While there are many lists and reports out there, such as this YPA’s Top 10 IYP Headings, we wanted to provide our customers with real-time information on leading revenue-generating categories of SMBs who advertise online.

We looked at all the categories of SMBs who advertised in the last 30 days on leading local, vertical and IYP sites in several major US cities. Our clients liked the outcome, so we thought we’d share some of our findings in the form of a list of 15 leading revenue-generating categories of SMBs:

Plumbing
Attorneys
Auto Repair & Services
Movers
Roofing Contractors
Home Improvement
Florists
Dentists
Air Conditioning
Insurance
Auto Insurance
Contractors
Spas & Salons
Limousine Services
Heating Contractors
Other categories generate high revenues in online advertising, but we found that these SMBs are the ones who advertise a lot NOW. We also found that while they do all purchase many ad products, not everyone buys the same PPC package on the same site or invests in a high end IYP ad. For example, while attorneys and automotive businesses are more compatible for advertising on vertical sites such as Avvo, FindLaw or Martindale and AutobyTel, AutoTrader or Cars.com (respectively), contractors and movers are more compatible for measurable performance based ad products such as PPC or Pay Per Call.

In other words, different sites and ad products have different SMB sweet spots, even among the highest revenue-generating categories.

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Sure, there are proprietary, secret tools developed for in-house use, that few of us have heard passing rumors of, and even fewer have been fortunate enough to see. I’ve heard stories of amazingly sophisticated tools both built for in-house use and by agencies.

We at Netconcepts have developed our own top-secret internal tools too. One of our tools — the Google Directory Mining Tool — I “outed” in the “Give It Up” session at SMX Advanced this year (I’m still questioning the sanity of my decision!). It’s a tool that spiders the Google Directory (Google’s robots.txt allows this), and along the way, compiles a list of all sites in DMOZ with their URLs, ODP categories, PageRank (length of pos.gif), site name etc. This information goes into a database which can then be queried via web interface for high-value link targets (you can isolate sites by factors such as super high PageRank, category, and TLD). So you can, for example, identify all .edu and .gov sites with PR8+ in science-related categories, and export that to a TSV file. The tool can run an optional second pass over the results set to determine data such as each target’s site age and toolbar PageRank. Further automated assessment is planned, like link neighborhood analysis, presence of AdSense or other monetization, presence of attribution links, and presence of paid links. Now that the ‘cat is out of the bag’ on this Google Directory tool, and undoubtedly SEOs are making their own knock-offs of my tool, I figured what the heck, I might as well donate the tool’s source code to our friends at SEOmoz so the tool can have a good home in SEOmoz PRO (subscriptions run $79/month and up). It should be up by the end of the year.

It’s a huge investment to build your own tools, and many SEOs don’t have such resources — in terms of internal staff or budget — at their disposal. That’s okay, you can accomplish a lot with publicly available tools. Note that you’ll still need to spend some money — for subscriptions.

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This is the fifth annual Search Marketing Benchmark Guide that Marketing Sherpa has produced, but its unlike any of the others I’ve seen. It’s far more comprehensive and detailed, pulling together stats compiled by Marketing Sherpa as well as “best of” research from more than 50 respected research partners. The result is nearly 300 pages of no-fluff data, with 215 charts, tables and eyetracking heatmaps covering just about all aspects of search marketing.

The Guide has five major coverage areas:

Budgeting and search. Want to know which industries are the biggest spenders on search, or how marketers plan to allocate budgets for search vs. other types of marketing next year? Or how budgets will be allocated across different categories, such as B2B, local or mobile search? How about salary information, or percent of spend on SEO vs. PPC? It’s all here. If you face challenges justifying budgets to management or fees to your clients, the information in this section provides reliable benchmarks that you can use to bolster your case.

Tactics of search. Search marketing is becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex, with new tactics emerging all the time as marketers compete for searcher attention. This section offers a good overview of current cutting-edge tactics, including targeting by demographics or geography, the effectiveness of local and mobile search and others. There’s also a detailed look at the branding effects of search advertising that offers some of the best evidence I’ve seen yet that search ads can offer a brand lift—at least for certain types of businesses or products, and when it’s done properly.

Search providers explored. Stats, stats and more stats—not just about Google’s dominance, but how the other smaller players compare, and why it’s a good idea to consider targeting traffic via those other sources. This section also has useful stats on shopping comparison engines, and international search engines for search marketers looking to broaden their campaigns on a global basis.

Measuring and testing. I’m constantly surprised by the number of search marketers that don’t fully take advantage of the wealth of information that can be gleaned from their campaigns. Sure, most people look at rudimentary metrics and may tweak their campaigns slightly based on a quick scan of the data, but the most successful search marketers thoroughly analyze, test and test again, across a broad spectrum of metrics. This section looks at how analytics can be effectively applied to different aspects of a campaign, from keyword research all the way through measuring conversion rates over time.

Search benchmarks. As the Guide describes it: “All of the fundamental metrics of search marketing, fully updated and in one place, including costs per click, keyword prices, volume and conversion rates.” Enough said.

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YouTube has recently been pushing overlay ads which appear in the lower portion of the window while the video is playing. Since these ads are often used for branding purpose looking at click thru measurements would not give a true picture of their impact upon the advertisers brand messaging.

To prove the efficacy of these ads, Google hired a company called NeuroFocus to conduct research measuring biometric response to the overlays through indicators such as brainwave activity, skin response, and eye tracking. The study discovered that viewers found the overlays “compelling and engaging” and that these ads generated a high amount of attention and emotional engagement for a variety of different brands and video types. In addition, including a companion banner alongside the overlay ad was found to improve brand response compared to banner ads alone.

While the research is fascinating and provides the understanding of the possible impact of this form of advertising it raises the broader question of when biological response mechanisms will be used for ad metric and targeting. Recent news of “billboards that look back at you” indicates this future might not be that far away. For a recent Search event, participants were asked to predict the “Future of Search”. Bob, trying to be both humorous and provocative, predicted that Google would roll out “Dream Words” and “Dream Sense”, new products that allowed the search giant to serve ads into our dreams. Now that Google, with help from NeuroFocus, can offer an “eye dilation” score, are Dream Words and Dream Sense that far away?

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If you want to download it to your phone, follow these instructions:

Tap the Browser icon on the home page.
Tap Go to URL.
Enter yellowbook.com in the URL bar.
Tap Go.
Tap the pictures of the phones on the lower right side of the page.
Expand the screen to view instructions for this phone, located at the top right.
From your phone, TAP HERE to start the download process.
Follow your phone prompts for downloading the application.

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Below are four tips to help B2B marketers reach prospects at the local level.

Test local PPC advertising Devising a well-laid plan for your search advertising program is a crucial step. Are you engaged in a nationally targeted campaign now? Consider testing geo-targeted campaigns for select cities or regions. Many companies, even large national advertisers, experience superior results with local ad targeting due to increased differentiation, relevance and response.Consider placing ads on local mapping sites and local search sites (examples given below), as this can be a cost-effective way to reach business buyers locally.
Submit and manage your business profile Proactively submit your business descriptions, locations, URLs and phone numbers to the big three search engine applications - Google Maps, Yahoo! Local, and Microsoft Live Search.
Google Maps: Submit a free listing to Google Maps via the Google Local Business Center. Searchers will be served your business information when querying Google Maps for local information. You can edit these listings as needed, and must provide confirmation details for business verification purposes. Note: Since Google’s launch of universal search (based on their comparative ranking & blending methodology) map listings, blog posts, images and other types of results are now returned within Google’s main organic search results. A local search listing, therefore, will be served along with other organic listings, not just within a Google Maps listing.
Microsoft Live Search: Submit your business’s listing for free via Microsoft’s Local Listing Center. Searchers will be served an interactive map listing that can include your address and URL, a bird’s eye view of your business, phone number, and even directions to your location. As with Google Maps, you can edit your listings after a business verification process.
Yahoo! Local: Similarly, submit your business information, along with category recommendations to Yahoo! Local via Yahoo! Submit. Searchers will see a map listing along with local search results that include your address, URL, phone number, user reviews, and a link to obtain directions. As with both Google and MSN, you can edit and enhance this information over time. Note: Be proactive about generating customer reviews on Yahoo. Consider soliciting customer feedback on your website and encourage customers to write reviews. Make a habit of regularly monitoring user comments on the web to better understand your customer experience.
Capitalize on local directories and search sites Local business directories, IYP (Internet Yellow Pages) directories, and local search sites are all places customers go online to find a business close to home. Examples include: MerchantCircle, Localeze, Citysearch and SuperPages. Proactively submit your business profile information to these sites and keep it current and compelling. To maximize the search marketing benefit you receive from your listing, I recommend that you incorporate the following elements:
Keyword-rich local business description
Local images relevant to your business (such as photos of leaders and your building)
Videos about your business and product/service offerings
Address and local phone number
Hours of operation

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Here they are:

E- Business Interactive Standards, a beta release of an XML-based solution for automating the transfer of business order information between advertising agencies and media companies. Beta testing partners will be implementing and refining this solution throughout 2009.
Interactive Advertising Workflow Best Practices, a document that provides comprehensive process recommendations to agencies and publishers for improved communications and efficient operations throughout the entire lifecycle of an advertising campaign. The document’s best practices focus on how to improve the management of advertising accounts by decreasing discrepancies, campaign set-up errors and billing cycles between advertising agencies and publishers. www.iab.net/workflow
Digital Video Ad Serving Template (VAST), an XML-based solution designed to standardize communication between digital video players and servers. VAST allows publishers to increase digital video yield by utilizing ad networks to sell unsold inventory and reduce friction with buyers by allowing third-party ad tags
Ad Load Performance Best Practices, a document that details how agencies and publishers should develop and serve digital advertising campaigns to reduce load time for ads and improve their performance. www.iab.net/adload
Best Practices for Rich Media Ads in Asynchronous Ad Environments, a solution that establishes a standard set of rich media implementation rules for rich media ad vendors, creative development teams, and publishers when serving ads into dynamic environments.
“These initiatives will revolutionize our industry by improving efficiencies in the interactive business—which means growth for publishers, for agencies and for marketers who will now reach their customers even more effectively,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB.

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“Blogs have become part of the essential fabric of the Internet today,” Herve Le Jouan, Managing Director of comScore Europe said in a press release. “They live and breathe in real-time, helping quench media consumers’ thirst for the most up-to-date breaking news, information, and analysis. It should not, therefore, be particularly surprising that they’re increasingly displacing traditional media usage and carving out an ever-increasing slice of the online advertising pie,” he added.

Two of the most popular blogs in the U.K. are gadget blogs: Engadget.com, which ranked as the top individual blog in August with 243,000 visitors, and Gizmodo.com, which ranked third with 223,000 visitors. UnrealityTV.co.uk (225,000 visitors), Kotaku.com (210,000 visitors), and Metafilter.com (207,000 visitors) rounded out the top five.

According to the comScore Segment Metrix H/M/L service, which looks at online activity by heavy, medium and light users of the Internet, heavy blog users were 142% more likely than the average Internet user to visit a site in the “humour” category, a testament perhaps to the sharp wit often associated with blogging. They are also likely to be tech savvy, which can be seen by their skew in visiting technology news categories.

I’ve met a couple of “heavy” blog users in the U.K. — who weigh 38 stone between them.
Seriously, blogs are big in old Blighty. If you check out the agenda for SES London 2009, which has already been posted, you’ll see there will be a session on Feb. 18, 2009, on “SEO Through Blogs and Feeds.” And, who — you may ask — is responsible for that?

Search Engine Strategies London 2009 is organized and hosted by world-renowned search authority Mike Grehan. As you can see below, I interviewed Mike back at SES London 2008. And you can detect some of that “humour” and tech savvy that comScore just reported, although there is no way that Mike weighs more than 14 stone. But, of course, I’m just guessing.

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Encyclopedia, Traffic and Horoscope information will now display answers within results. For example, you can type in the question “How tall is Mount Everest?” and get the answer in the results.

I think search marketers will be happy about this. If you’re trying to sell a product, it can be frustrating when people come to your site who have no intention of buying anything.

The Live Search team says even more answers will be included in the future.

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