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Thinkology Newsletter - Summer 2008

 

“I Tried Pay-Per-Click and It Didn’t Work”

By: Stephanie Deakins

The internet highway is littered with people and businesses who’ve been burned by non or low-performing pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. Which is a shame because a well executed PPC campaign can be one of today’s most effective lead generation tools. Without understanding some basic concepts about how to run a successful PPC campaign, it can actually be quite easy to spend a lot of money and get no results. Here are some basics to keep in mind before you put together your PPC campaign:

The Right Keywords:When it comes to your keywords, think about qualifying your lead. The more qualified the prospect, the stronger the likelihood that they will be interested in your product or service. For example, unless you have endless amounts of cash at your disposal, you probably wouldn’t want to buy generic keywords like “TV.” Sure, this will bring lots of people to your site but in general they wouldn’t be very qualified. Generic terms are used during the research phase of the buy cycle and are unlikely to turn into a sale. Instead, try using highly specific keywords like “Sony Bravia 52 in. LCD HDTV” because this is what searchers who are closer to buying will look for. Other things to consider are staying away from jargon or brand terminology and

Effective Ad Writing:To increase your click through rate (CTR) make sure your ads use your keywords (preferably in the title), are concise, and if possible, present something meaningful (like an offer) to motivate searchers to click. Also, it’s important to make sure you test your ads. That way you’ll figure out which ones are really working. Search engines make this easy for you by allowing several ads to run in each ad group. After running the ads, you’ll see which ones are attracting more customers and you can get rid of the lower performing ads.

Use Landing Pages: Directing customers to landing pages rather than just your home page provides a more relevant search experience and often search engines will reward you for this as well. Keep in mind that the point of a landing page is to convert prospects by providing targeted information. (We could easily fill this newsletter with articles just on how to create successful landing pages - perhaps next time.) For more information call us and we’ll get you on the right path to making PPC work for you with a custom campaign designed to deliver optimal lead generation results.

Stephanie Deakins joined Think Marketing this March and has already made a tremendously positive impact on the numerous clients and projects she’s managing. You can read her complete bio on our website at http://www.thinkmktg.com/About-Us/Team

DARREN’S DESIGN TIPS: JPEG, WMF, TIFF, GIF, EPS…SOS!

Did you ever think about why it’s necessary to have multiple file types of your company’s logo? Well, there are two types of graphic files, raster (also referred to as bitmap) and vector. Raster images are made up of tiny colored rectangles called pixels. Vector images are made from mathematical formulas which are interpreted to display paths, points, and fills. Raster images consist of a large amount of information, including the location and color of each individual pixel that makes up the image. Higher resolution, greater color depth and increasing dimensions will result in a bigger file size. However, raster images cannot scale to a larger size without the loss of quality as they will become jagged and blurred. Common raster formats are:

  • JPG (Joint Photographics Expert Group)
  • PSD (Adobe Photoshop)
  • BMP (Bitmap)
  • TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)
  • GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)
  • PNG (Portable Network Graphics)

Raster graphics are best used for electronic photos, scanned images and web graphics as they are able to realistically replicate intricate color combinations for print and on displays. Vector images consist of mathematical relationship between points and the paths that connect them. Scaling of a vector image up or down does not affect its size or quality as the mathematical formula is simply recalculated to produce a larger or smaller image. This means that a logo used on a business card or on a billboard would have the same file size. Common vector formats include:

  • EPS (Encapsulated PostScript)
  • AI (Adobe Illustrator)
  • SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)
  • WMF (Windows Metafile)
  • AutoCAD DXF (Drawing Exchange Format)

Vector graphics are the format of choice for logos, fonts and computer illustrations where scalability and portability are essential.

Think Marketing branches out into a whole new terrain…trees!


TreePeople welcomes park guests to visit their offices which are situated in environmentally sustainable structures called yurts.

This summer, Think Marketing is teaming up with TreePeople – one of the largest independent environmental organizations in California – to help support the organization’s brand messaging and external communications programs while its director of communications is on maternity leave. Dedicated to serving the greater Los Angeles area by helping nature heal our cities, TreePeople has worked diligently over the past three decades to offer sustainable solutions to urban ecosystem problems by focusing on three areas:

  1. Training and supporting communities to plant and care for trees
  2. Educating school children and adults about the environment
  3. Working with government agencies on critical water issues

“We’ve been aware of TreePeople’s work for quite some time now and have been looking for ways to support their critical initiatives,” said Erin Mills, owner and president of Think Marketing. “We were thrilled and honored when they came to us for help with their communications. With droughts, wildfires and other environmental threats being such pressing issues for Californians, we jumped at the opportunity to be involved in positive change for the Los Angeles community.”


View from TreePeople headquarters in Coldwater Canyon Park.
TreePeople welcomes park guests to visit their offices which are situated in environmentally sustainable structures called yurts.

Starting with a press event attended by many high-profile guests, including John Garamendi, the lieutenant governor of the State of California, Think will oversee a wide variety of projects for TreePeople this summer, including the planning, development and implementation of media relations campaigns, special events planning, website management, collateral development and strategic communications planning.

During the collaboration, Think Marketing’s Lucy Zee will be located onsite at TreePeople’s headquarters in Coldwater Canyon Park in the Santa Monica mountain range to ensure a seamless transition for the organization.

We encourage everyone to support TreePeople’s important work in our community by joining the organization, making a donation, dedicating a tree, volunteering or attending an event. For more information on TreePeople’s initiatives or ways to get involved, visit their website at www.TreePeople.org.

This spring we welcomed back our Think Marketing alum, Dina Amata. Her brilliant insights and super-human productivity have made life easier for the entire Think Marketing team. Welcome back Dina!

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