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This time next week, we’ll officially be in 2012. I know that freaks some people out because of the whole thing with Mayan calendar ending with 2012, but a little research will show you that that particular factoid signifying the end of the world is a common misconception. The Mayans’ concept of time wasn’t linear, but circular; 2012 doesn’t mark the end of time, but the end of a Bak’tun, the 13th and largest cycle in their Long Count Calendar that begins/ends every 25,000 years (give or take).
Assuming this is new information to you, don’t you feel a bit better about 2012 knowing that it’s not the harbinger of doom some think it is? It pays to be curious, if for no other reason than to be better informed about what may (or may not) be coming around the bend.
By now you may be wondering how all this ties in to your adCenter campaigns… give me a minute, I’ll get there!
With a few exceptions, January has historically been a pretty slow month for most online advertisers. If that’s the case for you, next month presents a prime opportunity to dig into some research (ah ha… there’s the tie in!) specific to your niche market that might provide you with helpful insights that you can use in your PPC campaigns. For those who fall into that “few exceptions” category (health & fitness, finance, etc.), your busy time of year is ramping up right now.
Regardless of which scenario describes you, we have a few resources that’ll help you make the most of those seasonal spikes in traffic. Here on the Community site, check out the Holiday and Seasonal tag, which houses all blog posts that address opportunities aligned to certain times of year. Over on the Microsoft Advertising for Small Business site, there’s the Vertical Insights page with specific data, trends and information on the industries that have increased sales opportunities either right now or coming soon.
Feel free to leave a comment below and let us know if there are any topics you’d like us to cover here on the adCenter Blog, or if you need help with a specific question, ping us on Twitter or visit us in the forums.
Photo credit to Dan Piraro of BizarroComics.com (clicking the picture will bring you to the original posting).
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what do you think will be the challenges faced by the PPC marketers in 2012?
Great question, Owen! :)
Given how quickly things can turn on a dime in this industry, I typically shy away from making predictions on what's to come (wins or challenges), but I will say that I think mobile and local are going to continue to be a key channel for online marketers who're hoping to attract customers to their brick and mortar stores. Given some of the cool stuff being done with location-based targeting, it's bound to be one area to keep an eye on in 2012.
For challenges in the PPC realm, I think as social media starts to become more of a focus for online marketers, measuring the overall ROI of campaigns on those platforms will prove to be more elusive than it is with traditional PPC where it's easy to connect the dots between a click and a conversation. How much is a like on facebook or a new Twitter follower worth, for example?
What about you... what are your thoughts on what's to come in 2012? :)
These are good points there. I have searched the topic and have seen people will go with your blog.