Arlington Advertising SEM SEO

New year, same commitment to our clients.

by with No Comment Internet Advertising

First of all, a very Happy New Year to everyone reading this blog post.  I hope 2018 brings you all many blessings and good fortune.

As we enter into a new year, I’m reminded of how often things change, and yet still stay the same.  The digital advertising world is very fluid.  Clients come and go, budgets go up and down, targeting and demographics change, and strategies are constantly being adjusted and altered.  But one thing will never change, and that is our commitment to our clients.

Everything we do revolves around what is best for our clients.  We don’t cut corners, we don’t put our needs above those of our customers’, and we don’t fail to listen to their opinions.  We are your partner in advertising, not your vendor.

Unfortunately, we don’t have a product to sell.  We don’t have a shiny car or a cutting-edge piece of electronics that we can show off.  Products like that help to sell themselves.  Our value-add lies in the marketing knowledge and experience that we bring to bear, and the tremendous customer service that we offer to our clients.  Selling a service is a lot harder than selling a product, but it’s what we do.

If you have been looking to grow your business, especially through Pay Per Click (SEM, also called Google Adwords) and SEO, and you’re looking for an agency with a proven track record of success and a sincere commitment to our client’s goals and needs, give us a call.  Chances are we can help you, and likely for less money than you may have thought possible.

 

SEO company Philadelphia

How can we help you? The short and sweet version.

by with No Comment Internet Advertising

Unfortunately we are not Southwest Airlines or Apple, and neither are our clients.  By that I mean that we can’t sit back and wait for customers to come to us.  Sure huge companies like Southwest and Apple advertise (though sadly not with us), but they can rely on their enormous brand recognition and market share to augment their media buying strategy.  We cannot, and neither can our clients.

When either myself or our staff are speaking with a prospective client, we try and show them exactly how we can help them in as short and sweet a manner as possible.  They’re busy people, and their time is precious.  They want to know what we can do for them, and why we’re different than the 10 other digital marketing agencies they’ve spoken with this week.

We can always point to intangibles like great customer service and no longterm contracts.  Indeed we do offer our clients both of those benefits, but what we really offer is the knowledge and expertise required to put your business in a position to be successful.  On the paid search (SEM) side of things, it means that we create keyword lists, ad groups, and ad copy that will generate not only a lot of exposure, but the right kind of exposure (meaning the potential customers who are interested in the products or services that you offer).

On the SEO side of things, it means that we actively drive customers to our client’s websites and phone lines via our off-site services, rather than simply optimizing their website and sitting back, hoping that customers will find them.  And on the print side of things, it means that we create stunning and evocative display ads, placed in the most relevant markets, to send our clients the customers they need to continually grow their businesses.

In essence, when you partner with DanMatt Media, you’re gaining access to our decades of experience in the online and offline worlds.  You’re gaining access to the strategy and execution that can take your local or national company to the next level.  And most importantly, we won’t waste your time.

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Saving for retirement

by with No Comment Internet Advertising

For whatever reason I woke up this morning thinking about retirement.  Maybe it all started as a wonderful dream (being retired and perpetually on the golf course), but by the time I was in the shower I began thinking about my 401K account balance and my average rate of return.  At that point, I knew I wasn’t in the middle of a wonderful dream any longer…

Like a lot of people our age, my wife and I are trying our best to sock away as much of our hard-earned paychecks as we can for retirement.  It’s not easy, what with taxes, daycare bills, mortgages, college savings, etc eating up a large chunk of our income.  I did a little research this morning and found that almost 50% of all American adults have nothing saved for retirement.  Many that do have retirement savings accounts are woefully underfunded, and that includes younger earners in their 20s as well as older earners who are rapidly approaching the age of retirement.

Those stats are pretty scary, and unfortunately very common in our country today.  Many Americans in their 30s and 40s are counting on social security to be their main source of income during their golden years.  The problem with that is that social security was never designed to be a retiree’s main source of income, and as a result the program itself is vastly underfunded.  In fact, by the time people my age retire, there may well be nothing left in social security for us to collect.  If that’s the case, it would be the largest ponzi scheme in history (think about it, you pay into it every two weeks for your entire working life, and then never collect a dime once you retire).

So what’s the answer to these retirement woes?  My financial advisor has a pretty good outlook on it.  He recommends that you look at your retirement savings like any other bill you have each month.  In other words, it has to be paid in-full and on-time, just like everything else.  The best way to do that is to set up an auto withdraw to your 401K or retirement account from each and every paycheck.  By doing so, you never forget to transfer that savings over, and you learn to live without it as a part of your discretionary income.

But that’s the easy part.  The hard part is learning to live below your means, so that you can afford to pay yourself every two weeks for retirement.  That’s not so easy to do.  We live in a country that rewards instant gratification.  There is always something shiny and new to buy.  The “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality is always out there, and we all have unexpected bills that pop up from time to time (medical bills, car repairs, etc).  But if we can all learn to live below our means and fund our retirement accounts every pay period, we may well be able to turn things around.

Just don’t cut out the advertising budget…

SEO company Philadelphia

Want more leads? Try pay per call…

by with No Comment Internet Advertising

One of the things I frequently hear from current and potential clients is, “I need more leads”.  Typically, that means more inbound phone calls and website submissions.  New clients are the life-blood of any small business.

DanMatt Media is an internet advertising agency, and the fastest growing sector in our company is on the digital side (think SEO and SEM, both of which are great options for any organization).  But that doesn’t mean that the print channel is dead, and indeed the performance-based side of that solution (pay per call) is an outstanding choice for service-based businesses.

With a pay per call campaign, you are only paying for the phone calls (leads) that come in from your ads in the yellow page directories.  All pay per call campaigns have a “buffer” of 30-60 seconds, which gives your sales team the ability to qualify a lead before you get charged for it.  That means you can take a little time to find out if the caller is in the areas that you service, and looking for the services that you offer, before you pay for the lead.  If they’re not a fit, then you can get them off the phone before you get charged.  It’s as close to risk-free advertising as you’re likely to get these days.

So what types of businesses benefit from pay per call?  It’s a good fit for most service-based companies (plumbers, electricians, dentists, lawyers, etc) but we also run very successful campaigns with national flower retailers, debt consolidation companies, and other types of businesses that you wouldn’t necessarily assume are a fit for pay per call.

The easiest way to know if this is a good option for your business is to give us a call (877-924-1543) or send us a website submission (https://danmattmedia.com).  We’ll be happy to take a few minutes to let you know if we can help you to “get more leads”.

 

washington dc search engine optimization

The value of a face-to-face meeting

by with No Comment Internet AdvertisingMarket ResearchOnline MarketingPrint AdvertisingSocial Media Marketing

We’ve all heard the saying… “Customer service is dead”.  One round trip flight on a US carrier will assuredly confirm that for most of us.  But here at DanMatt Media customer service is alive and well.

We’re fortunate to live at a time when technology makes our lives and businesses easier and more convenient.  Contracts can be negotiated and signed over email.  Meetings can be held on conference calls and web cams.  We can all have longterm, lucrative partnerships with clients and vendors without ever having met them face-to-face.  But is that really the way it should be?

There’s no doubt that most of my client and publisher relationships were born through email, and nurtured over the phone.  We have clients all over the United States, and a few overseas as well (including England, India, Australia, and Romania).  Seeing them in person is a tall order (though I have made it to England and Australia so far).  But whenever possible, I like to meet my clients face-to-face.

I want them to see the passion I have for their marketing efforts.  I want to look them in the eye and promise them that I will do everything I can to help them achieve their goals.  I want to visit their offices so that I can get a personal feel for what they do and how they do it.  You can’t do those things over email or phone calls, so whenever possible I make sure to visit them and meet with them face-to-face.

If you’re not getting that level of customer service from your marketing partners, you should be.  After all, it’s your money, and it’s your campaign.  Modern technology and convenience are great, and we all take advantage of it every single day.  But nothing beats the value of a face-to-face meeting.

SEO company Philadelphia

What are you looking for in an agency partner?

by with No Comment Internet AdvertisingOnline Marketing

Typically I write one of these blog posts a month.  They usually take the form of an essay on either work-related topics, golf, or a timely event (like last month’s entry on March Madness).  But for the month of April I thought I might try something different.  Namely, I’d like to ask the handful of people who read my blog posts what they are ideally looking for in an agency partner.

Giving our clients the services they need at the prices they can afford is a difficult balancing act.  Often the budgets we have to work with are less than what we would like to have in order to guarantee success, but I’d like to think we do a good job with what we’re given.  If you’ve read these posts you know that customer service and transparency are a key component of our agency, and every DanMatt Media client receives both no matter how much they’re spending with us.

But what I’d really like to find out is where our future clients place their priorities.  Is price the most important factor when choosing an online and offline agency to help grow your business?  Is expertise and business acumen the first thing you look for when you select an agency to partner with on your digital marketing campaign?  Are you looking for a balance between the two?  Is your ROI the deciding factor when you make your choice?

I would like to invite anyone reading this post to share some quick feedback on what you would look for in an agency partner.  It’s always helpful to have outside opinions, and we welcome them.  You can send your feedback to info@danmattmedia.com, and I promise you it will be read, reviewed, and taken to heart.

crazy image

March Madness? You bet…

by with No Comment Internet AdvertisingMarket ResearchOnline Marketing

The calendar says it’s March, and you know what that means.  Everyone will be talking about March Madness.  Typically that refers to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship (more on that below), but there are other things around here that contribute to March Madness too.

Work:  I suppose every month has some work madness built into it, and March is no exception.  Why?  Well Q1 is always one of the busiest times of the year for us.  We’re launching new initiatives to make our online and offline services more attractive.  We’re designing and implementing new marketing campaigns on behalf of our clients (especially the ones we picked-up in the beginning of the year).  We’re recruiting new affiliate marketing sources to run our performance-based offers in 2015.  It’s a busy time of year, but we’re on top of it.  When it comes to business, a little madness is a good thing.

Kids:  If you have children (particularly young children) then you already know that every month is chock-full of madness, but if not let me explain.  Fighting.  Sickness.  Ear infections.  Tantrums.  Attitude.  It’s not localized just to March, but since the weather is cold and the kids are indoors, you tend to notice it more this time of the year.

Basketball:  OK, here’s the real definition of March Madness.  The conference tournaments are beginning shortly.  After that, the NCAA selection committee will seed the teams and the national tournament will begin.  In our offices we have Duke fans, Maryland fans, and even a single Northwestern fan (yours truly).

Duke enters the month ranked in the top 4 in the nation and looking to punch their ticket to the Final Four.  Maryland enters the month ranked in the top 15 in the nation and looking to make a deep tournament run.  And Northwestern?  They’ll be sitting out the post-season as they do every year, but fear not, they’re getting better.  Another 2 or 3 years and my alma mater will be making their first NCAA Tournament appearance.

roses

Why I love Valentine’s Day!

by with No Comment Internet Advertising

Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite times of the year.  Part of the reason is because I’m happily married to a beautiful wife, but the truth is I really love Valentine’s Day because it is one of the two biggest times of the year for online flower sales (Mother’s Day being the other).

DanMatt Media happens to have a very large national flower retailer as a client.  One who has been with us for almost 15 years.  We handle both their online and offline marketing, and we put a lot of time and energy into the account at this time of the year.

What this flower client really loves about us is our commitment to customer service and our performance-based marketing channels.  Performance-based marketing takes the risk off of them, because they are only paying us for the orders we generate.  Whether that is on the print side (pay per call) or on the digital side (email, banner/display, and social media marketing) we are able to drive thousands of orders for them during Valentine’s Day, with no risk to the client.

What does all this mean for you (the handful of people who read my blog posts)?  Well, if you have a product you’re looking to sell online, we may be able to help you on a risk-free, pay-for-performance basis.  Get in touch with us today to see if it’s a fit!

mobile search engine optimization

How do you know which advertising channel is right for you?

by with No Comment Internet Advertising

Here at DanMatt Media we’re pleased to be able to offer our clients a wide variety of online and offline advertising and marketing solutions.  Our offline channels include print, radio, and television advertising.  Our online (digital) channels include SEO, SEM (paid search), IYP (Internet Yellow Pages), web design, and affiliate marketing (email, banner, and social media marketing).  But how do you know which channels will work well for your business?

The easy answer is to ask us.  A quick call or website submission is all that is needed to get the ball rolling.  We’re always happy to evaluate a potential client’s business and create custom quotes for them.  But as a general rule of thumb, the following guidelines tend to apply to most situations…

Radio and television advertising typically works well for most companies with larger advertising budgets.  These forms of advertising are effective but expensive, as you need enough budget to be able to saturate the air or radio waves with your message.  For example, a single radio spot once a week isn’t going to get you anywhere, but 6-8 of them will.  It typically takes at least $5,000 per month for radio and $10,000 per month for television to run an effective campaign.

Print advertising (yellow pages, magazines, and outdoor advertising) is our other traditional channel, and this medium works very well for service-based companies (plumbers, dentists, electricians, lawyers, etc).  It can work well for companies that sell a product too, but it’s variable.  Print also has the advantage of a performance-based offering, our pay-per-call option.  With pay-per-call our print clients only pay for the valid phone calls that they receive, so it’s risk-free advertising for them.  We were one of the very first agencies to offer pay per call to our clients, and it has worked beautifully for many, many years.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) marketing works well for almost every client.  85% of all the search engine traffic on Google and Bing is routed to the organic side of the page, and that’s where SEO ads are found.  SEO ads run 24/7 and are highly effective ways to get your company in front of your targeted audience.  Best of all, with the addition of our new local SEO plans we are now able to help smaller businesses who service a single metro area.  Our SEO plans start at only $299 per month and there are no longterm contracts to sign.

SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is our other search engine offering, and it too works well for almost all business types.  Paid search is a highly effective way to advertise your product or service, it’s completely targetable to just about anyone, and typically generates results very quickly.  All of our SEM campaigns include monthly reporting at no additional charge, and can be fully customized to fit any business need.  SEM requires a larger budget than SEO, as paid search ads only run when there is enough budget to keep them up.  But when paired with SEO it’s an excellent one-two punch to give you a complete online presence.

Lastly, our affiliate marketing channel, which includes banner/display, email, and social media traffic, is an excellent performance-based offering that works well for online product sales and lead generation campaigns.  In other words, if you’re selling a product online, or you’re looking to generate leads through an online form, we can help you.  Many of these campaigns offer the advantage of pay-for-performance, which means our clients only pay us for the products we sell or the leads we generate.  There are no upfront costs and no longterm contracts to worry about.

We have a lot of services to offer our clients, and in many cases several of these options are used to create a comprehensive online and offline advertising campaign.  We specialize in bringing our clients increased business at the best rates possible.  If you’re looking to grow your company, give us a call or send us a website request.  We’re here to help!

 

blog-road-ahead

Dealing with disappointment

by with No Comment Internet Advertising

When I got out of professional golf and into online marketing I took a job at a digital agency here in Denver.  I was in a sales/business development role and I vividly remember my boss telling me how difficult it is to be a sales person.  He told me that there would almost assuredly be more downs than ups, but that I had to stay positive and weather the storm.  I wasn’t sure what to make of it at the time, but within a couple of weeks I quickly found myself agreeing with him.

Simply put, sales is hard.  I can’t tell you how many times our business development staff (which includes me) have been ignored, hung-up on, yelled at, and even cursed at.  You’d be amazed at how nasty some people can be over the phone.  And what always frustrates and baffles me are the potential clients who say they are ready to move forward, but then mysteriously never return a phone call or email again.

Dealing with disappointment is a part of life, and it’s definitely a part of business.  Especially when you’re in a sales role.  I won’t lie to you.  I get down when we lose out on a project to a competitor, especially when I know that competitor will not do a good job for the client.  I get down when a deal looks promising and then for some unknown reason I never hear back from the prospect. And I get down when a project doesn’t perform as well as we had hoped it would.

Getting knocked down is just an occupational hazard of being in sales, but over the years I’ve found it’s best to stay positive and to keep things in perspective.  I try to look at all the deals that have fallen through as a way to weed-out the projects that weren’t meant to be.  I try to look at the rude comments and the lack of responses as a way to weed-out the clients that wouldn’t be a good fit.  And I try to remember that DanMatt Media always puts our clients first, even when that isn’t the most attractive option for us.

Staying positive can be awfully hard to do sometimes, but it’s the lifeblood of any good sales person. The next time I get down at work I’d appreciate it if someone would remind me to re-read this blog post!