ValueTrack had been widely used by individuals using third-party tracking software in their campaigns in monitoring the performance of promotional ads. ValueTrack was limited only in separating the search and content campaigns of a particular ad. It didn’t include any options that showed the source of the click and the keyword used in triggering a particular ad.

The great news is, ValueTrack has new valuable features! ValueTrack has now created the keyword matching option which will help you spend less time generating and tracking keyword lists.

With the new ValueTrack, two additional parameters have been added – matchtype and network parameters. Matchtype shows which words triggered the click. The network parameter shows an individual where the click came from, whether it is from a search partner or display network. These two parameters are effective when you are using a keyword-targeted campaign.

What does this mean for you? Simply, spending less time trying to figure out where most of your traffic from ads come from. For example, if you run campaigns both on Google searches and a Google Display network partner (i.e. Gmail, Youtube, Blogger) at the same time. It would definitely be useful if you know which one was more effective, that way you can allocate more of your advertising budget on the more effective method. Also, knowing which search terms triggered your ad helps you determine what keywords your customers are using, that way you can make adjustments to your adwords campaigns, and focus on keywords that are most effective for your business.

ValueTrack is indeed highly recommended for those who are engaging on ad campaigns online and who are using third-party tracking software. The two new features will absolutely help you out in your activity. Try using the ValueTrack and you’ll see the difference. Not sure about how the new features can help you out? We’d be happy to explain it to you or help you implement this new functions. Give us a call or drop us a line!

Visit Google’s ValueTrack Overview.
Visit Google’s ValueTrack Examples.

Considering the number of mobile users in the world, mobile marketing as a concept sounds very lucrative. Unfortunately, mobile users have yet to take advantage of the widespread technology that can enable this marketing tool to succeed. For example, do YOU have a mobile version of your website? If yes, does it look exceptional for iPhone, Android, Blackberry and other mobile users? How accessible, functional and relevant is it to your customers? Believe it or not, mobile marketing is no longer “in the future”; ladies and gentlemen, it is NOW. If you’re interested in joining the world in going mobile, be sure to check out Webcopyplus‘ must-read blog article about how The World is Going Mobile. If the issues standing in the way of mobile marketing are addressed one by one, it can easily overtake email marketing.

Mobile Shopping Made Easy

Mobile marketing has definitely benefited from the advent in mobile broadband technology. Smartphones now make it very easy to browse the net and the prices of mobile Internet packages have also come down in the last few years. Mobile users, especially women, now prefer to use a mobile device to shop online. In the meantime, online stores are also accommodating mobile shoppers with mobile friendly versions of their websites.

There are also various mobile applications available out there that can be used to make mobile shopping easier. For instance, Google recently launched a unique mobile marketing feature in the US. Shops participating in the program will sport a 2D barcode that a mobile user can read by taking a picture. The Google Maps application on the phone can than automatically transfer the user to the retailer’s website, showing coupons and offers available online, product reviews etc.

Security and Privacy

Even though mobile marketing and advertising is one of the top ways to reach a lot of people while being personal as well, the biggest drawback of mobile marketing is consumer privacy. Because mobile phones have GPS trackers and they are listed under a person’s name and address, industry watchdogs are weary of how seller’s information can be misused. The popular opinion is that mobile marketing can be akin to stalking. The mobile device is always with us and we cannot sort or filter calls and SMS from personal and commercial contacts, unlike emails.

Considering how identity theft has become a large issue in the US, mobile shopping will have to go a long way before users are reassured. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has already come up with basic rules on privacy for mobile marketing and shopping.

Not all agree with this line of thought though. After all, just how secure is the Internet compared to the mobile Internet? Many consumers feel that their mobile devices are just as secure as their laptop and are willing to shop using their handheld devices.

The other big drawback of mobile marketing is the “irritation” factor. You are enjoying a quiet lunch with friends or discussing an important project and the phone rings to announce the latest sale in the nearest clothes store. Unlike emails, calls and SMS demand our immediate attention and barge into our life. Repetitive calls about loans, mortgages, sales, credit cards etc. can annoy any normal person. Unless mobile marketing can come up with a way around this, users are likely to stay negative about this marketing tool.

On-the-Go Convenience

The other way round though, users are happy to be able to access and buy products online through their mobile devices. A recent survey showed that 94% of women prefer to use their phones to surf even when they have access to PC and laptop. Moreover, women are also the most avid mobile shoppers considering they spend a large chunk of the day interacting with friends online via Twitter and Facebook anyway.

If you’re still unsure about whether or not your site is ready to join the mobile world or if you’re ready to join the bright side, we’re only a tweet, email, Wall post or call away! Show us some love by following us on Twitter or Liking us on Facebook. If you like what you’re reading, let us know by clicking the juicy “Like” button below

Written by:
The Online Marketing Wizards {Profile} @ October 17 Media
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This relationship is so crucial that it determines which sites we think are important and which are not. It’s kind of like how we choose who we interact and network with – simply being out there is not enough. For example, if you were looking to hire someone for your business, you wouldn’t just go out and choose random people on the street; you would ask for recommendations from people you knew first. Or if you do find a good candidate, you’d check up on references.

When we choose to link to a particular site or a site chooses to link to us, it creates a sort of credibility. This is why one of the reasons search engines (particularly Google) use quality links to determine ranking, i.e., who gets to be on top of the results page of any given search.

So one of the keys to getting good results on search engines (so that your customers can find you) is to get good links back to your site. However, if your site is relatively new, you may think this is a daunting task. After all, who would link to a relatively unknown site? Well, time is definitely important, but so is effort when it comes to link building. Spending just a few minutes each day building up your network can be beneficial in the long run. So get started today with these tips:

Submit your site to web directories and search engines
It may take a few days for Google’s bots to crawl your site, so be proactive and submit your URL to popular (and even the smaller) search engines. There are also web directories, similar to the Yellow Pages, where you can post your site under different categories.

Promote your site to contacts and networks (without spamming!)
Let people on your Facebook page, Twitter account, etc., know about your new site. Social networking has its advantages when promoting your site, and part of it is the “personal” touch it adds. Don’t forget to post your URL (as a link) on your social networking profiles as well.

Get social! (bookmarking, that is)
If you have interesting or important information, post your site on places like Digg or Propeller. Bookmarking on web pages such as Delicious and Furl is also a good strategy to build up your links when you’re starting to promote your site.

Get social! (part II)
Get out there (online) and interact with people on message boards and blogs. Joining related message boards and offering your expertise is a good way to promote yourself and your site (while creating links to your site!) whether you’re directing someone for information or something as simple as placing a link on your forum signature.

Visit and read bloggers in your industry and comment on their posts – many ask you to leave a URL or you may be able to link back directly on the comment form. Remember, the important part of this tip is that you give quality information – do not just place links for the sake of linking as this is considered spamming.

Send out a press release
A press release is no longer something that only big corporations or Hollywood actors send out to the media. With sites like PR Leap and PRWeb, you can easily submit a press release (with links) and have the information viewed by many people. The sites may also distribute it to other online news outlets who may be interested in what your site has to say.

Most importantly, build a good site!
This is probably the most important “tip” of all. Your site should be informative, dynamic and should have fresh content for people to link to. Have quality information for people to read and optimize your site so it’s easier for people to find. Don’t discount good grammar – misspellings and bad language can turn off people.

Of course, many experts out there offer other link building schemes and methods, and many of them are effective for some sites, while others are not. However, watch out for those who offer “black hat” methods, which are basically questionable or unethical ways to create links. These may provide favorable rankings in the short-term, but could give cause for your site to be banned from search engines in the longer term. Remember to use only legitimate means – these may take a while and you will need to put in a lot of effort, but the rewards you reap will be significant.

Have any questions about these, other linking tips or perhaps have a comment? We’d love to hear from you, so send us a message!

However, one of world’s largest companies, however, backs Bing, so it’s no lightweight. While some analysts seem to think Bing is out to be a “Google Killer,” it’s interesting to note that Microsoft doesn’t see it this way (at least, that’s not their story to the press.) Bing promises to “provide customers with a first step in moving beyond search to help make faster, more informed decisions.”

With advertisers seeking new ways to reach out to their audience, Microsoft knows it’s all about getting their slice of the PPC (pay-per-click) pie. So, should you shift part of your PPC budget to Bing? Let’s get these two contenders in the ring and watch them go head to head:

Round 1: Market Share

It’s certainly no secret that Google has more than 60 percent of North American internet users out there. Google AdWords popularized the PPC system (even though Yahoo had been using it at least 4 years before them) and still remains the most popular PPC tool. Bing, however, seems to be growing – in the past 6 months since its launch, it has gained over 6% of the market and Google has lost about the same amount.

In an interview with CrunchBase, Bing Director Stefan Weitz explains that Bing was developed to make people want to move towards their search engine, by first studying the reasons why people would want to switch. He also admits that they’re hoping “OEM deals” – having PC manufacturers automatically set Bing as the homepage on installed browsers – will help them increase their audiences.

Round 2: Quality

A study conducted by User Centric, a research firm that specializes in eye-tracking analysis, came up with interesting initial results: users spent more time (about 17% more) looking at Bing’s sponsored links than Google’s. They also spent about 26% more time browsing through the “related searches” portion on Bing. These results show that people spent more time looking around the Bing results. If you’re concerned about bounce rates, surprisingly, Bing performs about 4% better than Google.

Round 3: Price

Because of its relative newness, Bing Advertising clicks still cost less than Google (where some people have reported seeing up to $50 per click), but its audience still remains small and unique. If you’re conscious about costs and are targeting specific users, you may want to try out Bing.

The Results

Perhaps it’s too early at this point, seeing that Bing is barely a year old, to determine a clear winner. What’s evident, however, is that a shift in is inevitable in the way consumers use search engines. If you’d like to know more about implementing a PPC campaign or information about AdWords or Bing, October 17 Media can answer your questions – just drop us a line!

What we especially love about this letter is that it shows how much we educate our clients and exactly what type of results they can expect from our internet marketing services. It demonstrates how we’re long term relationship oriented and clearly highlights why we’re so good at working with health care practitioners. Anyhow… thanks for reading our little brag-fest blog post!

ONLINE MARKETING TESTIMONIAL: Rebound Health Services

Dear Brenda and the October 17 Media team,

I want to thank you for meeting with me last year and explaining the vast and wonderful world of “website optimization”.

It was very clear to me after our first meeting that: A beautiful website without optimization is like a girl dressed to the nines with no date = a waste of time and energy.

I realized that I needed the expertise of October 17 Media to make changes to my website to improve my ranking on Google. Now I receive a monthly report from October 17 Media for me to review how my website optimization is working. The proof is in the stats!

All therapists at Rebound have benefited from the added business we receive due to the increased visibility of our website. More and more clients say that they have found our clinic on-line and we are selling more gift certificates than ever before.

I would recommend that any business that has a website can trust October 17 Media to drive more business to it and therefore, increase your bottom line.

Brenda, my account representative, has been especially helpful and positive. I feel like her advice is crucial to my business and she will help me to make the decisions I need to, to take my company to the next level.

Thank you Brenda and the October 17 Media team for making Rebound a success!

Sincerely,

Angela Mackenzie, RMT
Owner, Rebound Health Services Inc