Marketing Tips: PPC Spy, Domain Name Typos and Dell

When was the last time you used a Yellow Book? Personally, I can’t remember. I dusted mine off the shelf for this episode, and I’d love to know if you’re like me, using online tools to search for local suppliers, rather than books like the Yellow Pages.

This week’s question is all about how to spy on competitors pay-per-click campaigns. It is possible, and I’ve got two Web resources for you, one of which is free.

Many people mistype words when they type a domain name into a browser. This is for a number of reasons that I’ll explain, some of which might be surprising to you. Fortunately, there’s an excellent free tool that will tell you what the likely mistakes are for any domain name, even one you haven’t registered yet. This is really useful because you might want to register some of those miss-spelled names and register them, in order to forward the visitor to your Web site.

Finally, the show wraps up with a big marketing lesson from Dell, the computer company. Dell sent me an invitation to their “signature event” which caught my attention, and I’ll explain why event-based marketing is so effective for ANY business. Yes, including yours.

Andrew Lock is a self-described maverick marketer and the creator and host of Help! My Business Sucks, a free, weekly Web TV show full of practical marketing tips, advice and resources to help small businesses "get more done and have more fun."