Recent Articles
Is link bait dying as a search engine optimization technique?
Apr 2, 2007 Blogging, Google, Linking, Search Engine Optimization 12 Comments
Whether you love it or hate it, link bait has been going strong for about a year now, with webmasters and bloggers carefully crafting titles and articles for the maximum amount of link baiting goodness. But like all SEO techniques that webmasters run wild with until it is done to death, is link bait due to be exterminated as a usable technique?
Using dynamic keyword insertion in AdWords URLs for higher click throughs
Apr 1, 2007 Google, Pay Per Click 10 Comments
While most people use dynamic keyword insertion in their Google AdWords campaigns for ease of use and customization when using large lists of keywords or to use for tracking purposes, most people don’t realize they can also use dynamic keyword insertion in their display URLs to increase clickthroughs as well.
First, let’s look at the display URL and how it works. This is the URL that AdWords displays when your ad shows up in the Google search results or when displaying on the search or content network. And as per AdWords requirements, this display URL must match the destination URL…. however, what most people don’t realize is that they don’t need to match exactly.
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Creating a navigation structure for both usability & SEO
Mar 31, 2007 Search Engine Optimization, Usability 8 Comments
How many times have you seen a hot looking navigation structure, only to discover it is practically useless when you tried to actually use it? Or when you are trying to find a site in the search results, but the site’s entire Google snippet consists of nothing but the list of categories taken from the site’s navigation?
When designing a site’s navigation structure, it is one area where it is crucial to carefully balance the needs of usability with the needs of search engine optimization. And unfortunately, it is one area that non-SEO web designers tend to excel on one or the other, but rarely both. There are several things you need to consider when designing your site’s navigation structure, so that you don’t discover problems with it down the road when wondering why your bounce rate is so high or why your pages aren’t being indexed as well as they should.
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How to Brand with Google AdWords & Pay Per Click
Mar 30, 2007 Branding, Google, Pay Per Click 2 Comments
Branding with pay per click ads is one of those hard things to track. When you are branding, you are not necessarily looking for clicks or conversions, although those can be seen as an added bonus. As a result, traditional methods of creating and tracking ad campaigns, as you would for regular keyword targeted campaigns, are thrown out the window when you are using pay per click strictly for the branding aspect.
With branding, it is all about getting your brand out there to be seen by as many eyeballs as possible… while paying the least amount possible. And if you are doing it correctly, your brand becomes known and easily recognizable within your market area, even if there is not the corresponding ad clicks to your site… something that tends to make some advertising execs very nervous. But in reality, it is not that much different from advertising through magazines where you have lots of eyeballs for branding potential, even if they don’t end up going to the URL listed in the ad.
Why brand with pay per click? First, if you do it correctly, you can get those eyeballs for a relatively cheap amount when you compare it to the pricing with regular keyword targeting. And if you have a recognizable logo – or one you want to be recognizable – you can also explore using image and video ads to compliment your branding campaign. But branding with pay per click, and particularly Google AdWords, is something that many pay per click advertisers overlook when considering their marketing efforts. However, following these steps will show how to easily start a branding campaign while spending the least amount possible on it.
About
Mar 29, 2007 Uncategorized Leave a comment
Jennifer Slegg began as a freelance writer, and then turned to writing content for the web ten years ago. She is definitely a writer at heart! She has created numerous content-rich and community based sites in niche markets since initially venturing onto her first website, and as a result, Jen is well versed in the many ways to monetize content online. She also an expert with the many problems writers face online, such as copyright infringement and duplicate content issues (and especially how to deal with these issues in Google), and how to combat them so it doesn’t affect search rankings.
Acknowledged as the leading expert on the Google AdSense contextual advertising program & the Yahoo Publisher Network, she also writes on JenSense: Making Sense of Contextual Advertising, a blog dealing exclusively with contextual advertising issues for publishers. Her unique style brings insight to both publishers and advertisers of contextual advertising programs. She is also well known as Jenstar on the various search forums where she contributes and moderates at the leading online forums.
She is also a well-known Disney fan, and the chance to speak on contextual advertising at Disneyland is near the top of her list for favorite moments in the industry… although it doesn’t quite beat the experience of talking with Larry & Sergey after the Google Dance at SES San Jose.
Jennifer writes for Search Engine Land (and Search Engine Watch previous to that) and has been quoted in publications such as Washington Post, USA Today & The Street.
20 Best Practices for Launching a Corporate Blog
Mar 29, 2007 Blogging 6 Comments
Having a corporate blog is a great way to connect with your customers, but unfortunately, not all companies get it right when they first launch their blog… and not knowing how the blogosphere works is a public relations disaster in the making. While a blog can enhance and build your relationship with your customers, doing it wrong can have the opposite effect. Do you really want your company’s blogging faux pas to wind up all over the blogosphere? Not really, but corporations have stumbled repeatedly when trying to find their blogging voice, not to mention blogging policies to deal with problems that will pop up along the way.
Is your company ready to take the seemingly big and scary step into the world of blogging? This advice will help you make sure you and your company get it right the first time around… and you will soon discover that starting a corporate blog really isn’t as scary as your PR department (and maybe your legal team too!) is making it out to be. Here are twenty best practices for starting your corporate blog.
Contact
Mar 29, 2007 Uncategorized Leave a comment
If you need to contact me, please use the form below.
Media
Mar 29, 2007 Uncategorized Leave a comment
Jennifer is available to talk with the media about all issues on search engine marketing & optimization. If you are working on a deadline, please include your telephone number & deadline in the form below so I can expedite your request.
Consulting Services
Mar 29, 2007 Uncategorized 1 Comment
While most people know me as offering consulting service for Google AdSense and contextual advertising, I am also an expert in multiple other areas of search engine optimization & marketing including:
Pay Per Click (both on a management level & troubleshooting level if you need your campaign’s critiqued on conversion & quality score issues but prefer to do the work & management yourself); Google AdWords Quality Score (including landing page issues); Google AdWords Content Network; Yahoo Search Marketing & new Panama platform; Duplicate content issues; DMCA; Copyright infringement; Content for Search Engines (including hiring writers, creating content & generating new content ideas); Social content creation (using users to create content for you); Community Building
Pay Per Click Audits
If you are having problems with your quality score or have a poor converting ad campaign, a pay per click audit might be what you need. I will go through all aspects of your ad campaign, examining your landing page(s), ad copy quality, keywords, CTR, ROI… essentially everything that can (and will!) impact your pay per click campaigns that negatively impact your bottom line. I will make recommendations for changes to improve ROI – including quality score specific changes to improve scores – as well as suggest A/B testing where appropropriate.
Usability Audits
You know your site should be performing better than it is. But when you get too close to your own site, you sometimes cannot see the things that turn potential customers away. With a usability audit, I will look at all on-page aspects that will affect the visitors on your site. I will provide specific recommendations for changes to ensure your site is user friendly, covering everything from content presentation and navigational issues to leakage and increasing site stickiness.
Content Action Plans
Are you at a loss when it comes to adding new content? Have access to writers but don’t quite know what to get them to write on? Not sure how to expand your current content? With a content action plan, I will help you further your online content through brainstorming and exploring further avenues of content both through implementation and creation.
Contextual Advertising Consulting
Are you leaving too much money on the table when it comes to your contextual ad earnings? Probably! A little optimization goes a long way, and you could easily see your CTR jump up in leaps and pounds and double, triple or even quadruple your current earnings. I also can assist in selecting the best converting and earning contextual ad program for you, as well as other non-contextual programs to complement it.
Duplicate Content & Copyright Infringement Action Plans
Having trouble working around the duplicate content filter, or wanting to find those ripping off your content? I have done extensive work with the duplicate content filter and can assist you if you are discovering your content is the one getting filtered, and how to deal with the copyright infringers. I will recommend the appropriate steps (DMCA; cease & desist) to have the duplicates removed from the search engine indexes so your original content will once again rank at the top, and the steps you should take against the content theives.
Community Building Road Map
Do you believe you have a strong opportunity to build a community built site? If you are starting, or are planning to, I can provide a tried-and-true road map for success in building, growing and maintaining a successful online community. We will discuss your goals, then I will build a step-by-step road map that you can then implement on your site.
On-site training
I am available to do on-site training for social media, pay per click and other search engine marketing techniques for you and your team. Please let me know your needs, and I can tailor the day around you. There is a minimum full-day requirement, which can be split over two mornings or two afternoons. I am local to the Victoria, BC area, although I can easily travel throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
Please contact me using the form below for more information on my consulting services and rates. I am also available for on-site consulting, although most consulting can easily be handled with phone calls / Skype, email and instant messaging.
A new search engine marketing blog by Jenstar
Mar 28, 2007 Everything Else 1 Comment
So why a second blog you might ask? I have been running into problems for quite some time where I would like to take an in depth look at something, but it doesn’t fit specifically into the realm of JenSense… meaning contextual advertising primarily from a publisher perspective. And while some of my longer pieces are published on Search Engine Land (and Search Engine Watch before that), SEL’s focus is primarily search, and since I often want to write about content issues, my articles don’t always fit well there either. And while I played around with a few different names, in the end, using my JenniferSlegg.com made the most sense.
So what can you expect to see here? The same kind of lengthy in-depth pieces I often write for JenSense, but on a variety of industry issues. I have articles either written or planned on things such as generating content ideas, blogging, and plenty on pay per click but from an advertiser perspective. And there are some other topics that interest me, but don’t appeal to the masses, such as behavioral advertising & advergaming. And sometimes I will just provide my own commentary on some of the hot topics in the blogosphere.
And while I am doing this, I have added an updated consulting information page to show that I do offer consulting on a variety of SEM issues, not just contextual advertising which I am best known for. And while I have been quoted in numerous online publications (including ones like the Washington Post & USA Today) I have also added a media contact page as well.
