Has The World Gone Mad About Google?

I've been reading Aaron Goldman's blog posts in Search Insider over the past month and I have begun to wonder if the world has gone mad about Google.

In a sense, the answer is as resounding as any major victory can be. Google has a 72% market share of the U.S. Search Market and their world-wide share is pretty close to that percentage. Google is my personal search favorite for the same reasons it became so dominant. It displays the most relevant results. Additionally, it offers a religiously clean and uncluttered user interface and a cult-like devotion to preserving the clarity and purpose of the user's search experience. These are the strong, historic reasons for its amazing rise.

So, on the one hand the world is bonkers for Google. Yet, on the other hand maybe we still need a more competitive marketplace? Perhaps Bing will close the gap. Or, maybe Yahoo will continue to edge its way into capturing more market share. One thing is clear: they will have to do something significant and worthwhile in order to gain momentum.

As a marketing professional, with his own Agency, I'm very impressed with Google and am working on new Search business for a few of our current clients. It's very hard to say no and not recommend Google. They literally invented the current search marketplace. They are the innovator. The ones who wrote the proprietary algorithm which evaluates the number and quality of inbound links for every website they index. In essence their thinking was this: if a site truly has great content, then other high quality sites will have discovered it, and linked to it on behalf of their own audience. In a similar fashion, Google doesn't just take money from advertisers and throw up their sponsored listings on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Google pioneered in ranking paid search advertisers, not just on a CPC basis, but on the click through rate as well. They had the audacity to take the measure of their clients and reward them with a Quality Rating if they offered a high degree of relevancy (there's that word again) to the user's search, thereby keeping themselves aligned with the intentions and passions of the user.

Paying attention to Google is a little bit like watching Tiger Woods play golf. You almost hope he slips up and let's someone else capture a win. But you always come away impressed. He's so capable, dominating and likable at the same time. So it is with Google. They had the good sense to be altruistic, to give their employees great perks (such as free haircuts) and to stay rooted in the belief that the user experience was the holy grail of their company.

I'm neither here to praise Caesar (Google), nor bury him. I'm here to leverage his success on behalf of my clients, and my own business. What else would a thinking marketer want?

So just like Google, we're going to keep things simple with keyword strategies that remain clean and well set up. In Google this means keeping the Adwords groups well organized, with no overlapping keywords which might create analytical difficulties for evaluating results and managing bids. Though an entire campaign is based on semantics, that doesn't mean it's simple. Using online keyword search tools it's possible for a medium sized company to generate thousands of keywords and keyword phrases, which is problematic at best and potentially very expensive. Plus if you get off the ground in the wrong way on Google, you're account quality score will suffer. Studies have shown that it can be very difficult to get back on track after this kind of rocky beginning.

There are two things that keep me coming back to Google, and not just as a user. As an advertiser as well. With Google you see how important it is to think about the user mindset (called user intent). Google is successful in part because they allow advertisers to reach people when they're in a commercial mindset, an active shopping mode. To the extent this means actively shopping versus background fact-finding is moot. When people are using Google they're not just passively watching. They're actively engaged in looking for information. They might be ready to transact that moment. Just when you want them at your site. The second thing keeping me in the Google fold is the principle of simplicity. Everything they did is a reminder of the power of simplicity. They came of age during a time of cluttered portals. Google stood apart with its clean white page. Additionally, their call to action was center stage.

The important lesson is to make every call to action equally clear and clean whether it says buy now, or order online. And, keep the design environment clean and de-cluttered. Maintain a high degree of usability. That's always in style. Of course, that Google market share is also a good reason to keep your interest in them at a high level.

Has the world gone mad about Google?

Well of course it has. Now, what are you going to do about it?

Your Eyeball Is An Optical Tool

Through technology, we have adapted our eyes into optical tools that seek nuggets of information. Think for a moment what it means to scan content (as opposed to reading a novel). Your eye is searching for keywords, bulleted lists, highlighted phrases and links.

Because of this usability research now shows us how Web content should look:

• Concise subheads
• Highlighted keywords
• One core idea per paragraph
• Bulleted lists
• Succinct headlines, page titles and first paragraphs
• Lean copy (cut word count)
• Dark type on white (or on light background colors)

For direct marketers, much of this is old news. Yet, old school hard sell tactics or hype (often misused in print advertising and direct mail) is a very bad fit online. Users are busy people in control of their searches or verification of online credentials. They want hard facts and real information, not exaggeration or hype.

If you're an old school marketer, it's time to learn new ways. High quality graphics, good copy and outbound links show you know your stuff. Credibility goes up. People respond to the content because so many websites are driven by people who are trying to exploit or misinform.

Save money by writing your own Web copy? You may want to think again. Does it make sense to save money and lose sales? Or, at the very least, if your site has poor information architecture, convoluted copy or dense blocks of text, you are not doing your cause any favors.

As in everything else in marketing, it pays to put things into their proper place of importance.

What Is Creative Marketing (and Why Do I Need It?)

What is marketing (and why do I need it)?

Their reasons people ask us this question differ slightly. Perhaps they ran some ads once and never got any calls. Or the website they developed never generated any real interest. We have also noticed that some clients are uncomfortable with the hustling and hype they associate with marketing. Whatever the reason, the question needs to be answered.

Marketing is not just advertising and sales. It is the sum total of everything you may be doing to gain customers and keep them. It is a holistic process, because your product or service is deeply involved. Finding the prospects you'd like to work with, then taking the necessary steps to convert them into customers, offering services that benefit them, and then turning them into continued relationships. Hopefully, these relationships help you generate repeat business and referrals.

This broad definition also includes everything you may be doing to maintain these relationships, from sending holiday gift baskets, to making timely calls, playing a round of golf, and having a cup of coffee, or simply doing a great job in serving them with great products, and reminding them how much you care about their business.

All of these activities comprise your marketing process, whether you choose to call it that or not. So why do we need to be more formal in our response to this question? Peter Drucker puts it well: "Business has only two basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results. All the rest are costs."

He's says that marketing drives all revenue. That marketing is about clients: what they need, and what you need to be doing, to serve them.

The most wonderful guy in the world won't buy from you if he doesn't need your services. Conversely, the most difficult guy in the world may become your best customer. Though you may have something someone needs very much, if he dislikes you, or doesn't know who you are, he's not going to buy much of anything from you.

Marketing means matching products and services with the people who need them. Hopefully, people who work well with you, who don't mind if you make a good profit.


Why hire a marketing firm?

Let us list a few reasons:

1) To save money and attain higher ROI
Much of what you're currently doing may be a waste of time. That's the part where you save money. When you move on to more effective marketing communications techniques, you end up with more qualified prospects per dollar. Assuming your conversion rate is a good one, this means higher ROI.

2) to help you drive new results from new techniques
Let me endeavor to say this modestly: our team has experience we know will help. We are trained in marketing, and in strategy, as well as in the many techniques that you will see in our portfolio. That's why we use the term "creative marketing." There are so many new and exciting ways to engage customers. The Web is the fastest growing advertising medium in the world. We can help you make good use of it.

3) You gain an outside perspective on your business
It goes without saying, your product is the apple of your eye. That's great news. Now, let's convince someone to buy it. We look at your product with fresh eyes and help you focus on the most compelling message. The outside perspective we bring to the table is one of the best reasons to form a relationship with our firm.

4) We disciplined in focusing on what most matters to your business.
You are paid to focus on your customers and their immediate needs. Not the tedious and unbilled time it takes to handle your own direct marketing, web development, advertising or e-marketing. By outsourcing you can spend more time working with your customer and serving them. Isn't that the best use of your time?


By outsourcing all or a part of your creative marketing to RN Johnson Creative Marketing you free yourself and your staff to focus on your core business activity. Additionally, since you will be hiring us for what we do best, we can help you continually look for better ways to increase the results of your marketing.