• With the holidays upon us, it’s time to start talking statistics. Marketing Pilgrim shares 8 statistics for internet retailers this holiday shopping season. For example, 61% of online shoppers prefer free shipping and 68% of internet users shop or research products online. This is a good list to get us all ready for Cyber Monday!
• The long tail is overrated (everything’s overrated this week). At least that’s what The PPC Book is telling us. …
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Officially announced in March, Google’s Pay-Per-Action (PPA) BETA test has now been running for 8 months. In that time, advertisers and publishers alike have grown accustomed to the new system and are developing a sense for what works and what doesn’t. The only problem is that no one’s talking about it! There was considerable buzz upon launch, but the blogosphere has since mostly kept quiet.

Because of this lack of data, discussion and general “group think” brainstorming, …

It’s natural to be afraid of something you don’t understand. Fear can create distrust, and this can lead to griping and blaming the “problem” and not focusing on the solution. I see this when I read Graywolf’s article “Google Adwords More Pricing BS.” He is blaming AdWords and claims they’re ripping us off for requesting a higher minimum bid due to poor quality score, rather than finding a solution to his quality score problem and educating people on …

PPC Hero would like to wish all of our wonderful readers a very Happy Thanksgiving!

As you can see, PPC Hero couldn’t wait until Thursday! Turkey is one of his favorite foods, aside from Lifesavers, Ho Hos, beets and kung pao chicken!

Google’s content network is a completely different beast from the search network. To get great results from the content network you need to approach it with an entirely different perspective from search. A fresh, new perspective can found by doing a content network optimization to your account. Best of all: you don’t have to do it alone; your AdWords account representative will be happy to help! If you ask, they will provide you with a content optimization proposal. However, …

• If you perform SEM for an internet retail business, chances are you’ve had to run your fair share of test orders. Rimm-Kaufman posted a list of fake, but valid credit card numbers for easier testing (Visa, MC, AMEX, take your pick)!
• Dave Davis over at Red Fly Marketing gives a step-by-step synopsis of the new AdWords Content Exclusion BETA test. He makes several good points regarding taking a cautious approach to limiting the Content Network and that …
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