The biggest take away of the infographic is that shopping paid ads showed up on 19.1% of the queries that were used. Shopping ads is a relatively new feature but as you can see many companies have started to take advantage. Google has found yet another way to leverage their search engine to increase revenue.

Produced by SEOmoz. ©2013.

Watch this video to find out how to select the best keywords for your campaign.

If you have any questions about how to create a profitable keyword list or need help with your improving pay per click campaign contact us.

This week we will look at the growth of smart phones and how they can and will be used in the future.

This is pretty amazing the fact the so many people have mobile phones in non developed countries. 

New More People Have Mobile Phones Than Electricity Or Drinking …

stephenslighthouse.com5/6/12

More People Have Mobile Phones Than Electricity Or Drinking Water. More People Have Mobile … This slide from analyst Chetan Sharma shows that mobile is the most pervasive technology ever invented. As you can see, …

More and more people are recycling their mobile phones and as you can see by the article below more phones are being produced by recycled materials.

400m mobile phones to be green by 2017 [Report] | memeburn

memeburn.com5/9/12

400m mobile phones to be green by 2017 [Report] … In fact, the number of phones like the Samsung Replenish — made from 82% recycled materials – is set to grow more than 10 times by 2017. UK-based tech analysis …

This is one of the most inspiring articles about how mobile phones can be used in the classroom.

How Teachers Make Cell Phones Work in the Classroom | MindShift

blogs.kqed.org5/10/12

A.P. Chemistry students use their cell phones to answer their teacher’s question. When we talk about using cell phones in class, we’re not just talking about using cell phones in class. The idea of mobile learning touches on …

Video is hot and usage of video on the mobile phones have exploded.

Mobile Video App Usage Skyrockets

personalweb.about.com5/13/12

The report measured which activities on smart phones are gaining speed or claiming a larger amount of time spent by users. Mobile video sharing and photo sharing claimed 89 percent more time spent by mobile phone users …

According to Google mobile search leads to a purchase. Here are the stats that back up what Google has to say. A quarter of U.S. smartphone internet users who searched for local businesses on their phone made a purchase in store.

1 in 5 people who searched on their smartphone made a purchase online. More than 50 percent of the people called the business and 49 percent looked up the business on the the map.

These stats are incredible and it shows that people use their phones when they are in the purchasing state of mind much more than on their laptops or desktop computers. When you combine that with the fact that people always have their phone with them and it is always on you have a powerful combination.

This is very beneficial to a small brick and mortar business because you can now compete the with large chains for local customers. This is of course if you have a mobile marketing plan in place.

The report goes on to say that 61% of small business owners are not currently promoting their business through mobile search. Small business owners have limited budgets and 64 percent act as a one person marketing department. Most small business owners are strapped for time so they decide to deal with what they know than to learn new techniques because of time constraints. I urge you to be one of the business owners who takes the time learn the value of mobile and marketing strategies.

The bottom line of this report is that if you are not engaged in mobile marketing you are losing business and probably to your competition. I know it can be confusing and seem overwhelming but speak to a mobile expert to help you with the technology, you will not be sorry.

If you would like to speak to a mobile expert contact us at Blue Ice 404-576-8504 for a no obligation consultation.

How Mobile Can Help your Business Grow!

Mobile marketing allows businesses to connect with people who are interested in your type of products and services and it takes your marketing to a whole new level. To help emphasize how mobile marketing and a mobile app can help your business stay in front of your customers think about when you leave your house. What are the 3 things that always take with you?

1. Your wallet or purse

2. Your keys

3. Your phone

If you have a smart phone than leaving your house without it would be unheard of.

So what can people do with a smart phone? They can make calls, find a restaurant, get directions, buy and order products, and so much more. The mobile phone has become part of our identity. Being in front of your competition when it comes to mobile marketing will set you apart and you will become memorable to your customers.

Here are are some interesting information in regards to mobile devices:

• There have been 10.9 plus billion app downloads.
• Mobile marketing is expected to increase by 66 times in 2013.
• There are more mobile devices in the world than there are cars.
• 51% of local searches are performed on a mobile device.

The numbers above is staggering and it blows away the growth of the internet when it came on the scene.

So what does this mean and how do you leverage this information if you are a business? If you have a mobile app for your business here are 3 ways to keep your customers engaged.

1. Push Notifications – This allows you to send messages to people who have downloaded your app. You can keep them up to date on the latest happenings and news within your company.

2. Click to Call – With a simple press of the button your customers can call directly to your business. This eliminates the need to have to search for your phone number.

3. Special Deals – Let your customers know when you have a special deal running. This will improve customer loyalty and keep them engaged.

The old saying is getting a customer is hard but keeping that customer is even harder. Don’t make it hard on yourself and adopt a mobile marketing strategy.

If you need help with your mobile marketing strategy you can call us at 404.576.8504. For our free report “How To Grow Your Market, Brand, & Profits With Mobile Apps” fill out our contact form.

]]> http://www.blueiceinteractive.com/blog/2012/05/08/how-mobile-apps-help-you-stay-in-front-of-customers/feed/ 0 http://www.blueiceinteractive.com/blog/2012/05/04/mobile-apps-for-business/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mobile-apps-for-business http://www.blueiceinteractive.com/blog/2012/05/04/mobile-apps-for-business/#comments Fri, 04 May 2012 12:47:29 +0000 admin http://www.blueiceinteractive.com/?p=901 Read More]]> Find the latest news the week of April 28th – May 4th 2012. This week we will look at mobile apps for businesses. With the rise of smart phones and tablets mobile apps can help a business gain valuable real estate and build their brand on an uncluttered medium.

It is no surprise that small businesses are growing using mobile and are looking to expand their mobile marketing efforts…it works.

Small Businesses Credit Mobile Marketing With New Business Activity

www.mobilemarketingwatch.com5/3/12

If a small business is growing today, there’s a good chance mobile marketing has something to do with it. That’s according to a new Small Business Mobile Survey from Web.com Group, Inc. On Thursday, results of the new …

This is good news for people who have mobile apps and invest in Google adwords.

Advertising Your Mobile Apps on Google Just Got a Whole Lot …

searchenginewatch.com5/2/12

If you’re advertising mobile apps, it just got a lot easier to position your apps in front of active searchers. Not only did your marketing reach expand, but you can more easily track downloads. Here’s a rundown of Google’s new …

Facebook is a power house and will continue to be for driving traffic.

Facebook sent 160M visitors to mobile apps in April | Internet …

news.cnet.com5/1/12

Social network’s traffic to mobile apps and games has nearly tripled in two months. Read this blog post by Steven Musil on Internet & Media.

Big businesses know the value of mobile for their business and are expanding their reach.

What’s Next For Mobile Tech In The US – Business Insider

articles.businessinsider.com4/30/12

Hear from Bravo, 1-800-Flowers, the NHL and other brands at the Mobile Advertising conference on June 14, 2012 in New York. From branded apps to geo-targeting, from mobile video to iPad–find out.

Not so fast Yelp. Google is still the go to search engine.

THE GOOGLE INVESTOR: MAY 3 – Business Insider

www.businessinsider.com5/3/12

Yelp Points Out That Mobile Apps Cut Out Google (Business Insider) Mobile is the fastest growing segment of Internet users. And when users download an app, they no longer need Google to find what they’re looking for.

1. Start with Google

Google gets the most traffic so naturally you want to set your mobile ppc campaign up with Google in mind. They dominate the mobile market and since they have a click to call option than you want to make sure you have your phone number in the ad copy.

2. Track your conversions with a dedicated phone number

You really should be tracking with a dedicated phone number and keyword level tracking but depending on your budget a dedicated number should work fine. There are a number of vendors on the market today that you can provision a number and it will forward to your existing phone number. The cost is usually minimal based on the solution but the results are well worth the cost.

3.  Segment Mobile and Desktop campaigns

Google allows you to run desktop and mobile campaigns so if you are currently running a campaign than go ahead and make the switch.

4. Mobile Ready Website

This is a biggie. You want to have a mobile ready website and if possible mobile landing pages. There is nothing more frustrating to a consumer than to go to a website on their mobile phone and have to scroll around. You will lose them as soon as they land on your site if it is not mobile accessible.

5. Mobile Users and Intent

When a person searches for a business or product on their mobile phone the intent is quite different than if they searched on their desktop. When using a mobile phone they are ready to make a purchase, visit, or call so take advantage of the fact that they want to buy.

You are going to get sick of hearing this from me but local businesses need to take mobile marketing seriously and map out a plan.

In his article he states that last year more than 50 per cent of all local searches were conducted via a mobile device. This is an incredible number and to be honest I did not realize that it was this high. I knew that local searches were on the rise on mobile devices but this blew me away.

What this tells me is that your consumer is always on the go and always has their smartphone or tablet with them. It is a lot easier for people to do a quick search on their mobile phone or tablet than it is to fire up their computer.

So what does this mean for you the local business owner? If you do not have a mobile marketing strategy you should think about implementing one as quick as possible. Your marketing material should reflect your strategy with mobile only adwords account, mobile apps, and mobile search. Do not think this is a fad and will go away because it will not it will only continue to grow. Think about how your customers find you and how you can engage with them through their mobile devices.

You could be losing valuable customers as we speak if you do have a mobile strategy in place. I have been ringing the bell for quite some time that mobile is the future and it is here to stay.

If you want to know more about how to set up a mobile marketing campaign we would be glad to assist you. Call us at 404-576-8504 or will out our contact form.

To read the article mention above:

Mobile devices and local search: Reaching a tipping point – Mobile …

www.mobilecommercedaily.com5/1/12

Here is a jaw-dropping statistic: Last year, more than 50 percent of all local searches were conducted from a mobile device. More than one out of every two searches that have local intent were made on a mobile device.

Mobile applications can boost small business sales – – Five Point …

www.fivepointcapital.com4/27/12

Consumers continue investing in mobile technology at a rapid clip and are using related devices more often for online shopping. Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project discovered that 75 percent of polled …

To fully optimize your campaign there needs to be a plan in place to calculate return on investment and most importantly your cost per conversion. Since the end goal of a pay per click campaign is to generate leads and sales you need all of the information before you can make an assessment of the effectiveness.

When I take a look at most pay per click campaigns I see one glaring weakness that rarely if ever is talked about and that is call tracking. Most companies only track when a prospect fills out a form or completes a purchase online. They do not take into account if their pay per click campaign generates calls and rarely ever track the phone conversions to the keyword level.

If phone calls are not being tracked than mistakes can be made when it comes to cutting keywords that they see as under performing and increasing bids on keywords that are not performing as well as one might think. Phone call tracking at the keyword level can help you close the loop on your actual cost per conversion and your overall return on investment.

There are a lot of features that are included when you use phone call tracking that can also help you improve on your overall conversion rate. One of my favorites is call recording. You can go back and  listen to the calls to make sure they were answered properly and the customer was engaged. Call recordings can also be used as a sale training tools so that all of your representatives are aware of how to handle customer interaction.

If I walk into a prospects office the first thing I ask them is how they are currently tracking their conversions. If they say only by lead captures I immediately suggest adding call level tracking. Without keyword level tracking they are only seeing a small part of the conversion picture.

If you are interested in keyword level tracking let us know and we can help get it implemented.