Google Takes Manhattan

Google's Internet search brand is so strong that we forget how big a player it's becoming in the world's advertising markets. Even when we read the latest forecasts about its growing success, we tend to think exclusively about Google's online brand image. That powerful brand image tends to hold back what Google is becoming and that means they will need to consider changing their brand identity, a common problem for companies today who must navigate changes in business direction amid turbulent market changes. Google is so versatile itself now, that it offers a huge range of services and advertising opportunities. Advertisers can almost take it for granted that their advertising will hit the right target market and the right up-to-the-minute brand impression will take place.

Google is Everywhere

According to one Sash's analyst, Google is poised to serve 6.1 billion dollars worth of advertising in the coming year. This makes it fourth among American media companies in total ad sales after Viacom, the News Corporation and the Walt Disney Company, and ahead of giants including NBC Universal and Time Warner (can you believe that?). The Google growth needs to be recognized. It's not going away as this company has the revenue and capital resources to grow and consume other competing media giants. That means Google Adwords will become even more ubiquitous. It's not beyond the realm of imagination that they will show up on television or DVD movie rentals. Anything is possible for Google. As the company ventures into new offline advertising mediums, the Google brand will evolve and lose its "Web only" image.
Tip! Backlinks at Google don't tally with known backlinks. This has been reported a lot in various publications recently.

Getting into Goggle's world is an intelligent investment in your company's future. Most companies could benefit from exposure on Google whether in paid ads via Adwords, or through organic search listings (search engine optimization). Plus you receive all that brand exposure!
Tip! You go to http://www.google.

Sadly most don't. There could be a number of reasons for this. Foremost, it's likely that corporate marketing managers haven't explored the value of search marketing (search engine optimization). The market share numbers are still small, so they don't devote much time to it. A lack of familiarity and understanding of search marketing is another reason. The realm of search marketing is new and is slightly different than the usual advertising buy. It's more complicated, and requires more strategy and it can take some time for results to show through in organic search engine marketing. Those with patience can do very well, but patience seems to be at a premium today.

The success of some companies in search marketing is well known; Internet.com has built an empire on traffic from search engines. Yet this doesn't seem to matter to business managers. They still don't believe search can make a difference in their bottom line. Often, they think about only online sales, and see channel conflicts or 1% conversion rates and then dismiss the whole thing as a waste of resources.
Tip! Accept debit and credit cards without the extra hassle. Google checkout allows your customers to use their credit card or debit card with the MasterCard, Visa, Discover, or American Express insignia to purchase your items.

The truth is, ultimate consumers and B2B buyers and purchase influencers use Google everyday and it's becoming critical to their method of finding relevant products and services.

We see clients receiving visits to the Web from organic search optimization campaigns that dwarf what they receive from print or TV advertising, and at a fraction of the cost. And these are high quality visits from very motivated prospects and here's the kicker. because you come up in the top 10 in Google you become an authority. That's right, your prospects automatically trust you because they trust Google. They may purchase offline or via telephone, but most of them research their purchase online before making the purchase decision. Real sale conversion rates might be from 3% to 20% of visitors, depending on the offline availability of products. For national manufacturers and retailers, the end sales benefit is mind-boggling. The ROI is unequaled. Let me say it again, UNEQUALED! It can power up promotional marketing campaigns as well.

Let's not forget that there are indirect ways of getting to consumers as well, such as other Web sites where promotional advertising can be placed. Often manufacturers can launch their own Web sites and find they have far better control of their marketing and acquire better marketing information than if they rely on an ever diminishing base of distributors and retailers.
Tip! If the majority of your site is a HTML static file or your URLs can be found in your access Logs or if you have a text file that contains a list of URLs in your site, you can use the Google sitemap generator.

Although Google's success is new and even threatening to traditional marketing, major retailers, manufacturers and distributors have to take it seriously. There are many creative and innovative ways to use Google for promotional marketing. It can bring prospects to an interactive Web site that capture the imagination of the prospect and motivate them in ways not possible through other advertising media.

Search engine marketing then, is just the beginning of a rich stream of targeted prospects. Google is growing and represents a revolutionary opportunity for your company. Master this new medium early and your company will prosper for the next twenty years.
Tip! Doing searches on Google show up a lot of anomalies. Many top ranking pages have PR 0.

How Strong Is Your Brand? Do You Really Know? Do You Care? Would you like to take a simple test to see where your company's brand is now? Click on the link below:
Tip! Submit it to Google at http://www.google.

http://www.brandidentityguru.com/bightml/brandmasterpiece.html then click on the button to the right that reads, "Take The Brand Strength Test". This is a very quick and easy way to see where you fall short in your marketing, advertising and branding efforts. It will also show you where you are strong. Take the test if you dare... you may be surprised at the results!

For more info on Search Engine Optimization please visit our blog: http://www.brandidentityguru.com/blog_searchengine

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru (http://www.brandidentityguru.com), a leading brand consulting and market research firm located in Easton, Massachusetts, near Boston.
Tip! Overall, Google Analytics provides you a very cheap service on gaining more customers, if you utilize its results.

Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation. Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.

Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Franklin Sports and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies.

Scott White is a very enthusiastic speaker and has the gift of being able to explain the principles of branding in a compelling and entertaining manner so that people at all levels can understand.

Why Should You Use Google Ads on Your Website?

If you are interested in earning income from your website, should you consider using the Google AdSense program to place targeted ads on your web pages? When I first considered this idea, I wasn't sure if it was right for me. You see, I have a number of websites that promote affiliate links to products and services in my market. I felt that if I put Google ads on my pages they would compete with my affiliate sales. Sure, I knew you got paid when visitors clicked on these ads, but could it be a significant amount? Eventually, I saw that many other top marketers were using these ads on their pages. So I decided to dive in and give it a try, and after a year of using these ads here is what I can tell you.

The first thing I noticed was the ease of use in using Google AdSense. Once you have joined the program for free, you can start creating your ad codes. And the neat thing is, you can customize the ads to your web pages. You can choose the color of the ads so that they match the color theme of your pages. You can choose from many different size ad blocks. For example, they have 468x60 regular banner size and 120x600 towers. This way, you can choose the size that is right for your page. Once you have made your selection, you simply cut and paste the html and place it where you want on your page, and your part is done!
Tip! Don't 'beg for clicks' or provide any incentive for clicking on your Google AdSense ads.

You can track your ads with ‘channels'. Let's say your website has 10 pages. You can give each page it's own channel so that when you log in to check your ad stats, you will see how many ad views and clicks you are getting on each page. This is helpful because it shows you where your ad revenue is coming from.

I haven't really noticed any competition with my other affiliate programs! I've realized that Google ads don't compete with my website, they are an additional income stream. My sales and sign-ups didn't plummet once I started using the ads. What I believe now is that a certain percentage of visitors aren't going to convert into customers, so the ads are simply another way to generate revenue from visitors who weren't going to be customers anyway. As long as your own offers are well laid out on your site, if a visitor is interested in what you have they will still become a customer.
Tip! Duplicate Content - Again this is a deceptive practice. Google wants to show unique results in the top 10.

A good thing about Google ads is that they are ‘targeted'. This means that the ad content normally matches the content of your site. For example, if your site is about Boston terrier dogs, you will mostly get ads about Boston terrier dogs, or at least dogs. I can't explain how they do it, but the ad html you post on your site picks up the keywords on your pages, and ads are generated that match the site keywords. This is good because the ads will match the target market for your website. And since the ads rotate on their own, it gives you 'fresh' content.
Tip! ) Define budget - in order to maximize exposure Google recommends a daily budget for each campaign.

Another bonus is that you are associating with a trusted source in Google. They are presently the number one search engine, which means that people know them and trust them. Having their presence on your website will therefore not lose you credibility.

Yes, but how much can I make, you ask! That depends on how much traffic your website gets, and the subject matter of your website. Generally, the more visitors your website gets, the more clicks you will receive on the ads. Since you get paid per click, your earnings go up with more clicks. Secondly, the subject matter of your site plays a large part. Advertisers have to bid on the keywords for their ads, and the bids generally go higher if there are more advertisers bidding on the same keywords. Likewise, subjects that deal with highly profitable industries, like loans, mortgages, and home business, tend to get higher bids. The higher the bids, the more you get paid for click. To sum up, if your website deals with popular subject matter in a profitable field, and you get steady traffic, you should do well.
Tip! Save time and money. If you do not have the knowledge or the funds to create a web site right now, you can still begin making money by using Google Base and posting your products for all Google users to find.

In closing, if you decide to join the Google AdSense program, make sure you read their terms of service so that you follow all the rules. They have recently added some extra features to allow members to earn more, such as paying for referrals and toolbar downloads. The growth in online advertising keeps getting bigger and bigger with no signs of stopping. The AdSense program is an excellent way for you to benefit from this and earn an extra revenue stream from your website. I highly recommend it!

Robert Borhi is a freelance writer who operates a marketing website at http://www.HugeGrowth.com. For information on free advertising and online opportunities, visit his website at http://www.HugeGrowth.com

I grant permission to publish this article, electronically or in print, as long as the byline is included, with a live link.