Starting November 11th, you might just see your friend’s name and face in a Google ad – and they might see yours in the Google ads displayed to them.

Much like Facebook, Twitter and other social networks that have tried to integrate information about friends and connections into ads, Google plans to attempt to encourage “word of mouth” advertising via social advertising. The idea behind this decision is that the people you trust the most for recommendations are your friends and connections. Google says, “Feedback from people you know can save you time and improve the results for you and your friends across all Google services, including Search, Maps, Play and in advertising.

For example, if you are thinking about trying a new restaurant and you see your friend gave it a 5-star rating, you might be more inclined to check it out. Likewise if their rating was poor, you might forego dinner there in favor of a place they (or another friend) do recommend.

If you are trying to find a new dentist, seeing that your friend endorsed one of your choices, might influence your decision on which dentist you ultimately choose.

To accomplish this, Google plans on using your activity (such as reviews, +1’s, follows, shares, etc.) may be used along with your name and photo in commercial or other promotional contexts. They call these recommendations “shared endorsements.”

Here are some things you should know about shared endorsement ads:

• The only people who see your name and photo in an ad are the people you’ve chosen to share other content with on Google (your friends, family and connections you’ve added.)
• The only time your name and photo may appear in an ad is when you’ve taken some kind of action, such as +1’ing, commenting, following or posting a review.
• By default, Google users’ information, ratings and reviews can be included in social advertisements. In other words, when you agree to Google’s terms and conditions (or if you already have agreed to them as a Google user) you agree to allowing Google to use your face and name in ads.
• If you don’t want your name and photo to appear you can opt out. (I’ve included instructions later in this email.)

From Google, they also add that:

• You can choose when you want to share content.
• Shared endorsements do not impact who can see your content or page activity.
• The name and photo shown is your public profile name and photo that you chose on Google+.
• Anyone under 18 will see shared endorsements from others, but will not have their name and profile shared in ads.

As mentioned, Google’s settings allow you to limit the use of your name and photo in ads. To do this, here’s what you do…

1)     Log into your Google account.

2)     Click this link https://plus.google.com/settings/endorsements?hl=en.

3)     If the box at the bottom has a checkmark in it, uncheck the box. If it doesn’t have a checkmark, then leave it unchecked.

4)     Hit the save button.

That’s it, you’re done.

In closing, here’s what you need to do. If you like the idea of “word-of-mouth” advertising and want your friends, family and connections to see your recommendations, the music you like, etc. then do nothing. By default you’ve already agreed to let Google use your name and face in their ads.

But if you don’t want to see your name and face appear in ads, take a minute now to opt out using this link: https://plus.google.com/settings/endorsements?hl=en

John

P.S. We’d like to know what you think about Google’s latest move? Do you agree with it or think it’s an invasion of privacy? Will you opt out or will you check it out first and see if you like it?

Ahh summertime.  Traveling. Outdoor concerts and events. Golf. More time to relax… As I was exploring my options for the Fourth of July, I became keenly aware of just how different today’s consumer searches are as they explore their choices for traveling, dining out, and well, for just about anything they plan to spend time and money on.

We all know people turn to the web—even more now that smartphones allow us to search on the go. This has been good news for small business owners allowing you more opportunities to sell your products, services and events and to extend your reach further even around the world if you choose.

But…this also has given a stronger voice to the consumer.  It used to be that if a customer had a complaint, he or she had to write a letter or make a phone call. And the customer might tell their friend or neighbor about their experience, but usually not more than a couple of handfuls of people would hear about it.

Fast forward and now we are able to review things immediately online for the world to see. Next to nearly everything you search online, you’ll find “customer reviews.” Want to book a hotel for your upcoming vacation? You’ll see what others had to say about the hotel, and chances are good you’ll consider what they have to say before you reserve a room. Thinking about seeing a movie? Rottentomatoes.com will show you not only what film critics say, but what the audience says as well. Everything from buying books on Amazon, to outdoor equipment from retailer REI, to restaurants and electronics have customer reviews.

This increased customer power can be good or bad.  When they aren’t happy with the service and/or the product they can let the world know. On the flip side, if they are happy, they can also let the world know. Not only can they leave a review, but they can tweet about it, share their story about their experience with their Facebook friends , blog about it and more. Even more important is the fact that consumers trust their fellow consumer more than they trust professional critics.

According to market research firm Weber Shandwick’s survey, 77 percent of consumers pay more attention to consumer reviews than to professional critic reviews. In fact, only 23 percent trust professional critic reviews more. What that means to you is that you have to work harder at making sure that what you sell earns trust and that you demonstrate this in your marketing.

How do you do this? Well, for starters, you can include “what your customer thinks” in your marketing.

1) Include consumer reviews on your landing pages and websites. Don’t hide your reviews.  Include them on every landing page and on your website. In order for this to be considered a “real” review and not fabricated, be sure to use both the first and last name and if possible the city and state where they live. If you can get a picture from your customer to include, this makes your review even more believable and stronger. (Never include a “stock image” with a real person.)

2) Get your customers on video. Ask your customers to send you a video where they are talking about how much they love your product or service, or ask if you can video them. Include these videos of customers telling their experience with your products and services in their own words on your landing pages and websites.

3) Match your consumer reviews to your message on your dedicated landing page. When your headline and content match your PPC ad and your page is dedicated to one specific purpose, you convert more prospects to customers. Take it even further by matching testimonials, customer reviews and stories from past customers to support each specific marketing message. Doing so heightens the impact of each and every customer review.

4) Offer free information and resources first. If you are currently going for an immediate sale with your landing pages, try capturing leads instead. This shift in strategy has the power to really explode your online fortunes.  In some cases you may still want to go for an immediate sale, but generally it’s more productive and profitable to capture someone’s contact information so you have more opportunities to market to them and, in turn, share customer stories and reviews.  Plus, it’s easier to get people to agree to give you their contact information then it is to get them to let go of their money.

What’s more, people put more trust in brands that offer free information. According to the 2012 US research by About.com and Latitude Research, 83 percent of Americans trust brands that offer resources throughout the entire purchase cycle. Offering a free report, template, webinar, coupon, consultation, etc. in exchange for their contact information allows you to capture a much higher number of qualified and interested prospects and continue selling to them.

After you’ve captured leads, use emails which include stories from happy customers and links to videos of customers talking about your product or service that support the benefits you wish to reinforce.

A good reputation and happy customers will buy more sales, especially if you make the effort to demonstrate it in your landing pages and on your website. So start looking for how you can collect more customer reviews and incorporate them into your online marketing as soon as possible.

To your online success,

John Pfeiffer

The other day a website quickly caught my attention. The name of it: Nerd Fitness.

The premise of the site is that a guy named Steve, a self-proclaimed “nerd” who likes fitness, helps “desk jockeys, nerds and average Joes” get fit. It immediately conjures up an image and quickly identifies that Steve is catering to regular people who are either too busy or not inclined to spend X number of hours working out each week.

It quickly draws in his target audience and does it in a very unique way. 

In fact, you may have even pictured yourself fitting into one of the three categories of people he helps and thought to yourself “Hey he’s talking about me.” Steve accomplished this by creating what is called a “unique value proposition.”

What is a Unique Value Proposition?

It’s a statement that succinctly outlines how your business, product or service promises to deliver value differently from that of your competition. Sometimes referred to as the unique selling proposition or USP, it’s what makes your business the better choice and why your prospects, clients, customers or patients decide to choose you over your competition. It’s a critical component of your business success. In fact, deciding on your Unique Value Proposition is probably the most important marketing decision you have to make. It will help you focus your marketing and set you apart. By standing out, it will be much easier to build a big audience. It will be easier to get customers to spread the word about you. And you won’t have to compete directly in a crowded space…even if you are selling a product or service already commonly bought such as dentistry, shoes or food.

A great definition comes from advertising executive and pioneer of television advertising, Rosser Reeves. In his book, Reality in Advertising, (Alfred A. Knopf, 1961), Reeves says, 

“1. Each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer. Each advertisement must say to the reader: ‘Buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit.’

2. The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot, or does not, offer. It must be unique — either a uniqueness of brand or a claim not otherwise made in that particular field.

3. The proposition must be so strong that it can move the mass millions, i.e., pull over new customers to your product.”

How to create your Unique Value Proposition

To create your unique value proposition for your company, product or service, take some time to explore and identify what makes you different. Focus on what makes you truly different from what your competition offers. For example, maybe you are the only company that delivers on weekends. Or maybe your teaching style is based on a famous master teacher. To help you find your uniqueness, answer the following six questions:

• What is unique about my product?
• What is unique about my delivery?
• What is unique about my service?
• What industry norms does my company bend or break?
• What is unique about my personality?
• What is unique about my best customers?

Remember that you aren’t trying to appeal to everyone. Equally it’s important to keep in mind that you don’t want to create a Unique Value Proposition that will confuse people. So if you are having a hard time coming up with something, don’t force it. Enlist the help of an expert, ask others what they think makes you unique or revisit the idea periodically, refining it each time. 

Once developed, use it as a part of your branding to help make your business memorable so people will clearly know what you are about in the first minute they read your ad, marketing or visit your website. When you do, you’ll find you build a great audience much more quickly. 

Here’s to your online success! 

John

P.S. Do you have a Unique Value Proposition? If not, or if after this exercise you determine you have a new USP, or a better one, be sure to let me know. When your PPC ads line up with your Unique Value Proposition, they will do a much better job of driving traffic to your site.

St. Patrick’s Day brings out the Irish superstitions and stories about both good and bad fortune…

Superstitions such as…

If you give a purse or bag as a gift, it must have some money or a coin in it to give the gift of wealth. 

If the palm of your left hand itches, you’ll give away or lose money. If the palm of the right hand itches, you’ll come into some money.

Whether you believe in superstitions or not, St Patrick’s Day is always a great time to share some business trends for improving your luck and growing your business wealth. Here are four tips from marketing experts who have analyzed studies and trends in an effort to make the “right palm of your hand itch.” These aren’t based on superstition though. What follows is sound advice and proven recommendations from marketing professionals. Starting with…

1) Do the basics first and hire help. Small Business Advisor, Gail Gardner had several tips regarding where small business owners should focus their marketing dollars in 2013.

She says that “most business owners should focus on the basics first” such as having a web presence. She also suggests that “you should let those who specialize in usability, content marketing, SEO and driving traffic…do the majority of the work.” Her reasoning: If you don’t have the time, desire or resources to maintain it, it will do you little good.

2) Target locally. As we’ve talked about in past emails, focusing locally can be very profitable. Gardner agrees. She says it’s important to implement local marketing strategies such as listing your business in local directories, getting local blogs to link to your business and targeting local audiences with your social media, pay-per-click and other advertising.

3) Collaborate and focus on quality. Gardner also suggests “collaborating with other small businesses to educate your community on the benefits of diverting consumer spending from corporations and big box stores to independent, local small businesses.”

She says that when businesses put competition aside and focus on quality rather than price, they create a stronger and larger demand.

One suggestion is to pool resources for some of your advertising. For instance, a community in Florida formed a partnership and invited all the local businesses to join. They created a website where all businesses in the partnership are featured and pool resources for advertising and events. This helps them do more advertising and bigger ads and has improved the quality of the events they offer.

BizBytes published in the Miami Herald also discussed the importance of quality in an article they published on marketing trends for 2013. Listing the trend of online product reviews by consumers as a strong trend, it said businesses will need to make sure their products and services are quality because if not, “consumer backlash will have a detrimental effect on the bottom line.”

4) Increase your ad budget. According to a survey by Marketing Sherpa, generating high-quality leads is a top challenge for businesses. The quickest and one of the easiest ways to grow your leads is through your Pay Per Click advertising. Search agency Covario’s Global Paid Search Analysis for 2012 confirms that spending more on paid-search ads pays off.

They found that higher budgets had better lead generation and return on investment as cost per click fell and conversion rates rose during 2012. In other words, sometimes you have to spend money to make money.

Covario’s director of performance media and the report’s author, Alex Funk recommends that “advertisers increase budgets between 18% and 20% for paid-search spending in America” in 2013.

Millionaire-maker, author, coach, consultant and marketing strategist Dan Kennedy also recommends spending money on leads. He says, “The business truth that most business people ignore is that most businesses are built by ‘buying customers.” He continues, “The marketer with the willingness and ability to invest in acquiring customers AND with an effective strategy for maximizing customer value has an enormous competitive advantage.”

I’ve read that superstitions can program your subconscious to get good results. Whether you believe that or not, one thing is for sure…if you program your business to be in line with strategies that are working, you’ll be one of the businesses that “get lucky” this year.

To your success,

John Pfeiffer

Recently while listening to Pandora Music, I heard the song “I Won’t Give Up” by Jason Mraz. Being in the business of helping small businesses with Online marketing strategy, I can’t help but think of Google’s Panda and Penguin updates when I tune into the Pandora music site. When I combined that with the title of Jason Mraz’s song, it seemed to me a sign that I should give you some reasons why you shouldn’t give up on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Especially right now, as you may have some questions as to the adjustments you should make to your SEO strategy moving forward due to Google’s Panda and Penguin updates.

You may recall that Penguin algorithm update was announced back in April 2012. It was designed to combat spam and improve the quality of Google organic search results. It effectively “put on notice” those websites guilty of violating Google’s quality guidelines. What followed were two more Penguin updates in May and October.

On the other hand, Panda updates have been ongoing since February of 2011, with the latest update on January 22^nd. Panda updates are designed to target pages that aren’t necessarily spam but aren’t great quality. These go after sites with “thin content”. It was also designed to stop scrappers (sites that republish other company’s content.)

Reports of businesses impacted by the changes, such as content farms that published dozens of low-quality, keyword stuffed articles that offer little or no value for the reader, caused some fear. Marketers started saying they are ready to give up on optimization strategies such as SEO.

If you do it’s a BIG mistake. Here’s why:

First of all, if some do give up on high SEO-fueled search engine rankings it means less competition for you. Which means you may be able to get your pages ranked higher, which could result in more traffic to your site.

Secondly, Panda and Penguin updates really just enforce what Google has been saying all along. The updates are meant to improve performance while keeping black hat and spammer techniques out of the mix. This means you don’t have to compete with sites that are manipulating search engines using spammy tactics.

The truth is that the companies impacted by the changes were guilty of using techniques that for over ten years now Google has been saying shouldn’t be used. Things like keyword stuffing (repeating the same keyword in excess in the content or in the meta tags), putting up duplicate content, and link schemes such as incorporating irrelevant outgoing links into a page of content.

In a recent study from PM Digital, they provide thirty tactics to improve your SEO techniques. The study dissected information such as location, relevance and recent content. In addition to high quality, relevant content, here are four tips from that study that will improve your page rank by helping you locate legitimate, quality links to include on your site:

Find sites that rank high for your keyword. Target websites that mention your brand and use keywords relative to your business. To find these websites, use Google Alerts and monitor them for authoritative people who may be talking about your brand in their site.

Focus on local links. When adding links to your site, focus on links that are local. For example, if you are in California, look for local California links. If you are in New York, look for local New York links. The report says this makes a difference for search query ranking.

Don’t use free directories. When targeting websites, avoid focusing on directories that are free. The word free is a term often flagged, so you may be able to avoid any potential problems in the future by simply making the choice now to not use them.

Pay more attention to “immune” links. The senior director of natural search strategy at PM Digital Clay Cazier says, “Pay more attention to incoming links that are immune to future updates, such as the Better Business Bureau or the Chamber of Commerce.”

Don’t give up on using organic search strategies. Use the strategies listed here. And keep in mind that continually adding relevant, fresh content that adheres to Google’s guidelines is a surefire way to build your credibility with Google.  And if you feel overwhelmed or still aren’t sure what to do, it may be that you just need to employ some help to better understand the technical aspects of SEO by enlisting the help of a qualified SEO company.

Thanks for reading. Here’s to your online success!

John Pfeiffer

P.S. Unfortunately, most small businesses using spam or illegal SEO tactics don’t even know they are doing it. It might be that they heard about something or hired a company using those tactics. It’s really unfair when good business people are penalized for something they aren’t even aware of!

I want to make sure that does NOT happen to you.

Email or call me to get help with your SEO. Then you’ll rest easy knowing you never have to worry about black hat or illegal tactics being used on your site and can benefit with higher search engine ranking too. By the way, did you know that having a higher search engine ranking can help your PPC campaign be more effective too? When you rank on the first page for a keyword, this gives your PPC ad more credibility.

Did you do any shopping on “Black Friday” or “Cyber Monday”?

The National Retail Federation (NRF) said a record 247 million shoppers spent an average of $423 per person over “Black Friday weekend” and this doesn’t include Cyber Monday sales.

Since 2005, Black Friday has been the busiest shopping day of the year.

The term “Black Friday” originated in Philadelphia around 1966, where it originally described the heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic which occurred the day after Thanksgiving. In 1975, the term spread outside of Philadelphia with a different explanation: the period during which retailers are turning a profit or become “in the black.”

The thing is, you don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving weekend to create a flurry of spending.

When you take full advantage of the holidays–all year round– you can create a rush of business and substantially increase your profits. Today I’m going to give you some “Black Friday” tips for how you can induce shoppers to buy from you like it’s Black Friday–even when it’s not.

Enter the conversation already going on in their mind. The thing about holidays is that they tend to be at the top of people’s mind. That means when you include a holiday or occasion that they are already talking about or thinking about, they are more likely to believe your message is relevant. This famous copywriting principle comes from famed writer Robert Collier who said you should enter the conversation currently occurring in your prospect or customer’s mind.

On Elvis’ birthday you could do a King of Rock n Roll birthday promotion. Because there are usually stories of Elvis sightings around that time of year, Elvis will be on people’s minds. I read that an auto repair shop in California gave free oil changes for every customer who dressed as Elvis that day. When May rolls around, a lot of people will be thinking about and talking about graduation–so you could do something along the lines of graduating to the next level.

Take full advantage of the holidays. It’s not just Thanksgiving and Christmas that are on people’s mind. In addition to major holidays like Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Easter and Fourth of July, you can use anything that is being talked about. For example, recently Election Day, the Olympics and daylight savings all could have been used.

You can even use unknown, bizarre, goofy or wacky holidays such as “National Ice Cream Day”, “National Glaucoma Awareness Month” or “Clean Out Your Inbox Week”. There are holidays for nearly anything and everything. (A great free site for finding these holidays is www.brownielocks.com.)

Using wacky holidays that tie to your product or service is another way to use holidays. For example a fitness business might use “Healthy Weight Week,” “Grapefruit Month” and “American Heart Month” while a veterinarian might use “Pet Dental Health Month” and “Responsible Pet Owner’s Month”.

Include an expiration date. Black Friday works so well because it creates a sense of urgency. Buyers believe they will get deals that they won’t get any other time of the year. They also know that when the weekend is over, the deals end.

Give your reader very specific instructions about what exactly you want them to do along with an expiration date that coincides with your holiday. For instance, with all the talk about the Mayan calendar, you might hold a “Mayan End of the World Sale” and have the sale end on December 21^st , the day the Mayan calendar indicates the world will end.

Use Scarcity. The reason shoppers go shopping at midnight on Thanksgiving day is because they’re afraid that if they don’t get there first they may lose out on the best deals or limited quantity items. You can create the same scarcity in your holiday sales by limiting how many can take advantage of your special offer… The first 50 to respond will receive a signed copy of my new book.

Make them anxious to buy. Research has shown that instant gratification is so powerful that when you can control against it, it’s considered an indicator of success (think weight loss, smoking, etc.). When your customers are on the verge of buying from you, they are influenced by how quickly they can receive their “reward”… Get our pampered pet basket and the kisses your dog gives you will instantly erase your guilt for leaving him alone so long while you’re at work.

Let your customers know how they will be instantly rewarded and they will be more likely to purchase from you.

Using holiday promotions can create fun ads that stand out and get more attention–helping you attract more customers than you would if you used the same old ads month after month. So get started using these five tips in promotions all year long and you’ll have the formula for boosting your sales no matter day it is.

John Pfeiffer

P.S. I wanted to take a minute to say a word of Thanks. I’m grateful for people like you who allow me to do what I love doing. Without you the business I’ve created wouldn’t be possible–so thanks.

I hope you are creating the business you want with as many customers or clients as you desire and look forward to continuing to help you grow your business in the coming year.