Key Words

A question came up the other day about key words and their length and variety. Here is a sample listing for the service category of DNA and Paternity for Sacramento.

Sacramento paternity screening
Sacramento paternity testing
a paternity test
accredited paternity testing
baby father dna test
baby's father dna test
child paternity test
child support dna test
dad dna test
dna and paternity testing
dna legal paternity testing
dna paternity
dna paternity test
dna paternity testing
dna paternity testing center
dna paternity testing centers
dna paternity testing lab
dna paternity tests
dna test for father
dna testing for father
dna testing for paternity
father blood test
father dna
father dna test
father dna test results
father dna testing
father dna tests
father paternity test
legal dna paternity test
legal paternity
legal paternity test
legal paternity testing
maternity dna test
parent dna test
parentage dna test
parentage testing
parental dna test
parental dna testing
paternal dna test
paternal dna testing
paternity blood test
paternity blood testing
paternity screening
paternity screening in Sacramento
paternity sibling testing
paternity test
paternity test lab
paternity testing
paternity testing center
paternity testing centers
paternity testing centres
paternity testing companies
paternity testing company
paternity testing facilities
paternity testing facility
paternity testing in Sacramento
paternity testing lab
paternity testing laboratory
paternity testing labs
paternity testing location
paternity testing locations
paternity testing service
paternity testing services
paternity testing site
paternity testing sites
paternity tests
pregnancy dna test
sibling dna test
sibling dna testing
test for paternity
testing for paternity
tests for paternity

When a search term is entered for a search related to DNA or Paternity testing it will most likely be one of these terms. Google Analytics captures which terms are being searched more frequently and the campaign is adjusted accordingly.

Pay Per Click

Google has developed a unique advertising model that has revolutionized the advertising business. Traditional advertising is based on paying for views (the estimate of the number of eyeballs that see an ad). Google’s advertising model is based on how many people actually click on an ad to view it. This is called “pay per click (PPC). There are strategies to manage a PPC advertising campaign in order to minimize "bad" clicks and maximize "good" clicks.

1. Negative Key Words. Your Google AdWord Specialist (GAWS) has done everything possible to only pay for clicks by potential customers vs. anyone who might click on the ad looking for something other than services we offer. For example, someone looking for information on how to cheat on a drug test. One of the tactics is to minimize bad clicks is to list negative key words for every campaign. This will ensure a specific ad will not be displayed for irrelevant searches. Some of these negative key words include the phrases “free”, “online”, “passing a drug test” and “buy a drug testing kit”. Your GAWS will be adding negative keyword continually as we identify which keywords are creating positive outcomes and bringing you customers, and which are generating little or no results.

2. Location Specific. Each ad will only be displayed to customers within your target territory. We have set each target territory at a 10 mile radius from the location of the actual lab in the territory. This will help to ensure that your ad costs are reserved for those who are within your service area. Potential customers that may have a business in your target location but are not actually searching from within your target location will still be able to view your ads, if they put your city name within their search terms.

3. Specific Hours. To avoid spending our budget on clicks after normal business hours we have set ads to only be displayed from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm and turned off at all other hours. We have also set your ads to be turned off on Saturday and Sunday. This should eliminate calls when there is no one in the office to answer the phones. We can adjust this schedule at any time, if we determine that there are “click throughs” when no one is in the office to answer inquiries.

4. Now vs. Later. We have authorized Google to display ads “as soon as possible” instead of displaying them “evenly throughout the day”. We believe that people seek our services in the early morning business hours. This may or may not be may be true. Time will tell. This tactic gives Google the freedom to display as much as they can as soon as they can. This hopefully will bring in those early morning inquiry calls. This can also be changed at any time, if you feel you are getting to many calls at once.

5. Testing Different Versions. We have created two versions of every ad; one ad with a phone number and one without. We will be testing the theory that a potential client sees a phone number within a display ad they will call that number instead of “clicking through”. If this theory validates, we will save money by not paying Google for “click throughs”. To monitor this theory, we have assigned a tracking number to these test ads. This will enable us to track those calling by seeing these ads that have the CallSource phone number in the ad.

During this testing period, your GAWS will continually be modifying our AdWord campaigns, eliminating irrelevant aspects of each campaign, and adding important changes as we see how the market responds. Your GAWS will keep you informed by sending updates on the progress of our campaigns.

SEO

Amber, Your Google AdWord Specialist (GAWS), has optimized each landing page as a part of our AdWord campaign. Here is more information on the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) process.

1. Individual landing pages have been searched engine optimized with search engine friendly terms in the content and Meta tags.

2. Your GAWS will continually tweak content to focus on what potential customers are seeking in their searches. This will allow search engines, such as Google, to index our landing pages as a legitimate provider of testing services and begin to rank our landing pages relative to other websites. The most relevant content on our pages are in “header” tags, which alert the search engines to terms that are the most important on each page. Images also have been titled for search engine friendliness.

3. Meta tags are in the code of each landing page and include a title tag and description tag. Meta tags are extremely important, and like your content, they must contain your search friendly terms. It is best to include title and description tags of you services with your location.

4. You can view your Meta tags by right clicking anywhere on your landing page and selecting “view page source” if you are using Firefox as your browser. If you are using Internet Explorer as you browser click “view source”. Both your title and description tags will begin with brackets at the top of the page code.

Be sure to check in tomorrow for more on how key words work and how many key words we are using.

Testing Completed

After tedious testing, CAMPA is excited to announce that individual location landing pages are now live and on the Internet. Amber, CAMPA’s Google AdWord Specialist (GAWS), went to great lengths to insure that everything is working as flawlessly as possible. No short were cuts taken on the testing process.

We have a temporary web page (which will be discontinued when the new franchisor website is ready) which links to each individual landing page. This URL is http://www.local-drug-test.com/ .

Each landing page is a sub-directory of http://www.local-drug-test.com/, and your sub-directory URL is referred to as “an individual landing page”.

Here are some key points you should be aware of concerning each individual landing page.

1. The individual landing page is where Google will direct all of your location specific traffic to from each of your AdWord display ads.

2. Each individual landing page has a phone number that is for tracking purposes. CAMPA has retained a firm that provides lead management services for managing AdWord and other direct marketing campaigns. The firm is CallSource. CallSource provides a virtual phone number that directs calls to each location’s main office phone number and at the same time captures the source of the lead. By tracking incoming calls we will be able to differentiate which marketing source customers are using to find information on your business. The collection of sourcing data will enable Amber and Kim to continually shape and reshape tactics to maximize our AdWord budget.

3. Each individual landing page has a live Google map to your location. Since this map is generated in real-time by Google, we cannot control its display. Your visiting customers can easily drag the map around to find which view is best in helping them to find your location.

4. Your GAWS has imbedded in each of the individual landing pages a Google Analytics tracking code that is invisible to your visitors. Analytics will provide us with extremely specific information concerning your visitors including: how a visitor was linked to your landing page (i.e. directory listings, AdWords display ad, Google business listing, organic search), how visitors interact with your landing page, what browser each visitor is using, and how long visitors stay at your landing page. Analytics is also linked to your Google AdWords account with tools to help ensure we are meeting our AdWords goals.

Check the CAMPA Today Blog this week for additional information on our Google AdWord program.

Presentations

Carol Hastings, our networking resource person, has prepared a presentation for a Rotary Club in their area. This presentation was created from a PPT slides that John Lipp uses in training.

This PPT can be used as a resource for you to prepare a presentation for your own venues. Keep in mind that any presentation should be tailored to your audience. Also, do not overwhelm your audience with facts about drug abuse. The purpose of any presentation is to create interest and to motivate members of the audience to approach you after the presentation for more information. That means you should not share everything about drug testing in the presentation.

This PPT presentation can be found on FranConnect under Library/Sales and Marketing/Documents.

Two Marketing Opportunities

The DOT's Final Rule goes into effect next Monday! These updated regulations will impact all industry professionals, changes rules regarding instructions to collectors, laboratories, medical review officers, and employers regarding adulterated, substituted, diluted, and invalid urine specimen results. It also makes specimen validity testing mandatory within regulated transportation industries.

Drug-Free Work Week is August 20th to 26th. This week is dedicated each year to highlight the benefits that drug-free workplace programs bring to employers, workers and communities. And, it’s a time to work toward making every week a drug-free work week!

For more information go to the Department of Labor link:

http://www.dol.gov/asp/programs/drugs/workingpartners/DFWW-Introduction.asp

Each of these events are marketing opportunities. Being aware and being ready to discuss these issues gives you a competitive advantage.

Networking is the Difference

Networking is the difference between an average business and a highly successful business.

Here are strategies to make networking profitable:

1. Choose the right networking group or event. There are numerous venues for networking. The challenge is selecting the right groups to network with.

2. Focus on quality contacts versus quantity. Most people have experienced the person who, while talking to you, keeps his eyes roving around the room, seeking his next victim. This individual is more interested in passing out and collecting business cards than establishing a relationship. Your approach should be to make two to five new contacts at each networking meeting. Focus on the quality of the connection and people will become much more trusting of you.

3. Be able to clearly state what you do. In order to be effective you should be comfortable in presenting a ten second mission statement as well as a thirty second elevator presentation.

4. Follow up after the event. In my experience, most people drop the ball here. Yet the follow-up is the most important aspect of networking. There are two specific strategies to follow:

· First, immediately after the event – typically the next day – you should send a handwritten card (best) or an email to the people you met. Mention something from your conversation and express your interest to keep in contact. Always include a business card in your correspondence.

· Next, within two weeks, contact that person and arrange to meet for coffee or lunch. This will give you the opportunity to learn more about their business, the challenges they face, and how you could potentially help them. This is NOT a sales call – it is a relationship building meeting.

Networking does produce results. The more people know about you and your business, and the more they trust you, the greater the likelihood they will either work with you or refer someone else to you. Consistent focus and follow up in networking will produce results in the long term.

Networking is not a sprint, it is a marathon.

Networking Strategies

It can be a challenge to operate a business and keep all of the balls in the air which include managing your staff, making your daily sales calls and follow up calls and then to squeeze in time to execute a consistent networking strategy.

Here are some ideas to consider in deploying a networking strategy.

1. Set a goal to focus on 2-5 networking event/groups. Be sure to attend and work only events and groups that have potential contacts. When one of these venues runs its course - add another.
2. If you are a husband and wife team, have one of you focus on networking events while the other focuses on selling. Carol and Jeff are an outstanding example of this tactic.

3. Hire a part time networking partner. This is an ideal position for a stay-at-home Mom. Networking activities can fit into a schedule and over an extended period of time relationships can be built.

Regardless of your networking strategy consistent activity and follow up is the key.

Networking

There are numerous ways that can generate leads to produce business.

1. Advertising (yellow pages, newspaper , Google Ad Word)
2. Direct marketing such as direct mail
3. B2B sales calls
4. Referrals
5. Telemarketing
6. Networking

Each of these tactics are important but one is emerging as a key business generator in our business – Networking.

Why is networking something that should be a part of your marketing and sales mix?

The primary reason networking works in our business is because other drug testing companies are generally not involved in most Chambers, service organizations or leads groups. This means that your services are unique and people you meet in these venues are less defensive when it comes to discussing your business and what you do.

Properly handled networking is a key tactic in your arsenal of lead generating strategies. Improperly handled it can become a waste of valuable time. The difference between successful networking and unsuccessful networking is managing your efforts. I will be sharing networking tips in future blog postings.

Official Grand Opening in Lancaster

Doug Kimball and his wife Betty hosted an Open House at their Lancaster office as a part of their official Grand Opening on Thursday, August 14, 2008. Doug reserved the LED Projector and used a PowerPoint that ran as a continuous loop format that Carol Hastings had put together for a Chamber Business Expo in their Sacramento territory earlier in the year. Doug found Carol’s PowerPoint very informative and useful. Doug said that several Chamber members attended the Grand Opening as well as some local businesses in the area.



In the picture are Chamber Members, Doug (green polo shirt) and Betty (brown blouse) standing just to the right of their Grand Opening sign and their Lab Tech kneeling in front of Doug.

If you are planning a Grand Opening and want to use the Display Booth or LED Projector, please reserve these tools in advance.

New Advisor to Our Team

Bill Judge has been retained to work with franchisees in areas related to workplace drug testing policies. The first project he will focus on is developing a workplace drug testing policy for the CA and NV markets. Bill Baumgartner currently has a client that he is working with on developing a drug testing policy. Mr. Judge will work with Bill on structuring a drug testing policy that can be used as a template for the future.

Here is Mr. Judges resume.

Bill Judge is an attorney who, for the past 23 years, has concentrated his practice on research, consultation, litigation assistance, and management training related to the legal issues of substance abuse in the workplace and in our nation's schools.

A ten-year instructor for the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine MRO course, and a past advisor to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, Mr. Judge has lectured extensively on school and workplace substance abuse issues. Recently, Mr. Judge has participated in regional student drug testing seminars on behalf of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. In addition, he was an invited panelist at the 1988 White House Conference for a Drug Free America and participated in Railway Labor Executives Association vs. Skinner decided by the United States Supreme Court in 1989.

Mr. Judge has edited and written several publications, including a reference manual for the motor carrier industry entitled, Drug Testing: Motor Carrier Compliance Manual, which is published by J.J. Keller & Associates. Other publications include: “Omnidex”, “Part 40 Merged” and his latest workbook, co-authored with attorney Tom Eden, Doing It Right: DRUG FREE SCHOOL TESTING.

In 1995, Mr. Judge co-founded Info-Lab, Inc. and managed Workplace Health Co-Op, a substance abuse program administrator until 1999. During his tenure with Info-Lab, Inc., Mr. Judge also co-owned and operated Info-Meth, a DHHS-certified laboratory located in Peoria, Illinois.

Mr. Judge's most recent projects include the creation of an online legal reference resource called DT State Laws, in addition to a certified online collectors' registry called National Qualified Collector Registry. DTStateLaws is an exhaustive web-based resource of full-text state drug testing laws and court decisions found at www.dtstatelaws.com. The National Qualified Collector Registry is an on-line audit and repository service found at www.collectorregistry.com. Mr. Judge is also working with industry partners to establish The Center for Drug Test Information and Training, a complete resource for state-specific information and training materials.

Also, Mr. Judge provides risk management assessments, legal and consulting assistance and develops drug-testing policies for Schools, employers and labor/management committees. He operates a web site dedicated to this effort at www.lawsinhand.com. He also is a past Co-Chairman of the Illinois State Chamber’s Drug-Free Illinois Workplace Program.

Google AdWord Campaign Launches

August 18th is the official launch date for the CAMPA Google AdWords test, although some initial testing will precede the official launch. This is a test lasting for three months and ending on or about November 21st. The test will be funded through your ASAP Funds.

To review: AdWords is Google's flagship advertising product and main source of revenue. AdWords offers pay per click (PPC) advertising, and site-targeted advertising. The AdWords program includes local, national, and international distribution. Google's text advertisements are short, consisting of one title line and two content text lines. Advertisers specify the words that should trigger their ads and the maximum amount they are willing to pay per click. When a user searches Google's search engine on www.google.com, ads for relevant words are shown as "sponsored links" on the right side of the screen, and sometimes above the main search results.

This three month test will help CAMPA determine what words and phrases are being searched and what type of budget will be needed in the future to continue an effective Ad Word campaign.
Preliminary data that will be presented on August 28th during our CAMPA Conference Call at 12:00 pm (note change in date). Please mark your calendar for this call.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate in giving Amber Christiansen, our Google AdWords Specialist at call at 801-458-5394 or email her at achristiansen@accudiagnostics.com.

If you would like additional background and more information on how the Google AdWord advertising strategy works, please go to FranConnect and click on the “Support” tab and select Advertising: AdWord section.

Onward and Upward

After completing their Classroom Training in the Regional Training Facility in Sacramento, CA. Jill and John are packing their bags and heading off for their Field Intern Training in Greenville, SC. After returning home from Sacramento and discussing with Jill their upcoming SC trip, I asked how she felt about her classroom training experience in Sacramento. Her response was something I think all you can relate to, “I’m worn out!!!”

Yes, those gold ol’ days of classroom training.

I present to you the August Class of 2008

From left to right: John Lipp, Director of Training and Field Operations Support, John Choe and Jill Chionio, Franchisees in Martinez-Concord, CA and Kristy Montoya, Rancho Cucamonga Lab Technician.

Next up: BAT training. Stay tuned.

Mike Mix and the Drug Court Specialist

On August 1st, Mike Mix has lunch with Mack Jenkins, the CAMPA Drug Court Specialist in San Diego. I interviewed Mike after the meeting to get his opinion on how knowledgeable he felt Mack was and if he could see value in Mack’s services.

This phone interview was recorded and can be listened to on your Microsoft Media Player or other audio players that play wave files by clicking on the following link:

www.discoveraccu.com/campa/mix-jenkins_meeting_080108.wav

In summary, after listening to this audio recording of my interview with Mike you will be able to decide how Mack Jenkins may play a role in your territory.

Our Drug Court Specialist

Mission: Develop a resource that CAMPA and its franchisees can use to gain a competitive advantage in establishing relationships within drug courts in their territories.
Tactic: Recruit a specialist to provide training, be available for regional specific technical questions and consult with franchisees on an individual basis.

Our Specialist

Mack Jenkins is our Drug Court Specialist for the CA and NV region. We have discussed Mack’s capabilities in the past; however, it might be good to review this now and outline how franchisees can access Mack and the procedures used to access his services.

Background:

– 28 years in the criminal justice system
– Former Chair of the Orange County Drug Court Oversight committee
– Trains judges, attorneys, probation officers, and police officers throughout the country
– Adjunct instructor of criminal justice at the college level
– Master of Science Degree in Criminal Justice

Mack will assist franchisees in determining the infrastructure of a drug court in their territory. He knows many of the professionals throughout CA and NV. If he does not know the people in specific drug courts, he will most likely know someone that does. Mack will attempt to get person introductions for you prior to setting any appointments. Franchisees should always try and use local networking to secure these introductions and when you cannot use Mack as a resource.

How to use Mack:

1. Mack will provide training in regional CAMPA meeting from time to time. This will be a CAMPA expense.

2. Phone consultations for specific questions with Mack will be billed on a per minute basis with a minimum 10 minute billing increment.

3. Personal meetings and appointments. Mack will bill for actual time in meetings with franchisees personally or in appointments with franchisees. All travel expenses will be reimbursed. No travel time will be charged (at this time). If travel time becomes an issue, Mack reserves the right to change this policy and charge for travel time. All arrangements on travel need to be discussed and agreed to in writing in advance.

It is anticipated that Mack’s usefulness will increase over time. Penetrating any government agency, including drug courts, is a long term process. Any advantage a franchisee can gain in these types of situations provides a competitive edge.

In my next posting, I will share with you my interview with Mike Mix as he reports on a lunching meeting he had with Mack Jenkins.

Be sure to post comments regarding the online survey which will be revisited again in the next few weeks.

Online Surveys

One of the recent recommendations is that CAMPA use an online service to survey franchisee’s clients, agencies and businesses. In order to begin to assemble such a survey we need feedback on questions that should be asked, what procedures each location will follow and, most importantly, how the data will be assemble and used to improve our competitive position.

CAMPA has subscribed to an online survey service. It is called Survey Monkey. I have used this service before and find it to be a good service for the number and types of surveys that we might conduct. The following preliminary online survey was developed for your review. This is not final. It the questions are only suggestions. The survey can be expanded or shortened. This is only a very rough draft. In fact, after discussion, we might decide that surveys are not something that we want to do.

Please go the following link by holding your cursor over the link at the same time holding down the CRTL key and at the same time right clicking on the link with your mouse:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?PREVIEW_MODE=DO_NOT_USE_THIS_LINK_FOR_COLLECTION&sm=6jTMUz%2fb5o7R5bv4YS20jF67HdQHgc7QrO8BfVsC%2f2c%3d

You can also past this link into your browser to get to the survey.

Please follow the steps below to review this survey and provide feedback:

1. Got to the above link.
2. Review the questions.
3. If you have any comments, additions or changes, post them on FC in the “Sales Forum: Survey-Your Ideas”.

This collaborative process will result in powerful programs that will position AccuDiagnostics as the industry leader in delivering testing services into the market place.

The Survey – Good Idea or Not?

In my last blog posting, I suggested a survey be developed and given to clients (those that use our testing services). Leanne and Mike Mix offered this comment on their FranConnect “Survey – Your Ideas” forum posting:

Leanne and Mike Mix: The trip sounds like a good, and relatively low cost, way to get responses and drive excellent customer service. An idea directly tied to the client (as opposed to the client's employee/participant) is to effectively manage their program; i.e. easy and accurate account setup, timely coordination of information, simple a/r process, etc. To that end it would be very helpful for new franchisees to have a proven process to follow. Maybe John's initial training could cover this along with a simple procedure to use. The effectiveness could be measured with a survey and perhaps the same type of trip as a prize for all who respond. This approach could allow us to measure the satisfaction of the decision makers as well as impart to them that we are interested and striving for world class customer satisfaction.

I couldn’t agree more. The key is low cost, easy to use and accurate data collection and analysis. If a survey is difficult to implement, complicated to administer or too expensive, the process may start with all of the intentions of a good idea but will ‘peter out’ over time. Then this good idea becomes one of the many that end up in the ditch along side of the ‘Yellow Brick Road of Good Ideas’.

What are your thoughts? If you have any input, post them on the FranConnect Sales: “Survey – Your Ideas” forum.