September 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Truth in Web Marketing: Seeing is Believing

“Let me tell you the truth. The truth is, what is. And what should be is a fantasy, a terrible terrible lie that someone gave to the people long ago.”  –Lenny Bruce

A couple of weeks ago, Sage posted his weekly SEM news and the lead story on that was “Cup of Joe: The Fact of The Matter Is, I am Pretty Drunk Right Now“  a story from the reputable Marketing Pilgrim about Toby Jones: “a serial entrepreneur that understands successful small business tactics that have given him a competitive edge more than once.” According to Marketing Pilgrim: “This man has the pulse of the people under his finger at all times. To put it simply, he is one with his market. He understands small business tactics so well that he can pull off stellar marketing materials like the one above while completely intoxicated!”

The problem? Toby Jones is 100% fake. That’s right folks, the man responsible for “Jones’ Big Ass Truck Rental & Storage” and “Jones’ Good Ass BBQ & Foot Massage” is a phony. Somewhere, Holden Caulfield is laughing you. It took me approximately 30 seconds with Google to determine that things were not as they seemed. As it turns out, the videos above were made by bigdogeatchild and Toby Jones is actually a stand-up comedian, Robert Hines.

wrong age

Now that doesn’t mean that the spots are any less funny. In my mind, the fact that so many people eat it up, longing for it to be real make this even more funny than originally intended. In reality though, this should speak tons to those of us involved in web marketing. From link bait, to viral campaigns, to text ads on Google there are volumes to be learned and applied from this example.

And if you look to the left here and you realize that that top lady in the PPC ad there might not be 22 years of age, then you should also question where she’s from and if you really would have a chance or would even want to meet her on a night out around town. She’s been following me around the internet so much lately I highly doubt that she even has time to get out if she wants to.  In reality though, I’m starting to doubt that she’s even from Akron ;-) But for someone, somewhere, this ad is working. Are yours?

Photo “Fake Love” by C。Yu via Flickr.


Filed Under: Featured, Paid Search, SEM News, Social Media Tagged With: creative ppc ads, web marketing
February 26, 2009 By 1 Comment

Ad Creativity Within Limits

One thing I enjoy doing here at SageRock is writing Paid Search ads for the engines.  I find it challenging at times, which makes me more determined.  Writing ads isn’t like writing for me, it’s more like taking bits and pieces of information, then moving and configuring them.  I find this easier than writing.  This is probably why I am much more active in writing tweets rather than blog posts.  It’s different to write a line or two rather than well-thought out paragraphs.  These couple of lines must be well-thought out as well, but it’s a different process altogether for me.

How do I convey the message that this brand, this product, and this price are all the best ever within just 70 characters?  How do I grab a user’s attention with a title that is just 25 characters?  Sometimes it’s like a puzzle for me.  I take this information that typically focuses on the brand, features, benefits, and, sometimes, price.  Then I blend the bits and pieces together to form tidy little lines that send a clear and cohesive message that perform marketing miracles.

You also need to consider what keywords will be relating to this ad in the account.  The more relevant the ad is to the keyword, the better chance you have of ranking well for that keyword.  This is usually made easier if you break your Campaigns down into very specific Ad Groups allowing you to better target your ads.  Plus, keywords used to conduct a search will appear in bold font in your ad, highlighting its relevance to the user.  Relevancy is key here.  You want to rank well and you want to make sure you are what the user is looking for.  If you’re not, users with absolutely no interest in your products, services, or company will click on your ad, deplete your budget, and ultimately reduce your ROI.

Sometimes you may have to cut your message short to fit within the search engine ad limits, but it is usually possible to get the main points across.  This will capture the necessary people and then hopefully bring them to a landing page that can discuss in more detail all the pretty things you offer.

Photo “Pen and Paper” by Kristian D.

Filed Under: Featured, Paid Search Tagged With: Ads, creative ppc ads, Paid Search, web marketing