While that’s essentially true, to avoid wasting money and to achieve optimal results from your paid search campaign, you need to test, experiment, and test again.

On Thursday, July 10 at 1 PM EDT, join us for a webcast with Search Engine Land’s Executive Editor, Chris Sherman: “Paid Search Testing & Experimentation: Optimizing for Superior Results.” This webcast is sponsored by iProspect.

Testing and optimization offers multiple benefits: in addition to improving your bottom line, you’ll gain a leg up on the competition, as fully 60% of all search marketers aren’t doing any testing at all, and those that are testing often use simple, ineffective methods, according to JupiterResearch.

Your approach to testing and optimizing a paid search campaign should be systematic and carefully planned.

Chris Sherman will cover the followin key points in this webcast:

• What you should test and how much is too much?
• A/B vs. multivariate testing - which is right for you?
• The importance of audience segmentation and how to target different user needs
• Beyond ads: Optimizing the “landing experience”
• Why automated tools are key to this process

Register now - it’s free!

Research indicates that 82% of consumers who use a local search site have followed up with an offline action. Find out where local search is headed — in this free educational webcast.

Special thanks to our sponsor, TMP Directional Marketing.

Register here.

Local search has become a critical channel for marketers, as consumers are becoming more sophisticated and as tracking and online targeting capabilities continue to evolve.

According to a recent comScore study, 82% of Local Searchers follow up offline via an in-store visit, a phone call, or a purchase. Of these, 61% end up making a purchase.

Local Search is also at the heart of our next webcast - “National Brands Marketing Local,” Wednesday, June 25 at 1 PM EDT. Register for this webcast - it’s free.

The implication for marketers is significant: how do you track offline conversions that began in an online search? How does a large, national brand take advantage of search at the local level? As consumers become more adept at searching online, how do marketers keep up with the shifting behavior? Are Internet Yellow pages the way to go - or should you consider a combination of print and online advertising to maximize your offline sales?

In this webcast, Greg Sterling will discuss the latest developments in the Local Search landscape and how brand marketers — of any size — can take advantage of this evolving channel.

Greg Sterling, local and mobile search correspondent for Search Engine Land, has been covering local search for more than six years. He is the founding principal of Sterling Market Intelligence, a consulting and research firm focused on online consumer and advertiser behavior and the relationship between the Internet and traditional media, with an emphasis on the local search marketplace.

Tuesday, June 24, 208 - 1 PM Eastern
“Search as a Strategic Planning Tool”
Gord Hotchkiss and James Lamberti, speakers

Developing good “search intelligence” - for example, understanding how certain demographics behave relative to certain keywords - is critical to your marketing success.

Gord Hotchkiss and James Lamberti will discuss how marketers use search in the strategic planning phase - from creating a demographic profile of their ideal customer, to sizing the opportunities in the market.

In this webcast you’ll learn:

• How to translate online consumer behavior into successful marketing strategy
• How to be sure your search campaign aligns with your target demographic
• How to determine the best marketing mix of paid & organic before launching a new campaign

Register now - it’s free!

Thanks to Marin Software for sponsoring this webcast.

What’s the best quality score you can get? Is it “Great” and min bid of 0.01? Should you go for that goal? What’s a checklist so you know you’ve done everything you can?

Minimum bid is mainly determined by your Landing Page Quality Score, but yes it can be as low as 1 cent. You really only need to worry about the minimum if what they are asking you to pay is more than what you want to pay.Of course, what you want to pay is determined by your ROI and traffic volume needs. Come to the upcoming webcast for a best practices check-list, but the one word answer is “relevance.”

Can you keep an existing quality score when moving the campaign from one agency to another?

Yes, the quality scores follow accounts not agencies. If you have large accounts, it’s a good idea to give Google a heads up that you are switching over.

Googles Query String Report - How would you recommend digging in to the “unique queries”?

The Query String Report is a great way to see what people actually typed to get to your site. Look for patterns and “groups” you can establish. If you can segment searches into, say a dozen groups, you can establish a unique selling proposition for each and then craft your ad creative and landing pages accordingly.

Didn’t see your question here? Tune in Wednesday, June 18 at 1PM EDTfor “Decrypting Quality Scores” with Jon Kelly, Vice President at SureHits.

Register now – it’s free!

National Brands Marketing Local
Wednesday, June 25 - 1 PM EDT
Register here - it’s free

As consumers become more sophisticated and targeting and tracking capabilities continue to evolve, local search is becoming a more critical channel for all marketers. We are, in many ways, in Act II of Local Search.

According to a recent comScore study, 82% of Local Searchers follow up offline via an in-store visit, a phone call, or a purchase. Of these, 61% end up making a purchase.

The implications for marketers is significant: How does a large, national brand take advantage of search at the local level? As consumers become more adept at searching online, how do marketers keep up with the shifting behavior? Are Internet Yellow pages the way to go - or should you consider a combination of print and online advertising to maximize your offline sales?

Greg Sterling, local and mobile search correspondent for Search Engine Land, has been covering local search for more than six years. He is the founding princiapl of Sterling Market Intelligence, a consulting and research firm focused on online consumer and advertiser behavior and the relationship between the Internet and traditional media, with an emphasis on the lcoal search marketplace. He also co-chairs Search Marketing Expo - SMX Local + Mobile, which comes to San Francisco July 24-25.

This webcast is sponsored by TMP Directional Marketing.

Register now!

Life for a PPC advertiser used to be easier. You bid more than your competitor, and you ranked ahead of them. But today, the perceived “quality” of your ads can make a dramatic difference in how much you pay and where your ads are positioned. And since the exact formula of calculating quality scores isn’t revealed by the major search ad networks, marketers have some deciperhing to do.

On Wednesday, June 18 at 1:00 PM Eastern, Search Marketing now presents another free webcast, “Decrypting Quality Scores.”

Jon Kelly will reveal what goes into Quality Score, how you can increase your Quality Score and why understanding it is crucial to the success of any PPC campaign. If you have specific questions for Jon, we’re taking them in advance on our registration form.

Join us for this free webcast - register now!

With a new ad network born every 20 minutes, it seems, there are few clear differentiators and much confusion on the part of ad buyers. How can ad networks ensure their own survival and success in such a competitive environment? What can they do to deliver value and retain high quality advertisers?

Dana will give an overview of the current landscape in ad networks. She’ll discuss best practices, including how ad networks can set - and measure - expectations, as well as how to measure and report results.

She’ll be joined by Tom Cuthbert, President of ClickForensics and Moderator of the Click Quality Council, who will provide case studies that illustrate key points and show how ad networks can manage traffic quality to maximize value for their customers.

Join us June 17 at 1:00 PM Eastern - register now, it’s free.

Among them, of course, Chris Sherman (whose webcast from yesterday, “Big Brand Search Engine Optimization” is now available on-demand), who will be moderating several sessions. Others include Christine Churchill, David Szetela, Shari Thurow, and Vanessa Fox to name a few.

Several of our sponsors will also be exhibiting at SMX Advanced - iProspect, Marin Software, Widemile, and ClickForensics will all be part of the Expo Hall. Be sure to stop by - we’ll be at the networking session in the Expo Hall, Tuesday evening.

If you’re coming to SMX Advanced, be sure to introduce yourself as a member of the Search Marketing Now audience. We always love to put the face to the name.

In theory, you’d think that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the same for all sites, large or small. But in practice, SEO for large brands has its own set of challenges - and solutions. For example, how do you effectively manage all the stakeholders in the SEO process - when it can extend across the entire organizational structure and involves a wide range of constituencies?

And when does it make sense to centralize your SEO efforts — and when doesn’t it? How do you lobby for your budget, when you may be competing with other departments for the same dollars?

Search Engine Land’s Executive Editor (and webcaster extraordinaire) Chris Sherman will discuss these issues and more in his presentation. Thanks to iProspect for sponsoring the presentation.

Join us - register now. (For those of you who’ve been with us before, you’ll notice we have a new registration page. We have finally switched to a form that will remember you when you return to register again. Thanks for your patience!)