Google’s content network. I had seen the numbers on content ads and the return on ad spend was terrible." But he demonstrates how, in four easy steps, to make Google content network ad campaigns produce worthwhile results.

Chinese Food and Chocolate Pudding: SEO And Paid Search Go Together by MediaPost Search Insider

Writer Tony Orelli shows how organic SEO and paid search work together to maximize website traffic, concluding "we can no longer view SEO and paid search as separate efforts, but two complementary disciplines within your overall marketing mix."

Quick Fixes to Some of PPC’s Most Common Problems: Part One by PPC Hero

A detailed how-to post with specific recommendations for dealing with low conversion rates, poor quality score and low-quality traffic.

More Quick Fixes for Your PPC Account: Get More Clicks by PPC Hero

A nice follow-up to the previous post, this one with concrete suggestions for addressing low click-through rate (CTR), low ad position and disappointing traffic levels.

9 Common Mistakes in Landing Page and PPC Campaign Design by Performancing

Blogger Rich McIver provides helpful guidance on how to avoid nine common mistakes that can negatively impact SEM results, including placing the call to action below the fold, asking too many questions, requiring visitors to download plug-ins before viewing content, and focusing bids on unproductive keywords.

Previous articles in this series:

Best of 2007: SEO Analysis Tools
Best of 2007: SEO Keyword Research Tools
Best of 2007: News Articles on Social Media Marketing
Best of 2007: Blog Posts on Social Media Marketing
Best of 2007: Articles and Blog Posts on SEM

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technorati tags: search engine marketing practices, Google AdWords, SEM platform, Bidding Wars, PPC Hero, keyword group optimization, relevant ad text, designing landing pages, Dynamic Keyword Insertion, Traffick, Andrew Goodman, Pay-Per-Click, Future Now, PPC campaign,