The Exact Keyword Tracking Tool by the folks at ROI Revolution allows paid search advertisers to view the exact search queries of their visitors.  Broad-match is one of three Adwords keyword setting that results in ads running based on general keyword terms and what Google believes to be relevant variations; even if these terms aren't in a campaign's keyword lists.  With the Exact Keyword Tracking Tool, the exact phrases that triggered the broad-match ad to be issued can be retrieved, instead of only allowing adwords users to view which keyword terms they've bid on drove traffic to their site.

Typically, broad-match phrases are more expensive to bid on than their counterpart's exact-match and phrase-match, due to their higher traffic volumes (and more competition).  Utilizing this tool, Adwords managers can discover trends in long tail keyword phrases that would not otherwise be revealed in typical analytics data.  With this knowledge, managers can bid on their new-found phrases, probably at lower costs due to the lower volume, detailed orientation of long-tail keywords.

The script for Google Analytics can be found here (note there are two versions: ga.js and urchin.js).

Once the script has been implemented, where will you find this data in Analytics?

1) Traffic Sources > AdWords > AdWords Campaigns report and use the Dimension User Defined dropdown.

2) Using the Visitors > User Defined report.

Tip:  Let the new code run a couple of days so you can see results

Twitter is a service that broadcasts 140 character notes through the twitter community of approximately 1 million users.  Think of it as a mini blog, that can be placed on websites , added to social networking profile pages, sent to mobile phones, etc.  Users can update their "tweets" via mobile phones, PDAs, instant messaging services, and a host of widgets, so many users don't even sign in to the actual site.  According to Tech Crunch there are about 3 million twitter messages broadcast every day, so my question to your company is - why aren't you part of the action?

Many companies do operate twitter accounts, keeping clients and customers in the loop.   These include Dell, General Motors, Jet Blue - and the biggest success story - Zappos.com .  So get in on the action - the username "B2BMasterMind" is still available!

Twitter Terms:
Tweet - an 140 character update, like a new note.
Follower - The Twitter profiles receiving your updates ("tweets") on their homepage.
Following - The profiles a given Twitter account is receiving tweets from.

 Why Your Company Should Twitter:
1.    Easier than blogging. 140 characters or 400 words?  Forget debates over grammar, coming up with content is no longer a struggle, and your employees wont avoid you in the halls when there hasn't been an update in a week or two.  
2.    Simple Way To Update Your Website.   Add a twitter widget to your website and your tweets are automatically updated, so clients can always see what your company is up to.  Both Twitter Feed and Widget Box have created feeds.
3.    Free Advertising.  Every time you update, your username and tweet pop to the top of your follower's homepages.   The more you update, the more you will dominate their list.  But be sure to strike balance - spamming or recycling the same comment will probably deter them from following you.   Check out Woot's twitter, a site that "focuses on selling cool stuff cheap", they advertise one new product each day. 

How To Twitter A Company:
1.    News Updates.  Did your company just send out an exciting mailing, announce a new product, or change the logo?  Let the world know about these decisions, it will keep your followers informed.
2.    Get Client Feedback.  Twitter users love responding to questions.  Ask about your products, and don't be afraid to extend the subject matter.  Twitter is an opportunity for clients to see your personality, so if you're looking for a child entertainer for your annual company picnic - let them know!  
3.    Your Company Evangalist = Twitter Star!  Tony Hseih, CEO of Zappos, is a Twitter star.  He has 15,000 people following his every word because he's funny, great at interacting with audiences, and keeps users updated on Zappos developments.  Or create a character, as Mars Candy did with their "Ms.Green" from the M&Ms lineup.  Your company could be holding the next twitter celebrity...
4.    Inter-company communication.   Imagine everyone staying on the same page at work via twitter updates.  No emails crowding your inbox, just tweets on a homepage.
5.    Find Fans.   Use a twitter engine like Steve's to find mentions of your company on twitter.  Perhaps people are talking about you (or your competitors) and you don't even know it!  Blogger Jonathon Fields was followed by Jet Blue only a couple minutes after tweeting that he was in a Jet Blue terminal. 

What are your experiences with Twitter?  Does it sound like a fad that'll die out soon enough, or is it an amazing bit of software?  

 
 

On Wednesday, Base One Search hosted a morning workshop to showcase the potential of utilizing search marketing in B2B.  Inspired by the Base One team, with most of the questions and answers designed by Sam, the following quiz is part of a group activity the workshop partook in.  Find the answers at the bottom in a points based system.

Q1. Discuss which is the best way to make use of future content:
A. Implement an RSS feed which would distribute future content to opt in visitors.
B. Submit content to news feeds such as Google news and content syndication sites. Create a company blog.
C. Distribute content to various industry relevant websites and implement it on your company blog.

Q2. Your business decides to have videos and images to attract new clientele. What do you do with them?
A.    Optimise the images and videos on the site to be found in the search engine results pages
B.    Optimise the images and videos further by distributing them to a number of sites, blogs and social networking sites.
C.    Have the images and videos hosted on your site.

Q3. What would you do to ensure a quick response to customer queries and complaints, in order to maintain positive online brand image?
A. Employ an evangelist who would actively scour the internet for comments or issues surrounding your brand or industry. Hire an online reputation management organisation.
B. Develop a blog to help visualise and create the personality of the company.  Utilise Google alerts so that you are informed when there are mentions of your brand name. 
C. Create a company support e-mail address that would deal with complaints and queries.

Q4. Set the stage for an SMM (social media marketing) campaign.  Which way would you assign your time?
A.    Distributing e-mail campaigns to trigger interest and traffic.
B.    Focus on unique viral idea.  Host your viral campaign on your site including implementing social buttons to promote it. Utilise a range of social media sites including stumbleupon, Digg, Facebook to reach a wide range of audiences.
C.    Develop a micro-site to host your campaign to further target online social communities. Create a Facebook group. Utilise social bookmarking sites such as Digg and Stumble Upon to generate traffic.

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Q1.  How to best use future content:
A. 5 points - the RSS feed will allow you to build a strong relationship with your customer as you continuously interact with them.
B. 10 points - You will benefit from the wider scope of keywords. Submitting content to Google news and content syndication sites will ensure you gain exposure and increase brand awareness of your service.
C. 20 points - By targeting relevant sites to host your content it ensures you drive targeted traffic to your website who are likely to convert due to the pre determined mind set of researching your service. You also obtain highly valuable links which would help boost your site visibility in the search engines for selected keywords.

Q2.  What do to do with new images and video:
A. 10 points - Obtain links but would also benefit from increased traffic as optimising videos and images would position your brand within Google for appropriate search queries.
B. 20 points - Previous benefits of A and C plus benefit of creating "noise" surrounding brand. This would not only gain exposure but also obtain extra links and visitors through mentions of your site via industry blogs.
C. 5 points - Links to the videos would help your Search Engine Ranking Position for targeted keywords.

Q3.  How to best maintain a positive brand image:
A. 20 points - Extension of  your marketing channel as an evangelist will become the face of the company. An online management company will ensure your voice is heard and create noise surrounding your brand. It will ensure your voice speaks and acts as a method for maintaining your brand reputation online.
B. 10 points - Encourages return visits due to "face" of brand responding and interacting new visits from increased trust. Driving traffic to site blog post will appear in search for long tail keywords and these visitors are more likely to convert. This will also establish brand loyalty.
C. 5 points - Lose return visits due to unsatisfactory experience and fake promises.  Still can't relate or see the personality of company.

Q4.  Manage your time for an SMM campaign:
A. 5 points - mass email campaigns will receive some attention and visitors. 
B. 20 points - developing a unique idea is 90% of the success. Time should be attributed to this as a viral campaign can have a significant effect on traffic and interaction. This website will benefit from obtaining links as it is hosted on your primary site. This will help increase the search ranking position of various keywords.
C. 10 points - Utilising social media sites to drive traffic to a site is very beneficial.  A social environment can help you engage with customers and gauge reactions and perspectives towards a brand.

Every month, Base One Search puts together stellar reports for all our clients with loads of statistics.  We do our best to explain what the numbers in these reports mean, but clients sometimes have  questions about certain stats.  Here are the most common misconceptions.


 
1. A rising bounce rate is bad.  Bounce rate is (the number of entrances to a webpage that left the site without viewing any other pages) divided by (number of entrances).  It sounds bad doesn't it?  The percentage  of people who found your site so bad, they didn't abandon it by walking away, they were so thrilled to get out they actually bounced off in glee. 

A high bounce rate can mean that users found the landing page (optimized to rank well on SERPS) perfectly relevant to their desires and didn't need anything else on your site.  They took in your perfectly relevant content and departed without taking an interest in the rest of your site.
 
For instance, my cousin tells me he bought a mountain board.  I do not know what this is, so upon googling "mountain board" I find a relevant site to explain it.  Seeing that I don't have a particular interest in sporting equipment, I bounce from the site after reading up on mountain boards.  Argos-sports.co.uk probably will read my visit as a bounce, but in fact, I utilized their great definition of mountain boarding and departed.

2.Less Time on Site means Visitors are Less Interested. A decrease in the amount of time spent on site doesn't have to spell disaster - it can mean people are finding information faster.  This is a common result for redesigned sites.  So don't be upset if your website is doing an amazing job allocating the time available!  You may simply be leading visitors to their wanted information instead of pushing them out to pasture where they must foraging for relevant content.
 
3.  Impressions are really important.  Impressions are the number of times your ad shows up in a Pay Per Click advertising campaign.  We have clients who see their number of impressions decrease over two months and get worried, even as the number of clicks increase!  Root of Misconception: People familiarize themselves with your company/website by grazing past your impression to click on another source.  Correct: Users who click on your website are learning about your company/product/service. 

So don't worry about impressions, if anything, worry about clicks and the Click Through Rate (CTR), which is the number of clicks divided by the number of impressions.  These numbers reflect how many users are becoming familiar with your website.

...So what statistics have you found most helpful when judging your website/s?  Any other common misconceptions you can ad to the list from personal experiences? 
 

Chances are in the realm of internet content, you're like my ex-boyfriend - you're a taker.  You take in news sources, catch up on favourite blogs, or check out product reviews, and you never give back.  Don't be selfish - give the online world a little bit of you!

We spend hours surfing the web, but they are few and far between - those gems among us - who actually LEAVE A COMMENT (or know how to treat a girl)! 

"But Chelsea," you say, "I don't care what the internet community thinks of my opinions, that's why I read their ideas!"  Well you should care, there are many
pros to becoming a commenter:


1. Grow Your Own Profile - Like a smart bespeckled kid in grammar school, you have an opportunity now to become that clever commentator (just try not to get a wedgie on the playground for it!) who the rest of the class (or reader audience) will take note of.  Don't forget, people listen to those with attitude and opinions, even when they aren't being said out loud.
 
2. Brand Awareness - Mention your company whenever it makes sense to do so.  But be forewarned, acting spammy (placing obvious, promotional comments) looses credibility and may even get you blocked from posting.  Don't think of posting comments as a chance to get your name out, as much as an opportunity to create a dialogue with the blogger or author.
 
3. Networking - Make friends with your fellow commentators.  You'll find other people dealing with similar issues and holding interesting opposing or agreeable opinions.  Think of them as your online pen-pals; people you haven't ever met in person, but who you get to know through words.
 
4. Widen Relationships - for all those who miss out writing their own comments, they'll be reading over your ideas.  Each comment allows you to incorporate one link to a website of your choosing, so be sure readers will be able to find you or your company with that link!

5. Test Ideas - Commentators are typically spontanious, honest, and sometimes downright cruel.  But this is good!  When you have an opinion let it show, the responses (positive and negative) will make you recognize the strengths and weaknesses of your argument and improve it.  

Now you know why you should comment, "But Chelsea, I have no idea what to say!" you complain (excuses, excuses...).  Like my x-boyfriend, you think putting in any effort into a relationship (with your blogger) would be equivalent to climbing Everest.  But I'll give you another chance, "benefit of the doubt" shall we say?  And assume you're not commenting because threads are looking a little intimidating.  Or perhaps it's just a simple case of writers block.  Some ways to inspire your comments:

1. Ask a Question.  I do this because I'm too lazy to actually write a real response.  What don't you understand about the article of blog?  Push the dialogue further, think of it as your job to probe the readership.  

2. Memory Lane. Lend your personal experience or explain how your company dealt with a similar subject matter.  As long as you keep it brief, walking down memory lane with an audience can teach beneficial lessons to all.

3. Priory Post or Related Material.  Figure out how this article/post relates to older material by the author.  Find inconsistencies?  Point them out!  It will make you look like you know the source material really well.

4. Be Specific. There is a lot of information in a post, be sure to refer clearly to which bit you are commenting on.
   
5. Grammar & Spelling.  Look smart, don't use "u" when referring to "you" or numbers for letters, you know the drill.  For a professional edge, these are basic requirements.

So get commenting!  Transform that post or article you're reading into a two-way dialogue (remember, in a relationship you have to talk about everything together).  And after you leave a comment, be sure to check back to the site later and see who responds to your ideas (and follow up when appropriate).  IN FACT - practice leaving a comment here!  Do you think my post sucks?  Do I have any good ideas?  Where did I go wrong in forgetting to mention ____ (fill in the blank)?  Let me know!

As Google continues to expand, their opportunities to pedal Adwords ads and recycle clicks within the Googletron empire spread.  Google was first recognized as a superior search engine because of its unique algorithm that gave weight to back links and valid content, Google rejected the loud advertisements of competitors like Yahoo and AOL and was preferred by users because it gave them what they wanted; relevant results and no advertising mess.  But then they started shopping around for other companies, and today Google holds stakes in the likes of British Sky Broadcasting and partners with Sony BMG Entertainment.

On the paid search side of the fence Google introduced Adwords, software offering corporations and peons alike the opportunity to advertise on their results pages with a clean 95 character box based ad.  Adwords really took off when they introduced content match, allowing advertisers to publish on a range of websites, instead of exclusively keeping them to the Google search results pages.  Last year this meant $16.4 billion, the majority of Google's revenue. 

As  they purchase more advertising sites, they are able to send their advertisers to more places, in turn receiving more ad revenue.   Their new mobile phone platform ANDROID delivers advertisements which Google can bleed into to the Adwords profit stream.  They even issue their ads through Fox Interactive Media division, which include sites like MySpace, American Idol, and Rotten Tomatoes.

In the Organic search engine results, Google is benefiting big time from rolling into media.   Purchasing YouTube in 2006 Eric Schmidt, the chief exec at Google, said to BBC "the powerful media platform complements Google's mission to organize the world's information."  Organize the world's information by buying it up?  Doesn't that enter the flood gates to self promotion across multiple medians?  Namely, the exclusive recycling of clicks within the Google umbrella? 

For example, I search the term "muffin top" looking for the popular Life Savers candy commercial.  The second organic result is a YouTube video, complete with an image of the commercial.  I will click this top link, keeping me within the Google family from query to content.  However, there are other websites offering the same video which also rank on the first page, but without the (promotional) image signifying to users "video here!". 

In short, Google is sucking up revenue by expanding where they send their ads while simultaneously keeping the organic results in the family when possible.  As Google continues to build on its metropolis of content across mediums, our searching options as users continue to shrink.  Is it worth it to have access to relevant content if it will be littered by ads and pulled from a diminishing pool of non-google results?

Is Google becoming a search monopoly?  Deciding how we will browse instead of their original premise, relying on good content to rise on its own merit.