Clicks 'n Conversions Blog

Will Pay-Per Click work for you?
Happy New Year everyone!
In the 4th quarter of last year we began getting more than the usual amount of contact from companies interested in trying pay per click – whether for the first time or after a less-than-successful previous attempt. This increased interest is not terribly surprising given a number [...]

While the rest of us were making holiday plans last December, the Federal Trade Commission adopted their “Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
For my first blog entry of 2010, I was hoping I could provide an overview of the changes that impact marketers and copywriters, but alas, with an 81-page document, that [...]

The Secret to Action-Oriented Marketing Measurement
Last week I wrote about the marketing metrics we track at Clicks ‘n Conversions and I promised to share the secret to developing a tracking system that drives change. Well, here it is: to be truly useful, a marketing measurement system must do more than just track where you are [...]

Measure Your Marketing for Big Improvements in 2010
If I could get you to do one single marketing-related thing in 2010 it would be to start actively measuring – and acting on – the performance of your marketing program. If you’re already measuring, start holding people accountable. And if you’re already doing that, call me. We [...]

I was reminded again yesterday how quickly a neutral opinion about a company can turn sour when marketers choose to focus on list size.
For whatever reason, my name was added to a non-profit’s prospect database after a prior working relationship I had with them. Since that time, I’ve received e-newsletters (which I unsubscribed to), e-mail [...]

From the Week of December 7, 2009
Search Engine Marketing Most Important Tool for Small Businesses in 2010
According to a recent study of businesses with fewer than 500 employees conducted by VerticalResponse, the most important tool for small businesses to succeed in 2010 is search engine marketing. These businesses also consider email marketing, public relations and [...]

Are you getting enough?
This may not be the most startling statement you read today, but it’s still worth making:
The number of people who buy your product is mathematically
related to the number of people who visit your website.
More visitors = more sales.
Well maybe it’s not entirely that simple. You could drive junk traffic to your site [...]

Making Marketing Happen – Are Baby Steps Better?
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what keeps good business owners from running a good marketing program. Based on my double-digit years of marketing experience, I feel comfortable in saying that the real reason most companies have less than stellar marketing results is not because of lack [...]

Recently I sat in on a presentation by Ronny Kohavi, GM for Microsoft’s Experimentation Platform. The talk was called Top Seven Testing Pitfalls.  Among other things, it gave me some good ammo to share with you on the subject of why constant testing is so critical.
As a lifelong marketer, I am thrilled – thrilled – [...]

When pressed to cut words in order to save PR fees or publish an article in a magazine, most people reach for a hatchet to strike entire sentences, paragraphs, and thoughts from their piece.
Admittedly, a hatchet is sometimes necessary, but more often than not, light editing techniques can cut copy by 10% (or more) without [...]