The Incentric team visited SMX East this past week, the worlds largest Search Engine Marketing expo, conference, and workshop. There, we took a deep dive into some great sessions so we could spread the PPC knowledge onto you!

1. Google isn’t calling it AdWords anymore for a reason.

Google has recently rebranded AdWords into simply, Google Ads, which was done in an effort to simplify the platform. This name change is indicative of where the product has been heading over the past few years. It’s grown into an advertising suite for not only search but display, video, app install & more.

With this evolution, It’s safe to say that keywords are becoming less and less important. We’re seeing a shift in focus from a keyword-centric strategy to focusing more on audience targeting and competitor conquesting. Keywords are just one lever to your SEM strategy. (more…)

Dave Varhol

Dave is a Paid Search Strategist at Incentric. Fascinated by the way buyers make purchase decisions, you’ll usually find him optimizing a PPC campaign, researching keywords or trying to keep up with the latest Google trends. If not that, he’s probably out on the water or up in the mountains, depending on the season.

Wondering where to find the nearest Starbucks to get your fall pumpkin spice fix? “Just Bing it!” …said no one ever.

Despite underwhelming popularity, Bing is bigger than you think, and while certainly not the most popular search engine, about 33% of all searches in the USA last year were from Bing. While clearly “little brother” to the almighty Google, Bing often doesn’t get the credit it rightly deserves. As marketers, we cannot ignore its presence!

There are a lot of reasons we recommend you consider incorporating advertising on Bing into your strategy. Worried about rocking the boat with your current mix? Try an 80/20 approach and allocate a small portion of your Google paid search budget to Bing Ads and test the waters. Diversifying your marketing mix between Google and Bing will also allow you to test different audiences who frequent each platform. For example, Bing is typically known for having an older, wealthier user-base. According to Bing, about 40% of the network is between 35-54 years old and over one-third of Bing users have a household income of over $100,000. (more…)

Dave Varhol

Dave is a Paid Search Strategist at Incentric. Fascinated by the way buyers make purchase decisions, you’ll usually find him optimizing a PPC campaign, researching keywords or trying to keep up with the latest Google trends. If not that, he’s probably out on the water or up in the mountains, depending on the season.

There’s no doubt that running a successful paid search campaign can be a profitable strategy for your business if done properly. But to get that ROI back, you need to fully understand what you’re getting yourself into. Not surprisingly, Google makes it VERY easy to spend money in AdWords, and things can get out of hand quite quickly if you aren’t sure what you’re doing.

Here are 4 considerations to help you kick-start your paid search campaign,  attain a healthy CTR, and drive positive ROI! (more…)

Dave Varhol

Dave is a Paid Search Strategist at Incentric. Fascinated by the way buyers make purchase decisions, you’ll usually find him optimizing a PPC campaign, researching keywords or trying to keep up with the latest Google trends. If not that, he’s probably out on the water or up in the mountains, depending on the season.

Video usage and consumption is most certainly on the rise (our 2018 trends piece failed to disappoint). Just take a look at these staggering video marketing stats below that will have you reaching for your camera in no time. Speaking of cameras, you don’t need to have the latest 4k RED Epic professional camera to create a well-made video. So pull that iPhone out of your pocket and start filming! (more…)

Dave Varhol

Dave is a Paid Search Strategist at Incentric. Fascinated by the way buyers make purchase decisions, you’ll usually find him optimizing a PPC campaign, researching keywords or trying to keep up with the latest Google trends. If not that, he’s probably out on the water or up in the mountains, depending on the season.

What is Google Tag Manager?

Simply put, Google Tag Manager is a free tool offered by Google that allows your marketing team or agency the ability to add and edit your own website tags without involving “the website guy.” Nothing against our fellow web developers, but setting up a remarketing, conversion tracking, or analytics campaigns for clients is typically more time-efficient with fewer cooks in the kitchen. Rather than manually adding tags to your website, Google Tag Manager acts as a container where you can easily manage tags in one place without having to be a coding expert.  (more…)

Dave Varhol

Dave is a Paid Search Strategist at Incentric. Fascinated by the way buyers make purchase decisions, you’ll usually find him optimizing a PPC campaign, researching keywords or trying to keep up with the latest Google trends. If not that, he’s probably out on the water or up in the mountains, depending on the season.