Once upon a time, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld noted: “…as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don’t know we don’t know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and...
What Do We Know About “Unknown”? What May or May Not Be Going on Inside That Elusive Demographic Segment
Four Misconceptions About Audiences for SEM
Audiences, layered over other means of targeting in PPC platforms like Google Ads, can provide us with further means of refinement in our marketing campaigns. If one delves into all of the available types of audiences, the prospects can seem tantalizing. For years, the main types of audiences used tended to be for remarketing. In many cases, that hasn’t changed. Not only can you...
How Modern Portfolio Theory Sheds Light on PPC Strategy
A current e-commerce client has regularly shared the following insight: “assortment drives sales.” He learned this wisdom before he’d even launched this division of his business, at the feet of a major star in a popular online sales category (roughly speaking, disguised slightly, let’s say it’s sports memorabilia). Mikkel (name changed to protect identity) had actually visited the...
In Company-Building, Beware the Cargo Cult
The notorious eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes was 6’4” tall. To reassure himself that the details of his empire were sound, he reportedly rose at 4:00 a.m. once a week on Mondays, eating a snack of cold barbecue chicken before poring over detailed accounting records for each of his companies. After a five-hour marathon session, he would return to bed, sleeping much of the day...
Ten Telltale Characteristics of Failed PPC Accounts
Much of the thrust of The Science of PPC – like much of the published literature in our industry – is to provide advice. Tips and tricks, even. “What to do” is generally the stock in trade of marketing-related content. I guess you could consider this week the “What Not to Wear” of digital marketing. To all of you slovenly, shabby, outmoded, career-limiting accounts: your friends...
