With the start of the 2011 holiday season in December, Geary made their most recent donation to the Salvation Army’s 2011 Angel Giving Tree Program presented by JCPenney. Meeting the needs of 387 families locally, Geary’s contribution took part in brightening the holiday season for over 1,000 children and their families.

Each year the Volunteer Committee, composed of four individuals, sits down with the input of all other staff to research well-known and local philanthropic opportunities. Selections are based upon organizations that embody one or more of Geary’s core values – driven, ethical, partnership, accountable, progressive and caring.

Below is a list of past selections, as well as possibilities for the future:

+ Soles 4 Souls
+ Habitat for Humanity
+ San Diego Food Bank
+ Angel Giving Tree
+ Beach Cleanup
+ Adopt A Highway

Have a charity in mind that Geary should look into? Contact Marketing Producer, Ginny Hammes with your suggestions.

Recently, Mashable posted an article in their Social Media section that posed an interesting question: Should the new Facebook gestures allow a dislike button?

Since the announcement at the F8 conference, developers have been enthralled with the new Open Graph system that will allow apps to model user activities based on actions and objects. Instead of simply “liking” an object or page, users will be able to share an action that they perform with an object, such as “watching” a “movie” or “cooking” a “recipe”.

This has raised some scrutiny, however, due to the possibility of creating negative actions such as “dislike” for pages and posts. As stated in the Mashable article, Facebook has blocked the option of adding a “dislike” button, but what about synonyms to this word?

Mashable presents an interesting point: Advertisers primarily fund Facebook, and if the option were there to “dislike” a brand or an update, this could cause some controversy.

Take the recent Chapstick social media nightmare for example, a brand receives negative feedback from a fan and deletes all comments associated with it, causing a social media uproar.

Now, imagine if anyone were able to share his or her negative opinion on Facebook by “disliking” a brand, object or person. Not only would this cause a lot of chaos, there would be a lot of unhappy advertisers on Facebook.

From a brand standpoint, what is your opinion? Do you think a Facebook “Dislike” button is a good idea?

At this point you’re expecting me to give you the magical answer, yes! However, instead I am going to be completely, 100% honest with you – I have no idea. I think we can all understand that each buyer needs to closely evaluate how lead scoring could benefit their operations to be able to answer that question appropriately. The first step for buyers is to determine what questions are they looking to have answered by lead scoring. Answering this question will get you on the right path to deciding whether or not lead scoring is right for your company.

Last week I had the pleasure of traveling to the wonderful town of New Orleans to attend TARGUSinfo’s Lead Scoring Summit. The intimate conference is an excellent conference to get the lowdown on all levels of lead scoring. Whether your a newbie or a lead scoring pro you can rub elbows with the best and pick up tips and tricks that will push your lead scoring strategies to the next level. What was refreshing about the show is that I got a chance to hear all points of view. One session included a school that implemented lead scoring a year ago and was still struggling to make work. There was not coverup agenda in place to say that lead scoring is easy. In fact, it’s hard and companies should be serious about the investment of time and resources that it takes for lead scoring to reap the intended benefits. On the other hand I spoke with a number of buyers that saw clear benefits as soon as they implemented scoring. From being able to optimize their lead buying efforts to targeting the right demographic and geographic segments they were able to better place their marketing dollars and effectively manage leads to a higher conversion rate. The point learned at the show is that lead scoring is not always an e-Ticket to the front of the line.

If you have questions regarding lead scoring and if it is right for you, feel free to reach out to us here at GearyPMG and will help you get pointed in the right direction.

With so much technology at our finger tips, I am surprised it has taken this long for other schools to adopt the model. We have video conferencing, collaboration software and smartphones that make it absurdly easy to take education outside of classrooms.

The flexibility afforded to students by online courses is appealing to a wide cross section of prospective students–not the least of which are those who have day jobs. More and more people are likely to pursue higher education as the recession continues, so institutions of all shapes and sizes should make it easy for people to do so. Online courses serve as a scalable model to make education accessible to the masses. Of course quality will vary, but the same can be said of traditional universities and colleges.

Trying to decide if we should head out to SXSW this year. What do you think? Should we “just did it” and be our “south by south best?”

John McKusick is the Co-Founder of Geary Group and GM at GearyPMG.

When you have ads, you are setting specific expectations to the user. I click on the ad because something connected with me. But to get to a page that then had nothing to do with what was promised on the ad only makes me want to leave. If they would just state something to the effect of “5 logo comps! Packages starting at $175″ they would not only see more conversions but also save money in people clicking on the link, not finding what they wanted and leaving.

Michael Bowen is the Performance Analyst at GearyPMG.

There is a misperception that when companies embark on a lead generation campaign they relinquish control of their brand to affiliates and partners, but this is categorically untrue. The best lead generation campaigns stem from a strong brand which resonates within all of its components. Good branding creates trust around a company and advances lead generation programs because the focus can move beyond questions like “who are you?” to “what can you do for me?”   Branding should be the key framework for any successful lead generation program; without it marketers are forced to compete on a generic level.

By building a strong reputation and brand awareness, companies will strengthen all of their campaigns, including lead generation campaigns. As users progress down a consideration funnel, they are more likely to use branded search queries or go directly to brand-owned web properties. This is a win-win situation for marketers because leads are more qualified, and sales processes shorten when users already know the companies they like.

When lead generation efforts consider a holistic brand, they are able to incorporate additional lead sources into the mix. Search engine optimization, paid search, social media and website structure should play important roles in a branded lead generation program.

So Branded Lead Generation, “Will you be our Valentine?”

With this in mind, it is important that your enrollment programs consider how branding affects your entire marketing mix. Maintaining a consistent, strategic voice will amplify your marketing efforts and increase your enrollment success.

To make sure you are up to date on the new regulations, here are a few resources to peruse.

• The Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities Files Suit against US Dept. of Education to Stop Unlawful Regulations, APSCU
• Education Department to Delay Issuing ‘Gainful Employment’ Rules Opposed by For-Profit Schools, The Chronicle
• GAO Bias Evident in Report on For-Profit College Industry, The Congress Blog
• For-Profit Colleges Oppose Tighter Regulations in the U.S., The New York Times

Now what happens if you change the view? You Get this:

Download a complimentary copy of the whitepaper here.

December 2009–Introduction of real time search results
With this update, Google included live news in search results from sources like Twitter and FriendFeed; this also included the addition of news headlines and blog posts.

February 2010–Searches refined by location
This is the first update of the year that addressed localization. In addition to Google tailoring results based on a searcher’s query location, users could select specific cities for additional local refinement capabilities.

March 2010–Addition of public data into SERPs and microdata inclusion
Google started displaying microdata in results if rich snippets were used on a webpage. Using specifications in HTML5, this update enabled marketers to include information—like reviews and profiles—on their websites, so Google could use it when rendering SERPs.

April 2010–Announcement that site speed impacts rankings
Google noted that speed does not trump relevancy in its ranking algorithm, but this announcement showed how much it emphasizes sites that are built to render quickly.

May 2010–Long tail algorithm change aka “Mayday update”
Google explained this update as “an algorithmic change…looking for higher quality sites to surface for long tail queries.” With this change, pages that were keyword-optimized or matched to specific long tail keyword searches generally lost rankings if pages are not deemed “high quality.”

May 2010–Approval of the reasonable surfer patent
In May, Google was granted a patent that “stated that all links on a page do not have to carry (or pass) the same weight” (Search Engine Land). This event reinforced the value of high quality links that indicate the value of a page to Google’s algorithm. It also verified suspicions that link placement was an algorithmic factor and that contextually-irrelevant links are devalued.

June 2010–Caffeine update
Google Caffeine was a new indexing system that provided faster results, so newly published content appeared sooner in SERPs. With this change, Google signaled that they had significant changes planned, which came to fruition with Google Instant and Places (Google).

September 2010–Google Instant
Google Instant added a predictive element to Google’s search results and displayed approximately 7 or 8 results pages per query. The-search-as-you-go update made waves as it simultaneously multiplied the amount of results per query and guided searchers to content based on predictive analysis.

October 2010–Google Places
Google Places integrated “Places listings” with organic listings and moved the traditional Google Local map to the right column of search results. This meant that there was even less SEO real estate to work with as Places results displaced organic listings (Search Engine Land).

October 2010–Google Boost
Showing a preference for local listings, the Google Boost update allowed businesses to pay for an advantage in Google Places listings. Boost afforded marketers the chance to pay for emphasized local listings that display below traditional paid search results. This allowed additional opportunities for marketers to buy rankings and potentially force other relevant results down the page, requiring SEOs to pay more attention to optimizing for localized search results and optimizing the keywords that do not serve local search results.

Vincent: It’s the little differences. A lotta the same stuff we got here,
they got there, but there they’re a little different.

Jules: Example…

Vincent: Alright, when you walk into a movie theatre in Amsterdam, you can buy beer. And I don’t mean in a paper cup either. They give you a glass of beer. And in Paris, you can buy beer at MacDonald’s. And you know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?

Jules: They don’t call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese?

Vincent: No, they got the metric system there, they wouldn’t know what the heck a Quarter Pounder is.

Jules: What’d they call it?

Vincent: They call it Royale with Cheese.

Now to my point…

The purpose of the dialogue above is to show how little differences can make a big difference. In terms of marketing, little things can make the difference between connecting you with your audience or losing them altogether. You have to speak their language and relate to them on their level.

Below are some little things that you should look for in your marketing campaign.

1. Target niche markets

You want to make sure that your funnel isn’t too large. If you go after a segment that is too large, then your messaging will be general. You are going to get stuck trying to speak to everyone (but you won’t connect with anyone). In this day and age, segmenting your audience will provide higher returns on your marketing campaigns.

2. Make sure your messaging is consistent

The goal of your messaging should be to walk them through a cohesive thought process and keep them on a path to conversion. If at any point you shift the messaging, you could cause confusion. This confusion could force users to go somewhere else to find information that makes sense to them. The last thing you want them to think is why am I here? What does this have to do with me?

3. Are you providing a solution to your users’ pain points ?

Ideally, they have an issue, problem or situation that you are able to help with. Do not lose focus on this. Otherwise, they will leave your website.

These are just three things that can make or break your digital marketing efforts. Stay tuned for more.

Michael Bowen is the Performance Analyst at Geary +PMG.

Like any advertising/marketing professional, I keep an eye on what goes on in different verticals. What aggravates me the most is seeing people doing their advertising WRONG. We’re not talking about just WRONG, but about as WRONG as it can be.

In this particular instance, I am referring to an education-focused PPC ad campaign. Most of the paid search ads I was served for a particular query were written well, but one seemed to stand out. It addressed searchers queries and paint points. It was dead on. After viewing the page of the ad, I was sent to a homepage. A HOMEPAGE!?!?!?! This is a BIG mistake that could driving up CPLs for the entire campaign.

They are missing a prime opportunity to connect with their users. They developed a great PPC ad that relates to searchers (based on their needs and pain points), but instead of driving users to a page where they can speak to the ad content that captured their attention, users end up on a home page–a page that has no connection to the ad.

Don’t let this happen to you. Check your campaigns. Make sure you are delivering on the message. Make sure you are holding up the promise of your ad on the page you are driving people to.

Michael Bowen is the Performance Analyst at Geary +PMG.

The president has set the goal that by 2020 American will once again lead the world in producing college graduates. He said that community colleges play an important part of that goal, hoping to produce an additional 5 million degrees and certificates in the next 10 years.

Many of GearyPMG’s education clients have asked us how they can capitalize on the deluge of students graduating from our nation’s community colleges, who may seek further education beyond a two year program.

In addition to a robust marketing program, we often advise schools to forge articulation agreements with the community college systems they wish to partner with.

What are articulation agreements?

When a student decides to go beyond a two-year education, they are required to transfer to a new school. A key component to the transfer process is reviewing courses at each school to determine which are comparable and eligible for transfer. This may be done on an ad hoc basis, but to make the most efficient use of dollars and time spent on courses, it is wise for students to research and compare any formal articulation agreements that are currently in existence. This means that the four year schools which have multiple agreements with community schools stand to gain more students than those that do not.

Breaking it Down

• Articulation agreements are formal, written agreements between two or more educational entities, usually a community college and a four-year traditional program. These program-to-program agreements define which courses the receiving school is required to accept from the community college.
• The institutions “match” its courses or requirements, and outline them in the agreement. These courses may be ones that satisfy general education requirements, or ones that satisfy major requirements. For example, a four-year university might have an agreement that if one earns an associate’s degree at a certain community college, the student’s credits will satisfy all freshman and sophomore general education requirements, assuming grade requirements are met.
• Educational entities may have multiple, separate agreements between them, with varying provisions, as they may apply to whole degree programs or may be on a course-by-course arrangement. Stipulations are usually found in the agreements such as any GPA requirements that must be met, as well as any program or degree requirements.
• Most articulation agreements are between institutions within a particular geographic area or between public community and four-year colleges within a state’s system of higher education. Through the years, most states in the U.S. have made it an initiative to have some policy on college transfer of credits for students moving from public community colleges to their four-year schools, and some have passed legislation to do so.
• With the advent of online schools, many are targeting the community college systems in geographic areas where there is a growing demand for their courses or programs.

With more than 1,200 community colleges in the U.S, which serve about 6.5 million students, community colleges have become an essential part of post-secondary education. Forging alliances with these entities, can help four year universities and colleges boost their own enrollment.

By how much? An un-optimized website typically has a meager 3.1% conversion rate (verticals vary of course). When conversion rate optimization is executed correctly, it can increase conversion rates between 50 and 200 percent, and there are occasions when resultant increases are higher (King). GearyPMG has your quick tips and a whitepaper to help optimize your site and dramatically increase your conversion rates.

Why it matters to your business

Generating more qualified leads from website traffic makes good business sense
Continuous testing reduces bounce rates
A solid CRO strategy results in increased sales, revenue, leads, page views and engagement

Three targets for CRO

There are three types of web properties to work with during a CRO process: landing pages, microsites and conversion paths.

Testing

During the testing process, landing pages, microsites and conversion paths will be classified as one of the following states:  control, challenger or champion.

Control: The page with the original design and baseline data
Challenger: The new design that you are putting up against the control
Champion: The design that performs best during testing

Look beyond the obvious

Every website is unique, so CRO requires a clear picture of a site’s goal, an integrated strategy, cross-functional input and analysis throughout the optimization process. Conversion rate optimization is not:

Minor tweaks in text size or color
Blind implementation of best practices
Relying on guess and check temethodology

For more information Click here to download a complimentary copy of the whitepaper.

Michael Bowen is the Performance Analyst at Geary +PMG.