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PPC on Brand Terms: Pros and Cons
Jan 20th
Anyone doing Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising will eventually confront the following question:
“If I already rank #1, why would I do PPC for my brand name?”
It’s a common enough question. I recently came across an article about advertising on your brand name and felt like small businesses needed to understand the pros and cons.
The Cons of Advertising on Your Brand Name
- You spend money to get a click you might have gotten anyway – nobody wants to spend money. Especially small businesses where every penny has to work harder.
- Brand terms perform significantly better than my other PPC terms and will skew my data.
The Pros of Advertising on Your Brand Name
- You take up more space on the search engine results: By having your PPC ad show up you increase the amount of real estate you occupy, thus increasing the likelihood that a search user ends up on your site.
- You control what your listing says: Organic results are great but the search engine controls what your listing says. PPC ads are 100% under your control, so you can ensure you’re putting your best foot forward.
- You pick the landing page: When a user clicks your PPC ad they go where you feel is best. That might be a current promotion or it might be the homepage. The point is that you choose, not the search engine.
- You “box out” the competition: If you don’t advertise on your brand name, a competitor might. Advertising on your brand name allows you to push them down.
- You can get more clicks: Having your ad and organic listing on the same page can actually increase your total response when done correctly. I won’t dive into it here, but Search Engine Land has an article titled, “Brand Ad Cannibalism: A Tale of Two Tests.”
In Summary
In my experience the pros outweigh the cons. If you’re still on the fence, consider the following arguments:
- First: You may indeed have to pay for a few clicks you would have gotten anyway, but you’ll be able to control the message and direct them to exactly the right page in exchange.
- Second: If you put brand terms in a separate campaign in your PPC accounts you’ll be able to track them separately from your other campaigns, thus keeping your data clean.
Just like all PPC efforts, as you test and monitor performance you’ll soon determine if the effort is profitable and ensure your PPC dollars are pulling their weight.
Surfing Photo via Shutterstock
PPC on Brand Terms: Pros and Cons
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Pros and Cons of Buying A Franchise
Dec 9th
As with anything in life, there are pros and cons involved and it’s important to consider every aspect of them. In this piece, we’re going to take a look at the pros and cons of buying a franchise as a way of getting into your own business. So let’s get started.
Pros
Operating system:
This is the system developed by the franchisor that enables the business to be easily replicated by franchisees. This includes standard operating procedures and methods. By getting an already-established operating system, it means you don’t have to start from a blank sheet of paper creating everything yourself for your business. When I think of “systems” I think of McDonald’s. They’re the franchise industry standard.
Formal training program:
Good franchisors provide good training to franchisees. This usually includes classroom-style training at corporate headquarters. Franchisees are taught things like pre-opening procedures, daily operations, marketing techniques, hiring practices, software use, and more. There’s usually on-site training also, right at the new franchisee’s location.
Read more about franchisee training at Entrepreneur.com.
Specific marketing and advertising plan:
Part of the general business plan, the franchisor will have a proven, detailed plan that allows its franchisees to rapidly get to market with their products or services. Here’s what a franchise marketing plan looks like, courtesy of the folks at Palo Alto Software.
One new trend in franchise marketing involves automated solutions that are designed to help franchisees at the local level. Companies like Balihoo are leading the way with this new technology.
Product supply line / purchasing power:
When the franchisor buys products that the franchisees will use or sell, there’s a discount involved, because the franchisor is really purchasing these goods on behalf of a large number of franchisees. The franchisor has bulk buying power. This makes it tough for an independent business to compete on price with the franchisee. 7-Eleven (over 36,000 stores worldwide) is one franchisor that does this quite well.
Support staff:
Usually based at the franchisor’s corporate headquarters, the support staff can help franchisees with whatever problems they are experiencing. These support areas include, marketing, technology, sales, real estate, and operations. Some franchisors have field reps that go out to visit and assist franchisees at their locations.
Cons
Rules:
Part of the attraction of the franchise business model is of course, the system. For a system to work properly and effectively, the users of the system must follow it closely. The franchise operations manual contains pages and pages of rules that franchisee’s must follow.
For instance, if you’re a franchisee of Ace Hardware, there will be certain items that you must carry in your inventory. If you invest in a Seattle’s Best Coffee franchise, you’re going to have to be open certain days and times. You’ll also have to purchase and use the technology that the franchisor has chosen. Everything that you’ll need will be disclosed to you, before you sign the franchise contract.
Complex legal documents:
All franchisors that are registered in the United States must have a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). All franchise buyers must be presented with the FDD before they are permitted to purchase a franchise business. There are 23 items listed in this document, including specific information about the executives of the franchise, litigation, start-up costs, franchisee obligations, franchisor assistance, and information about site selection, territory restrictions, and more. The actual franchise contract is included in the document, and it’s written in fairly complicated legalese.
Reputation management:
Your local reputation is only as good as your franchisor’s. If the franchise brand runs into trouble, you will probably suffer at the local level. Case in point: a pretty distasteful video that two employees of a local Domino’s Pizza franchise filmed, was posted on YouTube in 2009. Things got so bad that the president of Domino’s decided to film an apology and put it up on YouTube, himself. Dominos franchisees were definitely affected by this negative publicity.
Limitations on product/service offerings:
If a franchisee owns a franchise like SignsNow, he or she is only allowed to sell signs, banners, and related sign materials. If the franchisee wants to add window cleaning services to the business, if it’s not in the franchise agreement, then it’s not going to be permitted.
* * * * *
When it comes time to decide on buying a franchise — or not buying a franchise — you will have to weigh these pros and cons. You know your tolerance level for things such as needing to follow rules … versus making your own rules. You also know whether you are the type of person who can create something from scratch, or whether you are more successful when systems and processes are already set up for you. You will need to think long and hard about what is right for YOU.
Pros and Cons of Buying A Franchise
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
The Pros Release Insight on How to Maximize Social Media Marketing
Sep 6th
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The 10 Best Infographics for Internet Marketing Pros
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How Real Estate Pros are Using Social Media for Real Results
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Announcing Carbon Copy Pro’s Sixth Master Marketing Event
Jun 27th
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HP Plans to Roll Out Social Network for IT Pros
Jun 18th
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Searches for social-media pros serve dual purpose
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10 Essential Design Tools for Social Media Pros
Mar 23rd
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9 Pros and Cons of the New Health-Care Reform Bill
Mar 22nd
What are the pros and cons of the new health-care reform bill that House Democrats approved yesterday? The bill is 2,000 pages long, and full of lawyer-speak. Most pros and cons are based on partisan opinion. Still, there are some changes in the bill with more objective elements. Here are nine aspects that will help and hurt consumers and the economy.
Pros
More coverage. Coverage will expand to cover nearly 95 percent of legal U.S. residents. With a recent study showing that patients without health insurance have a shorter life span, coupled with the number of uninsured approaching 50 million in 2010, that is perhaps the biggest reason to cheer. (Kevin Pho, MD via CNN). Plus, preventative care will be free.
A more competitive insurance industry. Increased regulation will stop insurance companies from rigging prices–that recent 40% insurance premium increase in California comes to mind. Competition with newly formed public entities will ideally make the entire industry more competitive. Also, insurance companies are now required to post their balance sheets, executive compensation, and administrative costs online.
Insurance companies will have to accept everyone. No more pre-existing condition exclusions. They can’t place limits on coverage anymore, either.
Cheaper prescriptions for seniors. Closing the “donut hole” means cheaper prescription drugs for seniors.
It’s reform. We need reform. We’re in a situation where healthcare is even becoming unaffordable to employers, leaving employees with higher out-of-pocket expenses even if they are ensured. Healthcare costs have jettisoned innumerable people from the middle class. People get sick and die because insurers won’t take them. This isn’t functional. Any kind of reform helps.
Cons
Cuts in Medicare. The elderly on Medicare will see their benefits changed dramatically. The biggest item being used to pay for the new program is more than $500 billion in cuts to the Medicare program at a time when 72 million baby boomers become eligible for it in the next decade. The second biggest move to pay for this is by raising and expanding the Medicare tax. (Ed Rollins via CNN)
Costs. Any way you slice it, adding another $940 billion to the deficit is not a good thing for the US economy. Yes, the Congressional Budget Office said that healthcare would actually reduce the budget deficit, but nobody really knows what will happen.
No new incentives for primary care physicians. Physicians are increasingly turning to specialties as a way to pay off expensive medical school debt and make more money. This means more workload and burnout for primary care physicians, who get no bureaucratic relief under the current reform bill. That also means longer wait times, more obstacles, and potentially higher specialist costs for consumers.
More taxes. The government has to pay for healthcare reform somehow. Taxing businesses is a big strategy. For example, medical device makers will see a new 2.9% excise tax. Families earning more than $250,000/year will have to pay higher Medicare taxes. Also, this isn’t a tax, but employers will be fined $3,000 per employee if they don’t provide affordable medical coverage.
View full post on Business Pundit
