Jon DeNunzio’s Post

My friend Rachel had a great idea: Celebrating her business's first anniversary by hosting the Holiday Health Fest 2023 -- a free community health fair. It's scheduled for this Saturday at the Audrey Moore Rec Center in Annandale, Va., and it looks amazing. There will be 20 local health and wellness providers on hand, as well as four mini-workout sessions, screenings, snacks and *coffee*. And it's all free. It's a busy time of year, but who can't use a health and wellness break right now? Here's the link to register: https://lnkd.in/e9pfmYAX

Amalia is exactly right here. Google Ads usually delivers a *quicker* "win" than an SEO campaign. But there are all sorts of caveats. A good PPC advertiser does the hard work, starting with keyword research and continuing through campaign creation, copywriting, adjustments and reporting ... and over the long haul, they get results. If that last paragraph sounds familiar, that's because it's how success works in just about every field. Learn the fundamentals, do the work and stay diligent.

If my friend Reggie Holmes is hosting an event, it's going to be good. So if you're planning to work on your business's brand in the coming year, don't miss this workshop!

Have you ever wondered why some Google search ads contain so much more information than other search ads? It’s all about the assets. Google Ads assets are optional elements an advertiser can create in their search campaigns. Assets — formerly known as “extensions” — allow you to augment your ad with items like: ✔ Links to related pages  ✔ Text that says more about your business and products ✔ Your business phone number or a “Call Now” button ✔ Thumbnail-sized images  ✔ Your business address ✔ Information pulled from Google reviews ✔ Prices for different products or services ✔ Promotions and specials As you can see in the accompanying graphic, an ad with assets takes up a lot more space on the screen than one that lacks assets. And that’s an advantage. (And the ad on the bottom of that graphic is only showing *some* assets — at times, you will see ads that are twice as large as that example.) Assets also improve an ad’s quality score, which can help reduce the price you pay for each click. And, of course, they make the ads much more helpful for users. Google recommends advertisers use as many assets as make sense for their campaign. And this is one Google recommendation I would not dispute. I’ve seen it many times — a good campaign with an ample selection of assets gets results. 

Where do you get your best ideas? For truck driver Malcom McLean, genius struck during a nine-hour wait at the docks in Hoboken, N.J. McLean was waiting for cotton bales to be loaded from his truck onto a freighter in 1937. It would take nine hours, he was told, because of the number of trucks in front of him. That’s when he had his idea: What if the shipping company could just take the trailers off the trucks and load them onto the ship? McLean developed that idea into what we now know as containerized shipping, a process that revolutionized international commerce. In 1955 — 18 years after his trip to Hoboken — McLean purchased two oil tankers, secured a loan to buy $42 million worth of equipment and refitted the tankers to hold stacks of trailers. A year later, McLean’s first container ship, the Ideal X, left Port Newark, N.J. for Houston, carrying 58 containers. How big of a change was this for the shipping industry? Before the Ideal X launched, it took a week to load a cargo ship, and it cost $6 per ton. Containerized shipping cut load time to 8 hours and cost to *16 cents* per ton. That’s a pretty impressive result from an idea born out of frustration and/or boredom. And to think, the last time I stood in line at the DMV, I just played Wordle. 

Why run a Google Search Ad campaign? The most common reason advertisers give, I would guess, is that they have something they want to sell or promote, they want to do it quickly, and they’re  willing to pay. There are plenty of other good reasons to use Google Search Ads, too. I’m going to focus on just one today: ✨Google Search Ads help you understand your customers better.✨ Even though Google has pulled back some of the data it used to provide to advertisers in recent years, there’s still a lot of valuable information available once you start running ads. Here are some of the things you can learn about your prospects and customers when you run a campaign: 👉What did they type into the search box before clicking on your ad? One of the standard Google reports tells you which keywords resulted in ad clicks, and you can dig deeper and see a portion of the exact search terms used by ad-clickers. 👉What ad copy resonated most with users? You can create different ads and track results, and test different headlines and descriptions within ads, as well. This data can help you create better campaigns and it could suggest ways to improve the language on your website or on social media, too. 👉Who is clicking your ads? Google’s audience features give you a glimpse into users’ commercial intent, interests and demographics. Do you think more women than men are shopping for your product? Google Ads can help you figure it out. 👉What device are your customers using? I work with a lot of B2B clients, and in general, users on desktops are more likely to convert than users on mobile phones. We know this because Google tells us — and we design campaigns (especially landing pages) to take advantage of this fact. 👉Where are your customers? Google lets you drill down into the locations where your ad showed and received clicks. That’s super-valuable for local businesses.    👉When are customers more likely to buy? Is there more online interest in your services during the work day, at night, or on weekends? Google has the data — and you can use it to stop running ads in typical slow periods, or spend more during periods that produce more results. I always say that Google Ads are not for every business. But they can be valuable for some businesses who don’t realize it — in part because of the factors I listed above. If you have questions about the pros and cons of Google Ads, I’m always happy to answer them. Drop your queries in the comments below! #ppcchat #ppc #googleads #searchadvertising

How often do you leave comments on LinkedIn posts? After reading Stefanie Marrone's post, you might be tempted to increase that frequency. The benefit Stefanie lists that resonates most strongly with me is that comments drive profile traffic. If you leave a smart comment, someone you don't know may see it, click over to your profile, and possibly even follow you or reach out. It definitely expands your reach. I'm glad Stefanie wrote this, and I encourage you to give it a read!

The pay-per-click advertising world had a swift, negative reaction to the news yesterday: Google admitted it “gets creative” with ad auction prices at times to hit revenue goals. That means a click on your ad may cost more this week than last week, even though there’s no more competition for the ad “real estate.” Count me among the PPC pros who don’t like this business practice — especially because Google has become less and less transparent in so many other aspects of Google Ads over time. That said, I think Julie Friedman Bacchini (one of the smartest PPC pros posting on social media) made two good points in her post yesterday (link in the comments): ☝ Point 1: “What does this mean for your average advertiser? Not a lot honestly. … Advertisers have always had to make their inputs and then let Google determine what each particular click would cost.” I would add that advertisers always are evaluating and re-evaluating the ROI they're seeing from ads (or at least they should be!). Keep doing that, knowing that a decrease in ROI may be Google's fault. And change or stop your campaign if necessary. ✌ Point 2: “So how can an advertiser make sure they are not getting screwed over by Google? Well, one way is to work with a reputable PPC professional. The world of PPC changes daily and by working with a professional PPC practitioner, you can let us worry about keeping up with all the ad platform tomfoolery.” Google Ads still delivers value for many, many businesses that advertise online. That has been the case since I’ve started doing PPC, and I continue to see clients get good results from their campaigns. But all campaigns need someone watching things closely to make sure they stay profitable — that’s what agencies like mine (Squarely Digital) do. #ppcchat #ppc #googleads

When I worked in journalism, my colleagues and I would say "show, don't tell." Harry Dry says "Don't persuade, let the reader be persuaded." Either way, it's a great tip for writing of all kinds -- including pay-per-click ads. What is your favorite writing tip? Let me know in the comments! (This example comes directly from a recent edition of Harry's excellent Marketing Examples newsletter. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/e5N_anfx) #ppc #ppcchat #copywritingtips

Bringing on Dara has made August a big — and productive — month at Squarely Digital. And it’s an added bonus that she, like me, has entrepreneurship in her blood.  (Her parents owned a whitewater rafting company and restaurant; my father founded and led a company in the paperboard product industry.) Welcome, Dara!