Every nation has it's own language. America has English, Germany has German, Egypt speaks (I think) Pharaonic, and Britain speaks English. Okay, there were two countries there that speak English but you get my point.
I know what you're thinking: what about the United States of Business? Well, in fact, there is a language of the biz people, and I, having worked in "da biz" am pretty well-versed in it. Our newest colleague ShakZPelican is going to write about present-day business language in a future post, but you know me, loyal readers. Always being forward thinking, I am going to write about the future of business language: farms.
Yes, that's right; the future of business speak is farms. Frankly, things make more sense when you make them analogous to situations that might occur out on the farm. For example, what about the phrase "bought the farm"? Or "kicked the bucket"? Or "died"? All these phrases come from farming situations (except the first one--it's pretty likely that all agricural real estate deals are completed within the confines of a business person's office in an urban setting). So here are some agcentric sayings (with explanantions) that you can use to be a better business person in the next fortyear:
Don't come to the henhouse if all you want is milk.
Hey, I'm just the search engine analyst (i.e. a poultry animal)! Don't ask me if you want information about product issues (i.e. cow's milk, that I cannot produce being an avian species and not a mammal).
The grease gets fried with the bacon.
Hey, we had to run some of those bad programs (i.e. grease) because it comes with the territory of having all those other good programs (i.e. delicious bacon--or facon for Cristin, as she is a vegetarian).
Let's not count our baby cows before they are birthed.
Yes it's true, we see through this farm ultrasound that we are supposed to have 6 cows (e.g. profit) born this Friday. But they could all die on impact with the ground (e.g. loss).
Who's gonna date the farmer's daughter on this one?
Everyone knows that farmer's daughter are always really hot, what with their daisy dukes and cutoff flannel shirts exposing their beautiful corn-fed midriffs. What isn't factored in is that they also have the strength of ten men from lifting bails of hay all day AND they get really upset if you accidentally drive through their farm.
That's like trying to find a needle in a oatbarrel.
A subtle update on an oldie. The needle in this case is profit and the oatbarrel is the money that I've spent on the keyword "certificate in ninja skills".
Hey, let's horseride over to the well before someone poisons it with cyanide.
You want to make sure that you always have plenty of fresh water to drink.
A restraining order doesn't apply on farms if you pretend to be an illegal alien.
Just because a girl that you once dated (i.e. a sales rep selling illegal products) gets a court injunction that says you can't come within 100 yards of her (i.e. do business) doesn't mean that you can't actually get within 100 yards as long as you pretend that you do not speak English (i.e. play dumb) or let her see you (i.e. hide in the cornstalks until she falls asleep).
Don't crap in the orchard unless you want to eat poopfruit.
Self-explanatory.
Friday, May 26, 2006
G-mail's spam filter is so strong that it filters out lead in my tap water
Hi all, my name is Shak, and if this blog is the truth, then what I'm writing is all lies.
If you use G-mail, you know that their spam filter is the best that's ever been created for web-based e-mail. In fact, it even filters out e-mails that could lose Google money! I checked my Spam folder today and found this e-mail:
"Important Legal Notice Regarding Your Google AdWords Account"
"Clicksettlement
to me
May 20 (6 days ago)
Warning: This message may not be from whom it claims to be. Beware of following any links in it or of providing the sender with any personal information.
This court-ordered notice may affect your legal rights. Please read it carefully. If you purchased online advertising from Google between January 1, 2002 and the present, you are a class member in a class-action lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Miller County, Arkansas..."
);
Hmmm...and what the heck is up with that sad winking face at the end of the e-mail? That was seriously in there when I copied and pasted to text.
*Wink (I'm sad).
-Shak
If you use G-mail, you know that their spam filter is the best that's ever been created for web-based e-mail. In fact, it even filters out e-mails that could lose Google money! I checked my Spam folder today and found this e-mail:
"Important Legal Notice Regarding Your Google AdWords Account"
"Clicksettlement
May 20 (6 days ago)
Warning: This message may not be from whom it claims to be. Beware of following any links in it or of providing the sender with any personal information.
This court-ordered notice may affect your legal rights. Please read it carefully. If you purchased online advertising from Google between January 1, 2002 and the present, you are a class member in a class-action lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Miller County, Arkansas..."
);
Hmmm...and what the heck is up with that sad winking face at the end of the e-mail? That was seriously in there when I copied and pasted to text.
*Wink (I'm sad).
-Shak
ShakZPelican joins the team!
Hi loyal readers! Our newest addition to the blog team is ShakZPelican. Frankly, I don't agree with much of what he says, but I think that it will be fun to have a guy around here that we can all make fun of. What the heck kind of user name is that anyway?
Monday, May 22, 2006
A Level Playing Field is a Fair Playing Field
Just a quick post: kudos to University of Phoenix's new agency of record, ad.com, for leveling the playing field when it comes to how affiliates generate leads. I always say that we should take away any competitive advantage that a company might have, because then you get what I call "Symmequality". That's a combination of the words symmetry and equality. For example, lead gen companies can no longer bid on U of Phoenix's trademarked terms. This is great news! Those were typically some of the worst-converting words in the industry, and they just brought everyone's numbers down while giving the companies that worked the hardest and smartest an unfair advantage, just because they worked hard and in an intelligent manner. That's "UNsymmetrINequality".
Also, mandating that all of your affiliates do things exactly the same way means that everyone gets the following message: "Hey, no more monkey business." I can say from experience that I've been Phoenix and there are no monkeys there.
Also, mandating that all of your affiliates do things exactly the same way means that everyone gets the following message: "Hey, no more monkey business." I can say from experience that I've been Phoenix and there are no monkeys there.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Create This, Punk! ("This" meaning "Keywords" and "Punk" meaning "Loyal tagstreet Reader")
I've created a lot of keywords in my day. In my years of search marketing, I've probably created (no joke) close to over 1,200 keywords! I know that you new readers out there are thinking: "what a beastly exaggerator!", but it's true. In fact, with the advanced programs that are on computers nowadays, you can create a list of over 500 keywords in a matter of hours! And with just a few hints and tips from your ol' SEM buddy (that's me), you can create a list that will work FOR you, not FIVE you:
1. The best keywords are those that you have exclusivity on.
Think about this: if you go to the beach and there are 4 dudes selling fish tacos, each guy is going to get roughly 25% of the sales. Even if one guy, let's call him "Drew", totally makes sweet fish tacos that taste better than anything you've ever had in your life, especially after being let out of prison for stalking your ex-girlfriend on the internet. But let's say one of the fish taco vendors goes into the nearby redwood forest, where no one else is selling food. What percentage of the sales will he get in the forest? Almost 92% (8.4% bear tax)! That means you are best off bidding on keywords that no other competitor has ever though of. Something like "free freeness for free". Who doesn't want that?
2. Misspellings = mis-profits
Some of my colleagues at a competing agency create a list of common misspellings for their keywords and bid on those as well. Look, if someone can't spell "complementary Celezonarex androstenedione supplements" correctly the first time, what makes you think they can fill out their name and address on the next page? I've never seen a misspelling work. Ever. I don't know any other way to put this, but if you make typing mistakes, you're not Penn Foster material (although there is a typing program available--weird).
3. Trademarked terms might as well be "loss-marked"
Take my word on this one--no one searches for trademarked terms on the internet anymore. The 2000's are the Decade of Generic Itemry (reference: Wikipedia). Just look at the way people dress nowadays. When's the last time you saw someone wear a University of Phoenix pantsuit? Not since 1996. I think it went out of style with the LowerMyBills belt buckle. Go generic or go home.
4. Don't use a computer until you are ready to type the words individually into Lycos's AdCenter interface.
Unfortunately, in this day and age we are programmed to use computers to do everything. We use Microsoft Excel instead of calculating numbers by hand. We type things instead of writing. We surf the internet instead of going to adult bookstores. Why not do things the old-fashioned way? People will appreciate if all your keywords are chosen by hand. It will make the user feel as if he or she has been personally selected to go into space, or do whatever it is you're selling. Isn't it true that old-fashioned ice cream sells better than regular? (note: old-fashioned ice cream is a marketing gimmick, but you get my point.)
5. Don't expand on your best keywords unless you want to be an e-cannibal.
Let's say your best keyword is "bad credit loan" (that would never work, I just picked something at random). You wouldn't want to create a keyword that was similar because then you will cannibalize your profits! For example, if your original keyword gets 200 in revenue a month (okay, I know, that's outlandish) and your new keyword takes 10 dollars of that but creates only an extra 50 dollars, your revenue per keyword per month goes down from 200 to 120. How are you going to go public with numbers like that?
6. Bid on words that have heart and grit.
The fact of the matter is that anyone can click on these bohemoth words like "degree programs" or "ringtones". But it's the scrappy words that will get you over the hump. Get those keywords that will work harder than the others--they might not have that obvious connection to what you are selling, but they do the job because they persevere. Words like "instructions on how to unclog a low-flow toilet" for ringtones, or "pictures of sean preston spears federline wearing a wig from the revolutionary war period" for welding programs. Yeah it's true, you can't see the obvious connection, and no, these words are not the heavy lifters; however, one day, they will bring in that revenue that will push you right over your goal, and you'll be glad you picked up some scrappy keywords like "pictures of sean preston spears federline unclogging a low-flow toilet from the revolutionary war period".
1. The best keywords are those that you have exclusivity on.
Think about this: if you go to the beach and there are 4 dudes selling fish tacos, each guy is going to get roughly 25% of the sales. Even if one guy, let's call him "Drew", totally makes sweet fish tacos that taste better than anything you've ever had in your life, especially after being let out of prison for stalking your ex-girlfriend on the internet. But let's say one of the fish taco vendors goes into the nearby redwood forest, where no one else is selling food. What percentage of the sales will he get in the forest? Almost 92% (8.4% bear tax)! That means you are best off bidding on keywords that no other competitor has ever though of. Something like "free freeness for free". Who doesn't want that?
2. Misspellings = mis-profits
Some of my colleagues at a competing agency create a list of common misspellings for their keywords and bid on those as well. Look, if someone can't spell "complementary Celezonarex androstenedione supplements" correctly the first time, what makes you think they can fill out their name and address on the next page? I've never seen a misspelling work. Ever. I don't know any other way to put this, but if you make typing mistakes, you're not Penn Foster material (although there is a typing program available--weird).
3. Trademarked terms might as well be "loss-marked"
Take my word on this one--no one searches for trademarked terms on the internet anymore. The 2000's are the Decade of Generic Itemry (reference: Wikipedia). Just look at the way people dress nowadays. When's the last time you saw someone wear a University of Phoenix pantsuit? Not since 1996. I think it went out of style with the LowerMyBills belt buckle. Go generic or go home.
4. Don't use a computer until you are ready to type the words individually into Lycos's AdCenter interface.
Unfortunately, in this day and age we are programmed to use computers to do everything. We use Microsoft Excel instead of calculating numbers by hand. We type things instead of writing. We surf the internet instead of going to adult bookstores. Why not do things the old-fashioned way? People will appreciate if all your keywords are chosen by hand. It will make the user feel as if he or she has been personally selected to go into space, or do whatever it is you're selling. Isn't it true that old-fashioned ice cream sells better than regular? (note: old-fashioned ice cream is a marketing gimmick, but you get my point.)
5. Don't expand on your best keywords unless you want to be an e-cannibal.
Let's say your best keyword is "bad credit loan" (that would never work, I just picked something at random). You wouldn't want to create a keyword that was similar because then you will cannibalize your profits! For example, if your original keyword gets 200 in revenue a month (okay, I know, that's outlandish) and your new keyword takes 10 dollars of that but creates only an extra 50 dollars, your revenue per keyword per month goes down from 200 to 120. How are you going to go public with numbers like that?
6. Bid on words that have heart and grit.
The fact of the matter is that anyone can click on these bohemoth words like "degree programs" or "ringtones". But it's the scrappy words that will get you over the hump. Get those keywords that will work harder than the others--they might not have that obvious connection to what you are selling, but they do the job because they persevere. Words like "instructions on how to unclog a low-flow toilet" for ringtones, or "pictures of sean preston spears federline wearing a wig from the revolutionary war period" for welding programs. Yeah it's true, you can't see the obvious connection, and no, these words are not the heavy lifters; however, one day, they will bring in that revenue that will push you right over your goal, and you'll be glad you picked up some scrappy keywords like "pictures of sean preston spears federline unclogging a low-flow toilet from the revolutionary war period".
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
The Five Biggest SEM Trends of 2006
Okay everyone, let's go back in time to a wonderful place called 2001, where two imaginary SEM guys are having an IM chat about their budding field of employment:
SearchOptimusPrime7: so hows business
OptimizeThis!: oh its great
SearchOptimusPrime7: wot was that new search engine you were talking about lol
OptimizeThis!: its called google lol
SearchOptimusPrime7: hahahahahahh thats a funny name google rotflmao
OptimizeThis!: yah its sounds like a baby made it up
SearchOptimusPrime7: yah a stupid baby who dosnt kno crap about SEM lol
OptimizeThis!: yah its hella dum brb lol a/s/l
SearchOptimusPrime7: it will never work lolwotatby ocijsppsaomk
OptimizeThis!: dood wat r u doing 4 lunch
SearchOptimusPrime7: Lees
Now, you're probably laughing at these imaginary fools that knew so little about search engine marketing that they were making fun of Google in its early stages. Well, there's a surprise in store: my screen name used to include my favorite Transformer and prime number.
While hindsight is a late night news show on ABC, I present to you my top 5 SEM trends of 2006:
5. Tracking is out, "Grit" and "Heart" are in
I've said it before but it bears repeating: tracking keywords and urls and ex-girlfriend's addresses and the like is a WASTE OF TIME. You think you will actually be able to watch how different keywords change, but all that happens is that you get a restraining order. Go with your gut.
4. Small Sample Size is imperative in 2006
Frankly, there's no time to waste in 2006. Judging things on a small sample size is what babies do all the time with food and other stuff. Put it in your mouth, and if it tastes good, shove as much as you can in there, including cat food. Same goes for SEM. If your account brings in 50 bucks before 9 am, and it usually only brings in like 40, crank those bids up and take advantage of the cash cow that is known as Saturday!
3. The hot new vertical is bovine insemination programs (don't laugh, it's a real industry)
Do you even know how many cows have to be artificially inseminated every day? My guess is like 60,000,000. There are more cows than people in Calfornia (reference: Wikipedia), and if people knew that, they'd totally get on the bandwagon and get a BI degree post haste. Hello? Didn't anybody in this industry go to UC Davis?
2. Lycos
Lycos is the new Google, just trust me on this one.
1. Ad Text should be confusing, not defusing
2006 is the Year of Unbridled Curiosity (reference: Wikipedia). If your ad test is straightforward, no one is ever going to come to your site. Something like "Online Degree Programs: Get your nursing degree online" is only going to get clicks from people who want nursing degrees. That's only like 5 percent of women! Instead, confuse people into thinking they've won something and you'll get volume up the wazoo, literally. Try something like: "Click Here For Info on Who Killed JFK plus a billion dollars! Here's a hint: Lindsay Lohan."
You're welcome.
SearchOptimusPrime7: so hows business
OptimizeThis!: oh its great
SearchOptimusPrime7: wot was that new search engine you were talking about lol
OptimizeThis!: its called google lol
SearchOptimusPrime7: hahahahahahh thats a funny name google rotflmao
OptimizeThis!: yah its sounds like a baby made it up
SearchOptimusPrime7: yah a stupid baby who dosnt kno crap about SEM lol
OptimizeThis!: yah its hella dum brb lol a/s/l
SearchOptimusPrime7: it will never work lolwotatby ocijsppsaomk
OptimizeThis!: dood wat r u doing 4 lunch
SearchOptimusPrime7: Lees
Now, you're probably laughing at these imaginary fools that knew so little about search engine marketing that they were making fun of Google in its early stages. Well, there's a surprise in store: my screen name used to include my favorite Transformer and prime number.
While hindsight is a late night news show on ABC, I present to you my top 5 SEM trends of 2006:
5. Tracking is out, "Grit" and "Heart" are in
I've said it before but it bears repeating: tracking keywords and urls and ex-girlfriend's addresses and the like is a WASTE OF TIME. You think you will actually be able to watch how different keywords change, but all that happens is that you get a restraining order. Go with your gut.
4. Small Sample Size is imperative in 2006
Frankly, there's no time to waste in 2006. Judging things on a small sample size is what babies do all the time with food and other stuff. Put it in your mouth, and if it tastes good, shove as much as you can in there, including cat food. Same goes for SEM. If your account brings in 50 bucks before 9 am, and it usually only brings in like 40, crank those bids up and take advantage of the cash cow that is known as Saturday!
3. The hot new vertical is bovine insemination programs (don't laugh, it's a real industry)
Do you even know how many cows have to be artificially inseminated every day? My guess is like 60,000,000. There are more cows than people in Calfornia (reference: Wikipedia), and if people knew that, they'd totally get on the bandwagon and get a BI degree post haste. Hello? Didn't anybody in this industry go to UC Davis?
2. Lycos
Lycos is the new Google, just trust me on this one.
1. Ad Text should be confusing, not defusing
2006 is the Year of Unbridled Curiosity (reference: Wikipedia). If your ad test is straightforward, no one is ever going to come to your site. Something like "Online Degree Programs: Get your nursing degree online" is only going to get clicks from people who want nursing degrees. That's only like 5 percent of women! Instead, confuse people into thinking they've won something and you'll get volume up the wazoo, literally. Try something like: "Click Here For Info on Who Killed JFK plus a billion dollars! Here's a hint: Lindsay Lohan."
You're welcome.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Tracking = Waste of Time
Here at work, everyone is getting caught up in this fad known as "tracking". For example, my boss says "tracking is very simple, and it helps us to track information".
Yeah? It's also useless, did you ever think about that? So great, I know how much revenue every keyword brings in. How does that help me? Am I going to all of a sudden change my CPCs (that's Currency Paid Click-Average) based on a keyword's profitability? That would be like a storeowner deciding that he won't sell fries because he doesn't make much money off of them. What about vegetarians? Frankly, I think it's just rude.
More on this later.
Yeah? It's also useless, did you ever think about that? So great, I know how much revenue every keyword brings in. How does that help me? Am I going to all of a sudden change my CPCs (that's Currency Paid Click-Average) based on a keyword's profitability? That would be like a storeowner deciding that he won't sell fries because he doesn't make much money off of them. What about vegetarians? Frankly, I think it's just rude.
SEM - Doin' it right!
Hey everyone!
Welcome to Search Marketing The Right Way, or as we call it SMTRW, as it is much easier to say. Over the next few months, years, decades, and possibly even fort-years, we'll be posting some great information, tips, and advice on how to be an awesome search marketer. Keep reading!
Welcome to Search Marketing The Right Way, or as we call it SMTRW, as it is much easier to say. Over the next few months, years, decades, and possibly even fort-years, we'll be posting some great information, tips, and advice on how to be an awesome search marketer. Keep reading!
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