The Critically Important Role of Bing Ads in Search Marketing

It has been proven many times, that it’s imperative to label a product or a service uniquely – without any similar-sounding name, to avoid the risk of having it confused with another thing. Bing Ads which used to be called adCenter, is all too familiar with this, and sadly at that. Using a mixture of terms so familiar to each other but with different meanings and reference, could lead to advertiser confusion which in the end can be very costly both for the advertiser and the advertising platform. In the case of Bing Ads, a lot of marketers cut back on Bing Ads with most of them severing ties with Bing altogether.

Unfortunately for Bing Ads because in reality, search campaigns running on Bing Network often results to a better ROAS compared to those run on Google AdWords, but because of lower volume Bing Ads suffered a “nice to have” but “no, thank you” kind of thing, despite its edge on the ROAS.

Bing Ads’ being so different from AdWords required a lot of different processes, additional learning and unfortunately, time, which was the biggest constraints on PPC teams. And Bing Ads suffered from not having a share of the advertising pie.

The Need to be Like AdWords

Having suffered too much, Bing Ads team finally realized that they have to do something about Bing Ads being different from AdWords. They have to clear the path of such difference and make Bing Ads to be more like AdWords. And that did it for Bing Ads. The decision to be more like the other entailed a lot of cleaning up and “parity” updates, one of which is to change the rules of engagement between Google and AdWords API users. Bing Ads users were allowed to import their Google AdWords accounts directly into Bing Ads.

At the time this was being implemented, Google AdWords API terms of service prohibited commingling of AdWords data with third party services. In effect, under this term, managing Bing Ads alongside AdWords by using the API is technically illegal.

Fortunately, platforms such as Kenshoo, Marin Software and Acquisio were able to find ways to help users without violating the terms. But they were not able to deliver a platform that would allow users to compare data from both search engines and decide on a budget based on the relative success of the ads running on both platforms. Microsoft challenged Google on this. That resulted to Google agreeing to make changes that would allow commingling of data. This signals a new era of innovation for performance marketing software companies ultimately benefitting marketers tremendously. Importing campaigns into Bing Ads can only take a matter of minutes.

Parity with AdWords Extended

When Google announced of the forced migration to Enhanced Campaigns, a lot of savvy marketers were not happy because that could mean loss of profit for them knowing they will lose control over targeting.

What Bing Ads did was to replicate Google’s Enhanced Campaign’s functionality to maintain parity with Google AdWords and as an added bonus, gave advertisers the choice to migrate to enhanced campaigns or to keep the old structure intact. This is in line with Bing Ads’ belief that advertisers should have the tools and flexibility to control their spending, choose their targets, and make sure that they get the best ROI.

And this is good news for everyone because the work smaller advertisers will invest in their Google Enhanced Campaigns will be importable “as is” into Bing Ads. Advertisers with deeper pockets will be able to continue to deploy campaigns with device and carrier specific targeting. And most importantly, Bing Ads will not stop at keeping up with Google to facilitate the flow of ad spend across AdWords and Bing Ads. And additionally, they will not stop at innovating as this is the only way that they can improve their share of search budgets – by being creative and adding more value to marketers.

Grooveshark, Spotify and Pandora: Which Music Streaming Suits You Best

Music is part of everybody’s life. And now that it has become easier to have access to music online, more people are able to enjoy it. Gone are the days when one has to buy CDs and cassette tapes of their favorite singers and composers to be able to listen to their music. Today, with the internet making everything possible, some songs and music are available online free-of-charge. Several web applications have been developed to facilitate listening to music on demand at no charge. And as long as one is connected to the internet, he can listen to music online anytime, anywhere.

Grooveshark

Grooveshark is a web-based music application built for every music-loving person. Internet users are able to listen to single songs from a collection of more than 15 million songs, create and save playlists, and embed on other blogs, websites, and social media profiles using the Grooveshark Widget.

Grooveshark users can access their accounts remotely across multiple devices such as Android, jailbroken iOS, Blackberry, and HP Palm WebOS devices. Users can search and find music by artist, song, album, artist or by browsing friends’ recent activity or even through other user’s playlists. Users can listen to Genre Radio Stations of specific genres or they can populate their own station with their list of current songs. Grooveshark site can use the song list to stream similar music. Other social media accounts can be connected to Grooveshark.

Grooveshark is a subsidiary of Escape Media Group, a US-based online music streaming service. Grooveshark was founded by 3 undergraduates of the University of Florida in March 2006. The founder Sam Tarantino became the CEO while Josh Greenberg became CTO and Andres Barreto became COO. In the first two years of its existence, Grooveshark functioned as a paid downloadable music service, with content sourced from a proprietary P2P network called Sharkbyte. Users who uploaded a transacted song are paid a portion of the accounting cost for the song. Grooveshark has about 35 million users.

Spotify

Another music streaming service available online is Spotify. It provides DRM-protected content from a range of big and independent record labels such as EMI, Sony, Warner Music Group and Universal. Spotify was launched in October 2008 by a Swedish startup Spotify AB. In September 2010, Spotify recorder about 10 million users and by December 2012, total users reached 20 million.

Users can browse music by artist, record label, album, genre or playlist. Direct search is another way to browse or access music. Users who register are given a 6-month free trial period and users can listen to an unlimited amount of music supported by visual and radio-style advertising. 

Pandora

Pandora was started back in 2000, when Tim Westergren’s Music Genome Project began. This is the most comprehensive analysis of music ever undertaken. Tim Westergren founded Pandora and the Music Genome project, and he is now Chief Strategy Officer. Users are able to explore the vast collection of music by just dropping the name of the user’s favorite song, artist or genre into Pandora and the Music Genome Project will give it a go, scanning its entire library of analyzed music to find songs or music similar to what the users like.

Pandora allows users to create up to 100 “unique stations”. The Music Genome Project was founded by music lovers and musicians by heart and soul. The project aims to help users connect with the music they love. According to Statistic Brain, Pandora has 80 million registered users

Among the 3 music streaming apps, Pandora seems to be leading the race. Unfortunately, Pandora is currently in a legal battle with BMI so there are restrictions imposed that affected its global reach. Grooveshark, which comes second in terms of the number of users might as well be the next best music streaming application.

Is Outsourcing Internet Marketing Right for You?

Although not entirely a new business concept or practice, outsourcing had dramatically changed into something huge in recent years. This is mainly due to the internet drawing the entire world together in a huge market place where one can choose from the many available resources anytime, anywhere.

It is therefore not surprising to see many businesses take this road with their different business needs and requirements because outsourcing does have more advantages and benefits for the business. While outsourcing your internet marketing tasks, for instance, you are able to concentrate on the core business without letting the marketing side of the business come to a halt. But venturing on outsourcing requires that you do things the right way. If done without careful thinking and planning, you might end up with disastrous outcomes.

The two important questions that need to be satisfied are: “Will it be cost effective to outsource?”, and “Do you have employees who can run an internet marketing campaign?”

The True Costs of Internet Marketing

Most business entrepreneurs think that outsourcing is just adding an expense. Of course, it would cost money to outsource, but an in house marketing campaign would also cost money. A lot of times, in house campaign costs are not calculated – probably because the mindset is that the salary of the personnel you have in mind to run the campaign for you are already being paid for.  True, but it’s not like you are not taking out money to pay for this particular work. These costs should be added and factored in to determine which would cost the least – in-house marketing our outsourced marketing?

• Cost of employees involved in the in-house marketing campaign. The number of employees needed for the in-house marketing campaign will depend on how big or small your company is. It can be a one-man show, or a team of employees. If assigned employees are not productive in the in-house internet marketing campaign, it will be wasted salary paid for no significant output. Add to that, the original task handled by the pulled out employee will be negatively affected, too. That’s double loss for your company.

• Cost of running an inferior in-house campaign. Without the required experience, knowledge and expertise on internet marketing, all in-house marketing campaign efforts will pale in comparison to outsourced marketing campaign in terms of conversion rate, increase in revenue, etc. And because the campaign is not carefully thought of and planned, the expected results may not reach peak performance, and it may take longer to see results tangibly. The cost of that extra time need to be factored in as well.  

Do You Have the Time?

Internet marketing is not as simple as it sounds. To effectively run a marketing campaign, one needs to invest considerable time. Online marketing requires constant monitoring, updating of information, interacting and engaging in conversations with potential customers, etc.

As mentioned, a successful internet marketing campaign will require full-time commitment considering the requirements of the activities entailed by the campaign. Pulling away an employee from the campaign to do the original job scope, the campaign results will definitely suffer. If your staff cannot handle the additional workload of in-house marketing campaign, it makes no sense to jeopardize the employee’s overall performance because of the additional load which is out of scope of the present job description.

Final Decision

The most important step in the evaluation process is putting your decision into action. If the final decision is to do in-house marketing campaign, get a heads up and inform the concerned staff in order to intellectually and psychologically prepare them for the new task. If, after calculating the costs you found out that in-house marketing will be more troublesome and costly, then outsourcing is the right decision for you. You’re ready to tap the world resources to have the right outsourcing partner.

There are many internet marketing outsourcing companies who have survived the never ending challenge of change in the internet marketing arena. You have to consider certain things before making that final decision on who will take care of your campaigns. You can refer to this article, Why Decide on Outsourcing?-- to give you a better view of it. Researching the right company won’t be that hard for there is a lot who is really delivering promised results.

The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing US Jobs to Developing Countries

Take this puzzle : The United States has a high unemployment rate at 8.2% as of June 1, 2012, and a 10 million manufacturing jobs that are still vacant to date. A survey of more than 1,300 US employers showed that about 49% of companies in the US have had problems filling in mission-critical positions. Why then are US workers not filling in those vacant job posts?

The apparent reason for this imbalance is the skills mismatch. The most in-demand jobs require technical training and experience plus multiple skills. A company in the US looking for an electrician is actually looking for an electrician with engineering background to respond to the complex nature of the projects available. And because workers in the US are not applying for the position which may be due to lack of qualification or wage issues, such positions were made open to workers from developing countries by way of outsourcing.

Many multinational companies in the United States have long been outsourcing their workforce in developing countries.

Benefits or Pros of Outsourcing

• Cost-effective. There are many US multinational companies that are into cost-cutting choose to outsource some of their company’s functions to outsourcing companies from other countries like India, the Philippines, and China, to name a few. With outsourcing, the US multinational is able to cut their operational costs and make substantial savings for the same work done for less pay and excellent quality.
• Generate employment and industrialization. Outsourcing not only benefits the multinational company in terms of growth and savings, but also facilitates generation of employment and industrialization. This benefits the worker and his country’s economy and development.  

Disadvantages or Cons

• Negative impact on the US economy. By outsourcing some of the tasks and functions to developing countries, the US company is earning more and helping to develop and grow   the economy of the developing country. And it is said to have a negative impact on the US economy.
• Imbalance in economy and policy. Outsourcing of jobs means that there are no more employees employed for the position When the employment goes down, this will create or start the discontent among the workers with their employers, in which case some talented unemployed workers might lead to immigration top other countries, draining the US of its valuable workforce.

Companies in the United States should therefore strike a balance between outsourcing to developing countries and fulfilling their duties as socially and economically responsible employers. With the race to future affluence, the only thing that will matter is talent. The skills gap that are causing the high unemployment rate in the US today will not likely close in the near future. This means companies and countries that can develop, train and retain the highest skilled talent, will come out on top.  

With the huge number of unfilled positions in the US, developing countries like the Philippines, India, or China will continue to train workers and employees with the technical knowhow and expertise on the job posts as they await for those companies with unmatched positions to outsource those positions.

Why Decide on Outsourcing?

At this day and age of computer and technology, there are no substitutes to replace internet marketing. This is a critical business strategy to help small companies compete and expand their business scope and sales activities. And businesses start with owning a website which can be used in the marketing efforts.

For some business people, internet marketing may seem easy that they do things on their own. Thinking that the operation is rather small, it may not require too rigid marketing practices or tasks that need to be implemented to achieve the desired results. Sadly, the truth is that internet marketing is not an easy and simple task and it is very much time-consuming. And with these, some have considered outsourcing their internet marketing. And why not?

• Increased site traffic by 110%. Studies have shown that outsourcing internet marketing services to a reputable company can increase the site traffic by 110%. Doing in-house SEO showed a much lower site traffic improvement. Hence, if you want to increase your business potential, leave the marketing to the experts. They are specialized and experienced and can do the job in less time. This can mean more traffic, more potential conversions, more targeted customers and more sales.

• Internet marketing is not straightforward marketing. It does not mean simply connecting to clients directly. It will necessitate finding ways to generate presence which can eat up most of your time as it requires constant monitoring to keep the site to the top. In this sense, outsourcing is more about time spent on strategizing on marketing efforts. In-house internet marketing not only will be time-consuming but it will require investing on certain tools to help with the marketing efforts.

• Having control over strategies. Outsourcing internet marketing will mean that you are free from routine tasks of internet marketing. Aside from that, you will still have control over your marketing strategies. You will be able to focus on the core business and increase the strategies by consulting with the outsourcing company. Your role will be more concentrated on strategic aspects. Online marketing is a collaborative effort and the good thing is you have a partner that is expert on that area.  

• Having the expertise at your disposal. Imagine yourself doing in-house marketing. You start by learning the trade and the trends that go with it. Apart from the fact that learning requires time, internet marketing is very dynamic, that sometimes when you have learned the trade, the market will present new changes which will render your acquired knowledge no longer applicable. An outsourcing company has the team or pool of professionals who have extensive experience on the trade. Learning new updates will be easy for them. If you have an outsource company, these experts and professionals are at your disposal (under an agreement, of course) for all the marketing needs your business may have.

• Cost effective marketing. Outsourcing internet marketing is an ideal set up for a small business because they offer a range of products, packages and services that can cater to the marketing budget of the company. You get the service you need when you need it. You only pay for the services requested and delivered.

The decision on whether or not to outsource the internet marketing services, is an option for the business that will depend on a lot of factors but ultimately, efforts should be directed to improving the work process and the marketing activities as well.  

Winning Over Outsourcing Challenges

The current global trend is on outsourcing – IT, financial services, human resource, management, product supply and deliveries, both voice and non-voice. Most of the global companies see the cost-effectiveness of such arrangements with outsourcing companies. These non-strategic activities should be able to give tangible benefits to the business in terms of product and service efficiency, improved sales activities, among others. However, despite the many obvious benefits that go along with the concept of outsourcing, there are other challenges these outsourcing companies have to deal with in order to successfully deliver their commitment to the client.

While it is true that outsourcing has seen the growth of the industry to what it is now, many companies planning to take on outsourcing some of their activities are somewhat fazed by some concerns on risks posed by outsourcing:

• Security of data

This is an important and critical issue for companies who are contemplating on outsourcing. The service level agreement should have an explicit provision or clause on liability and accountability of the outsourcers with respect to handling, storage and securing vital business data and information. While you have no direct control over this concern, there should be legal parameters covering such incidences. The outsourcer should be able to demonstrate clearly on how this angle is handled by their people, what countermeasures are in place in case of breach of data security, etc. Any outsourcing company that has no clear policy on this matter is not worth your while.

• Customer satisfaction

Customers would normally know if their calls or inquiries are handled by outsourcing companies. The almost robotic and practised and learned responses are easy give away signs. Customers will have different take on outsourcing and it is important that the outsourcers are aware of what type of customers they will be dealing with – their needs and wants, their concerns and issues, etc. A thorough understanding of the business is very vital to the successful migration of the business activity from in-house to outsourcing.  

• Technology and other Business Infrastructures

Outsourcing companies should have the required technological platforms and facilities to carry out their implementation processes – excellent communication facilities, banking systems, legal system (to take care of data security and intellectual property issues), all linked and connected together to allow for fast and smooth operations. Equally important are conducive office environments where outsourcing personnel will be motivated to perform according to the required expectations. Any global company will be comfortable entrusting the business activities to the outsourcers that give attention to these concerns.

• Communication and language gaps

This is very critical for companies entrusting their business activities to outsourcers as there should be clear understanding of the needs and wants of the company and the methodologies and implementation processes of the outsourcers. Failing this will definitely result to unresolved conflicts and undelivered commitment.

When these challenges are overcome and met with resolute approach, more businesses and companies will turn to outsourcing to improve their business performance. Having said this, it must be remembered that different businesses have different needs. If the challenges outweigh the advantages of outsourcing, then a re-thinking may be necessary as to the appropriate options to take. Ultimately, the decision is for the business owner on whether outsourcing is beneficial and good for the company or not.

Criteria for Selecting an Outsourcing Partner

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Outsourcing involves creating a productively successful partnership. And there are a multitude of choices for outsourcing partners. Each sourcing company is unique and nothing equally the same as any other in terms of service level, business principles, methodologies and  business models. Finding the perfect outsourcing partner can be a daunting task but is imperative to the success of any outsourcing partnership arrangements.

Choosing a perfect outsourcing partner for your company requires answering some questions which will determine and identify your outsourcing needs.

• What are the processes in your business that need to be outsourced? IT functions (technical support), business processes and HR (recruitment), Finance (payroll and accounting services), Sales and Marketing, Health and Safety (medical, insurance, etc.) are some of the non-strategic and non-core activities your business might need outsourcing to. By identifying the business activity you would like to outsource, you will be able to collect the information on outsourcing service providers specializing in those areas or fields of expertise.
• What is the required level of service? The outsourcing partner should have a good understanding of the product or service they are to provide for your business. They should be able to provide you with an implementation processes to be adhered to in order to achieve success.
• Will it be cost-effective to outsource? The outsourcing should provide your business with a good competitive advantage to make the whole process a wise financial and resources investment.
• Will outsourcing improve your business’ efficiency to carry out implementable new business strategies or investments? By freeing some of your personnel and making them concentrate on core business tasks, outsourcing can bring flexibility to the business’ costs and capital allowing to venture into other business challenges.  

When these are properly identified and answered, the next step would be checking out the many outsourcing companies that might be a potential successful partner for your business. Similarly, some key points to consider when scouting for an outsourcing partner for your business:

Project Experience or Track Record

It will give you an idea of how competent the outsourcing provider is if you know the kind of customers or partners they have provided services and the number of projects they have thus far completed. Check if they are recognized or heard of within their own industry. Find out if you can on customer service level of satisfaction. Blogs are usually the best sources for this information.

 

Operational Reliability and Financial Stability

Check out the company details like the number of years they are operating, number of employees, number of satellite offices, their history and experience in the business. Tangible business models should show their capability to understand your business goals with the right process, technology and personnel to implement it.

Find out about their financial standing and who are the directors and top management. This will give you an idea if they have a solid financial status.

References

A good way to check most of the critical information is by knowing who they have worked with in the past that can vouch for the quality of service, customer support services, timely deliveries, reliability and turnaround time. All these are vital in making a good call in choosing the right outsourcing partner.

 

Service Level Terms and Conditions

Different providers have different service level terms and provisions. Terms on payment, deliverables, timelines, implementation guidelines, allowable restrictions or limits, etc. should be explicitly discussed by the outsourcing partner in order to avoid conflict or misunderstanding later on. You may ask some of their references a little information on these if you can.

Infrastructure and Technology

A good outsourcing partner invests in their technology and service platforms. They should also utilize time-tested management tools and programs to continuously improve the quality of their service. A physical visit to the outsourcing partner’s business office will let you know if they give importance to these elements critical to their business operations. You need to know that they have the right equipment to handle and manage your product and service and if they are able to provide post-development support to resolve any issues that may crop up after the project’s implementation is completed.

Communication

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A high level of communication between the outsourcing partner and the business will ensure a project’s success. This will pave the way for a better understanding of the needs, goals and objectives of the business and the outsourcing partner’s translations of such issues in terms of their implementation processes. Communication is critical to any business relationship.

 

See them at work

The best way to see how the outsourcing partner works is to visit them during business hours where you can observe how they ago about specific projects.  Even for potential partners offshore, you need to visit their operations before making any final decision on your choice.

These are just some of the important criteria your business has to take into consideration in your selection of an outsourcing partner. The basic rule is to look for one whose vision is that of providing efficient productivity, competent business transformations and substantial cost savings for your business. If they work around these parameters, you are guaranteed of tangible results for your business.

When you have satisfied most of these criteria, you will have less to worry about the activities outsourced and will have to pull your time and effort in addressing the needs of the core business to improve the business activities. After all, one of the reasons you have considered to take on outsourcing is to push the resources (human and financial) to beefing up business strategies and new program or project development.

The decision to outsource your business activities is more or less tied to long-term goals and objectives. Make periodic assessments to see if the decision results to financial benefits, improved customer service, faster and accurate technical support, reduced errors in the delivery of service, improvement in the efficiency of adhering to timelines and delivery dates, etc.

Constant communication will ensure that the terms agreed upon are observed and implemented. While the outsourcing partner has the responsibility to take care of the outsourced business activity, you still have to participate actively in managing the relationship.