Can Facebook Grow My Business?

A few months ago I posted a mini case study on a lead generation client for whom we've been able to find success on Facebook over time. Of course we have also seen less-than-stellar advertising performance (i.e. compared to Google/Yahoo/MSN) on Facebook for clients in other spaces.

So, the question that's often been on my mind since we started managing Facebook advertising, is whether or not a certain kind of business is a good fit for the Facebook ad platform.

So, my Facebook PPC client experiences usually translate into recommendations for clients, but I've always known that those answers are a bit linear in nature and I have yet to find someone with a few more Facebook battle scars to provide more insights.

That was until yesterday, when I discovered a 10-question quiz for the business owner or PPC manager that may be wondering "Is Facebook for me" @ Perry Marshall's new website/tool www.isfacebookforme.com - catchy URL. Here you will find a series of 10 "Yes or No" style business model questions that "provide instant feedback on whether Facebook could be a main traffic source for your business."

I completed the survey for the client that we've had success with on Facebook, and it gave me a 6/10, meaning that "Facebook will probably be a significant way for you to get more customers affordably" - and I can say that it has!

So, if you're considering Facebook now, consider checking out this new tool and getting a heads up on these 3 questions that it can help answer:

- Can I advertise on Facebook and make a profit?
- Will my products appeal to Facebook users?
- How much time should I devote to understanding how to advertise on Facebook?

The quiz is here: www.isfacebookforme.com

Facebook Advertising Success

Just how big is Facebook, really?

According to TechCrunch, big enough to encroach on Yahoo's position of "third largest Web property in the world", trailing none other than Google (#1) & Microsoft (#2).

In the U.S., Facebook already has the second highest number of unique visitors per month - surpassing Yahoo for the first time in January. Compete.com also reports that of all time spent online in January, 11.6% was on Facebook, compared to less than 5% on Yahoo and Google each.

What does this mean to you?

Well, I don't have the answer to that question, but I can tell you what it now means to some of our clients for whom we've recently started advertising on Facebook --> more qualified customer leads + a desirable cost = more $$$ for them.

The following story is about a lead generation client (Client A, for anonymity), but Facebook would certainly be worth testing if you're in an e-commerce space too.

We created Client A's Facebook account back on January 26. He's a local advertiser, only seeking clients within a close radius of a heavily populated metro, so we set the Facebook geo-targeting to just 10 miles around his city.

Within 18 days his campaign spent just over $500, generating almost 600 clicks, but these numbers don't tell the whole story yet:

When we dig into our Google Analytics reporting for Client A's Facebook PPC traffic, we can see that his $500 in spend produced 11 highly valuable customer leads:

By highly valuable, I mean that Client A knows his customer lifetime value and has been able to determine that each new customer lead is worth $600 to him.

So for a ~$500 cost, with 11 new customer leads worth $6,600 (11 x $600), we're talking about a superior ROI from Facebook in just 18 days!

It's important to note here that Facebook is only producing 5.5% of the overall leads from our top 5 traffic sources, so it's not going to replace Google AdWords anytime soon. Facebook is however, turning out to be a solid supplemental lead source for Client A.

1. Track your conversions with a reporting service like Google Analytics.
2. Utilize Facebook's demo/geographic targeting to focus on a niche audience.
3. Set your bid price within Facebook's suggested CPC bid range.
4. Use a captivating image in your ad (you can combine an image with text).
5. If you generate a strong impression share initially, but then it trends downward over time, you should rotate new ad creatives to keep a fresh message in front of your audience's eyes.
6. If you are unable to generate any substantial impression share at all, then try experimenting with different or fewer demographic segments. You can also try targeting a larger geographic area to boost your ads' reach.

Facebook advertising is included in our paid search management service, get the full story on what we can do for you.

Boost Online Sales with Google Checkout

Do you remember way back when the Internet was new and it seemed scary to buy things online? The fear of identity fraud and other security violations was very real, especially when horror stories were broadcast all over the news and spreading like wildfire.

Despite all this, there are now over 1.25 billion Internet users around the globe, so the sky is the limit for online retailers who can do a good job of catering to their target market's needs.

If you're already selling products on the Net, then you are probably well aware that credibility is KING with consumers in the information age. People (whether consciously or unconsciously) are constantly looking for little security checkpoints in a site that tell them "Not to worry...your money is safe being spent here."

How can you be sure that your visitors feel safe buying from your site? That's a multiple answer question, but some of the lowest hanging fruit in terms of establishing your online checkout credibility is using common identifiers that people can recognize, like PayPal, VeriSign, and especially a trustworthy checkout process like Google Checkout.

My fellow PPC'er, Page Christenbury, suggested Google Checkout to one of her Ecommerce clients, and you can see the positive results it had on CTR, Transactions, and Revenue practically overnight...

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1. What is it and how much does it cost...

Google Checkout is exactly what its name implies - according to Google, "a fast, secure checkout process that helps increase sales by bringing you more customers and allowing them to buy from you quickly and easily with a single log-in."

Google Checkout is not completely free to use, but you don't have to pay any fees up front or on a recurring basis and it's totally comparable to most payment processing services. You only pay a small fee per transaction as outlined below:

2. How can it help you...

Google Checkout can help you in 3 main ways:

A. Acquire more visitors.
According to Google's calculations, people who use Google Checkout click 10% more on ads containing the Google Checkout logo.
- Mission A, accomplished.

B. Bring in more sales.
Brace yourself... What does your current conversion ratio look like? How does a 40% gain sound? Google says, "A fast, convenient checkout process helps Google Checkout users convert 40% more than shoppers who have not used Checkout before."
- Awesome.

C. Curb fraud.
Google has set up its checkout program to not only protect the visitor, but you, the seller as well: "Checkout's Payment Guarantee protects 98% of Checkout orders on average - when an order is guaranteed, you get paid even if it results in a chargeback."
- Alright!

3. What Are You Waiting For...

Three Easy Steps (except possibly #2, for which you might need your webmaster's help):

1. Create a Google Checkout Account
2. Pick an integration option to get Checkout on your site
3. Start selling once it's integrated with your site!

Google Checkout...Check it out!