As I mentioned in my earlier post, I used the sites Themeshaper.com, and WPDesigner.com. I initially started using just the themeshaper tutorial, but I ran into a problem, and switched to using WPDesigner exclusively. I think having one theme under my belt, helps me get a good understanding of what to do. So I plan on going back to themeshaper and starting a new theme from scratch, but this time trying to implement things like menu on the top, and the logo, and colors, so that it matches the rest of the site.

The whole Winterracks idea was done on a shoe string budget, in fact I didn’t even have enough money to actually go into production, just had enough for one prototype. The original website cost around $350.00 to build. Later I added the blog for the intent of creating content to create buzz for my product. However the fact that the blog didn’t have the same links, or look the same as the rest of the site always bugged me, but I didn’t feel like spending anymore money, so I never did anything. But since I am going to experiment with this site, I might as well start with improving the theme, and seeing if I can create the same menus and overall look as the rest of the site.

I also think the rest of the site could use some work, but I am not going to focus on that, at least not right now, probably after I have learned some more coding I will undertake that project. The two tutorials I am using to learn about building a WordPress theme are Themeshaper.com, which is a 12 step process, and WPDesigner.com, which is a 16 step process.

My general knowledge of link building as I understand it is minimal, but I have begun to try and learn more about it. Basically what I understand is that a search engine places a lot of emphasis on links to your website. The more links the better, especially if those links are coming from trusted websites with high rankings. The basic way to get people to link to your site is to create content that they will want to link too. The best example I can think of, as well as most logical steps would be, when someone creates a funny blog post. As people discover and learn about the blog they will pass it along to their friends, the most common way to share it will be on Facebook for their friends to click on, or on twitter, as well of course e-mail. The next logical step is that people will submit it to Stumbleupon, Digg, or Reddit, where if the blog makes it to the front page, it will help it become exposed to more people, who will hopefully pass it along through Facebook and twitter, as well as to other people who will blog about it, and create links.

So this got me thinking, I could use the SEO strategies I had already learned, as well as the link building strategies to help propel my Winterracks site in the rankings. However there is a problem, I have absolutely no idea what new content to create for an e-commerce site, I feel that there will need to be a two pronged approach First off I will need to e-mail and try and get as many relevant blogs, and other relevant sites to link to my website, and hopefully talk about it, and generate buzz. I will also need to figure out a way to create content, it could be a blog, where I write about ski and snowboard racks, or try and create something to go viral, but I have no idea what that might be.

Link building is obviously the biggest, and most time consuming part of my SEO plan, but there are other aspects I will need to work on. The first is to determine which keywords to target. The second task is to use some of the SEO methods I did on my last project, “Can I make Google Like Cars?” Since a portion of this website isn’t wordpress, I will need to do some of these tasks by hand such as changing the url slugs, titles, and title descriptions. I will also need to take a hard look at the keyword density, and determine if I need more or less of the keywords I am targeting.

That is all I can think of for now, but I am sure there are other things I can do or will need to do. I however do know that the link building is going to be a very trial and error, and will be doing a lot more research on the best ways to go about it, and what to do in the next week or so.

On July 20th, I decided to upgrade a new theme to my WordPress blog, which added more functionality, and overall just gave my blog a much more professional polished feel. However after installing the blog I ran into problems with some of the themes features, as well as issues with 301 redirects, and plugin functionality. I decided the best thing to do was start over, so I saved all my content, and completely deleted everything on the database.

Since that time I have added some more content to the site, but have put off reinstalling the plugins I had initially added in the first place. In those 11 days, my page ranking has dropped on those keywords.

As of July 31st, I had reinstalled all of the plugins I had talked about in my four part blog series. I felt the explanation was necessary in case by the time you came across my site and read about my claims of getting ranked at the top of Google searches, which as of right now isn’t the case. I however was not lying about what I had achieved using those keywords, and hopefully in a week or so my site will be back to the top of Google searches!

As of June 2010 Google was at 62.6 percent, while Yahoo had 18.9, and Microsoft sites were at 12.7 (numbers from Comscore). You can rely totally on Google, but you could be potentially ignoring around 40 percent of the market if you do so.

In addition there are much smaller niche search engines, which might not have the high number of searches of a Google or Yahoo, but still can be a reliable source of sales and leads. These sites usually are much cheaper than the big 3 search engines so you can get much better bang for your buck.
Some Examples are

• www.about.com
• www.ask.com
• www.search123
• www.findwhat.com

Basically what web analytics does is allow you to track visitors to your site, and learn about their browsing habits. You can see if they were a unique visitor, how much time they spent on what site, if another website referred them, and what website, browsers they were using, and what part of the world they were viewing the page from.

You have several free options when considering which analytic software to use. All the major search engines offer their own version, as well as some smaller individual companies, I personally prefer Google Analytics.

You also have more robust analytic programs that companies such as Omniture make. Typically when you use an analytics program such as this, you would hire a firm to look over your site, and consult you as to what is going on. Because of my familiarity, and the popularity of Google Analytics, and the fact that is free, I will be using that as my example for you..

The first issue is installing the code that allows Google to track what happens on your site. For WordPress blogs this is pretty simple because of third party plugins and themes. Some third party themes come with an area in their settings where you can paste the code. However, If you your theme doesn’t have that option there are several plugins designed for that purpose, once activated again, it is just a simple task of pasting the code into the area the instructions specify.

On other websites that aren’t WordPress, Google gives you instructions on how to put the code in properly. But basically you will have to go into the html code, usually in the footer file, and paste it immediately before the tag. It is pretty simple, but if you can’t do it, you should ask whomever built your site, or is building your site, and ask them to include the tracking code.

Once you have done this you will want to link this with your AdWords account. This is very simple, and I am going on the assumption that you have already created an AdWords account. You go into the account, and select the Reporting Tab. you then select the “I already have a Google Analytics account.” From the Existing Google Analytics Account drop-down menu, select the name of the Analytics account you’d like to link to. If you don’t see it listed, you’ll need to first add your AdWords username to your Analytics account as an Account Admin. Finally select Link Account and your finished, it is that easy!

Your next task should be to create goals and funnels. I won’t go into too much depth on how to do this rather I will just touch on the reasons for this. The purpose of a goal is to see a website page a visitor reaches once she or he has made a purchase or completed another desired action, such as a registration or download. A funnel represents the path that you expect visitors to take in order to reach the goal. Defining these pages allows you to see how frequently visitors abandon goals (and where they go instead) and the value of the goal.

The last basic step you should follow when setting up your analytics I have copied from the Google Website because I believe it explains it better than I ever could:

Tagging your online ads is an important prerequisite to allowing Google Analytics to show you which marketing activities are really paying off. Tagging involves inserting and defining specific variables into the links that lead to your website.
.

Generally speaking, you need to tag all of your paid keyword links, your banners and other ads, and the links inside your promotional email messages, except those in Google AdWords, which are automatically tagged. Fortunately, the tagging process goes smoothly once you understand how to differentiate your campaigns. In addition, the URL Builder tool makes it easy to tag your links.

For a full explanation of tagging your links, please read How do I tag my links? If you’d like to get started quickly, refer to the table below.

Following these easy steps and you should have your Google Analytics set up in no time, and be well on your way to being able to see how well your ad campaigns are doing, as well as learning about users behavior on your website.

Before you choose your call to action you need to ask yourself what you want a person to do after they click on your ad? Some examples off the top of my head are;

• Buying something
• Filling out a form
• Joining a mailing list
• Subscribing
• Calling
• Checking out a website, or article

So once you have that figured out try putting one of these call to action words or phrases in your ad:

• Sign up now
• Free Shipping
• Order Today
• Ships Today
• Download our Brochure
• Free Consultation
• Free Demo
• Free Quote
• Free Report
• Call 24/7
• Book online today for huge savings

Hopefully these examples helped, but remember there is no golden rule. You really need to test and see what works for you. But before you do that, you really need to understand your own business model – why do you want the searcher to come to your website? What happens after they come to your site? Based on the answers, you will be able to find some good call to actions.

What goes in an Ad?

Today we are only going to focus on Google AdWords because that is the most popular, but many of the things you learn here can be applied to other search engines. Google AdWords has a basic structure, which I have copied and pasted from the Google Site here.

Components of an ad

Here’s how an AdWords text ad will look:

Advertise with Google
Want fast results?
Create your ad campaign today!
www.adwords.google.com

There are several elements that make up each ad:

Headline: The first line of your ad acts as a link to your website. The best headlines relate directly to the keywords being searched, so try to include one of your keywords in your headline.

Lines of text: Use these two lines to describe the product or service you’re advertising. Since your ad space is limited, try to convey the key details and benefits of your product or service.

Display URL: The last line is used to show the URL of the website you’re promoting. The point of the display URL is to give users a clear idea of what website they’ll be taken to when they click on the ad.

Destination URL: You’ll also set a destination URL which will not be visible in your ad. The destination URL (also called a landing page) is the exact page within your website which you want to send users directly to from your ad. Choose the page of your website that is most relevant to the product or service described in your ad.

What do I write?

So now that you know how an ad is organized what do you put? Well you only have about 2-3 seconds to make an impression, so what you need to do is trigger a response somehow. What are the ways you could use a trigger to get your ad noticed?

1) Ask a Question

People are naturally curious and seeing a question addressed to them automatically triggers a reply in their minds, whether they intend it or not. By asking a question in your ad headline, you are taking advantage of this curiosity and making your ad appeal to them on a personal level. Here’s an ad example a fictional Miami florist could use:

Need a new cell phone?
We have all the best phones
delivered free to your door
www.cellphonesuperstore.com

2) Use Humor

People like to laugh. If your ad headline or copy makes them chuckle they are already associating your ad with positive emotions and are more likely to be receptive to your message. Here’s a humorous ad example a Miami florist could use:

In the Dog House Again?
Sweeten her up with a dozen roses.
Free delivery to your door!
www.funkyfloristsmiami.com

3) Use: Colons

Using a colon after a word indicates you are about to sum up or define an idea. This creates an automatic trigger in readers to pay attention to the content following the colon. An interior designer could take advantage of this with:

A new kitchen: Stunning
Browse our portfolio of past work
Free Consultation.
www.internetdesigner.com

4) Get Regional

Depending on how you’ve set your ad campaign’s regional/demographic settings, it often pays to use regional triggers in your ads such as city or state names. Persons from the mentioned areas will automatically recognize that your ad is relevant to them and be more inspired to click on it. A party planner in New York could use:

Planning a party in New York City?
We have planned for every occasion.
Call us today to get an appointment.
www.nycpartyplanners.com

5) Use Power Words

There are a number of keywords known as “power words” that are proven to attract attention and sales. They include words like “secret”, “free”, “super”, “now”, “limited”, “exclusive”, “must”, “save”, “expert” and so on. An electronics site could tailor his ads to use some of these. For example:

Free Secure Digital Card
Order a camera online now.
Get your free gift! Limited time.
www.camerasonline.com

6) Use Catch Phrases

People recognize popular catch phrases used by major brands. Provided you are careful not to directly infringe on their trademarks or copyright status, you can use them in your ads. For example, a Dallas bug exterminator could use:

Got Bugs?
Quick and Save bug killing.
Kill bugs anywhere in Dallas.
www.dallasbugkillers.com

7) Use Personalization

Just like ads asking a question, ads that specifically address the audience are much more likely to gain attention. Our fictional travel agency could use this to their advantage with ads like:

Your room is ready
Your vacation can start
within 24 hrs if you call us now.
www.travelagentsunlimited.com

8.) Tell a Story

Internet searchers are good at recognizing advertising and blocking it out. So your ads can sometimes be more effective if they have a storyline and appear less like advertisements. Stories create empathy and parallels with the reader’s own life. For example our wedding dress seller could try an ad like this one:

Your Perfect Wedding Day
Dress dirty. Veil torn. Rings lost.
At least your dress was gorgeous!
www.cheapweddingdressesi.com

9) Use Emotion & Senses

As well as personalization, your ads can appeal to the five senses of readers: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Our Baltimore baker could achieve this with:

Stop to Smell the cinnabons
Nothing beats the fresh smell
of a dozen donuts.
www.funkyfloristsmiami.com

10) Use a number

I have found that including the cost of the item or service, or saying it is a certain percentage cheaper than competitors, or you have served X amount of customers really helps improve clicks.

Window Snowboard Racks
70% cheaper than other brands
mounts in seconds
www.winterracks.com

and finally!

11) Use Calls to Action

In my experience, ads that achieve the highest click through rate (CTR) are ones that use a call to action within them, for example “download now”, “read our e-book”, “sign up now” and “call us toll free”. Our fictional dating site could achieve this with:

Need a date?
Sign up now for online dating
and get two months free!
www.guvik.com

Apply a few of these triggers to your current PPC ads and I guarantee your click-through rate will improve dramatically.

I didn’t really intend to talk about the methods I used for my SEM ad because the ad was so simple, but due to issues I had getting it too appear on Google AdWords, I thought this would be a great opportunity to show how I got around these issues, and got my ad to show up when Rachel Digiammarino was searched.

Google Adwords

I figured setting up my ad with Rachel DiGiammarino as the keyword should have been a fairly straight forward process, but I realized there were issues with getting the ad to show up which I will talk about shortly. For now I will focus on the creation of the ad, and and my thought process in putting the ad together. When I was creating the ad, I wanted to utilize some of the strategies I had learned about, I learned these strategies from my own experience, as well as articles that I had read to help me understand SEM.

On the first line I wanted to incorporate the search keyword into the ad, as I know this a successful way to draw someone to seeing the ad and clicking on it. On the second line, I used this space to give information about what the ad was about, so that they would want to click on it. On the third line, I used a call to action to direct the person to what I wanted them to do when they clicked on the ad. Finally with the last line, I put the url to a good landing page that was designed for people who click on the ad, rather than just bringing them to the homepage to the site. Below is the ad that I came up with.

So the issue that I ran into was that I wasn’t getting the ad to show up. Looking into the reasons why the ad wasn’t showing up, it said that my bid was too low For whatever reason it was set at one cent, so I immediately changed that to ten dollars. I didn’t think it would cost this much for this certain ad, but I figured better safe than sorry. I then went into the settings, I had it originally set up to only show ads evenly over time. Well that needed to be changed to accelerated because their would only be so many times you might possibly do a search of your name, and I needed it to show up when that opportunity presented itself.

I was never able to get the keyword relevance above a 3/10, but because I was the only one bidding on this keyword, and the fact that it was showing, I didn’t feel it was necessary to improve it.

So those are the SEM steps I took, and why I did them. I hope it gives you a window into some of the knowledge I have of SEM, and I hope that you see that I could be a great asset for Dealer.com in helping their clients reach the customers they want through internet marketing.