Become a 7Search Advertiser May 27th through 31st and Have a Chance to Win $250!

Beginning Monday the 27th (Memorial Day!) we’re having a $250 giveaway that’s going to last through the 31st of the month. We’re then going to announce the winner on Facebook and Twitter on June 3rd!

So how do you take part in the promotion? There are 2 ways.

1. Visit our super awesome landing page here and open up a 7Search advertiser account. You’ll automatically be entered into the contest! If you’ve been thinking about becoming an advertiser, now is a great time to take that final step and make it happen!
2. Visit our second super awesome landing page here and fill out the form to enter the giveaway.

Once you’ve entered, like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter and feel free to let us know you’ve entered the contest! That’s where we’ll be announcing the winner of the $250 Visa gift card.

Please keep in mind when entering that this contest is for US residents only. This is our first time doing a giveaway like this, so participate and make it a success so we can do more!

Remember, the contest starts ON Memorial Day! Enter the contest anytime between Monday and Friday to become eligible to win.

Good luck and have a terrific long weekend!

Traffic and Ad Performance: Make the Connection

No matter what paid search engine an online marketer may choose, the purpose of utilizing them is essentially the same, to run ads, drive traffic and generate sales/leads. While it is true that they all basically offer the same type of service, there is still an important difference between them that advertisers must consider as it will have a direct impact on the success or failure of their ad campaigns. That crucial difference is the traffic.

This discussion of traffic extends beyond mere volume. The real concern regarding traffic should always come down to quality and type. For obvious reasons locating a PPC advertising source that offers good quality traffic will play a major part in running a successful advertising campaign. If the traffic is fake or poor quality then you can try every optimization technique under the sun and your results are likely remain abysmal. This is where the use of analytics or some form of tracking can be an invaluable tool. The use of analytics will allow you to review several aspects of your visitor’s behavior such as time on site, pages viewed and links clicked. Based on this data you will often be able to determine if the traffic you are receiving is acceptable or not. Don’t overlook the importance of implementing analytics and the extremely useful insight that it can provide regarding traffic quality.

Traffic type should also be at the very top of your list of considerations when choosing the right PPC Company to partner with. Gather as much information as possible with regards to the demographics that make up the traffic that use the search engine you choose. This data will include, but is not limited to, age, income, education, etc. Consider the following; many advertisers are unaware of the fact that they have received a large amount of clicks that have not converted simply because they are targeting all countries which may have brought them clicks from visitors who cannot read the language on their site. The use of analytics would possibly allow them to see the native language of their visitors and help them tailor either the geo-targeting or site language options to reduce their bounce rate.

You will find that much of this (demographics) information can be found by conducting a series of online searches to uncover the details on search engine demographics. Once uncovered, online marketers can make a much more informed decision on whether or not the traffic on a given search engine would work for them.

If you have ever visited an online forum where many search engine marketers discuss the results they have received on various search engines then you may have noticed that they often range from very good to very bad. This is a clear indication that with the right research and strategy success can be achieved on almost any PPC engine. It only makes sense to review these important aspects before spending (wasting) money on unprofitable ad campaigns. You wouldn’t run an ad for video games on a platform whose traffic is largely made up of women in their late forty’s as it probably won’t do well unless it’s the Christmas season when they may be shopping for gifts to give their children or grandchildren. Even then such success is likely to be limited & short-term.

So now the question is: how much do you know about the traffic your PPC search engine offers? Although it may not seem like much fun, when it comes to advertising there is no way around it, you have to do the homework before you start the spending. You won’t achieve success by blindly running ads in hopes that one of them will work for you. This is a recipe for waste and frustration. Become familiar with what works on the search engine you are using or considering. It could very well be the most profitable marketing move you ever make.

DIY Reputation Management

Did someone slam you online, leaving you reeling from unfounded claims and comments that are untrue and could possibly hurt your business?

You could start addressing the complaint by contacting reputation management companies with quotes starting in the $7,500 range. Online Reputation Management is very tricky once an issue arises. Without constant work and upkeep the tiniest comment could bring it all back to life and place it atop search results on every search engine. Most well-known reputation management companies can take steps to control these issues from reappearing, but at a premium cost small businesses sometimes can’t handle.

If you wish to address the issue yourself and avoid the pricey contractual obligations offered by reputation management firms, here is a little DIY I put together.

Who made the negative post and is there any truth to it?

The remark could have been from a competitor, unhappy customer, or ex-employee. Making negative comments and posts on certain complaint boards will automatically cause Online Reputation Management companies to contact you via email or phone peddling their services or unique tools.

Stop the mudslinging! If the complaint is real your best method of removal is to address it with the customer, resolve the issue as best you can and move on. That customer’s positive response and appreciation of your handling of the dispute will pay dividends for your company’s online presence. If the negative post, review or comment made was a total fake, turn your attention to how you can keep the comment from ranking on search results or push it back far enough that it won’t be seen.

Preventative solutions can include addressing the usability, functionality and presentation of your site. These three simple steps improve customer interaction and register with the major search engines. Add new content, provide expanded service locations and (if you have the budget) purchase similar domains and optimize each homepage on every domain and website.

Snippets, Description or Keywords

Research titles and keywords related to the negative comments so you can turn the tables and use them in your favor. If posts continuously make an untrue claim, utilize the key keywords for a domain or as the title for an article. Then load said article or domain with positive information, reviews and said keywords with one or two phrases. Include your company name, your own name, brand, event or applicable information repeatedly with posts and articles and focus on all the positives as well as vague referencing to the negative post. Be smart about your posts; stay clear of breaking news or scandal.

Spread Good News

Start by using content you have already created like articles, biographies and even edited webpage content from your original website. Here are some sites where you can start posting as a business or an individual for free, with the help of editing tools and website templates.

• Webs.com
• Weebly.com
• Wix.com
• Yola.com
• Myspace.com
• Facebook.com
• Intuit.com
• Edicy.co
• Jimdo.com
• GoArticles.com
• Sites.google.com
• Bravenet.com

If you have never written anything longer than your name at the bottom of a birthday card and have been unable to create any posts, comments or content you may want to look around for help online. Plenty of sites like Odesk.com, SEOclerks.com or even Fiverr.com will provide affordable assistance from a range of sources, remote writers with years of experience that you can hire for a 1000 word article. Remember, you get what you pay for, so research writing services wisely.

Good Ole Link Building

Link building will only do so much to deter the progress of, or bury the comments made against you, it’s especially dependent on the complaints board page or site it was made on. Google is very particular about links you build for and against, and fast to react to anything affecting the complaint board. A couple of bad links can lead to your own demise. Instead continue on the avenue of posts, comments and articles that provide better results from Google.

YouTube!

Creating friendly video content changes people's perception of you and creates the opportunity for positive remarks and posts to appear all over your videos. You can use TOSH.0 methods of comedic video stunts or straight laced brand commercials, either way online video is an incredible way to advertise. Best thing is you can post something no matter how old, tag and spread it through social media. With your video you make sure to insert your message when possible in the titles or in the description and remember it is all about creating positive remarks about YOU!

Not to mention YouTube is an incredibly valuable asset to SERP’s. Take advantage of that!

Get Help!

When trying these recommendations, do keep in mind that you can hire help long term, short term or per project on Odesk.com, Fiverr.com or SEOclerks.com from all over the world and the USA. Don’t be tempted by Black Hat retribution options like Google Bombing the complaints board, posting similar venomous vitriol against the original guilty party anonymously on other boards or using a proxy to review and vote down their business “lest you feed the troll”. As mentioned you want to stop the mudslinging as opposed to encouraging nuclear exchanges.

Alerts, Emails and Prevention

Set up content alerts to help avoid future issues, if something does come up don’t panic, remember what you have already learned and repeat the process. If you still have an active network of profiles, domains and working blogs, it should take even less time to rid yourself of any false complaints.

Always remember the best advice is to address legitimate complaints immediately, which will provide the best end result as well as a positive response and review from the otherwise disgruntled party.

The information above is a good way to start repairing your reputation online; results will vary. If you’re not seeing the results that you want, it may be time to consult with a reputation management firm.

Meet the 7Search Team in Chicago at 2013’s Internet Retailer Conference and Expo

Internet Retailer’s annual event is once again upon us, taking place June 4th through the 7th in Chicago, Illinois at McCormick Place West. The 7Search team is exhibiting and will be found at booth #902. We’ll be providing product demos, talking PPC and we’ll also be introducing the new 7Search Display Network to the Internet Retailer audience!

Internet Retailer is a gathering of the best in the e-commerce industry and attracts a large crowd all over the world. Attendees are made up of businesses that want to learn more about effective strategies in e-commerce as well as leaders in the industry that are there to share what they find to be successful. The exhibit hall will be home to all manner of retailers, digital agencies and ad networks, all with the common goal of working together to improve online retailing efforts,

This year’s keynote speaker is Hiroshi Mikitani, Chairman and CEO of Rakuten. He will be speaking about the strategies Rakuten employs to be effective in the highly competitive e-commerce space and how they stay ahead of their competition. Former US Vice President and “inventor of the internet”, Al Gore, will also be at Internet Retailer as a guest speaker. CEO of HSN Inc., Mindy Grossman, as well as co-founder of comScore, Gian Fulgoni are also scheduled to take the stage to share their considerable expertise with show attendees. That’s only to name a few of the stellar speakers lined up. The full speaker list can be found here.

What we’re looking forward to

We’ve made strides in the last year to improve our services. We can’t wait to talk about the growing Display Network, our mobile app that lets advertisers manage their campaigns on the go, and our continuing improvement to the PPC platform to make 7Search PPC even more accessible.

We’re giving stuff away! Take the Wheel of Search for a spin and win up to $75 in advertiser credit, or Starbucks gift cards! We’re also holding a drawing for a tablet computer.

Most of all, we’re also looking forward to meeting you. If you’re attending Internet Retailer, we would love for you to make your way down to booth #902 to meet the team. Reach out to schedule a time for a one on one session with a team member.

See you there!

Import Google Ads to 7Search in a Few Easy Steps

You Spoke. We listened.

Thanks to overwhelming feedback from our users, 7Search is proud to now offer the option to upload your campaigns directly from Google Adwords. These “7Search friendly” campaigns will automatically create within your account, cutting down significantly on the time needed to bring your best campaigns over to our network.

What you’ll need to get started*

1. Your Adwords campaigns, exported using Google Adwords Editor [get it here]

2. An active 7Search account

3. A healthy appetite for adventure

*editor’s note: Substituting “love of furry woodland creatures” or “the will to win” will also be considered for #3

Uploading Your Campaigns

Step 1: Visit the Tools Section of your Account.

Step 2: Click the Import Google Adwords Campaign link (click to enlarge)

Step 3: Choose your exported campaigns file and click the Upload to Review>> button:

Step 4: Follow the prompts to complete the campaign(s) creation process

Things You Should Know

•Keywords that did not receive sufficient searches across our network during the last 90 days will not be added to your account.

•You can import a maximum of 50 campaigns.

•Each campaign can have a maximum of 100 negative keywords.

•To minimize the possibility of overbidding, any keywords with bids above $0.50 will be added at that value. Please update your bids to desired levels once the import is complete.

•Paused Campaigns and Keywords will be skipped during the import process.

That’s all it takes to port your Google Adwords campaigns over to 7Search! We’d love to hear your feedback on this feature, as well as suggestion for additional updates to our service. Reach out to us on Twitter or Facebook to share your feedback today.

Ready to Get Started? Become a 7Search Advertiser Below

Write For the 7Search Company Blog!

We are opening our doors and inviting any interested writers in guest blogging on blog.7Search.com and reaching a new audience of readers. All posts are welcome as long as they are search marketing related and not necessarily 7Search-centric, unless of course you’d like to write about 7Search.

What we’re looking for

A Search Marketing pro that can provide valuable insight into the online marketing world. Our primary goal is to provide educational content that our readers can use to improve their marketing efforts. All content is welcome to this end.

Guest blogging is a great way to create awareness about what you do, the subjects you choose to discuss and the tools and techniques you make use of. Our #1 rule is to keep it interesting and useful! You’re also welcome to include a personal bio, website link, and a picture of yourself. We’ll be promoting your post on our Facebook and Twitter pages to maximize your reach.

To get started, email a.umer@7search.com and be sure to write Guest Blogging on 7Search in the subject field of the email.

Spruce Up Online Sales With a Little Spring Cleaning

Cabin fever is fast coming to an end, which means that online traffic will also be headed in a new direction as well, and that direction is outdoors. Now is the time to conduct what I like to call “seasonal optimization.” Seasonal optimization is merely adjusting your ad campaigns in such a way that they are more likely to grab the attention of web surfers that are on the go as opposed to stuck inside due to bad weather. Taking the time to make a few simple adjustments may go a long way in helping you trump your competition.

As many of us head outdoors for some fun in the sun, the vast majority will stay connected via mobile phone. Several studies have shown that mobile phone search traffic has increased by leaps and bounds and with Smartphone popularity at an all-time high there is sure to be continued growth in this area. This being the case, the arrival of warm weather is the perfect time to optimize your ads for the on-the-go consumer. Let’s look at a few ways you can make your ad more mobile friendly

Ad Titles: Consumers are more likely to read your complete ad on a mobile device if it’s shorter and more impactful. In other words, use the K.I.S.S approach and “keep it short & simple.” Focus on using a few “power” words that are most likely to get the attention of your audience and drop the fluff and fillers. This is one of the few times when you don’t want to take full advantage of all the character space available to you when creating your ad.

Landing Pages: Landing pages are always a big deal no matter the season however; it is particularly important to pay special attention to this area during the warmer months when mobile search volume increases. Take into consideration just how content or image-heavy your landing pages are. Landing pages that are chocked to the gills with content will usually load much slower on mobile devices and lead to a higher rate of abandonment. Consider creating a squeeze page with less content if necessary to allow faster loading and increase visitor retention. Additionally, whenever possible, it’s also a great idea to optimize your website for mobile browser detection. This will allow your site to automatically modify in scale for better mobile screen viewing.

Call to action: When it comes to the all-important buy it now, sign-up or call to action buttonas it’s more commonly called, make sure it is not only easy to see in terms of size and color but also strategically placed on multiple pages. Navigating a mobile web page is not nearly as easy as a desktop as they often require the use of zoom and scrolling. For this reason you may want to consider placing your contact or add to cart option above your offers closer to the top of the page as opposed to below it. If this is one of the first things a consumer notices then there is a much better chance of converting or obtaining a lead from the visit simply because you made the process easier to complete.

These are just a few areas that you may want to consider optimizing for outdoor traffic however; there are certainly others as well. The point is to be mindful that web traffic changes from season to season and it is good practice to make sure your marketing approach changes along with it.

4 Simple Email Marketing Tips

Email marketing is one of the most evolved essential, and effective online marketing tools that exists today. Email, for most, is a day to day necessity, intensely personal, and judging by what isn’t deleted, a very accurate representation of what an individual deems to be important communication. Not only has email been around since before the “You’ve Got Mail” days, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

Check out these 15 Email Statistics to get a sense of how people interact with their inboxes. There was a point in time when building a monumental list of subscribers was easy, now that users have become more selective about what emails to open, it’s important to do what you can to prove your worth as a quality correspondent. How do you do this?

1. Do not buy email lists

It’s tempting to fall into the trap of more subscribers = more exposure = more profits. This may work for RSS subscribers, however, email lists are more responsive than RSS subscribers. They’re more engaged. They’re less likely to drift away and forget you. And very importantly, they’re more profitable.

Keeping that in mind, buying lists is especially dangerous, not only do you risk ruining your reputation with potential customers, email service providers can pick up on the fact that your list is not legit and your email deliverability and IP reputation can be severely harmed, which is a very important factor that plays into getting your emails in inboxes and keeping them out of spam folders.

2. Concentrate on the quality of your lists

Now that you know that quality > quantity, how do you determine what a quality list is made up of? Simple. The list that is of the best quality is one that a user opts into. So how do you get someone to opt into receiving an email from you? By providing value and/or an incentive to sign up and opt in. Ask yourself how you can benefit those receiving emails from you. Set expectations by giving them an idea of what they’ll be getting. Are they going to get promotional offers or discounts? Can you provide educational information that will benefit them? Make it absolutely clear what a subscriber will be receiving.

When a user is opting-in to becoming a part of your list, consider asking them how often they’d like to receive emails, what type of emails they would like to receive (promotional or educational). Not only does this tell YOU what you should be sending out to your readers based on their interest, it tells you how often you should be emailing your subscribers.

Once you’ve gotten that feedback, don’t squander it. Meet those expectations you’ve set and you will have a happy consumer and a profitable list!

3. Irresistible Subject Lines

Email subject lines are the first thing a user interacts with when your email arrives in their inbox. In many cases, your subject line is the deciding factor on whether or not your email will be opened, discarded, or marked as spam. An irresistible subject lines is made up of 4 factors,

• Be useful
• Be specific
• Be unique
• Have a sense of urgency

Now this is easier said than done, which leads us into our last point.

4. A/B Testing

As your list grows, you have the opportunity to endlessly optimize your emails so you can further increase profitability and be able to sway your subscribers into performing the action that you are looking for. The best way to go about this is split testing everything you can split test, starting with your subject line. It’s easy to do and has the potential to pay off in dividends. You can test everything from subject lines, to send times, to email length, design, colors, and even fonts.

Use A/B testing wisely and follow a process like I described earlier in a previous post.

Got any tips you’d like to add? Chime in and join the conversation on our Facebook, Twitter and Google+ pages.

Pause Keywords Feature Added to 7Search Campaigns

5 7Search YouTube Tutorials for the Novice to Become an Expert

When starting out as a 7Search advertiser, using our YouTube Channel to learn the basics (and more) is the fast track to getting in control of optimizing campaigns and driving traffic to your site right from the get-go.

I’ve put together a select list of our tutorial videos that will get you started as an advertiser and introduce you to taking advantage of advanced optimization techniques. These videos should be viewed in the order listed here, beginning with the most basic tactics to a demonstration of power-user features.

Creating a PPC Campaign – Brand new to 7Search? Start with this video that walks you through the process of creating your first online advertising campaign. In addition to the walk-through, benefit from tips on how to properly create an ad that is optimized for maximum visibility.

Adding Keywords – Keywords are what propels the visibility of your ads and campaigns. Watch this video to learn how to add keywords to your campaign and begin gaining traction. As you watch the video, look out for tips on how to bid on keywords and what cf keywords on the 7Search network are.

Broad, Phrase, and Exact Match Options – Broad, Phrase and Exact Match options are 3 different types of keywords and each type operates differently on the 7Search network, so knowing the unique properties of each type can lead to how accurately your ads are displayed and can affect conversion rates (positively or negatively). Having a thorough understanding of the attributes of the keyword types will put you ahead of the game!

Using the Custom TDU Feature – TDU stands for Title, Description, and URL. The TDU feature allows you to add unique, keyword-specific titles, keyword-specific descriptions, and keyword-specific display URLs. What results is a PPC ad that functions dynamically so that it is even MORE relevant to the user viewing the ad. The system recognizes the keyword searched and will dynamically alter your ad to be as relevant as it can be to the searcher. It goes as far as sending users to a different landing page you designate based on the term searched. The YouTube video will show you how the TDU feature works and how you can implement it.

MakeTop Tool – Simply put, the MakeTop Tool allows users to update their keyword bids to occupy one of the top positions in the 7Search results and increasing the chances of getting click-throughs to your website. The MakeTop tool is not as simple as it sounds, it doesn’t just push your keyword bid to the highest rank. This tool can be configured to many different specifications to make sure your campaign stays within budget while your ad gets the most exposure it can. The video will go through the options and capabilities of the MakeTop Tool.

Let us know what you think of the videos and what we should be adding next! Reach us on our Facebook, Twitter and Google+ pages.

Make Improvement Routine by Implementing a Process

The Ultimate Guide to Funnel Optimization was shared with me this morning by Sean Johnson (@intentionally), he’s also the guy that put the presentation together. I strongly recommend to everyone that is interested in improving their presence and sales online to take a look at the presentation and try to incorporate the best practices discussed. It will seriously help.

Going through the presentation and taking notes, one slide in particular caught my eye, slide 23 titled How To Do Experiments. The slide outlines a basic process for improvement, it reads as follows:

1. Identify an area for improvement (homepage to email conversion, etc.)
2. Create a hypothesis (if we simplify the form we’ll improve conversion)
3. Deploy as an A/B test using Optimizely or Google experiments.
4. If the change improves the metric you’re measuring, roll it out.
5. Rinse and repeat.

What I like about this slide and why I’m focusing on it is that it outlines a strong process for improvement, regardless of what the improvement is. The process is typically the most daunting part of improving your product, it’s easy to become plagued with insecurities about doing it “right” and questions that start with “What if…” The process outlined above eliminates that and allows you to get on with what you need to do.

Let’s apply the above process to a 7Search PPC campaign:

1. Identify an area for improvement

The scenario: I’m getting a good of clicks and my current campaign’s conversion rate is awesome, but I’m not getting the volume I want. I want to improve the volume of clicks and conversions my ads are getting.

2. Create a hypothesis

If I raise bid prices on my highest converting keywords, I’ll get more eyes on my ad, therefore more clicks and conversions.

3. Deploy an A/B test

I’m going to create a duplicate campaign, the only variable of which will be the bid prices on my keywords, all the bid prices in my new campaign are going to 5 cents higher.

4. If the change improves the metric you’re measuring, roll it out.

In this case, with 7Search PPC ads, a higher bid price usually leads to more traffic to your site. When I noticed that this improved my converting traffic, I turned off my low volume campaign and stuck with this new one.

5. Rinse and repeat

Now that this experiment proved successful, I’m going to identify other areas I think could use improvement and apply the same process.

See how easy that was? Normally I would have hemmed and hawed in a case where I really didn’t need to, having a process in place eliminated that external noise of doubt and allowed me to tackle the task head on.

That’s where the benefit lies in having a process for improvement. It becomes a regular, routine part of your schedule instead of an unfamiliar, uninspiring task. Find this useful? Be sure to thank Sean (@intentionally) for sharing the presentation. Let us know what you think on our Facebook, Twitter and Google+ pages.

Cool PPC Tools to Help You Crush Your Competition

Setting up a paid search campaign without doing competition research first is like buying the first car on the lot before doing research. While the campaign may function well, it is not going to perform as well as one in which you have performed thorough research on beforehand.

If you’re an advertiser who’s not sure where to start with competition research, there are several tools that can help you with this often daunting task. Here are some of our favorites.

7Search Keyword Tool

Cost – Free

Advertisers who sign up for a 7Search account and even prospective advertisers are able to use our keyword tool to research potential new keywords to add to their 7Search campaign. In addition to being able to research new keywords to add to their campaign our advertisers can also view bids from other advertisers. All bids are updated on a daily basis so they remain accurate almost in real time. The bid prices are limited to the 7Search network however, it’s a great way to see what keywords are trending up and down.

Spyfu

Cost – Free for a limited report paid plans vary from $79.00 to $999 per month for an agency version.

Spyfu offers a limited free report that will give advertisers an estimate of the competitors’ average daily budget, their 10 best keywords and some of the top competitor ads. The paid option is the best bet for someone who is really looking to take their PPC campaign to the next level. The paid version offers more keywords, ad results and tools that will compare the PPC campaign you’re running with those of your competitors as well as identifying gaps between the two.

AdGooroo

Cost – Varies based on usage

AdGooroo has a database of search data from over 920,000 PPC advertisers across 14 search engines in 50 countries. With your subscription you can view keywords, copy, budget and even landing pages for almost any advertiser in 170 industry categories. Two other features unique to AdGooroo are the ability to view competitor display ads as well a trademark monitor that allows you to check to make sure people are not bidding on your trademarked terms.

SEO Book Keyword Typo Generator

Cost- Free

It is very common for searchers and therefore potential customers to make spelling mistakes and not adding these misspellings to your campaign could mean a loss of potential clicks. You can search for 6 different types of common spelling errors, skipped letter, double letters, reverse letters, skipped spaces missed key and inserted key. After you choose your selection you can then click on generate keywords and a list of keywords will show up in the box below.

Looking for more insight and helpful tips to beef up your marketing campaign? Be sure to follow our blog for helpful weekly articles.

If This Then That – Automate With Ease

Continuing our trend of discussing useful tools, let’s talk about IFTTT, pronounced like gift without the G. IFTTT stands for If This Then That. On the surface it’s a simple enough service that lets you connect one online service to another. For example, you can set it up to follow the 7Searcb Blog’s RSS Feed, and every time the blog is updated with a new post, you get a notification in your inbox telling you that there’s a new post and that you should check it out. Recipe here.

That is just the beginning. IFTTT gives users access to 60 channels that can be connected so that they work together. Among the list there is Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Evernote, Pocket, email, Craigslist, ESPN, Etsy, Google Talk, Instagram, WordPress, Blogger, YouTube, Buzzfeed. Once I got the service figured out and became aware of the possibilities, not only did the name make sense, it’s pure genius. If This, Then That, so when an action (or trigger) takes place on one of the connected channels, it prompts an action to take place on the corresponding service. Simple concept, but when applied creatively, can yield some unique, if not downright useful, results.

What IFTTT is not: a catch-all solution for all of your automation needs. What IFTTT is: when properly configured, it will streamline your workflow reliably. Here are a few examples of what you can accomplish with IFTTT:

• If you receive an email receipt in your Gmail, it will be recognized as such and sent to Evernote for safekeeping. Recipe
• Every day at 6 AM, add today’s weather report to your calendar. Recipe
• When you change your Facebook profile picture, simultaneously update your Twitter profile picture. Recipe
• When you add a new WordPress post automatically update your Facebook Fan Page with a title a link (cut down plugins on WordPress!) Recipe
• If rain is in tomorrow’s forecast, complain on Twitter!Recipe
• Auto-forward starred emails in Gmail.Recipe
• Keep an eye on the company’s stock. Recipe
• This one is very creative – No camera at #SXSW (or any other evernt)? Scrapbook everyone else’s Instagrams instead. Recipe
• Stay secure - Get a call if your address is ever posted on Craigslist. Recipe

That’s only just some of what IFTTT could be used for. There are thousands of recipes available and new ones are being added every single day. Tell us what your favorites recipes are on Facebook, Twitter or Google+!

The Do’s & Don’t of What You Need When Starting out in PPC

Overwhelming, confusing and even exhausting are just a few of the words I have heard used to describe how some have felt when they first began their online marketing careers. It’s understandable that new advertisers tend to have a long list of questions regarding what should be done first. Obtaining the answers to those questions can often mean the difference between wasteful spending and a smart start.

Recently, I spoke with a PPC advertiser who was totally new to the whole idea of paid search marketing. Needless to say, he required a great deal of guidance to get things up and running. One area that was particularly confusing to him was selecting which URL to use. The problem was that he had two URL’s and wasn’t sure which one should be used. The reason he had two URLs is because he’d recently spent $500 on the purchase of a new website in addition to signing up with ClickBank to advertise their offers as well. Prior to our conversation he was under the impression that he would need both a website and an affiliate account to begin using PPC. After explaining the need for only or the other he asked the question “so what was the point of me spending $500 to purchase a website to do PPC when I could have just chosen one from Clickbank for free?

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated occurrence. I have spoken with many advertisers who are often unaware of the different ways to utilize PPC that, if known, would have saved them a great deal of money and frustration. Many begin by signing up for coaching classes only to start spending on ad campaigns that they completely don’t understand. With a little research and preparation, it can be fairly easy for anyone new to pay-per-click to avoid some of the financial pitfalls so many encounter when starting out. The best conceivable place to start is with a thorough understanding of what is absolutely necessary to begin your advertising and what is not. Keep it simple. Learn how PPC works, decide what you want to do and then execute your plan. Here is a straight-to-the-point breakdown of what’s needed and what’s not. This information could help provide a more streamlined, cost effective way for new advertisers to get started.

What you DO need:

Basic knowledge of how pay-per-click works

Before you begin running any form or advertising you need to know how it works. PPC is no exception. Pay-per-click works by allowing a person or business to run an online ad promoting their product or service that can be found by people surfing the web. In a nutshell, you will simply compose a title and description of your offer, select keywords pertaining to your item that consumers are most likely to use when searching for your offer type online, decide how much you wish to bid on each search term and you are ready to roll. The goal is to place your ad in front of the largest audience searching for your specific type of offer.

A website containing a product or service

In order to make money with pay-per-click you will need to have something to sell or promote that will earn money for you. If you are new to online advertising then it is likely that you are starting from scratch with no website or product of your own. Simply signing up with one of the many commission-based companies available online such as Clickbank, Peerfly, Commission Junction, Share-A-Sale and becoming an affiliate marketer can offer the perfect solution to this dilemma. As an affiliate marketer you can simply browse the enormous selection of offers available and choose one to promote. You will be provided with a link (website) to your affiliate offer which you can use to send your visitors directly to your product or service. If/when someone decides to buy you will earn a commission which is a percentage of each sale that is generated on your site.

Funds to start your advertising account

Just as the term pay-per-click implies you will need to be able to pay for each click your ad receives. The amount you pay for your clicks is generally up to you as you will have to decide how much you are comfortable bidding on each keyword. In the case of 7Search, you would initially fund your account with at least the minimum amount of $25 and each time someone clicks your ad the amount that you bid on the keyword used to find your ad will be deducted from your balance. For example, if you bid $0.05 on one of your keywords and someone searches that keyword online, finds your ad and clicks it, 7Search will deduct $0.05 cents from your $25 balance. This will repeat each time your ad is clicked.

What you do NOT need

Your own website or domain name

Contrary to popular belief you do not need your own domain name or website to start making money with PPC. Do NOT be misled into thinking that you must own the site that you are promoting. Many have been convinced that in order to get started this is necessary when that is simply not the case. As previously mentioned you have the option of marketing other people’s products or services and earning a portion on sales you make for them – this is called affiliate marketing. The only real reason to have your own website is if you have your own specific product or service that you intend to market. In this case, having your own site allows you to make any changes to pricing, pictures, sales and any other aspect you may find necessary.

Expensive training classes

While obtaining a strong knowledge of how the business works is necessary, the way you obtain such knowledge can vary. The internet holds a wealth of information on almost any topic searched, including PPC. It has been said that half of what you need to know can be found online and the other half can be learned by actually doing it. When you consider the fact that most new advertisers decide to start online marketing as a way to generate additional income to help alleviate current financial struggles it makes it even harder for them to invest additional money on instruction programs that may or may not yield a positive return. Please understand that this is not meant to discourage anyone who may decide to sign up for coaching as there are clearly benefits to be obtained from such programs. This is simply meant to provide a free alternative to consider for those who may find it hard to make a large investment upfront.

Tools, tools and more tools

Once you begin to read up on the various tips and tricks for running a successful paid search campaign you will eventually find yourself flooded with a list of PPC software (tools) that are intended to do everything except run your bath water for you. There are tools available for keeping track of your competition, managing your bids, tracking visitor activity, creating ad copy and a ton of others. As you might expect there is a price attached to each tool. While they might appear to be necessary please understand that you can totally get started without them. Good old fashion elbow grease will work just fine so roll up your sleeves and let the advertising begin.

Join 7Search in San Francisco Next Week for AdTech

The 7Search team is going to Moscone Center West next week! We’ll be in San Francisco for AdTech, manning booth #2717 on the expo hall floor! The Business Development team will be talking about the 7Search PPC and Display products, providing product demos and in general being as helpful as they can possibly be. AdTech San Francisco is on the 9th and 10th of April 2013.

If you will be attending the show, please drop on by the booth to say hello, and while there, enter our drawing for a $200 Apple Gift Card! All you have to do is drop your business card in the fishbowl to enter. The winner will be drawn at the close of the conference. Be sure to pick up a handout while at the booth, we’re offering a special, show-only promotion, details of which are outlined on that handout.

AdTech does a great job blending of business and technical knowledge, it’s why the event is so popular. The vast expo hall is filled with vendors representing all types of digital services making the show a one-stop shop for all your digital needs. If you are searching for a particular digital service, chances are you will find it here.

Each AdTech gathering brings together thousands of marketers in a face-to-face setting, a vibrant marketplace where ideas and experiences can be shared. Topics that will be discussed at the event include:

• The Multi-Screen World
• Today’s Tablet Eco-System
• Tactics and Tools for Content Marketing

Day 1’s keynote will be presented by Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL and the man responsible for taking the company public in 2009. Day 2’s keynote will be delivered by Susan Wojcicki, Senior VP of advertising at Google. She is the woman behind all of Google’s ad products. The talks and sessions have consistently been of the highest quality at previous AdTech and this event seems to be offering more of the same.

Be sure to drop in on the 7Search team to discuss 7Search PPC and display, where it fits into the digital marketing landscape and why it is a stellar addition to each and every digital strategy. The team will be at booth #2717 at Moscone Center West in the expo hall.