Articles by Timothy Johnson
Timothy Johnson // 14 Oct, 2016
Are You Utilizing Your Email List?
Email lists are very powerful and have many different applications. They’re a great way to re-engage past customers, share your great content/knowledge, and keep your business at the front of people’s minds. If you aren’t using yours (or if you don’t keep one), no judgment. Okay, maybe a little judgment, but here are some things… Read More
Timothy Johnson // 23 Sep, 2016
Introduction to Amazon Ads Strategy
Amazon is a no-brainer for most E-commerce sellers. Potential customers look to Amazon more often than ever and listing your products there is a quick way to boost sales. Getting visibility for your products isn’t always easy, though. Amazon is a search engine just like Google and just like Google it helps to pay-to-play. Amazon Seller… Read More
Timothy Johnson // 19 Aug, 2016
13 Digital Priorities for Small Businesses
It’s more important than ever for all small businesses to have a strong presence online. Regardless of industry, customers are online all day long, whether it be on their desktop at work, phone on a bus, or tablet at home on the couch. Representing your business well digitally is easier said than done. Getting found… Read More
Timothy Johnson // 22 Jul, 2016
Product Feed Optimization for Google Shopping
Most commonly, advertisers starting off with a paid search platform such as AdWords reach their respective audience through keyword targeting. However, with Google Shopping (or product listing ads), e-commerce businesses utilize a product feed as the main targeting tool. The feed contains information about your products such as price, availability, brand, etc. The better the… Read More
Timothy Johnson // 8 Jul, 2016
Google AdWords Display Banner Specifications and Best Practices
Thinking about experimenting with the Google Display Network (GDN)? This could mean a variety of different things, but most commonly, this means showing banner ads on site that are a part of the GDN. The GDN isn’t exclusively for banner ads. Ad formats vary from text ads to video ads, animated banners, and ads on… Read More
Timothy Johnson // 17 Jun, 2016
The Dangers of Putting PPC in a Silo
One of the seemingly wonderful things about PPC is that in many cases it can be an almost stand-alone channel. Ready to go at a moment’s notice, self-contained between ad and landing page, with immediate feedback and optimization through built-in analytics. That said, putting PPC in a silo is tempting, but dangerous. As someone who… Read More
Timothy Johnson // 27 May, 2016
What are UTM Codes? …and Why You Should Use Them
UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module. The name is a holdover from back in the day before Google Analytics (GA) was around. Urchin was a web analytics program acquired by Google back in 2005, which marked the beginning of GA. UTM codes are simple snippets of code appended to the end of URLs that communicate… Read More
Timothy Johnson // 18 May, 2016
5 Inexpensive Ways to Grow Your SMB Online
For most small- and medium-sized businesses, competing online against the big players can be daunting. How are you supposed to match their seemingly infinite marketing budgets when you may just have a few thousand dollars a month to work with? If this sounds familiar, don’t despair. There is still a lot you can do without… Read More
Timothy Johnson // 12 May, 2016
Building Successful PPC: Implementing Ad Extensions
AdWords offers several types of ad extensions that can be used to provide useful information to customers. This includes phone numbers, directions, additional products/services, and more. Ad Extensions are simple to set up and do not cost anything extra. Expect a click-through rate boost when using these too. The differentiation of having them helps your… Read More
Timothy Johnson // 11 May, 2016
Building Successful PPC: Writing Engaging Ads
Writing engaging ads for your target audience is instrumental for AdWords success. In order for ads to be engaging they need to be relevant, informative, and in line with what the user is searching for. Having ads with irrelevant ad copy is a great way to spend money on wasteful clicks, and having ads that… Read More
Timothy Johnson // 10 May, 2016
Building Successful PPC: Researching Keywords
After creating your PPC account structure and establishing standard campaign settings, it’s time to start researching and adding keywords in your ad groups. Having a descriptive keyword list that characterizes your product or offering precisely will help put your ads in front of a relevant audience searching to find the solution you can fulfill for… Read More
Timothy Johnson // 20 Apr, 2016
11 Tips for Low Budget PPC Advertisers
Return on investment is everything for small and medium sized businesses looking to buy pay-per-click advertising on a budget. With many different features and settings to navigate through, running a successful PPC campaign is easier said than done. Factor in a typically smaller-than-your-competition budget and competing successfully can be daunting. Small business owners and marketers… Read More
Timothy Johnson // 9 Sep, 2015
Should I Use SEM to Promote My Content?
A lot of time, effort and resources go into creating high quality content for your business. Regardless of format – infographic, blog post, video or something else – you need to create, produce and publish every piece. You’re expending resources: Time, money or both. After making that hefty initial investment you need to get it… Read More
Timothy Johnson // 21 Oct, 2014
Google to Localize Call Extensions. Hurrah?
Starting in early November, Google will allow advertisers to use local area codes in their call extensions that utilize Google forwarding numbers. Previously, you had two options: use your own number and lose the ability to track calls in AdWords, or use an (866) forwarding number randomly assigned to your ads. With this new feature,… Read More
Timothy Johnson // 7 Mar, 2014
Bing’s Automated PPC Solution for Small Businesses
Running paid search campaigns takes time, money and experience that many small businesses don’t have. They may have heard of PPC before and have thought about whether it can help their business, but who has the time or knowhow to run an AdWords or Bing Ads campaign? AdWords Express is Google’s automated PPC solution for… Read More