There are many ways to spend your money advertising on the web.   Display advertising, directories and pay-per-click campaigns are three of the most popular methods. 

Today we’ll focus on pay-per-click campaigns, and specifically, the differences between variants of PPC advertising. 

PPC functions basically the same across the board, no matter if you are on Google, Bing, Facebook or LinkedIn:

1. Write your ads.
2. Determine your criteria (more on this in a bit).
3. Your ad shows only to potential customers who meet the criteria.
4. You only pay when someone clicks on your ad.
5. When a person clicks on your ad, they are redirected to a location of your choosing (website, Facebook page, etc).  From there they can read up on all the wonderful things your company does/makes and hopefully be persuaded to spend thousands and thousands of dollars with your company.

The most important thing to note is that you can set a budget for your advertising campaign.  Basically, when your budget is up, your ads don’t run.  Thus, if you set your budget to $100 per day, you can expect to spend no more than $100 per day.  (It’s actually a tad more complicated than that, but we’ll save that discussion for another day.   But the principle remains the same – no crazy cost overruns)

So that’s the similarities of PPC on Google, Bing, Facebook and LinkedIn.  Now, let’s talk about what’s different – criteria.

Google and Bing use query based criteria.  They match a user’s search query to your target keyword list.  If there is a match, your ad shows.  For example, you pre-determine that you want your ad to show for anyone searching for “red shoes”, “red boots” and “red sandals”.  Sally Searcher comes along and types in “where to buy red boots” in Google.  A match!  Your ad displays.  Next, Sally Searcher types in “where to buy blue loafers”.  Not a match!  Your ad does not display.  Pretty simple.

Facebook and LinkedIn use demographic based criteria.  They match a person’s personal profile with your pre-determined profile criteria.  For example, you pre-determine you want your ad to show for anyone who lives in the Midwest and likes pets.  Sally Searcher’s profile on Facebook indicates that she lives in Ohio and loves her pet cat Fluffy.  A match!  Your ad displays.

Facebook allows you to pinpoint demographics based on location, gender, age, interests, college and major among other things.  LinkedIn allows you to pinpoint demographics by location, employer, job title, and industry among others.

Next installment we’ll talk about how to determine which method is best for you.

What is your favorite…?
Color: Carolina Blue (not because I care anything about UNC, just like the color)
Movie: Big Fish
TV Show: Modern Family
Season: Fall
Food: Lasagna

Where were you born?
Northeast Ohio (Fairview Park)

Music/Band/Artist/Song:
Wilco

Who is your Celebrity Crush?
Kate Beckinsale/Scarlett Johannson/Anne Hathaway – not necessarily in that order

What reality show would be on and why?
The Amazing Race – I love to travel and my wife and I think we would be very entertaining to watch.

What is your greatest accomplishment?
My 2 year old daughter….

What personal or career Goal are you working towards in 2011?
Expanding my digital marketing knowledge base to e-mail and mobile platforms

If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
Technically I am an animal.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
I’d go back to Paris.  My wife and I spent about 36 hours there on our honeymoon, and that was not nearly enough time.

Are you a morning or a night person?
I guess night, but I do ok either way.

How would your friends describe you to someone you don’t know?
Tall and skinny

Do you have any hidden talents?
None that would be appropriate to share here…

What was your favorite subject in High School?
Social Studies

Have you ever won a trophy? If so, for what?
Does my wife count?

What is the best vacation you have ever had?
My honeymoon – went to Paris, Nice, Cinque Terra and Munich (Oktoberfest)

 What do you think the secret to a good life is?
A warm puppy, at least that’s what my Charlie Brown sheets told me when I was little.

As more and more manufacturing is done overseas, US based industrial and manufacturing companies need to think more globally in their web marketing efforts.  Language, cultural and time zone factors are all important considerations when developing your industrial internet marketing strategy.

Here are a few things to consider:

1.  Have your homepage professionally translated.  Identify the countries you want to target and what language(s) they speak.  Have a professional translation done for each language and create multiple versions of your homepage.  Allow visitors to pick the appropriate version from your English homepage.  If you can’t afford professional translation, try out Google’s Translate tool.  Keep in mind, however, that computer based translations tend to perform poorly on technical words and phrases.

2. Translate your Google AdWords too!  While you are at it, translate your pay-per-click campaigns.  I wrote about this some time ago (Go Global with your Pay-per-click Ads) but the principles remain the same.

3. Include a contact form.  I’m not a big fan of contact forms in general.  People tend to ignore them, opting for email or phone instead.  However, I do like them in cases where a website might have a lot of non-English speaking traffic.  With time differences, making contact via phone call is not always feasible.  And if someone is not very fluent in English, typing out an email can be daunting.  Thus, a simple form can eliminate availability issues and provide an easy way for foreign language speakers to contact you.

4. A picture (and video) is worth a thousand words.  On that same note, include pictures and videos to illustrate your product.  Images are universal – no language barriers to contend with.

5. List your manufacturer’s reps and/or foreign offices.  Do you have a rep in Europe?  An office in China?  A plant in India?  Wherever they are, you should list these locations prominently on your site.  It demonstrates your global presence and gives foreign customers additional contacts in their native language and/or time zone.

What is your favorite…?
Color:          Blue
Movie:         Godfather II, Heat
TV Show:     Mad Men
Season:        Summer
Food:           Pizza or Pasta

Where were you born? 
Ohio

Music/Band/Artist/Song:
U2, Coldplay

Who is your Celebrity Crush?
Jessica Alba

What reality show would be on and why?
Hate reality shows.  Maybe I could be on a reality show where the winner finds a way to eliminate all reality shows??!!

What is your greatest accomplishment?
For sure marrying my wife Samantha

What personal or career Goal are you working towards in 2011?
Staying healthy, continue to gain knowledge, travel to a place I have never been before.

If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
Bird - most fly south for the winter

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
Probably Hawaii or a round of golf at Pebble Beach.  Just a couple of places I should have been already, but for some haven’t gotten too yet.

Are you a morning or a night person?
Neither really.  Never get up crazy early or stay up really late. So, I guess I am an afternoon person!

What are your pet peeves or strange dislikes? 
People on their cell phones 24/7 acting like they are solving all the world’s problems.  

How would your friends describe you to someone you don’t know?
Easy to get along with, likes to have fun and laugh

Do you have any hidden talents?
Impersonations

What was your favorite subject in High School?
English

What are two things that you are good/bad at?
Good at golf (well, I used to be) and remembering things, bad at singing and dancing.

Have you ever won a trophy? If so, for what? 
Ya, couple for basketball and golf back in the day.

What is the best vacation you have ever had?
Go to Hilton Head every year with the family is always nice and relaxing. 

What do you think the secret to a good life is?
Stay healthy, laugh, don’t sweat the little things.

Learn more about the WRIS Webs Services team

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