Issue No. 29

December 22, 2009

Happy Holidays!

All of us at Yield Software wish you the happiest of holidays, whether you're celebrating Hanukkah, Christmas, Solstice, Kwanzaa, or some combination of all these! Though those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are experiencing the darkest days of the year, we hope no matter where you may live you're enjoying a season filled with light and joy!

We look forward to continuing to be of service to you in 2010.

One More Way to Measure Success

Marketing generally, and Web marketing specifically, is constantly focused on measuring return on investment -- or ROI. One of the reasons why Web marketing -- and search marketing in particular -- has been so successful is because of its precise measurability.

But in the midst of this lovely holiday season, it's important to remember there are other measures of success. So, with that in mind, we offer this equally lovely thought by Ralph Waldo Emerson for your consideration.

Success

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know one life has breathed easier because you have lived; this is to have succeeded.

Here's to your success, in all its forms, in 2010!

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Measuring the Effectiveness of Your Marketing (Part II)

Looking at Reach and Engagement

In my last post, I talked about how to get your team involved in evaluating your 2009 marketing efforts. In part two of this series of preparing your Web marketing plans for 2010, I cover how to evaluate "reach" and "engagement."

"Reach" is the new word for "awareness." Others call it your "sphere of influence" or "thought leadership." Basically, you want to measure the tactics you used to make people aware of your company / products / services - and these tactics aren't limited to social media. Why? Because social media, your Website, and offline tactics such as speaking gigs or print ads often influence each other. Some things to consider when measuring "reach" include:

Social media - The number of followers you have on Twitter, fans on Facebook, or connections on LinkedIn.

Website - The increase in traffic / unique visitors / repeat visitors.

Blog posts / mentions - How many times was your company cited or talked about in blog posts or industry articles - both print and online?

Search engine optimization - The number of first page rankings you have for your chosen keywords.

Webinars - Number of attendees (has this gone up or down?).

Speaking gigs - If you weren't speaking last year, are you now being asked to give presentations at industry conferences or workshops due to your increased reach?

How to Improve Ad Performance

(When You're Experiencing a Creative Block)

Being clever every day of the year can be tough on a search engine marketer. We all go through periods of time when we experience a creative block and can't seem to think of new clever PPC ad copy to try out.

However, ad copy must always be on a path of improvement, even during those uncreative times. So, we've compiled a list of no-brainer ad performance improvement tests:

1) To "Initial Caps" or not?

Using your existing ad copy, try out different variations in capitalization. For example:

"Start a Free Trial Today" vs. "Start a free trial today"

This is a very simple test that can lead to some surprising results. Where you capitalize in your ad copy can be quite impactful.