Join the EngineWorks team, and many search marketing specialists and industry experts from our area, for an enjoyable social evening of direct interaction and informative conversations pertaining to the latest developments in online search marketing.

Best of all, it’s FREE to attend!

Here are the details:

What:  SEMpdx July 2010 Networking Event
Who:  Everyone interested in Search Engine Marketing
When:  5:30pm – 7:00pm PDT, Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Where:  The Hop & Vine Bottle Shop, 1914 N. Killingsworth Street, Portland, OR 97217
Why:  Network with SEMpdx members and industry luminaries
Cost:  Free (No host bar)

We look forward to seeing you there!

In a newly released report, eMarketer is forecasting that in 2010, domestic online advertising will reach more than $25 billion.  This projected growth of 10.8% over total ad spending in 2009 is attributed to improving economic conditions and the continued shift in marketing dollars away from traditional channels such as newspapers, magazines, and radio, to fully measurable digital media.

As depicted in the graph below from this eMarketer article, total online ad spending in the U.S. is expected to surge to more than $36 billion in next five years.

Another driving factor in this shift in ad dollars is the continuing trend of restructuring both online and offline budgets to accommodate social media engagements.  As eMarketer pointed-out, “As marketers look to engage their audience with relevant, trustworthy messages, that means smaller shares of marketing budgets going to traditional forms of advertising.”

This month’s SEMpdx Networking Event promises to bring together search marketing experts in a relaxing social atmosphere that encourages direct interaction and informative conversations pertaining to the latest developments within our industry.

Best of all . . . it’s FREE for all to attend!

Here are the details:

What:   SEMpdx Networking Event

Who:    Anyone interested in Search Engine Marketing

When:   Tuesday, June 15, 2010, 5:30pm – 7:00pm PDT

Where:  Rontoms, 600 E. Burnside, Portland, Oregon 97214

Why:    Network with SEMpdx members and industry luminaries

Cost:    Free (No host bar)

We look forward to seeing you at this engaging event!

With this being the case, it’s important to identify the most popular metrics that interactive marketers are using today to monitor the success of their online campaigns.  As reported in an informative article published this morning by eMarketer, the overwhelming majority of marketers in the United States still use Click-Through-Rate (CTR) as their most critical arbiter of success.

This article, titled ‘Is the Click Still King?’, stated that a March 2010 survey by Chief Marketer discovered a full sixty percent (60.0%) of marketers across the county utilize CTR as the primary means of assessing their online success.

The following graph from the eMarketer article reveals just how important marketers consider CTR to be today, and identifies the multitude of other crucial success metrics used to evaluate their campaign performance:

It’s important to note that, following close behind CTR, are four (4) conversion-based metrics that can be readily measured – on a continuous basis – within properly structured online search marketing engagements.  Thus, even though the ‘Click may still be King’, these four conversion metrics (i.e., lead generation, response rates, incremental sales, and return on investment) are rapidly becoming bellwether measurements of success for marketers today.

Our contest entry, which is in the running for the Best Brand Awareness/User Engagement (over $25k) award, describes the impressive results our social media experts achieved for the City of Bothell, Washington, and their annual Vintage Bothell Wine Walk event that took place in December 2009.

We are very privileged to be in the company of the other SoMe award finalists, and we look forward to a wonderful evening of socializing and networking at this exciting event.  Several of our EngineWorks team members will be in attendance at the awards banquet, and are eager to meet with our industry peers.  If you would like to schedule time with us to discuss our advanced Social Media Marketing strategies and services, please drop us a post to this blog.

Join us on the ‘red carpet’ this Thursday evening!

Here’s a great paragraph from Nick’s article that conveys the tremendous value proposition offered through our professional search marketing services:

Simply having a blog or Website is not enough to take advantage of the power of the Internet. You have to know how to be found. You may have the best products and provide the best service at the lowest prices, but if your business is in the middle of a cornfield in Iowa then nobody will know you even exist. It is important to know how to use search media marketing, search engine optimization, paid search and other search marketing strategies in order to be found online. Companies like EngineWorks do just this and they may be a great place for you to start if your business needs a jumpstart.

Please drop us a post to find-out how we can immediately improve your online performance through our conversion-based online solutions.

Oregon Business, which began publishing their state-wide magazine in 1981, provides an in-depth view into business developments and economic issues to more than 20,000 Oregon business leaders across the state.  The ‘Data Game’ article in their April 2010 issue explains the main reasons why cutting-edge interactive marketing, such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Social Media Marketing, are the fastest growing segments of the advertising industry.

We, at EngineWorks, are privileged to have been selected as a featured technology company in this outstanding publication.

Using real-world case studies, Social Fresh Portland will focus on how Social Media Marketing can directly impact online performance and profits. As the third Social Fresh conference in 2010, this event is scheduled to present cutting-edge social media strategies that are currently being utilized by companies to connect with their target audiences and online networking communities.

Social Fresh Portland features an impressive roster of expert presenters, including Richard Foo, Global Brand Marketing IT Director at NIKE, Inc., Bryan Rhoads, Senior Digital Strategist at Intel Corporation, and Jason Kintzler, CEO at PitchEngine.com.

If you would like to get together with Eric, or another one of our EngineWorks team members, at this exciting conference, simply let us know through a post to this blog.

This lively event, titled SEMpdx Link Building Six Pack, is scheduled to deliver cutting-edge information from a panel of search marketing professionals pertaining to how to write and promote online content to attract inbound links from relevant external sources.  In addition, EngineWorks is proud to have Scott Fish, our Director of Search, contribute to this presentation as an expert panelist.

You can register to attend this valuable presentation by simply visiting the SEMpdx Web site.

If you are interested in gleaning insight into the latest techniques for securing inbound links so that your Web site can achieve prominent listings throughout the search engine landscape, we highly recommend that you attend this informative presentation.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Liftopia is the leading marketplace for discount ski lift tickets to the most popular alpine resorts across the country.  They provide an incredibly convenient site for snow skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts to research and find bargain prices on tickets and package deals at more than one-hundred (100) of the most desirable winter resorts in the United States.

Our advanced Paid Search Strategies ultimately resulted in a more than 110% increase in the total number of Conversions on Liftopia.com in December 2009 compared to the same month in 2008.  You can see the complete list of success metrics we were able to surpass through our EngineWorks SEO and Paid Search Marketing efforts in our EngineWorks press release.

The tremendous effort put forth by our team of search marketing specialist prompted Ron Schneidermann, Co-Founder of Liftopia, to exclaim, “The hard work and dedication from the EngineWorks team has enabled our company to deliver the best deals in the ski industry to a much larger audience, much more efficiently. We could not be more pleased with the results.”

Drop us a post to this blog if you would like more information on how we can dramatically improve your conversion performance in the same manner that we do for Liftopia.

Scott is scheduled to be on the panel of professional search marketers from our area who will be putting forth information on writing and promoting content to attract inbound links from relevant online sources.  Armed with this knowledge, audience members will be able to implement the latest techniques for improving their Natural search listings across the entire online search landscape.

Please join Scott, and our EngineWorks crew, next Tuesday for an evening of education and discussion pertaining to this critically important component of Search Engine Marketing.  You can visit SEMpdx.org to conveniently register for this event online.

We look forward to seeing you there!

That is the message delivered by David Eldridge, CEO of Alterian, in a re-affirming article today from eMarketer titled ‘Consumers Demand Engagement’.  His resounding point is that even though more and more marketers are shifting dollars away from traditional advertising channels to interactive marketing, it is crucial that today’s new media (i.e., digital community marketing and social media networking) be  incorporated into an integrated communication strategy, rather than executed as a stand-alone channel.

“The age of sending out silo campaigns is long gone,” this eMarketer report added. “The only communications tolerated by consumers are those that are appropriate, timely, and relevant—regardless of channel.”

This fact is validated through the following eMarketer graph that reveals that the majority of marketing professionals around the world is expending at least “a fair amount” of effort on integrating community networking and audience engagement strategies, such as Social Media Marketing, into their overall media mix (i.e., moving away from a campaign-centric direct marketing model, to multi-channel customer engagements across all online and off-line platforms).

In today’s hyper-competitive marketing world, just building an impressive Web site, or creating a polished ad campaign, is no longer enough.  Savvy marketers are realizing that they need to reach-out to – and stay connected with – their target audience and online community influencers in order to entice customers to their brands, and generate long-term goodwill.

In 2010, eMarketer projects that domestic advertising expenditures within social media networks will increase approximately seven percent (+7%) to more than $1.3 billion.  This forecast equates to an impressive 5.5% of all projected online ad spending in the coming year.  Of this $1.3 billion anticipated to be spent in 2010, Facebook will capture almost 25%, compared approximately 20% in 2009.

It is important to acknowledge however, that companies gain the greatest value through Social Media Marketing by having genuine engagements with their target audience on social networking platforms, and not by flooding them with banner ads.  As eMarketer states, “Marketers will continue to make social networks a priority for 2010, but a significant portion of their spending will go toward building and maintaining a social network presence.  Paid social network advertising will remain somewhat of an afterthought.”

As we have realized here at EngineWorks, Social Media Marketing is most effective when it is earned through authentic two-way communication that builds personal relationships and trust between our clients’ brands and their target audience.  Thus, our outlook for this exciting, new channel in the coming year (and beyond), is an ever-increasing push for companies to have online social activities and connections ‘baked-in’ to every form of digital content, including their Web sites, search engines, shopping engines, entertainment portals, and even traditional media channels.

This view is punctuated by the following eMarketer statement, “2010 will be a year in which social network advertising will intersect with other kinds of advertising. Concepts such as earned media (the additional unpaid exposure a brand gets when consumers share about the brand online), local social advertising, social search and social ad networks will be key themes next year.”

We look forward to continuing to development new avenues of marketing success for our clients through our creative social media strategies and promotions in 2010.

Here is his number one prediction as presented in this eMarketer article:

1. During 2010, as US ad budgets crack open just a little, look for an accelerated migration of ad dollars from traditional to digital media. According to Forrester Research, 59% of US marketers plan to increase their budgets for digital by pulling funds from traditional outlets.

Since the inception of our company, we have touted that more and more companies and organizations will continue to shift more and more of their marketing dollars from traditional advertising channels, including print, outdoor, and television, to highly measurable interactive solutions such as professional Search Engine Marketing.

The following eMarketer graph depicts this expected shift in marketing budgets during next twelve (12) months:

The ability to significantly effect, and track, the ROI performance of search marketing campaigns will drive this trend well into next year, and for many years to come.

In addition to this top prediction made by Geoff, the article provides insight into six other compelling dynamics within our vibrant industry.  I highly recommend that you take a moment to read this valuable article.

Our professional team of search marketing experts recognizes that the advancement of science and industry is spearheading new interactive technologies that are enabling our clients to connect with their target audiences through innovative means never imagined before.  This fact is the impetus for our ‘Space Station’ level sponsorship of the OMSI 2010 Space Gala.

The 2010 Space Gala, taking place at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, will include “launch pad” lounges throughout the museum offering savory buffets, signature drinks, and enjoyable conversations with fellow supporters of OMSI.

Please join our EngineWorks team at this worthwhile event by registering through the OMSI Web site.

Founded in 1944, OMSI is one of the nation’s leading science museums that features almost 220,000 square feet of brain-powered fun through hundreds of interactive exhibits and hands-on demonstrations. In addition, the museum’s outreach programs also take innovative science education “on the road” to students, teachers, and the public throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Open the pod bay doors, Hal.

The November 17, 2009 article titled Google Fights to Protect Itself Against Ad Scammers states that Google “started disabling AdWords accounts of perpetrators earlier this fall, and is now stepping up those efforts to try to eliminate the mini-economy of fraudsters that continue to plague text advertising.”

This new stringent policy is a major shift from the search behemoth’s fraud prevention measures to date, which have relied on its algorithm-based technologies to recognize and disable fraudulent ads within their network.  With this new announcement, it is evident that Google is now policing ads at the client level, instead of at the Web site level.  This means that the company is attempting to eliminate not just the offending ad from their system, but also the actual offender by banning the site for life.

With the announcement of this new policy, it is even now more important than ever to ensure that your Paid Search Marketing accounts features ad copy and listings that strictly abide by Google’s rules and regulations.  As you can see, one misstep could get your company or agency permanently removed from the world’s largest search marketplace.

Even though total retail sales are projected to experience no growth in the months of November and December, the Forrester survey revealed that ninety-four percent (94%) of consumers who made a purchase online within the past three months, plan to continue to buy online this holiday season.

To quote Ms. Mulpura, “What’s different this holiday from past years is that online retailers will manage to the bottom line, which will change some of the tactics they have employed in the past.”  As we have conveyed through our EngineWorks blog, no other form of marketing does a better job of enhancing your bottom line than professional search marketing.

Drop us post, and we’ll be happy to show you how SEM can benefit your site.

The article, titled 10 steps to improve search engine marketing, details Kent’s advanced insight into online marketing strategies to deliver the best results for travel and tourism businesses of all sizes.

EngineWorks is proud to an exclusive partnered service provider to The Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association, which was formed to be the unifying voice of this unique sector within the resort and hospitality industry. This association is recognized as the definitive resource for researching, locating, and booking boutique and lifestyle lodging.

As conveyed in this Webinar, professional Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is able to extract precise information pertaining to who is searching for specific products or services, which messages resonate with them, and what factors entice them to become customers.  This invaluable insight, in turn, enables today’s advanced marketer to create targeting and messaging to drive desired actions through all channels of their marketing mix.

To view this informative Webinar in its entirety, simply click on the following link:

Search Marketing – Powering Your Marketing Mix

EngineWorks is privileged to be an exclusive partnered service provider to The Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association.  The BLLA has been created to be the unifying voice of this vibrant sector of the resort and hospitality industry, and is recognized as the definitive resource for researching, locating, and booking boutique and lifestyle hotels.

We highly encourage you to set-aside the time to view this free Webinar.

As a founding board member of SEMpdx, EngineWorks is privileged to have our co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Kent Schnepp, be featured as an expert panelist during this presentation.  Kent will be providing advanced insight into how to leverage social media marketing to achieve prominently positioned Natural search listings within the major engines.

The featured topics to be presented during the evening include:

•  Building social media into your overall marketing mix.
•  Tools for monitoring and measuring social media effectiveness.
•  Social media best practices.
•  Leveraging different social media platforms.

For information on registering and attending this informative event, simply click-on the following link:

SEMpdx Social Media Six Pack

As noted, our search engine marketing company is proud to be a founding member of SEMpdx, the professional organization based in Portland, Oregon whose mission is to inform and educate area businesses on the benefits of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to online success and profitability.  Therefore, we highly recommend that if you are interested in learning the latest developments in advanced Social Media Marketing, you should attend this exciting Six Pack!