Some people may think that this holiday is basically just another way for greeting card writers and candy makers to make more money, but that’s not true - it’s a holiday where EVERYBODY can make some cash.

Since we have all had to tighten our wallets and spend money on more practical items, this may be the ideal time to sell your sweetheart on a new coffee pot, instead of the box of overpriced chocolates. When I think of what I would like to get for V-Day, it doesn’t always include the obvious. Especially now since I have to curb my spending on my daily Vanilla Soy Latte, a new Espresso Maker for the home doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

My point is this: Even if you think that your products may not be Valentines Day friendly, think again! Add some incentives to your PPC ads like: Free Shipping until Feb. 10 or Buy in time for Valentines Day and get 10% off.

Be creative and think outside of the box. You just never know what people will buy for that “Special Someone.”

Now is the time to take a look at your PPC ads and refresh. Review the performance of your ads, and pause those that have low clickthrough rates and low conversions; most search engines offer free Ad Performance reports.

Create fresh new ads and test them against ones that performed well in the past. It is advisable to run at least two ads in each Ad Group.  Sometimes changing just the order of the text or offering a different value proposition can have a big impact.

You may also want to test two ads with the same ad text, but with different landing pages. For example, if you have a special sale section, try using that landing page for one ad, and use your typical landing page for the second ad.

When testing, it is best to allow at least 2-4 weeks for enough data to collect in order to make an educated decision regarding whether or not an ad is working.

It is also important to remember to keep your site updated as well. Invest in an expert site evaluation every year to determine if your site needs additional features or design elements. Regardless of what professional you use for an evaluation, be sure to do your research on the company, and steer clear of any company that guarantees results.

Now, does anyone have the secret to keeping those resolutions to work out more, eat less snacks, and be a better person? If you do, please let me know!

All one had to do was ask, and in flooded a variety of non-perishable, health-conscious foods and an array of toiletry necessities. Once all was said and done, we collected hundreds of dollars of items which filled three baskets.

The friend was overwhelmed with emotion and appreciation. So, it all goes to show you, not only do we have tons of talent here at Solid Cactus, but our people have hearts of gold, too!

Happy holidays!

But, with the snow, also comes the need to adjust your PPC campaigns for the downslope of the holiday season.

Ideally, at the start of the shopping season, you would have increased your bids and incorporated holiday ads and campaigns. But now, it is time to pull back, decrease bids, and pause holiday ads and campaigns.

However, don’t underestimate the power of post-holiday shoppers. Get ready to create new promotions for the bargain hunters!

Have a wonderful and safe holiday season!

Apple just annouced they won’t be exhibiting at MacWorld this year.

Nothing like a “leader” walking away from their tribe in the midst of a rough economy & lack of any “new products.”

I’m an iPod user myself, but I’m not in love with the rest of their product line. I’d say, taking a cue from the boys over at Crispin Porter - “I’m A PC.”

And now, even more than ever

So now what? You’re busy filling orders and your PPC is humming along, but it’s not time to kick back with the egg nog just yet! Before you take a well deserved holiday, read on and see what you still need to do this holiday season. I’ve made my list and checked it twice (I know, I know… lame joke, but I can’t help myself):

• Shipping dates - Take a moment and look at the last date you can ship packages by regular mail. If you’re doing free or flat rate shipping promotions, this is when you’ll want to cut back on those. In the last few days before Christmas, customers will need to choose expedited shipping in order to receive gifts in time. In some cases, it may be cheaper for them to go out and buy their gifts at a retail store, rather than online. Save yourself the headache of having to refund orders that don’t show up in time by taking down any shipping messages you have running once you hit your cut off date.
• Promotion codes ending - Have you done any special holiday promos outside of shipping, like free gifts or a percentage off orders? Now’s the time to review the end dates you set for them and set reminders for yourself. If your coupons all expire on December 24th, shut those ads off!
• Decreased search traffic - While some of us will be using all the gift cards we received on Christmas night, in general there’s a bit of a slump in search traffic and buying on Christmas eve and day. If you’re not able to check in, it might be in your best interest to turn down bids a bit for the actual holidays while people aren’t buying as much.
• After holiday sales - Once you’ve made it to December 26th, the work still isn’t over! Many businesses will be doing after holiday sales to take advantage off all the gift cards/cash gifts/etc that are floating around. It’s also a chance for you to push any extra inventory you’d like to move.

I hope this list helps everyone prep for the final week before Christmas. If you have ideas to add to this list, please comment and share!

Avoid a stew full of themes and terms.  For example, if you sell sporting goods, you wouldn’t want to have basketballs, tennis shoes and hockey pads all in one ad group; it is just too many themes. Instead, try creating a campaign for each sport; within each campaign, you can then set up ad groups for the categories of products you sell for that sport (e.g. accessories, clothing, equipment, training videos, etc.)

(Shown in photo are Sue and Scott at Saguaro's.)

Remember, your keywords are married to your ads; therefore, you want to ensure that your ad text and keywords are very closely related. If you are finding that is not the case, it is usually an indication that you need to break apart your ad group into multiple ad groups.

An organized ad group is not only easier with which to work, but it also positively affects quality score, which, in turn, will help reduce your cost-per-click (CPC).

Remember, too many cooks can spoil the broth, so don’t spoil your PPC account with a jambalaya of campaigns, ad groups, keywords and ads!

We’ve had intense debates in our department as to how we should decorate our tree. There were a lot of great suggestions, but we couldn’t decide on just one. As the days wore on, our tree was getting mighty frustrated. Thanksgiving was over and he needed to be decorated. Finally, enough was enough! On Monday morning, he broke loose from his chains (aka the power strip he was plugged in to), and retreated to the coat closet, where he adorned himself with all the spare decorations he could find. He also doesn’t like having his picture taken, as you can see in the mugshot below.

In order to get the word out about our tree’s new location, we’ve posted some Adwords ads around the office. Just don’t get too close if you go to check him out. I heard he bites!! Your best bet is to just start reading his blog instead.

So many clients have commented on the Internet Marketing team here at Solid Cactus. I have heard people saying, “Wow, you guys really love what you do!” and “It’s nice to know that I have someone that cares so much about their job.” We love what we do and it doesn’t go unnoticed :) Internet marketers are a different breed, we get so involved with our accounts and how they perform that sometimes that’s all we could talk about. Even after hours when coworkers hang out, the conversation always turns back to something involving PPC, such as a new tactic that we have tried or the latest trends throughout different industries.

Getting back into the swing of things seemed a little scary at first, but once I started it was like “riding a bike,” you never really forget it. I’m excited to work with my old clients again and get to know my new ones. I look forward to a long ride here in the land of PPC.