We here at Rise just wanted to wish the folks over at Google a Happy Birthday. It’s been quite a ride over the last 12 years. We wanted to pay homage to Google by taking a look at how it’s changed over the years (especially for Internet marketers). Before we get started, here’s a look at where it all began: (more…)

Rise was recently asked to participate in the beta program for a new Google Adwords feature, Contact Form extensions. Google is continuing their trend of innovating Paid Search with another extension (Site Links, Location and Product Listing extensions are the other features rolled out recently). We’re quite excited to participate in the test to determine this feature’s feasibility for lead generation programs. We’re also a little apprehensive about the feature and beta test, as we’ll discuss later in this blog. (more…)

***Rise Interactive is in the running for the People’s Choice Award given out by the Chicago Innovation Awards for FeedPro. We need your vote! http://bit.ly/dsHr7b***

One major challenge facing e-commerce clients, especially as we move into the holiday season, is managing product-based paid search campaigns as efficiently as possible. It is quite common for e-commerce retailers to bid on product-specific keywords, such as product name, model number and SKU. There are three scenarios of inefficiency that are unique to e-commerce retailers:

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As Internet users look for information specifically tailored to them, several niche search sites are answering the call. NPR recently highlighted several religious/faith-based search engines that are increasingly popular among Christians, Jews and Muslims around the world. We wanted to take a closer look at these Web sites to determine how viable they are as Internet marketing opportunities. (more…)

Google announced the rollout of Google Instant on Wednesday to a chorus of questions and concerns from various members of the industry. While most concerns focus on the impact of Google Instant on SEO, I want to take some time to discuss the impact of this change on Paid Search (PPC) programs. (more…)

While setting up a recent Paid Search (PPC) campaign, the client asked, “Why should we spend money on branded terms? We’re already in the top positions in natural search.” This is a common question, especially for site owners that have spent considerable resources in SEO. Many companies believe that if they’re number 1 in the natural search listings (through SEO efforts), their work is done. There are three reasons we’ll discuss why almost every company should include branded keywords in their PPC campaigns. (more…)