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Create A Hyperlocal PPC Campaign For Your Small Business

by Bob Hazlett on March 8, 2010

If you have a small business, you know you don’t have tons of money to waste on pay-per-click advertising that doesn’t convert. But, how do you target the right local customers in their given location? Here’s a cool hack that uses Google Local Business Center coupled with Adwords to create a hyperlocal, spot-on ad campaign that will crush your competitors.

If you haven’t already, set up a free listing for your business on Google Local Business Center (if you’re just getting started, its going to take a few days to gather the data that’s needed below).
Google offers a dashboard of analytics for each listing to show you who is looking for you, how they’re finding you and most importantly, where they are coming from. Take note of your most popular zip codes.
Go to your Adwords account, click into one of your Campaigns and then Edit the location under the Settings tab.
Editing brings up a cool little tool that allows you to draw an irregular polygon over any area. Draw a polygon over the most popular zip codes you found above. Game, set, match.

What you end up with is creating a super-targeted and hyperlocal PPC advertising that focuses directly on the customers that ring your cash register without breaking your budget.

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2010 Digital Marketing Predictions in 140 Characters

by Bob Hazlett on December 22, 2009

Everyone and their brother seem to be doing online marketing and social media predictions for 2010 so I thought I’d dust off my crystal ball and take a deep look into what I think the new year will hold. In the spirit of your sanity I kept each prediction to 140 characters or less (I thought this was a novel idea, but it looks like TrendSpotting beat me to it). Let’s hope these are better than last year.

My predictions

Everybody gets their own iPhone and mobile app. Sites like MotherApp, GameSalad and Swebapps make it too easy.
Apple, Facebook or Google will open up and allow publishers to do micro transactions across web with ID & buy digital content everywhere.
Google Nexus One phone = game changer. Google will disrupt wireless industry, create new business model for cell phones.
Buzzword of the year will be “experience.” Companies figure how to create engaging touches & inject customer love in every level/dept.
^^ above companies forced to create small hybrid groups of PR, Mkting, HR & Cust Service focused on set of clients rather than specific duty
Adwords gets a 2010 upgrade – smarter, better customer choice, maybe even image ads in results…gasp. Advertisers forced to get better.
Advertisers & Marketers will put QR codes everywhere – ads, websites, physical products. Objects will all be connected & enhance experience.
SEO gets disrupted because of personalized search and Google Caffeine. Folks who dominated will whine as they lose position.

Predictions from friends

@clayhebert - Consolidation, mainstream adoption, snake oil exposed, budgets shift from trad to digital, real experts valued & rewarded
@buckdaddy – Whrrl beat FourSqaure in location based social network. FTC rules will hurt 1 person badly like w music piracy. Available SM jobs will grow
@jtrigsby – Multiple feeds will converge and enable filtering to produce a more usable life stream of information. Some are doing it now, look for more
@skippytpe – Social games continue further into meat-space. Mobile media consumption continues to outstrip capacity. Revolution: there’s an app for that.
@jtrigsby – Number of followers will become less important than quality of friends. Numbers will still be important though, so maybe friend tiers?

Give me your thoughts/predictions/wishes in the comments below.

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Google Launches Mobile Coupons

by Bob Hazlett on November 24, 2009

Google just made it even better for local businesses to advertise their services and for mobile users to take advantage and redeem coupons/offers without the hassle of cutting tiny squares out of the Sunday newspaper. Here’s how it works;

If you’re a local business, spend 5 minutes on Google Local Business Center and create a listing (even if you don’t intend to offer a coupon, you should do this).
Once you’re in, click on the Coupons tab at the top of the page.

Fill in the gritty details of your coupon and make sure you select ‘Mobile’ as your method of distribution.

Users that search for your business via their mobile device will be presented with your businesses’ Place Page (just go to google.com in your mobile browser). They will then be able to view and present the mobile coupon upon their arrival. No scissors necessary.

Why not try and make something exclusive for mobile users, like a super-secret offer that only those users would know about? Measure your success and try to capitalize on those users using mobile as a primary means of communication.

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Google Content Network Blast

by Bob Hazlett November 18, 2009

Google content advertisers can now run what is called a network blast or surge campaign. It involves serving display ads from one advertiser on most of Google’s content network pages during a specific block of time, to users in a specific geographic area or age range. Basically they Nagasaki users with a display [...]

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Non-Profits Kicking Butt, New SEO Best Practices, Web Design Checklists and Google Advertising Rumors

by Bob Hazlett July 7, 2009

Here are the interesting posts at the top of my reading list this week.
The fine folks at the Red Cross are working diligently on crafting a Social Media Policy Handbook. They’ve got a great start and are light years ahead of even most for-profit businesses. As it should, its available online for your viewing pleasure.
Staying [...]

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Create A Hyperlocal PPC Campaign For Your Small Business

Google Launches Mobile Coupons

Google Content Network Blast

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