| LED Digest 2515: Optimizing AdWords by Conversion Rate |
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================================================== The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" Data > Information > Knowledge > Wisdom www.GetWebContent.com/LED : the LED's Key Sponsor The Web's Most Experienced SEO Content Providers. www.SEOToolSet.com/training/ : the LED's Premier Sponsor Bruce Clay's Search Engine Optimization Training & Certification ================================================== List Moderator: Published by: Adam Audette LED Digest adam, led-digest.com http://www.led-digest.com .............................................. October 17, 2007 Issue no. 2515 .............................................. .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ====== NEW ===================== <Moderator Comment> --== Stay Away from Google Analytics? ==-- ~ Shelly Cole "So I'm just wondering - why would an SEO expert say that?" --== Optimizing AdWords by Conversion Rate ==-- ~ Nathan Holley "Does anyone else optimize PPC campaigns based solely on conversion numbers?" ==== CONTINUING ================= --== Email Privacy ==-- ~ Richard Stubbings "The danger lies not in what a government currently does, but what a future government may do." ~ Maty Matyszak "...at one time the Brit govt was indeed planning to allow access to people's internet activity records..." ~ Marty R. Milette "...a very important wake-up call if *you* handle confidential customer data." ========== NEW =================================== <Moderator Comment> Yesterday I mentioned the idea of an expert "answer panel" to field your Internet marketing & development stumpers. I think it's a hit! I've got about 30 tough questions and a bunch of marketing gurus with the savvy chops to answer them. Get ready for some good stuff. I'll collect the best 10-12 questions and toss them over to the experts. We'll give them a few days to respond, so look for the special issue sometime early next week. Should be fun! -Adam ------------------ From: Shelly Cole Subject: Google Analytics - stay away? I belong to another networking list, of which we all have a few people who are *really* good at SEO. A couple of weeks ago, someone was talking about "Google Analytics", and the in-list SEO expert said something to the effect of "not touching Google Analytics with a 10-foot-pole" and that it was more trouble than anything. I think they went on vacation after that or something because, even though we've asked for an explanation of why that was said, there has been no response (and really, to *anything* on the list - and this is one of the ones who do join in quite often - so I don't think they're ignoring the question at hand, they're just not able to answer yet). So I'm just wondering - why would an SEO expert say that? I know nothing about SEO (well, a *teensy* bit...) but I've always heard about "Google Analytics" and figured it was something standard. But I'd love to know why you shouldn't touch it with a 10-foot-pole. I know no one can answer for *this* person's reason, but any input someone else might have on that would be awesome. ~Shelly Cole http://www.brassblogs.com -------- new post - new topic --------- From: Nathan Holley Subject: Optimizing PPC by Conversion Rate I'm struggling with something and hope you can help. I'm not in the habit of posting this type of thing, but don't know where else to turn as I've exhausted my peer resources. I've a client doing search marketing on adwords for various gifts that are specific by category. Think of something like "stuff for Nascar lovers" only it's totally different than that (I don't want to disclose much - it's not a real secret niche or anything but confidentiality is good). Anyway, she's got an ecommerce store set up - just pure sales and product listings. Things have always gone really well on the CTR level. 12-20% CTR rate is not uncommon. Bid prices are reasonable in my mind. This client insists on focusing totally onto the conversion rate of clicks to sales. So even when we have targeted clicks and nice quality score, high click rate, it's not making her happy unless the conversion cost is also really low. I'm really into the cost per conversion staying low. For her, acquisition costs of about $45 are the target. For some campaigns the conversion cost is way higher - over $350 in some cases at the ad group level. My question is simply this: am I blowing it by optimizing her campaigns only according to conversions? There is standard data that shows shoppers will "stack up" visits over time before making a purchase. They'll visit 1, 2, 3, 4 times and then purchase. They shop and compare, bookmark and forget, come back and finally do something. These are largely unaccounted for as far as I'm aware in Adwords w/ the conversion tracking. Does anyone else optimize PPC campaigns based solely on conversion numbers? Are we potentially losing a lot of sales and great traffic because the analytics aren't totally accurate? Thanks for everything. Nate Holley ======== CONTINUING =============================== From: Richard Stubbings Subject: Email privacy > And with this post I've probably hit upon > every keyword I can think of that will trigger > homeland security monitoring...! - Adam Boettiger, LED Digest 2514 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1926/190/ This is clearly a grey area. Whilst obviously we want to be protected and need to ensure that terrorists are stopped, we also want our privacy. The danger lies not in what a government currently does, but what a future government may do. Any tool or mechanism used to track and trace terrorists can likewise be used to track and trace any oppersition. If for instance a goverment (say Burma) wanted to oppress their people, then such tools would make resistance very very tricky. The real danger any terrorist presents is that to best combat them we need to erode that which we are protecting, namely our privacy and freedom of speach. Richard Stubbings Kulture Shock http://www.kultureshock.co.uk -------- new post - same topic --------- From: Maty Matyszak Subject: Email privacy > On the internet, nobody knows if you're > a dog or a person. That's understood. - Adam Boettiger This is not really true, and never has been. Really it means 'Other users don't know if you are a person or a dog'. If you give them a reason to do so, Google, your friendly government, your ISP and anyone with a warrant can not only discover this fact, but also your coat colour, favourite mutt chow, and how often you go for walkies. (Ironically, at one time the Brit govt was indeed planning to allow access to people's internet activity records by the RSPCA, but even the notoriously complacent British public decided this was a paw too far.) A better rule for the internet is that expressed by a SUN executive: 'you have no privacy - get over it'. Maty Matyszak www.knowyourcat.info (PS I did this post without mentioning explosives, aeroplanes, religion or martyrdom, so I think it's safe from the boys in black.) ========= Begin Sponsor Message ========= Search Engines Love Seasonal Content At http://GetWebContent.com/LED, we take the time to learn about your products and services. Then we produce useful topical content related to the current season. Search engines spider your seasonal content and add it to their index. Users enter your site via the seasonal content and convert to sales. For a no obligation quote on seasonal content: http://GetWebContent.com/LED ========== End Sponsor Message ========== -------- new post - same topic --------- From: Marty Milette Subject: Email privacy I think Adam Boettiger and I can agree to disagree. In contrast to Adam, I personally have no intention of throwing up my hands as he suggests. I disagree with his statement that PGP is the only option -- and I disagree that email contents are the only threat. There is MUCH more at stake than most people even have a clue about. The discussion about privacy and security is a huge one -- but for list members -- a very important wake-up call if YOU handle confidential customer data. In terms of security, the first option is to simply NOT FEED CONFIDENTIAL DATA directly through ANY third-party service in the first place. I can only suggest that list members THINK long and hard about how their data is indexed and used without their knowledge and consent by some of these "services." Does Google, or the government really NEED to know every URL you type, the contents of every email message you send and receive and the contents of every document on your personal computer? Do you think that once they've saved the world from terrorists (who haven't done anything in the US since 9/11 anyway) that they won't use the information they have harvested for other purposes? Perhaps YOU are willing to give up all YOUR privacy, but we all know what Benjamin Franklin had to say about that, "Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither". We have laws and legal processes for a REASON -- and governments should be the first to RESPECT the laws that are in place -- not to retroactively relax the laws and grant immunity to ISPs and government officials who broke them. Certainly if Boettiger or anyone else is terrified enough to make the personal, conscious choice of feeding every URL he browses to, every email he writes and the contents of every document stored on his systems to Google, the government or anyone else -- I don't have a problem with that -- people SHOULD have the freedom of choice. However, to have CHOICE means CONSENT implies KNOWLEDGE. And THIS is what consumers and users of these systems DO NOT HAVE. Traffic IS being monitored and harvested by the US Government without warrant. This is a documented fact. So much for choice or consent. Google doesn't say for what purposes your data is collected. Today it is supposedly to give you "relevant advertising" -- but what about tomorrow? Or what about uses they are NOT telling you about? Google doesn't tell you whether they give it away or sell it -- to third parties, government or anybody else. The government sure as heck isn't telling -- they've already squashed warrantless wiretapping cases against them in the name of "national security." Perhaps a more important message for list members is to think about how YOU handle your customer's personal data? Are YOU thinking about whether what you collect is absolutely necessary or not? Are you thinking about how you store and manage that information? Are you thinking about the legal liabilities in the event that data was lost or stolen? TJ-Max learned the lesson the hard way -- as have other major firms with IT security budgets in the millions of dollars. I think this discussion is probably best held off-list -- and I certainly welcome any members to flame me or praise me directly. Marty R. Milette http://www.hotel-club.net Hotel Reservations for Luddites (c) Copyright 1995-2007 Orange Wheel, LLC. All Rights Reserved. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow." - Helen Keller |
