Posts Tagged SEM
eBrand Media Research Brief: paid search clicks down, digital radio usage up
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
In regards to SEM; according the research done by eBrand Media, Inc., paid search clicks are down considerably, while click-through rates, click to conversion rates, and CPC costs are higher. This probably means that search engine marketers are attempting to do what eBrand Media has done since 2005: expand keyword lists with low volume, low cost, but extremely targeted, and high-yield multi-word keyphrases while using “header” terms only to drive required volume, as part of a sustainable SEM eco-system.
The study followed online retailer clients in shoes, clothing, flowers and gifts, housewares, and a number of other industries, analyzing the performance of each category on a a daily, weekly, and monthly basis in Q1 2009. The data was then compared with the data with that for the same period last year.
On another front, the latest study by Arbitron and Edison Research shows continued growth in usage and ownership of various forms of digital audio platforms, including online radio, iPod/MP3 players, and podcasting. The weekly online radio audience increased significantly in the past year to 17% of the U.S. population age 12 and older; up from 13% in 2008. On a weekly basis, online radio reaches 20% of 25-to-54 year-olds; up from 15% in 2008.
Bill Rose, senior vice president of marketing, Arbitron Inc., says “The sharp growth in weekly usage of Online radio… provides compelling evidence that radio’s digital platforms may be reaching critical mass. We are… seeing encoded streams of AM/FM broadcasts with significant audience in local markets.”
Key findings from The Infinite Dial 2009: Radio’s Digital Platforms, include:
Posted by Tom Polanski in Advertising, SEM, Trend Tracker on April 27th, 2009
eBrand Interactive partners with Zappos; delivers success by beating mandated performance goals!
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
Since the day eBrand Interactive began its partnership with Zappos, and took over management of a particular marketing campaign, eBrand Interactive has dramatically increased that company’s revenue, while significantly enhancing their return on ad spend.
The work my eBrand Interactive team has done is the stuff that case studies are made of. I’d like to go into details but given the nature of our competition, I’m hesitant to reveal too much, but let me say this; eBrand Interactive uses industry-leading, next generation technologies, and expert accounts managers, to do what our “celebrity” competitors can’t; hit the ball out of the park, time and again, for advertiser after advertiser.
If you’d like to learn more about the service eBrand Interactive is providing Zappos, please feel free to e-mail us at, sales@ebrandmedia.com.
Right now, though, I’d like to take a moment to express my admiration for the company. Later in this article is a case study regarding a successfull type of e-mail re-marketing that Zappos developed.
Early on in our discussions it was made clear that providing platinum level customer service and a wide ranging selection was of utmost importance to the company. We’ve often heard companies espouse this but I can tell you, from the way that we’ve been treated, that Zappos walks the talk. One can tell how a much a company values its brand by the way it treats its vendors.
Zappos has treated us wonderfully. Every person we’ve dealt with, and the team we currently work with, has been and is a delight. Zappos delivers a positive experience whether one is a customer or a vendor. That compelling experience creates brand loyalty: customers come back and vendors work harder. Zappos represents what I hoped e-commerce would become when I first began my career in online marketing back 2002.
However, too many companies have lost sight of the fact that those numbers, names and e-mail addresses belong to real people with hopes, dreams, and fears. Zappos hasn’t lost sight of that.
Zappos invests in its people, processes, technologies and products. The end result is a level of efficiency that drives revenue gains while simultaneously cutting unnecessary costs. They manage expectations, and they keep their commitments. That means fewer products are returned, good will is created, rand customers return again, and again. Zappos generates the type of viral marketing that has been used for eons, and is still the best: positive work of mouth.
Kudos to Zappos…I can’t tell you how proud my team and I are to be participants in, and causative agents for, their continued success. Our companies, and our core values, synch perfectly.
Maybe that’s why they chose us when they had a host of vendors to choose from.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Success Stories, Zappos, eBrand Interactive on January 5th, 2009
Tom Polanski and eBrand Media thank Zappos for their gesture of genuine partnership!
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
A person can make a series of reasonably sound assumptions by the way a company treats it vendors. Savvy Senior Managers understand that the value they place on their vendors, customers and employees is directly proportionate to the value they place on their brand. Good relationships will always add to the brands equity.
Unfortunately, over the past 5-6 years, many managers, and merchants, have seemingly forgotten the importance of, and the investment needed, to build a brand. Most of the people I’ve met over the years have been driven by a direct return on investment now mentality. Too few were forward thinkers. These people wanted X number of dollars back for every dollar invested and many times, considering the gross margins they made, one could only arrive at the conclusion that they thought of their businesses the same way they’re customers thought of their homes; as ATM’s. I often wondered where the revenue was going. As far as I could tell it wasn’t going into creating a platinum level, end-user experience.
I think the companies that will thrive during this economic transition have been companies that have always had a coherent, cogent vision for the company’s present and future. In addition, management takes care of their employees; they create a positive environment and treat their people like a valuable resource. As a result, the return they see on the the investment they’ve made in their human resources typically exceeds the usual. These employees aren’t just showing up for work to trudge through another day.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Opinions, Tom Polanski, Zappos, eBrand Media on December 31st, 2008
eBrand Interactive further optimizes its industry-leading suite of SEM services!
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
I’m pleased to announce that eBrand Interactive, a full service agency, along with its longtime SEM technology provider, have added new features to our exceptionally successful SEM suite. Already an industry-leader, the eBrand Interactive co-brand has rolled out improvements that have left our competitors grasping at our coattails.
The former SEM manager at Motorcycle Superstore, who has worked with, and for, many of the “celebrity” SEM companies, said to me after an in-depth review of our service, “your technologies, and the quality of your people, positions your SEM solution three to four years ahead of your competition.”
The eBrand Interactive SEM solution, which includes next generation technology guided by experts, will cut paid search costs and significantly increase revenue while enhancing the return on ad spend.
Typically, eBrand Interactive clients will see about a 35% lift in revenue and an enhanced ROAS, in the first 90 days, with significant incremental lifts and enhancements thereafter with the implementation of our SEM solution.
Although our SEM “secret sauce” includes the use of rules, proprietary technologies, tactics and strategies that can’t be duplicated or beaten; our accounts managers have their hands on the accounts of our client’s everyday. We’re not “black box” “set it and forget” company. However, we’ve discovered over the years that our technologies can scale paid search accounts in ways that humans can’t, so the use of artificial intelligence is an important part of our approach. But even though our system is rules based, it’s infinitely flexible; and is continually optimized to maintain the greatest economic values of our clients. Our account managers will modify or override paid search rules, whenever necessary. The client performance numbers we deliver are never skewed by anomalies. The team and the technologies work together harmoniously for the purpose of ensuring that we meet or beat mandated performance metrics.
We continually work to improve our system and the accounts of our clients with the teams at Google, MSN, Ask and Yahoo. In fact, we were the beta partner for MSN Search, MSN Shopping and Yahoo Panama.
Further on you’ll find a detailed overview of our co-branded SEM solution including the new services I mentioned. You’ll easily see why so many nationwide brands have moved management of their paid search and product data-feeds to us from in-house and from other companies:
Posted by Tom Polanski in Marketing, SEM, Trend Tracker, eBrand Interactive on December 30th, 2008