From the book lists at Adware Report:

All information current as of 18:29:53 Pacific Time, Saturday, 19 February 2005. Search Engine Advertising : Buying Your Way to the Top to Increase Sales (Voices That Matter)    by Catherine Seda   Paperback:     Pearson Education     24 February, 2004    US$20.39       Usually ships in 24 hours Click the button below to . . .      (which will add the book to your Amazon U.S.A. "Shopping Cart") . . . or use your browser's Back button to return to the search-list page.

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Editorial description(s):

About the Author


Catherine Seda is a popular speaker on the topics of search engine marketing, affiliate management, and low-cost web site promotion. She's known for sharing practical tips and tools in her dynamic sessions at leading search engine, marketing, and industry association conferences.



Since 1995, Catherine has worked with organizations in the U.S. and Europe to leverage the Internet as a marketing tool. As the marketing executive of a web agency for five years, she championed client online promotions that included search engine optimization, pay-per-click media buys, opt-in email, banner advertising, link popularity campaigns, custom sweepstakes, and ROI tracking. She also designed the search engine program, which included co-creating an affiliate trademark protection strategy, for a direct response TV agency's clients.



Through her agency, Seda Communication, Catherine offers open workshops and onsite training for search engine marketing. Additionally, she leads a team of search engine specialists in managing corporate client campaigns.



Catherine shares revenue-generating techniques in her articles as a regular columnist for Entrepreneur magazine, editor of the Search Engine Sales e-zine, and freelance writer for industry publications including Response magazine, SearchDay (Search Engine Watch), LookSmart, Pay Per Click Analyst, FindWhat.com, and others. She's also a contributing author of Search Engine Positioning.



Catherine believes in a "test before you invest" Internet marketing strategy for immediate and long-term success.




Book Description


You don't have to have the biggest name or the most dazzling graphics to lure customers to your Web site. These days, all you really need is prominent search-engine placement. This book shows you how to get it! With searching one of the most popular Internet activities, a top spot on a major search engine virtually ensures a high volume of visitors--though converting them to buyers is another story. In these pages, top Internet marketer and strategist Catherine Seda tackles both parts of that equation. First, she outlines the strategy involved in buying the specific keyword positions that will lead users directly to the page you want. Then, she describes how you can turn poor-performing ad copy into targeted sales-getters, and how you can evaluate and correct low visitor-to-buyer conversions. Beginning marketers will find the info they need to implement a Web strategy quickly, while advanced marketers will find all kinds of tips for analyzing and improving current results.






Reader review(s):

Time Spent in the Shadow of a Master, March 22, 2004
One of life's rare privileges is the opportunity to study in the footsteps of a master. In this book, Catherine Seda, an internet marketing practitioner and popular conference speaker, reaches into her deep experience to reveal how to achieve immediate visibility for your website.

Whether you are a new search engine advertiser or a veteran, this book will show you tools and techniques to increase your sales at the lowest cost per conversion.

The book is like a fine gold. Each chapter exposes the beauty of another gem of website promotion. The writing is clear, crisp, and practical. It starts with the basics: how to develop effective keywords, ad copy and landing pages. Every chapter contains another nugget, including a ROI worksheet, traffic tracking and specialized search engines. Along the way it deftly explains the difference between paid placement and paid inclusion programs.

It even offers tips on how to protect your profits from click fraud and trademark infringement.

Even if you only pick up a few tips, your return on the investment of time and money in this book will be staggering.

Good Information on The Paid Side of Search Engine Marketing, March 16, 2004
Catherine primarily focuses this book on the paid side of search engine marketing. I am a search engine marketer and have generally worked on the "free" or optimization side of search engine marketing for the past year. I also have read at least a dozen books or ebooks on this subject.

Generally I think the return on the optimization side is much greater than on the paid side, but if you are a savy marketer using paid search engine marketing can bring rapid distributions and returns. I personally have been amazed at some of the high profile, high frequency search words which have few competitors on the market (even today.)

There is much to know about search engine marketing, and much of the info that is out there on either side (paid or optimization) is chuck full of misinformation. This book is new and kept general enough (covering a rapidly changing environment) to where there is not a bunch of misinformation. She even predicted that paid inclusion would go to a PPC model right before Yahoo! put the new system in place.

If you have enough money to be participating in paid search then this book could help you save some of it.

Magnificent companion to "Search Engine Visibility", May 30, 2004
Catherine Seda's excellent book "Search Engine Advertising" is the perfect complement to Shari Thurow's "Search Engine Visibility" from which includes an excerpt toward the end. Where Thurow's book, the best one in terms of accomplishing high rankins in 'organic' (read unpaid) search results, Seda's book brings along the whole other side of the equation: that of paid options to accomplish high rankings. In doing so, one of her key points is that Search Engine Advertising doesn't end when the customer arrives at your site (visits), but it really is about conversions (getting the customer to make a purchase, subscribe or whatever your web site's purpose is when s/he arrives to it).

The book is very well structured around six parts:
i) Planning: the key (yet sometimes overlooked) part of the process, to ensure you know who you are targetting and how, before jumping into the paid options.
ii) Paid Placement Programs: she presents the differences (pros and cons) of the most important fixed placement and pay-for-placement programs available.
iii) Paid Inclusion Programs: directories are presented here in all their splendor, along with what you can do to enhance your possibilities before submitting your site, and how to manage a large number of simultaneous submissions. Web site optimization is touched upon briefly at this point, but in no way substituting Thurow's book on the topic: you simply have to have both, if you're serious about Online Marketing at all.

iv) Specialized Search Engines: comparison shopping engines, vertical market search engines and international search engines are discussed in some detail, to get you started with them.
v) Tracking ROI: normally just as overlooked as the planning stage, the tracking of the results of paid advertising campaigns are discussed in extensive detail to ensure that you are able to steer the boat in the right direction if your ROI data shows that you're putting money on the wrong key terms, your copy is not doing what it should to engage customers, or your landing pages are not taking customers where you want them to go once they get to your site.
vi) Protecting profits: topics such as click fraud, trademark infringement and affilate networks are discussed, as things to keep an eye on.

All in all, this is not a book you'd want to sit down and read in one afternoon (nor would you be able to). This is a hands-on book to work through and use as a reference as you're getting your feet wet with this whole other animal that is paid advertising on the Web. It has done a ton for me in the two months I've been applying the concepts contained in it, since it summarizes very well all the options available to you, their pros/cons and how to best take advantage of them, considering your size and budget. I highly recommend it without reserves for eMarketers that have not had too much exposure to paid options, as well as those who have some experience in the area, since it provides a wealth of tips and insights that most people in the field can benefit from.

Disclosure: I received a copy for review from the publisher.

Best Intro To SE Advertising, May 8, 2004
If you want more traffic read this book. I read it over once, started up some SEA campaigns, and now will re-read it again carefully to see how I can get the most out of those campaigns.

I am a full time SEO, an employee with a multi-national company. I teach SEO at the local college and am the author of a small SEO workbook (seoworkbook.com). I also sell books, eBooks and my own music CD's via the internet, do consulting for small businesses like Bed & Breakfasts and am a broadcaster on an Internet radio station. As you can imagine I spend a lot of time in the search engine world. Until now I have focused on organic search which simply means creating web pages and sites the way search engines are going to find most attractive i.e. keyword rich content, SE friendly design, and optimized tags for engines that use them. Shari Thurow's book, "Search Engine Visibility", also published by New Riders, is the best resource regarding this approach that I have seen.

I read Catherine's book first of all because she has credentials, she has worked in a variety of positions in the SE advertising industry. Then flipping through the table of contents I knew from my own experience that she was covering the basics (and I a big believer in basics) and that she knew who the important players were. I liked what I read because she wrote in an easily understandable, conversational style which I appreciated and enjoyed.

She covered everything thoroughly, beginning with background chapters when necessary. There were a few times when the detail level got a little deep for me but that is because I, like Catherine, am essentially a marketing guy, I appreciate strategy, tactics and logistics but feel more comfortable in the strategy end of the pool.

Like Shari's book, this is definitely another winner from New Riders. I see that New Riders is a division of Peach Pit Press who do the Visual Quick Start books. I have long told my students that the VQS books are the best computer books for beginners on the market - bar none. The quality of all these books is no surprise as I see Pearson Education is the corporation behind them all. I work for an eLearning company so I am familiar with Pearson; they are one of the worlds largest and most respected publishers of text books.

Catherine helps make the industry jargon like "trusted feed", "fixed placement", etc. understandable, and explains how to monitor and track your campaigns and how to manage your conversion rate and return on investment. Her sections regarding landing pages, page design, and site architecture are easy to understand and immediately useful. Very importantly to us entrepreneurs, she also discusses how to deal with potential "click-fraud" and other business issues.

For a person who is venturing forth into the SE advertising world for the first time I can highly recommend this book. I would suggest that you read and do everything in Shari's book first however. Then do the same with Catherine's. Here is a key point: Even if you are ranking well with organic search the advertising option gives you the added benefit of your site being passed on to many other search engines of all kinds because of the business relationships large advertising companies like Overture and Google have with partners and affiliates.

I would say Shari's book represents step one of your search engine marketing plan, and Catherine's represents step two. Hopefully New Riders will soon come out with some form of step three - "How To Convert Visitors To Buyers". As I mentioned above, I currently teach SEO at the local college: because of Catherine's book, and the impressive results I have immediately achieved using her methods, I intend on adding another course on SE advertising later this year. There will also be a proposal on my bosses desk next week recommending SEA campaigns for all our primary products. For large or small companies, even my little B&B clients, advertising on the web is clearly an effective and affordable option. For serious entrepreneurs, the web has matured as a sales and marketing channel to the point where it is a required one.

Turning browsers into buyers, September 30, 2004
There are probably only two ways to grow an online business:
1) Attract more visitors to you site
2) As soon as they are there convert them into customers.
Despite the title of the book Catherine Seda covers both concepts in great detail for the novice and the pro alike.
I bought the book because I wanted to promote my company's site. Applying the concepts has paid great dividends for my business.
Whether you want to run/are running Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns on Google Adwords and Overture, optimize organic search, promote a new or old site, or even choose a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) agency this book is outstanding.
Throughout it has a clear focus on Return on Investment (ROI)
Amidst the sea of half-truth, urban legends, fairy tales and unprofessional SEO, this book stands apart.
I just hope, my competitors will never read it!

Catherine Covers It All!, July 9, 2004
This book does it. Whether it is me needing a refresher or if I am trying to make marketing partners "get it", Catherine covers it all. I can hand this book to a marketing director or VP and they can read it and understand what I have preached for some time. Catherine's incredible knowledge of the industry not only brings it home, it brings it to their level of understanding.

Casual & Interesting book for WebEntrepreneur, March 23, 2004
Catherine Zeda makes easy to understand the process of #1 search engine with easy steps to follow. There is so much way to improve a budget with the RIGHT strategy. I appreciated the $35 coupons included to test her system. I feel confident to maximise returns while minimising costs. Buy it, read it and TAKE ACTION!

Good Overview of Search Engine Marketing, May 1, 2004
Full Disclosure: One the editors sent me this book for review.

Although never flirting with greatness, the content soared above average. The editing style, however, clipped my rising expectations. Like a chicken scratching in the dirt, new ideas would be tossed into the middle of an existing chain of thought. Occasionally ideas would end as fledglings, never fully explored or even transitioned.

That said, I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a solid introduction to marketing a webiste or product on the internet. I learned how keyword analysis works, how to create a marketing campaign, how to monitor a campaign, and how to get more money from a campaign.

Although no topic was covered in depth, the resource section at the end of the book points the reader to industry recognized sources. The book even includes advertising credit with Overture and FindWhat, a great way to get your feet wet.

If you do not mind some leaps, and a little silliness, this book may be a four on your list. The choppy style was too much for me.

Awesome read., September 1, 2004
I bought this book to improve my website position and to learn more about online advertising. This book is clear and concise and presents the information in a way that is easily understandable for the novice without all the advertising lingo.

Beyond Expectation, June 1, 2004
Catherine explains beyond my expectation when reading upon her book on the search advertising.
And what I do not hope, it explains in a-step-by-step tutorials. Yes I give her my thumb for her book.

During my giving training and consultation to my clients in the world of SE, sometimes I refer it as well.

Not only that, I also grow my business in Jakarta, and on national basis in Indonesia, using "search campaign" and sponsorship program to attract my clients either in this industry or other industry I have such as www.presentationsupport.com.

Yes search engines create other way and yet cost effective promotion with quick ROI.

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