Katie Schnob

There are over 640 million domains on the World Wide Web – and thousands more are being added every day. Using effective search engine marketing strategies will help your business stand out, and is a crucial step to driving website traffic and reaching consumers when they’re ready to buy.

Ninety-three percent of web experiences start at a search engine and 75% of users don’t look past the first page of results, making your website’s visibility critical to reaching your target audience. This is where search engine marketing (SEM) comes in.

SEM is the collection of methods used to gain traffic and visibility through search engines such as Yahoo! or Google. The more visibility your website has, the easier it is to find – increasing your click-through rates. A typical example of SEM is paid search advertising, which appears on the top and right-hand side of your results page.

One of SEM’s many advantages is flexibility. You can target who sees your ad, down to the postal code – resulting in less waste in your ad spend, and more quality click-throughs. SEM plans can accommodate any budget; you’re not paying for users just looking at your ad, you’re paying for actual clicks to your website. You pay for genuine consumer interest in your product or service.

These days, almost everyone has a smartphone. More than ever, people are searching “where to eat” and “where to shop” on the go. SEM is the best way to make sure it’s your link that’s popping up – flagging your business to those hungry customers.

  But how does SEM work?

  When a user makes a search a “spider” is sent out. This spider crawls through the web, pulling out webpages that appear relevant to the user’s request. Tools such as Google AdWords can check which words and phrases are being searched most frequently. You can bid to use those keywords or phrases so that your website is a top result when those searches are made. The key to search engine success is using the right keywords and phrases, and then grabbing your customer’s attention with effective copy that will entice them to learn more about your business.

Writing great SEM copy is crucial to increasing your click-through rate.

Here are four tips for writing effective SEM copy:

Be precise

You only have a few sentences to work with. Make them count. Say what you have to offer and why you’re different from the next guy.

Use keywords and phrases

If the search term is used in the ad copy, it not only confirms relevancy to “spiders”, it tells the consumer you’re offering what they’re looking for. If the search term is “cheap organic pizza”, use it as more than just a search term; incorporate it in your SEM copy and avoid looking too general.

Be specific

If a user is searching “cheap pizza”, advertise your deals and prices, as that’s what is important to your customer. If they’re searching “organic pizza”, talk about where your wholesome ingredients come from, or the thought and care that goes into your products. By being specific, you can cater to different needs.

Consider tone

Tone changes depending on your target audience. If you are advertising to businessmen, you talk to them differently than you would to a teenage girl. Reach your target audience effectively by using a tone and vocabulary that appeal to your market.

5.    Consider the buy cycle

A general search term means the consumer is looking for more information, while specific ones may indicate they’re ready to buy. For example, if someone searches “Ottawa pizza”, they are likely just researching their options and educating themselves. If they were to search “order pizza online”, they are further along the buy cycle and ready to make a purchase. Write your SEM copy to address specific needs.

  With the perfect SEM strategies, the proper tools and precise copy, you can drive website traffic and effectively reach consumers when they’re ready to buy.

As an avid Judge Judy fan, I love turning on the TV to her smacking down her gavel, throwing a deadbeat out of the courtroom. She might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I think she preaches simple lessons that many people forget. Every person could benefit from a half hour of Judge Judy a day, especially people looking to advertise effectively. Below are Judy lessons to consider when developing your brand.

“Do you see my mouth moving? Be quiet!”

Listen before you speak/act.

Judge Judy hates when she’s talking and no one is listening. So do consumers. Listen to what consumers want, think and expect from your brand. Sometimes, as trained advertising practitioners, we think we know what’s best. But before you find a solution, you have to listen to the problem. Really listen to it. Dissect what consumers are saying so you can reach them effectively and give them what they’re looking for.

“I love the truth. If you don’t tell me the truth, you’re gonna be eating your shoes.”

Honesty is always the best option.

Advertising and credibility don’t always go hand-in-hand thanks to pop-up ads telling consumers they’ll lose 20 pounds in three days by taking a magical pill. It’s unnecessary to exaggerate product benefits – be truthful, state it as it is. Consumers respect that. Sometimes the awful truth is all you need.

Honesty at its finest.

“Have you ever heard of the KISS principle?”

Keep it simple, stupid.

Often, I’ll watch a commercial and by the end of it, I’m not sure if I even know what was being advertised, let alone what their point was. Break things down; don’t cover up your main ideas. Make your point obvious and easy to understand – your consumers will love you for it.

Katie is an advertising student at Algonquin College, currently interning at Acart. For more blogs, news and advice, tweet her @KatieSchnob

  My first week of interning is over. Phew. I think the butterflies in my stomach have started to settle and I’m ready to blaze through my second week without looking too goofy. As my first week has passed and gone, I’d like to give my quick two (three, actually) cents about how to survive your first week of interning. Let the interns after me find value in my pain and suffering.

Set two alarms. Or three. Maybe four.

On Thursday, I read one of Tom’s blog. It was about his alarm not going off in the morning and nearly being late for a photoshoot. Like magic, the next day after reading it, my alarm decided not to go off. Luckily, internship jitters got me out of bed just in time to make it to work without being late. Don’t put all your trust into one piece of technology. It’ll bite you in the butt, or at least make you skip breakfast. Try setting a regular alarm along with your cell phone.

Talk to co-workers about something other than work.

Despite popular belief, you probably have more in common with the new people you’re working with other than sharing the same postal code for a few hours. The interests you share may pleasantly surprise you. Take myself and Kerry and our love for fine breads for example, or randomly bursting out into song (Alone by Heart, specifically) in the middle of lunch hour with Gillian. Sharing interests makes things more fun. Besides, nobody can connect with someone who talks only about work, coffee and deadlines.

Bring two pairs of shoes.

Remember grade school when you had to bring two pairs of shoes: indoor and outdoor? Start doing that again. Especially if the place you’re interning at has hardwood floors or nice carpets. You’re going to walk from your bus, through the mud, snow and/or brown gift an inconsiderate pet owner left on the side of the road for you to step in. Do you want to be the dork wiping stuff off your shoes at the front door? Bringing a pair of shoes to work will make the day a walk in the park (minus the dog doo doo).  

I’ve never had my very own extension number. For those who have had one before, please excuse my enthusiasm. I have my own office area too. With a window. Imagine that, a writer who witnesses daylight. I just started my internship with Acart Communications, and I guess you can say I’m a little over excited. It’s hard not to be when surrounded by award winners, inspiration and talented people. I’m also surrounded by a banner that reads, “Is this a crime scene?” and I’m hoping this is a joke about messy desks and not about co-workers who passed due to extreme self-induced caffeine injections.

From what I’ve seen so far, I think I’m going to like it here. From the “forest” brainstorm room, to the office areas with a view of the city– Acart is my perfect home for the next few weeks and I look forward to being part of their talented team. Even though I might be just “the new girl” from Algonquin College, I’m going to make it a point to not stand in the background. I want to show off my abilities and be important for more reasons than just having my own extension number. Even if that means I have to dance in the background. Everyone starts somewhere, right?

1. In a relationship, you become fat and happy.

You will lie contentedly in each other’s arms and reflect on how lucky you are. How can you possibly pay attention to your expanding waistline when you’re constantly gazing into your lover’s eyes? You will order in and eat out. Eventually you will attempt to cook from scratch for your babe, but it will result in half the kitchen on fire and a subsequent visit to the local, 24-hour Chinese buffet. You won’t mind the extra pounds, though. You’re happy.

 2. In a relationship, you will get less sleep.

The hours you used to spend in dreamland will suddenly be filled with one or more of the following: passionate sex, intoxicated sex, half-assed sex, worrying about not having sex, fighting about sex, and of course, pity sex followed by a fake orgasm (you must’ve mastered that one by now). You won’t mind looking like shit the next day, though. You’re getting laid.

 3. In a relationship, you will be guilt-stricken.

I don’t care if you want to go out with your friends. Not at all. Not even a little bit. I mean it would have been nice if you had told me earlier so I didn’t assume we were hanging out. But, it’s okay. No seriously, it’s fine. I see where your priorities lie. Your friends are more important than me. Understandable. Doesn’t bother me though. Asshole. You won’t mind feeling guilty all the time, though. You’re lucky someone wants to be around you that much.

 4. In a relationship, you’ll be poor as fuck.

You know that extra money you were saving for an emergency? Say goodbye to it now. Hello to bar tabs, going out to restaurants, seeing that movie in theatre about naked vampires that you didn’t even want to see, birthday/Valentine’s Day/Christmas gifts, and don’t forget to buy a gift every thirty days for your dating “monthaversaries” or you’ll never hear the end of it. Your bank account will be squeezed harder than the pimples on your face you got from not leaving your love bed in three days. You won’t mind not being able to afford food, though. You’re making someone else happy (for once).

 5. In a relationship, you’re always wrong.

Next week is my birthday; I’m turning 21. Even though I’m still young, I feel like this is the last birthday I’m actually going to look forward to. When you turn 21 you’re old enough to do everything that you always wanted to do when you were younger. I think 21 is the perfect age because you’re still young but you can do whatever you want. After that, birthdays don't really matter as much, I think.

One question I keep hearing as my birth date gets closer is “what do you want for your birthday?” And then I pause, confused, and tell everyone the same things. “A subway gift card? Socks? Umm…” I wonder if on Thursday I’m going to get a pile of subway gift cards and I guess I’ll have enough socks for the next five years. I remember when I was younger and thinking of things I wanted for my birthday or Christmas was so easy. I wanted that Magic Diaper Baby from TV, I wanted Monopoly Junior, and I had to have all the seasons of “Big Comfy Couch”. How come when you get older it’s so hard to think of what you want? Is it because I feel guilty asking for things? That I have everything I could ever need? Unlikely.

It’s the same with all the members of my family. I ask my nieces what they want for Christmas and they can easily rattle off a million things, but when I ask my mom she tells me “she needs time to think about that”. It’s just strange, isn’t it?

Okay, so I have a bad habit. I’ve been doing it since grade 3 or 4, and I think I’m addicted to it worse than smokers are addicted to nicotine. I bite my nails. All the time. I do it when I’m happy, when I’m excited, when I’m sad, and don’t even get me started on how much I bite my nails when I’m nervous. I just bit one of my nails right now while I was thinking of what else I wanted to write. Luckily, I think it’s my only bad habit (that I can think of).

  I guess everyone has bad habits. Whether it’s biting your lips, biting your nails, texting at the dinner table or cracking your knuckles. Heck, even animals even have bad habits that I don’t understand. Like squirrels– why do they always have to cross the road? Why can’t they just stay on one side where it’s safe? I feel like they always want to cross the road and when they do they have a pretty good chance of getting run over and then I go by them in the car and feel bad. Stupid squirrels.

  Habitual behaviour makes things easier for advertisers, though. Humans fall into habits without even realizing it. Such as always turning right in a grocery store (advertisers will know to place ads on that side) or being more likely to pull a shirt off the rack if the head of the hanger is pointing away from you. There’s so many habits and tricks that advertisers can feed off of. I guess humans are easy to analyze and manipulate. We’re no different than squirrels, falling into habitual behaviour all the time.

As one holiday passes, the stores start bringing out decorations for the next one. I just changed out of my costume and I already see Santa hats everywhere and ugly wrapping paper. Is Christmas in the air already? I love Christmas, but isn’t this a little soon? Poor Halloween, we got over him so fast. Oh well, I guess he’ll punish us all for it later when we’re 10 pounds heavier from eating Halloween candy every day for a month straight.

  When it comes to Christmas, I don’t look forward to buying presents. I wish I could be more like my sister; she’s so organized when it comes to stuff like that– she must’ve bought her Christmas gifts in January. I never know what to buy people. Should I get my mom slippers again, or maybe a toaster? Ooh, I know! Candles! I’m not very original when it comes to buying gifts, which reminds me of businesses that advertise “Christmas sales” during the winter season. Does anyone else find Christmas advertising to be cliché and ho-ho-horrible? It seems like every place that’s advertising for Christmas is a “winter wonderland” and for some reason they always know if I’ve been naughty or nice.

But, not all advertising during the Christmas season is bad. There are a few gems in the rough, and as an advertising student, when I find them I get excited. Below are some from the past years that I’ve enjoyed. I hope to see some stuff like this during the next few weeks.

Do you remember Gidget? I’ll give you a hint. He’s a Chihuahua, and no, he doesn’t belong in Paris Hilton’s handbag. Got it yet?

Gidget is the old Taco Bell brand character, also known as “The Talking Chihuahua”. When he was first introduced in the late 90’s, he was an instant hit. People adored Gidget, the lovable dog and some people still relate Chihuahuas with Taco Bell.

But, maybe this isn’t such a good thing. Gidget was a hit, but for some reason, Taco Bell’s sales were decreasing. The more popular Gidget got, the less sales Taco Bell would have. How is this possible– people love the mascot, but they aren’t buying Taco Bell? How come? Well, it’s pretty simple actually. After Chihuahuas started being related with Taco Bell, a lot of people, when they thought of Taco Bell taco meat, started visualizing this:

  Yum, yum, yum. Dog food. Now, there are many times that animals are associated with food products, such Tony the Tiger with Frosted Flakes and Sam the Toucan with Fruit Loops. The main difference is that Gidget was a real animal, not a cartoon. A cartoon animal can eat human food in a fantasy world, but a real dog only eats dog food. So, does that mean Taco Bell food is like dog food? That’s what the public thought at the time. This was a major mistake on Taco Bell’s part.

Advertising in the future is going to get real personal, real quick. We already have technology that can form personality types based on brands we purchase on our credit cards. But, imagine if that technology was taken a step further. What if companies could know exactly what brands you have in your household, without even having to check your credit card statement?

Well, in fact, you don’t have to imagine it, because in the next couple years it’s going to become a reality. For example, right now as you’re reading this blog, a refrigerator is being built that can scan the brands in your fridge, and then pop ads on the front of it that are personalized just for you, based on the brands you currently own. Oh, so you like Sealtest Milk? Well, lookie here on your fridge, an ad for Oreo cookies.

Reading about stuff like this makes me think (and get kind of nervous) about what kind of technology is already out there that I don’t know about. I love advertising and marketing, don’t get me wrong, but advanced technology creeps me out a bit. But, maybe that’s because I’ve just watched too many movies about robots taking over the world.

If there’s one thing people ought to know about me, it’s that I’m an avid couponer.  Sometimes when class has just started, I’ll get in trouble for trying to finish filling out my information to get free samples. My teachers clearly don’t understand I only have an hour to get my free 50ml bottle of Pantene shampoo. If I didn’t coupon and look for deals, I wouldn’t be able to pull off awesome shopping trips where I pay less than ten dollars for a bunch of stuff.

All of this stuff in this picture only cost me $8 in real money.

Couponing and looking for free samples is an addiction. I think this addiction is one thing that has kept me from getting really attached to brands, especially when it comes to daily products like toothpaste, toilet paper and shampoo. But, maybe that’s just the college life. We can’t really afford much, so we go for what’s cheap.

So, does that mean couponers are just taking advantage of companies giving out free samples and coupons? Am I just a mooch? A moochy moocher? Because, like I said, I don’t really become attached to brands, I move from one to the other just to get free stuff.

Although I may have a biased opinion, I'd have to say that I don’t think crazy coupon ladies are a bad thing for businesses. This is because when I get a new product for free, I’m more likely to share it. If I get a free body lotion, you can bet all my roommates and family members will be trying it out. This means the businesses are not just getting one person to try their product– they’re getting several. Many times I’ve let my sister try my beauty samples and it usually ends with two things:

1) She steals my sample and I never see it again

2) She actually goes out and buys the product when the sample runs out

Which means the company got a new customer. Which was probably their ultimate goal, right? What do you think, are extreme couponers just cheating the system, or is it a smart thing to do?

On a side note, many people ask me how I get all my free samples and coupons, so here are my main sources for those interested:

 I’d like to think my face is worth a few thousand dollars. At least to me it is– but maybe it’s also worth that to upcoming businesses. Why, you say?

Take a look at this.

The concept of advertising on the human body isn’t new, this picture is slightly dated, but I feel like I need to get my two cents in on this. It makes me feel a little uncomfortable that people sell their bodies to make money (in more ways than one). According to the guy shown above’s website (humanadspace.com) it’s only a temporary tattoo, but I still can’t help but feel a little nauseous when I see something like that. But, should I? How different is advertising on your skin compared to advertising a business on the front of your t-shirt? It’s almost like having a logo on a baseball cap. Except down a little bit…and on your face.

I’d like to know how this opportunity even arises. I’ve never been asked to advertise on myself– why aren’t homeless people doing this if it’s easy cash, all you have to do is give up a limb or your face. This could solve world hunger! Or, destroy humanity. Either, or.

The amount of money to be made off advertising on your skin can be anywhere between $100 to 5000 big bucks. And that, my friends, can buy you a whack load of Kraft Dinner (poor college students unite!) But, would it really work? Would people respond well to this type of advertising? Now that’s another hard question. It depends on several other variables (what is the business, does it make sense for them to advertise on a person’s body, location, person being advertised on etc.).

Imagine you’re on the website Chatroulette, and your favourite celebrity pops up. You have less than five seconds to catch their attention and make them want to get to know you better. If you don’t interest them, they’re going to hit the next button to chat with someone else. How would you get their attention? What would you say or do? Tea time with Paris Hilton is on the line!

This is exactly what I thought about when I noticed that YouTube only shows most commercials for three to five seconds before giving watchers the option to skip the ad to get to the video they wanted to watch in the first place. YouTube literally gives viewers the option to tell the commercial to shut the heck up. I went on YouTube to watch the new Skittles ad, and before the commercial there was a commercial. Does that qualify as commercial inception?

At first, this whole five seconds or less rule made me feel bad for the business the commercial is representing, because it literally gives that business five seconds to sink or swim. If you’re boring, you’re going to get skipped. But, then I realized, this is how it is for all ads, isn’t it? When you’re flipping through a magazine, an ad has literally seconds (if that) to catch your attention and make you want to read it. Same with television commercials, they have to interest you or you’re going to flip the channel.

All of this made me realize how important that first five seconds (or the visual impact of an ad) is. The most important part of an ad is the attention-grabber, if you’re not being interesting, no one is going to look/watch long enough for you to get your message across.

I can’t stand talking animals in ads. I promise it’s not because I’m an animal hater, I have two cats at home. I wish they’d talk to me. And tell me how much they love me. -sigh-

I love animals, but when it comes to my television/movie screen, I need a “Keep Out” sign.  Talking animals in advertising and on the big screen was a big thing in the 80’s and 90’s, but luckily we are starting to see it less. Or, at least I think so. I can’t remember the last talking dog/cat movie that rolled out.

I think it’s a fear of feeling like I’m stupid, or feeling like I’m being talked down to. Maybe that’s why I don’t like musicals either. I don’t like people dancing around singing me positive messages about how I’m beautiful and special. I feel like people are underestimating the intelligence of humans as a whole when their dog food commercial is a dog saying “RUFF! RUFF! BUY ______ DOG FOOD BECAUSE I LOVE IT SO MUCH. WOOF!” Isn’t there a better way to show that those dogs like that dog food, without giving them the magical power of being able to talk?

I can’t even help rolling my eyes when I see the Geico gecko-reptile thing talking to me, because all I can think about is that this company is trying to sell me insurance with a lizard. It’s different, yes, but you can be different without making the face of your company a talking animal/reptile/bird/llama or whatever it might be.

But, maybe it’s just me. My mom can’t help laughing at the commercial with the pig yelling out the window “weeee!” all the way home. But, maybe it’s mindlessly watching television for hours that makes people easier to entertain. I’m waiting for the day I see a talking animal commercial that I like. I’m not going to hold my breath.