Reppin’ Yo ‘Hood

Attention on Deck! It is I, Mike “Manimal” Rowland, back with more PPC knowledge for my Fanimals! At ease–sit back and have a pen handy, because you never know when I am going to drop a gem like a thief with no thumbs…Now that spring is here, I must say I am feeling fine like cherry wine (yeah, the good stuff, WITHOUT the brown paper bag). The sun is shining, days are longer and the snow is finally gone. That means two things; 1)I have to pay some kid $15 for lack-luster lawn cutting (Chris–you better cut the back yard next time; just don’t look my dogs in the eye) and the second thing; I roll out my baby; a ‘72 Eldorado. That’s right. Whitewalls, baby.

I took her out cruising around town (at 3 mph because whitewall Caddies don’t go, they show!) and I cruised by some basketball courts. That got me thinking about a couple of things. First, if I was really rich, I would pay someone to follow me around with a basketball hoop and ball. Then I would randomly pick people out (in a mall, restaurant, library, wherever) and have my guy quietly come up behind them with the hoop and then I would gorilla dunk on them. Then maybe have a crowd follow me around and cheer (not sure yet, it’s still a work in progress). The second was where to get that basketball equipment. When I came home I hopped online and searched for the nearest basketball shop near me. And you know what? I only saw two ads for local shops. Needless to say, I bought from one of them that day. Now I just need millions of dollars and an assistant who can carry a hoop for long periods of time. Patience, Manimal, patience..

Now all my Fanimals out there are saying, “Sir, where are you going with all of this?” Patience, Fanimals; like an Elder Warrior Chief, my wisdom reveals itself when you immerse oneself into the Tales of “Two Dogs” Manimal. What my story highlighted, was the importance of Geo-Targeting your ads; or, as the rappers or suburban kids who memorized the latest Snoop Dogg CD say, “Reppin’ Yo ‘Hood!!” You need to ‘represent’ locally with your PPC ads!

With geo-targeting your ads, immediacy and precise geographic locations are essential. Specific geographic locations are called granularity, on a granular level is where you can really target you clietele. Lets say your brick and mortar store is in Fairfax, VA. You want to target your ads in and around Fairfax; mention ‘Fairfax” in your ads, make your destination URL take them to a page with your store’s directions, hours, number, etc. Too many business want to take on the world, but forget to take advantage of the local base!

“But Manimal, we have an ad in the phone book!” Listen here, I am going to tell you something and this could be very hard to digest. Print ads are a sinking ship. Now you can either pull a Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic or you can come with me if you want to live. Want the facts? Kelsey Group and BIA Advisory services (among other) say the printing advertising market is and has been on the decline. You get better focus and you capture more impulsive customers and leads than from someone just flipping through the phone book (I read the phone book once. A lot of characters, not much plot).

Still not convinced? Keep doubting me and I’ll pull your Manimal Fan Club card! How about I talk money…We all know the times are tough; hey, I cut back and started using two-ply instead of Huggies Calming Touch Baby Wipes W/ Mega Lavender & Chamomile–so Manimal feels all his Fanimal’s pain. With geo-targeting, you can maximize the efficiencies of your campaigns and boost your ROAS (return on ad spend). Lets say I sell leopard print Speedos and gold chains (click at your own risk!). I get a decent amount of conversions and I think I am alright with my CPA. This is hypothetical, because we should never settle for ‘decent’. The Speedos might not be hypothetical, though. Anyway, after checking my orders, I see that I get a lot of orders from Miami and anywhere in New Jersey. I then can geo-target those locations and thus focus more of my budget to those two leopard print, gold chain wearing areas, while saving money from less active/converting states and regions! You can even launch to Miami areas sooner than New Jersey; since Miami weather gets warmer earlier, you can capture early sales!

So there you have it; geo-targeting is an essential element to a successful PPC and if you are serious about maximizing your accounts performance, you need to geo-target!!

Dismissed….