January 23, 2001
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*** MarketingSherpa.com's B-to-B MarketingBiz.com ***
Practical News & Tips for B-to-B Marketing on the Internet
Jan. 23, 2001 Vol. 2, Issue 4
Please forward this issue WITHOUT cutting. Thanks!
1. News: Top 3 Search Engine Optimization Resources
2. More MarketingSherpa Headlines
3. Case Study: Action Conference Call Raises its Sales 500%
Solely Through Search Engine Optimization
4. Interview: Don Skarzenski Shares B-to-B Banner Tactics That
Make an Enormous Difference in Click Through Rates
**********
NEWS
**********
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Top Three Search Engine Optimization Resources
As the Web grows ever more complicated for users, search
engine optimization grows in importance for B-to-B marketers.
Some business marketers (including the one in our Case Study
below) have even abandoned other techniques to focus 100% on
optimization. If optimization is a critical topic for you, we
suggest the following three useful resources online to learn
more about it:
1) Search Engine Watch - This Web site is universally
acknowledged to be one of the best resources for highly
detailed search engine optimization information. You'll find
some very basic information for free at the site, but to get
the good stuff you must subscribe ($49 six months/$79 year.)
Subscribers get online access to archives, plus a monthly
text-newsletter that's so long the publisher has to split it
into two separate email shots just to fit it in some email
boxes! If you just have an idle interest, this will be
overwhelming. If you're serious, this is a must-have.
http://www.searchenginewatch.com
2) i-Search Discussion Group - More than 16,000 Internet
marketers already subscribe to this free email discussion
group that's focused 100% on search engine optimization.
However you don't have to worry about your mailbox getting
jammed with messages from them because moderator Detlev
Johnson carefully filters out just the best and forwards them
to you in a twice-weekly summary. To see if your questions
have already been answered by experts in this group (and they
probably have) you can search the archives at the link below:
http://list.audettemedia.com/archives/i-search.html
To subscribe, use this link:
http://www.audettemedia.com/lists/isearch/subscribe.html
3) Web Position Newsletter: This free, monthly email
newsletter is put out by the folks at Web Position Gold, the
popular do-it-yourself optimization software. Each issue has
useful information written in clear, non-technical language
for the newbie; and, only includes a few ad plugs for the
parent company. If you want to keep in touch with
optimization issues, but not completely immerse yourself, then
this may be the right option for you.
To check out back issues and see if this right for you:
http://www.webposition.com/newsletters.htm
To subscribe:
http://www.webposition.com/newsletter.htm
**********************************
MORE MARKETINGSHERPA.COM HEADLINES
**********************************
Searchbutton Raises Sales by Dumping Business Magazine Ads in
Favor of Highly Targeted Marketing
http://www.marketingtowebmarketers.com/sample.cfm?contentID=1371
SAM Magazine Tests Online Contest to Generate Qualified
Subscribers
http://www.contentbiz.com/sample.cfm?contentID=1358
Nina Castro Owens of Cap Gemini Ernst & Young on the
Electronic Financial Services Marketing Wars
http://www.financialmarketingbiz.com/sample.cfm?contentID=1355
B2BMarketingBiz.com's Archives Online
http://www.b2bmarketingbiz.com/archives.cfm
**********************************
CASE STUDY: Action Conference Call
**********************************
* Action Conference Call Raises its Sales 500% Solely Through
Search Engine Optimization
CHALLENGE
Action Conference Call, a provider of conference
calling services, was frustrated with its Web marketing
results using standard banners. Bob Wise, Action's Director
of Operations, believed in his Web site's ability to close
sales, but he needed a more effective way to drive a heavy
stream of qualified prospects to it.
CAMPAIGN
Wise decided to reallocate all online marketing
resources to search engine optimization. He hired a
specialist firm, Webster Group International (WGI), to handle
the process for him.
Before plunging into submitting the site to search engines,
WGI spent a few days researching and analyzing keywords and
phrases that search engine users might try when seeking
conference calling services. WGI's Jada King explains, "We
had to find phrases people are actually typing in when they
search -- which are not always what you'd expect. We also
found out which terms the competition was using; and which
phrases were so broad that it would be too hard to get top
ranking for them."
In the end, WGI and Wise settled on 24 specific keywords or
phrases including, "conference calling," "audio
teleconference," and "audio seminars." King notes that not
all companies require 24 keywords optimized, in fact many do
well with just ten. It all depends on how many different ways
people might commonly search for your services.
Next WGI copywrote new meta tags for Action Conference Call's
site based on these keywords; and, created three new site
pages to maximize the odds of a search engine picking up on a
certain keyword. Some search engines decide your site's
ranking depending on how many other sites link to yours. So
WGI also raised Action's "link popularity" by getting a dozen
(and later more than double that amount) related business
sites to link to Action's homepage.
After all of this prep was completed, WGI began manually
submitting the site and special pages to the leading dozen
search engines.
RESULTS
Action Conference Call currently has 86 top 20
rankings in eleven search engines and major online
directories. (Remember, a site may show up under a variety of
keywords.)
This success has translated directly into cash. Wise says his
Company's sales have grown by over 500% in the past 18 months,
and he credits search engine optimization for 100% of that
growth! In fact the Company has undertaken no other marketing
campaigns whatsoever, except for keeping its Web site updated
and purchasing occasional keywords at GoTo.com.
NEXT: How does Action Conference Call plan to keep growing?
By launching more sites to place in search engines of course!
King explains, "Some directories such as Yahoo will only list
one page of your site -- usually your home page. If you have
more than one product to sell, you might want to create
multiple smaller sites for each product type rather than one
single site that will only get listed once at Yahoo."
NOTE: King offered a useful warning to our readers, "A lot of
search engine optimization services will host the special
pages they create for clients on their own domain instead of
on the client's domain. That means when the client stops
paying, that company has the ability to take away all of the
client's placement from engines. So make sure you host your
pages on your own domain."
Want to find out which keywords are worth your effort before
you put a lot of work into optimizing for them? A new free
resource is at (http://www.wordtracker.com/freetrial.html).
B2BmarketingBiz tried it and can recommend it heartily.
http://www.actionconferencecall.com
http://www.wgi.com
*****************************************************
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Banner Expert Donald Skarzenski
*****************************************************
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* Don Skarzenski Shares B-to-B Banner Tactics That Make an
Enormous Difference in Click Through Rates
Don Skarzenski who serves as Sr VP Sales & Marketing at
NetMason, an e-marketplace builder for companies in the energy
industry, is also well known as a font of banner wisdom in the
i-advertising email discussion group for Web marketers. In
these days of banner nay-sayers, we thought it would be a good
idea to get some tips from a marketer who's actually made them
work.
Q: What's the most critical action a B-to-B marketer can take to
make sure his or her banners are successful?
Skarzenski: You need a good landing page. It must be tightly
integrated with the message of your banner. If it has a
specific offer, then users should be taken to a page that is
either the first page of the application form or directly into
the application form itself.
For example, if you are driving people to a site in order to
get them to sign up for a white paper, your campaign may fail
if it's extremely hard to find once they get there. That's a
problem I've seen on any number of sites.
Also, if the form happens to be five pages long, or hard to
read or figure out, then your campaign is going to be a
failure no matter what your click through rate is. Your total
number of questions shouldn't be much more than seven to
fifteen maximum.
Q: How about some creative tips for the B-to-B banner itself?
Skarzenski: Stick to the basics -- they work! Understand what
your prospect's problems are and try to realistically and
believably suggest you have a viable solution. Address their
needs.
Business buyers are more thoughtful and analytical than
consumers. Flashy, glittery, colorful creative is less
important for the B-to-B audience. A lot of research indicates
business buyers are put off by extra colors and photography.
If you go too far your banner will be identified as being
"marketing" and they don't want that.
Q: You've designed some incredibly effective banners in your
time. How did you get well above average click throughs?
Skarzenski: I constantly searched the Web looking for lists of
the most effective banners! I'd go to CyberAtlas,
AdRelevance, AdResource, BannerTips and other sites and then
design a bunch of banners borrowing from other people's
experience.
Then I'd immediately track results. I might put a banner up
and 12-36 hours later swap it out. So, I'd have lots of
banners and buttons already created, ready to go. I'd tell
sites we wanted quick input. I'd try to form a personal
relationship with them. They would tell me what wasn't
working and what was on their particular site. For example,
one site told me red didn't work, I should switch to green.
Within 20 minutes I sent a green button over to them. We were
one of more than 50 advertisers on that site, but our click
through rates consistently ranked number one or two!
I've had letters from a couple of sites saying no one does
this but you, and we don't know why they don't!
Another factor is that every site has specific design
elements, colors that identify them, etc. Some of your
banners might clash, or get lost against their background
color. A green banner might look great on one site and poorly
on another. You need to make sure design is appropriate for
the site.
Q: Are there any banner sizes or placements on the page that
work better than others?
Skarzenski: I found out that buttons and tiles can be much
more efficient than full size banners. Some research shows
buttons and tiles midway down the right hand side of the page
are highly effective. Other research shows bottom of the page
placement works.
A banner at the top of a home page is not good! I learned
this from people who sell them.
Q: B-to-B online media can be pretty expensive. Rate cards range
from $50-$125 CPM or more for targeted sites. Got any media
buying tips?
Skarzenski: B-to-B banner prices are not going to be fantastic
bargains for 2001. To get a really tight focus, you may have
to pay extra to reach your targeted audience, but the extra
money will give you far more quality. I'd start by making the
smallest buy a site will accept and tracking it very
carefully.
I negotiate price by saying "I've got a big budget and if my
banner is successful on your site, I promise I'll spend a lot
more money with you. Let's work together on price for the
test." Some sites won't give much in price, so I'll ask what
else can they offer? What bonuses can they give me? They may
want to maintain their price, but can give you other freebies
such as a text ad in their newsletter.
Of course if I made promises, and got reasonable results, then
the next month I would increase my buy on that site. If you
lie to a rep, then don't ever call there again!
Q: Email campaigns are becoming more popular with B-to-B
marketers these days. Do you have any advice on that front?
Skarzenski: I love email marketing and would certainly spend
more money on it now. I know its effectiveness has dropped,
but it's more targetable now.
It's important to write your creative very carefully, to
target your user. At NetMason we rent our registered list so
the agency sends me a couple of dozen pieces of mail to
approve for rental every week. So many start with, "Company
XYZ is proud to announce that...."
The you-attitude is missing! Other mailers just don't have an
offer, there's no call to action, no "go do this!" It's just
a blah announcement.
One of them started, "Thanksgiving's almost here." So?
Q: So how do you write email copy that works?
Skarzencky: I work together with my list vendor. You can get
somewhere beyond just a business relationship to something
that's more personal. I ask questions about my campaigns,
"Should I do this?" and I often get back a constructive piece
of input. If a vendor is really interested and good, they may
know more about it than I do.
I'm also very careful to target mailings. I got 14, 18, 23%
response on very small lists that were highly targeted. If
you can spend the time on direct email, you can get very good
results.
That's one of the problems today: we can do things so quickly
that sometimes we forget we shouldn't!
NetMason
http://www.netmason.com
The i-Advertising Email Discussion Group
http://www.i-advertising.com
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(c) Copyright 2001, MarketingSherpa, Inc.
