The technology and science behind the sport of Mixed Martial Arts is amazing and National Geographic has done an amazing job -- it's a "must see"... don't miss it. They discuss in detail all of the different types of martial arts and how it's all incorporated into MMA -- you'll dig the technology and science of it for sure.
+ More info and schedule on NatGeo »
+ More MMA can be found at MMA Mania »
+ And of course the UFC has a lot more on the sport
Here's a taste (trailer)...
First Impressions: AdWords is...
We had an interesting challenge at work recently. We were asked to run a campaign using Google AdWords and generate as much traffic, and conversions as we could in two weeks. Most of this stuff was new to me, and there is definitely an art, and a lot of science to it. My first impression of Google AdWords is very good -- it's powerful, easy to use (after you get used to some of it's features), fun and cool like most Google Apps.
I took a fairly unscientific approach, and really just tried to absorb and learn what I could. My budget was next to nothing, and I wanted to see what I could do on a really tight budget. I got a reasonable amount of traffic but unfortunately, I don't think I got any product conversions (purchases). My completely unscientific approach and limited budget was a bit of a let-down -- and I really didn't spend as much time as I wanted on it. We were asked to spend about an hour a day on "the challenge" in between our regular stuff.
There's a tremendous amount of really good help and documentation, and a lot of time can be spent just reading -- which was one of my main goals -- there's a lot more to it than just knowing what the acronyms mean. It's probably a good idea to plan for that before starting a campaign.
I think the trick is to come up with a plan of action, and metrics to help you evaluate your success/failure and progress. An obviously critical aspect is to get the right keywords and creative that makes sense for the keyword sets you want or need to use. Then bid-up, burn-in, track, and quickly peel out the stuff that isn't working.
I ran two pretty basic campaigns:
1) Starter Campaign - Budget Optimizer enabled [ $20.00 / 30 days ]
2) Campaign #2 - Price focussed adverts [ $5.00 / day ]
Here are some numbers...
Writing really good creative is imperative. Ad position is also another key factor in terms of getting good results. In terms of generating traffic, you can judge for yourself. I was also able to get some purely organic traffic as well, but I don't have those numbers handy. That said, I was able to easily get more than double that traffic on my blog without spending a penny -- so I'm definitely still a strong believer in organic traffic generation.
I didn't get to spend much time on this area but the coolest feature for me was Google Analytics. Lots of data to look at -- graphs, maps, charts, and numbers galore -- and it helps you figure out what's going on and think about ways to handle your campaign.
Granted, there are puny numbers and it feels a little "Mickey Mouse" to me, but it was really interesting and I learned a bunch. I'm not sure of exactly how well others did, but there were a good handful of conversion purchases -- just not from my campaigns. I think my lack of conversions (and the same for other participants) is partly due to the nature of the product, and I think we could probably make some improvements to the product creation and the check-out process as well.
Ultimately, two conversions would have paid for my entire campaign, but as I mentioned before it was my first foray into AdWords and SEM, and there's definitely a LOT to it. I've had an AdSense account for a while (obviously), and I had an AdSense but never really used it until now, so I probably could have done the reading without spending anything but I think you really learn a lot more just by messing around with it.
I learned a lot for $52.59, why not give it a try? Hint: There's an AdWords link conveniently placed in the column on the right »
I took a fairly unscientific approach, and really just tried to absorb and learn what I could. My budget was next to nothing, and I wanted to see what I could do on a really tight budget. I got a reasonable amount of traffic but unfortunately, I don't think I got any product conversions (purchases). My completely unscientific approach and limited budget was a bit of a let-down -- and I really didn't spend as much time as I wanted on it. We were asked to spend about an hour a day on "the challenge" in between our regular stuff.
There's a tremendous amount of really good help and documentation, and a lot of time can be spent just reading -- which was one of my main goals -- there's a lot more to it than just knowing what the acronyms mean. It's probably a good idea to plan for that before starting a campaign.
I think the trick is to come up with a plan of action, and metrics to help you evaluate your success/failure and progress. An obviously critical aspect is to get the right keywords and creative that makes sense for the keyword sets you want or need to use. Then bid-up, burn-in, track, and quickly peel out the stuff that isn't working.
I ran two pretty basic campaigns:
1) Starter Campaign - Budget Optimizer enabled [ $20.00 / 30 days ]
2) Campaign #2 - Price focussed adverts [ $5.00 / day ]
Here are some numbers...
Clicks Impr. CTR Avg. CPC Cost
11 24,627 0.04% $0.24 $2.63
63 99,620 0.06% $0.79 $49.96
74 124,247 0.05% $0.71 $52.59 (Totals)
Writing really good creative is imperative. Ad position is also another key factor in terms of getting good results. In terms of generating traffic, you can judge for yourself. I was also able to get some purely organic traffic as well, but I don't have those numbers handy. That said, I was able to easily get more than double that traffic on my blog without spending a penny -- so I'm definitely still a strong believer in organic traffic generation.
I didn't get to spend much time on this area but the coolest feature for me was Google Analytics. Lots of data to look at -- graphs, maps, charts, and numbers galore -- and it helps you figure out what's going on and think about ways to handle your campaign.
Granted, there are puny numbers and it feels a little "Mickey Mouse" to me, but it was really interesting and I learned a bunch. I'm not sure of exactly how well others did, but there were a good handful of conversion purchases -- just not from my campaigns. I think my lack of conversions (and the same for other participants) is partly due to the nature of the product, and I think we could probably make some improvements to the product creation and the check-out process as well.
Ultimately, two conversions would have paid for my entire campaign, but as I mentioned before it was my first foray into AdWords and SEM, and there's definitely a LOT to it. I've had an AdSense account for a while (obviously), and I had an AdSense but never really used it until now, so I probably could have done the reading without spending anything but I think you really learn a lot more just by messing around with it.
I learned a lot for $52.59, why not give it a try? Hint: There's an AdWords link conveniently placed in the column on the right »
Seven Things you probably didn't know...
Well, here goes nothing...
Lots of bloggers post their "Seven Things you probably didn't know about me" and other cool memes and lists, so I took a few minutes (about 27 minutes actually) and thought of a few of my own. After thinking of a few things about me, I realized that my life is a little more exciting than I originally thought it was, so I figured I'd share these little-known facts about me with all of you folks out there.
1) My avatar actually looks like me and I made it myself when I was supposed to be working (for a previous employer) but decided to do something "productive" instead.
2) I have two size 11 feet, but I can squeeze into a size 10-1/2 if I'm in a bind.
3) I used to read voraciously. I've read letters "B" through "S", and "U" through "Z" of Webster's Dictionary and much of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Yes, I have.
4) I have worn contact lenses for more than 30 years, rarely clean them or even take them out and I've only had a problem once.
5) I'm not great with math but I really love to count things, and I used to be a fantastic spellar.
6) There is a very high probability that I will be late for work tomorrow even though I value punctuality.
Hmmn. I could only think of six things about me, sorry.
UPDATE: Monday, January 7, 2008 - 7:13 AM
7) Ok, here is one more which makes seven: Elmo is my favorite Sesame Street character.
UPDATE: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 - 7:31 AM
* Bonus Item: I just thought of another one... I can read upside-down and backwards! ;-)
Lots of bloggers post their "Seven Things you probably didn't know about me" and other cool memes and lists, so I took a few minutes (about 27 minutes actually) and thought of a few of my own. After thinking of a few things about me, I realized that my life is a little more exciting than I originally thought it was, so I figured I'd share these little-known facts about me with all of you folks out there.1) My avatar actually looks like me and I made it myself when I was supposed to be working (for a previous employer) but decided to do something "productive" instead.
2) I have two size 11 feet, but I can squeeze into a size 10-1/2 if I'm in a bind.
3) I used to read voraciously. I've read letters "B" through "S", and "U" through "Z" of Webster's Dictionary and much of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Yes, I have.
4) I have worn contact lenses for more than 30 years, rarely clean them or even take them out and I've only had a problem once.
5) I'm not great with math but I really love to count things, and I used to be a fantastic spellar.
6) There is a very high probability that I will be late for work tomorrow even though I value punctuality.
Hmmn. I could only think of six things about me, sorry.
UPDATE: Monday, January 7, 2008 - 7:13 AM
7) Ok, here is one more which makes seven: Elmo is my favorite Sesame Street character.
UPDATE: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 - 7:31 AM
* Bonus Item: I just thought of another one... I can read upside-down and backwards! ;-)
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