Networking

I had a really enjoyable day yesterday, meeting some of the guys from TradeDoubler and AOL, and some other affiliates.

I picked some brains... and then had a few G&Ts so I was quite surprised I actually remembered the conversations.

All the affiliate networks I am with encourage us to get out there and meet other affiliates, merchants, etc, and since starting this mentoring scheme I have decided to grab every opportunity as it arises.

So today I have booked myself onto the A4U Expo at ExCel in October - getting that Early Bird discount with just hours to spare. It seems to be awash with related networking events but as it's costing me £179 (plus VAT - and worth every penny I expect) I may lay off the gins so I don't risk forgetting everything I learn. Then again, I may just take notes.

By Sarah, UK Broadband Finder

User generated content

User generated content - a great big name for my first, small website poll!

My first broadband poll has been up for a few weeks now. I have to say it is quite a slow process - I hope they will become more popular, and I will try to make the topics more specific. The first poll title was Most important in my next broadband package.

Results so far (it is still up) are:
Superfast 32.8%
Cheap deal 18%
Short or no contract 8.2%
Great customer service 11.5%
Extras and freebies 0%
None of the above 29.5%

Now I want to know what the None of the Above respondents want.

The first poll was really just to test the idea (and the Joomla functionality). My next task is to create more targeted polls (eg a wireless poll on my wireless page, a cheap broadband poll on my cheap broadband page) and ensure the suggested answers cover as many bases as possible (in as few word as possible...).

Then I need to start looking at other types of user-generated content (broadband reviews, here I come).

By Sarah, UK Broadband Finder

The great SEO programme continues...

I am still working through my UK broadband comparison website www.ukbroadbandfinder.com, making all pages as search engine-friendly as possible (apart from my Adwords landing pages, of course).

I hadn't realised I had so many pages - nearly 250 at the last count. As part of my SEO drive I am looking at keyword phrases, H1, H2 headings, page titles, and internal and external links.

Since I started www.ukbroadbandfinder.com I have seen via Google Analytics that particular broadband providers and packages seem to be picked up by the search engines more readily than others and I have never been able to work out why (it isn't solely a case of ISPs with generic names being picked up less then ISPs with specific brand names). I hope that my SEO-inspired website revamp will boost all broadband provider and broadband package pages on the site!

I am also adding metadata (a description and a few - and I mean a few - keywords). I have heard over the last few years that it is (a) completely pointless, or (b) still worth doing but only as a minor part of of any SEO programme. So although it isn't the first change I make, I am adding it.

By Sarah, UK Broadband Finder

Adwords - again!

Time for a quick update on my AOL Adwords campaign - problems I encountered, and how I've set about fixing them.

Despite my previous work on my campaign, I wasn't getting the clickthroughs I needed and my tweaking wasn't having the desired affects. I also discovered that too much tweaking could affect my Adwords history, which could be detrimental to how Adwords judges my campaign, keywords, etc.

Sanj Mirchandani, the Publisher Manager at TradeDoubler, has been really helpful and came back with some honest advice about my original landing page - that it was:

1. too general - cluttered with lots of information about AOL packages, without really focusing on a core offer
2. designed for SEO, NOT for Google Adwords (Sanj pointed out I should design different pages for SEO and PPC)
3. text-heavy
4. unlikely to convert - with too few calls to action

So I tweaked my Adwords campaign to:

1. focus on only four Ad Groups, with each focusing on one particular aspect of the AOL broadband offer
2. get rid of non-converting keywords
3. focus on keywords and ads that would bring in people actually wanting to buy broadband
4. switch on Content Network on my campaign
   
5. put a lower limit than previously on the default maximum cost per click
   

And created four short new landing pages (one for each Ad Group - see one here) with:

1. new images relating to the offer - including the famous AOL free wireless router!
2. brightly coloured headings and buttons - calls to action that really stand out (and link) - using a package called Webstyle
3. content containing my best keyword phrases
4. AOL package details and Buy buttons above the fold
5. small, keyword-heavy AND relevant sections of copy below the fold

So far clicks are significantly higher, and my cost per click is going down.....

I think the main point I learnt from this exercise was that a Google Adwords page should be designed differently to an SEO page - it sounds obvious but it is easy to forget when you are in an SEO mindset with H1 and H2 tags, link text, etc.

By Sarah, UK Broadband Finder