Understanding the Potential Power of a Click... or a Man with no Hat

A lot of us that deal in clicks and impressions and conversions have a tendency to get lost in the numbers presented to us. Seeing as we don't function in a vacuum, you have to take into account a lot of what ifs when determining cost per conversion and return on investment numbers. What if someone clicked my ad and bookmarked it to make a purchase later? What if they saw my ad and called in an order? What if they saw my ad and then came to the store?

Recently I lived out one of those untrackable what if conversion tracks and thought it would be a good example of how there is more value to your advertising than what is tracked in your Adwords campaign.

I have what I would categorize as a slight internet addiction, and a taste for hard to find products... luckily these are complimentary problems. Being bald and Californian, also complimentary problems, necessitates the acquisition of a good hat... unless you look good with a red, peeling scalp. Since I have a general distaste for regular baseball hats, especially seeing as any team I like is pretty much horrible (Milwaukee Brewers anyone?), I've made a move to fedoras. So far I'm a fan, they're fun and different, keep my head and ears (bonus!) covered, and ...if I may say so myself... look pretty suave on me :) Here's the problem, when's the last time you came across a fedora store in the last 40 years? Yeah me neither.

So here comes the internet to the rescue! I did my initial Google search for Fedora and got all kinds of Linux related stuff, not helpful. So I expanded it to Fedora Hats and hit pay dirt. I clicked on one of the Adwords ads and found a site that I really liked. It was easy to navigate and had a good selection. Problem was I didn't feel comfortable dropping $200 on a hat I couldn't try on first. Feeling somewhat defeated, I proceeded to sulk through their site a little more. Eventually I came across their Location page and realized I was going to be in their state and driving past their store in about a month, problem solved! I bookmarked their page and printed directions on Google Maps of my little side trip before I flew out.

Fast forward about a month and there I was about 2000 miles from home in their doorway with cash in hand. Unfortunately for your friend and humble narrator, they were closed... and I burnt my head sitting on the 3rd base line of a Cubs game the next day.

So there are 3 lessons to learn here... One little click can do more than you think! Make sure the days you're open on the website actually correspond to how locked your doors are on the day a bald guy shows up from half way across the country to buy a hat. And finally, Lesson 3, if you're bald pack sunscreen irregardless of your destination.

I Left My Brain in My Other Phone

I was reading an article in Wired Magazine (Human Memory and the Outboard Brain by Clive Thompson) this weekend about how computers, PDA's, cell phones, and Google have replaced quaint and outdated things like actual human memory. In a recent study, respondents over 50 years old were substantially more likely to be able to recall information like phone numbers and birthdays than those 30 and under. A full third of the younger set didn't even know their own number off the top of their head. It's enough to make you wonder if your business has enough visibility on the web for those who use Google as an external hard drive for their brain.

As a member of that under 30 group, I can vouch for our collective inability to remember dates and numbers. Case in point - my old cell phone is roaming the streets of Milwaukee in a cab somewhere with how to get a hold of pretty much everybody I at least sort of know. Once I flew back into San Luis Obispo and bought a new cell phone I proceeded to put 3 numbers into my phone from memory: Mom, Girlfriend, Work... pretty much everybody that might yell at me, and then I hit the wall. Luckily the Internet knows everything I forgot. A bunch of e-mails, a Myspace bulletin, and some Google searches later I'm at least half way back to my original phonebook glory.

Notice not once did a physical phonebook come into play. That's because we all rely on websites, devices and search engines to find things.

So how does this apply to Internet Marketing?

If you're not in Google you don't exist. It sounds a little harsh, but for most people if they can't find you in just a few minutes they're done and on to the next thing. If you like customers and you like money, it's in your best interest to make sure that someone searching explicitly for you will always be able to find you.

Now some of you will say "but I'm first on Google for my business!" Well that is all well and good, but unless you're a major company like Microsoft or Wal-Mart an unfortunate tweak to the algorithm could send you off to the outer reaches of page 10 never to be seen again. What we recommend to any business is to have a Pay Per Click phonebook style listing for your business. Google is the new phonebook! Advertise on your business name, important people associated with your business (owner, founders, sales people, etc.) and the type of business you run plus the street/mall/plaza that you reside in. For example you could advertise on "car wash Grand Ave Arroyo Grande," that way if someone knows you but forgot who you are; they still have a shot at finding you. How many times have you tried to explain what business "that great place over on main street" is that really like but can't remember the name of?

Not advertising online is like not putting a sign on your store... a good way to save money and a bad idea. And you don't have to be a Rockefeller to get in the game. A small PPC campaign like this won't cost you much money, and won't get huge amounts of traffic. But it will tend to be of the highest quality traffic which is more likely to result in a purchase. They were specifically looking for you by a very specific search, which in my book is money well spent. Now if I could just do a Google search for my phone...