The First Rate team has completed the requirements for the Yahoo Search Marketing Ambassdor Programme. Below a selection of the necessary training to gain YSM Ambassador status:

Network Overview

1. Understanding the Search Market
2. YSM Network Overview
3. YSM Network Metrics

YSM Product Overview

1. Sponsored Search
2. Content Match
3. Rich Ads in Search
4. Premium Homepage Text Links
5. Yahoo! Messenger Text Links
6. The Integrated Approach

YSM Platform

1. Achieving Operating Efficiency
2. YSM Desktop

Editorial Guidelines & PPC Best Practices

1. Yahoo! Search Marketing Editorial Guidelines Overview
2. Account Structure & Technical Details
3. Optimisation & Best Practices
4. Editorial PPC Case Studies

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SearchIgnite Unveils New Breed of Search Management & Online Media Attribution Technology

SearchIgnite 4.0 changes the industry landscape with revolutionary usability enhancements, ROI forecasting and optimization capabilities

April 20, 2010 –SearchIgnite, a provider of search and performance media management solutions, today announced the release of SearchIgnite 4.0, the newly enhanced version of the company’s industry-leading search optimization and digital media attribution platform. This latest release includes a number of major enhancements such as in-line editing, ROI forecasting and other new features that make the process of managing high-performing paid search campaigns easier than ever.

Many major marketers and digital agencies including Digitas, E*TRADE and Avis rely on SearchIgnite’s proprietary technology platform to manage, optimize and report on large-scale paid search campaigns. In addition, SearchIgnite clients can utilize the company’s advanced analytics and attribution modeling capabilities to better understand their marketing performance and make smarter budgeting decisions across the online landscape, including PPC, SEO, Universal Search, email, affiliate and display advertising.

SearchIgnite 4.0 advances the platform’s capabilities with a completely overhauled and streamlined user-interface that takes advantage of Adobe® Flex, providing the greatest level of usability and functionality in the marketplace today. In addition, the platform now provides the ability to forecast paid search performance at varying budget levels in order to select the optimal spend to maximize a marketer’s goals.

“As the search landscape continues to trend toward convergence, the need for marketers to properly attribute media performance across all digital channels is paramount,” said Roger Barnette, CEO of SearchIgnite. “SearchIgnite 4.0 leapfrogs the competition in terms of its usability and support of more holistic cross-channel strategies, empowering marketers to efficiently optimize their search programs and maximize ROI. It is the most advanced optimization and attribution platform available on the market today and the best experience we’ve delivered to date.”

Key Enhancements in SearchIgnite 4.0:

• Make all changes within SearchIgnite and get the power of Excel within a Web browser — no spreadsheets needed.
In SearchIgnite 4.0, bulk changes to campaigns can be made directly within the interface and updated in real-time across all engines. This alleviates the need to download bulksheets for changes, saving marketers time and easing the campaign management process.

• Chart projected ROI at varying budget levels and make budgeting decisions with confidence.
Marketers can create their own forecasting charts to predict campaign ROI at varying budgets. These forecasts help marketers make more informed budgeting decisions by accurately predicting how much revenue search campaigns will generate at different levels of spend.

• Search and find anything — instantly.
With improved navigation, advanced filtering, robust search capabilities and a revamped user interface to streamline daily workflow, managing large and complex search campaigns has never been easier.

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As I step down from my role as CEO of First Rate I am ecstatic to see the business reporting record revenue and profits with significant operations in both New Zealand and Australia. In fact, First Rate has grown rapidly and consistently year on year for nine straight years featuring in the Deloitte Fast 50 List in 2006, 2007 & 2008! It’s been quite a ride and there is no sign of it slowing down, even with the current economic challenges.

I’m also very proud of the team we have put together at First Rate which includes some really capable individuals who I have worked with for many years now. Here are just a few:

Kevin Francis: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinafrancis

Tom Skotidas: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tomskotidas

Samuel Stadler: http://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelstadler

Grant Osborne: http://www.linkedin.com/in/gosborne

We will also be expanding the team with some new senior appointments over the coming months.

For those who have followed First Rate over the years I have provided a graph that illustrates the company’s growth in terms of product offerings, geographic expansion and revenue.

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After nine very successful years building up the First Rate business in New Zealand and Australia I have stepped aside from my operational job as CEO of First Rate, and handed the reins over to Kevin Francis (http://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinafrancis) in New Zealand and James Ward (http://www.linkedin.com/in/wardji) in Australia.

I will however maintain an interest in First Rate’s ongoing success through my strategic advisory role as the group’s Head of Search & Performance, and I will continue to be based in First Rate’s offices in Auckland and Sydney.

I’m very excited to take up a major new challenge within First Rate’s parent group Q Ltd (ASX:QXQ) establishing a new business (QED) that will be tasked with devising, developing and growing profitable online assets, including opt-in email lists, ad networks and other web assets.

QED will utilise the 100+ digital experts employed by the group to design, develop, operate and market these online assets.  For those that are unfamiliar with Q Ltd this is the company I sold First Rate to two and a half years ago. Q Ltd owns 7 other digital businesses and most of the founders of these businesses have committed to remain within the group for the long term. This means I will be working with a range of industry veterans ranging across strategy, creative, development, marketing and sales. QED will therefore have access to some of the best minds, experience and capability in the world.

Q’s existing online assets already generate many millions of dollars in revenue and this new business will build on this success by significantly increasing Q’s online assets.

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Some of the team here went along to Google Geek night yesterday. We always have an excellent time – thank you to Google for extending the invitation.

Obviously most of the night was about Search Engine Marketing, with the feature presentation relating SEM to offline in-store sales. Some good insights and AU specific stats were shared which was great.

Google setup a booth for Google Analytics, Adwords, Ad Planner (good for estimating audience share for online advertising), Google Mobile (Android) and using banner advertising on Google’s content network.

We really enjoyed the buildig tour as well, thanks heaps!

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Published: Ad News 25th Feb 2009

SYDNEY: BankWest has appointed search specialist agency First Rate to its search engine marketing (SEM) account following a competitive pitch with incumbent Starcom MediaVest.

The win follows BankWest’s agency reshuffle in January, which saw it hand strategic planning duties to Host’s start-up media unit Bring and media buying to Ikon, which dislodged Starcom, also the media incumbent (click here for story).

BankWest chief marketing officer David Morgan said First Rate’s appointment formalised the bank’s search arrangements following Starcom doing some “ad hoc” SEM work.

First Rate’s commission would not impact on work being done for the bank by digital agency Longtail, which it appointed in October last year, Morgan said.

First Rate is a member of the Sydney-based Q Ltd Group of companies. It provides strategies for SEM, SEO, email marketing and performance-based online advertising and tracking services.

Mark Halstead, Q Ltd head of sales & marketing, said the group has been experiencing “significant year-on-year growth in search”.

“More clients realise how important search is to overall strategy and there’s been a lot of activity from bigger clients needing SEM work.

“Everyone wants to feature on the home page of Google. Search is also extremely measurable, you can see where you rank.”

Figures released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) show search is the fasted growing sector in online advertising, comprising 48.5% of the total pie in the December quarter 2008, an increase of 2% from the previous year.

Search and direct marketing totalled $807 million in 2008, up 30% on the previous year.

“I don’t think there’s anybody in banking who doesn’t think search is important,” Morgan said.

“All the financial services companies are using search more heavily than you’d anticipate and we’re one of them.”

Story by: Matt Porter

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After a competitive pitch, Sydney-based online marketing agency First Rate has won the search engine marketing (SEM) account of Bankwest.

Aleksandra Ljubinkovic, Head of eCommerce at Bankwest, said “First Rate impressed us with their unique and comprehensive SEM strategy and proposed tactics. The end to end focus and the leading edge methodology was the clear winner in the end. Bankwest is looking forward to rolling out our new SEM program in 2009 to bring our unique products and services to Australian consumers, and continue our aggressive marketing.”

Tom Skotidas, Sales and Marketing Director of First Rate, said “First Rate is proud to be working with Bankwest, a leader in the Australian banking industry. We look forward to using our SEM skillset to play a key role in growing their market share in the Australian market.”

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Well, the Australian office keeps growing! This month we welcome Raphael Pantelis on board as Senior Account Manager, looking after our growing number of Australian clients. Raphael joins us from PermissionCorp.

October also saw our MD and Founder, Jon Ostler, presenting at Search Engine Room, follow the link for some insights into the benefits and issues around link building.

 
Download this & other presentations

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First Rate continues to lead the way in search marketing, with its latest accreditation by Google. With 18 Google Professionals, Google Qualified Company status and now GAAC, First Rate are the ideal partners to develop and deliver all your online search marketing needs.

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First Rate’s Australian office continues to grow. Two new consultants joined us in September, bringing our team up to a total of 11. Brad Forster joined us from Online Marketing company Burjolas.com and Sonny Truyen from web company ROI.com.au.

The consulting team, headed by Consulting Director Samuel Stadler and Team Leader Amanda Callaghan, now totals 8, one of the largest specialist online consulting teams in Australia.

Staff are also earmarked to join in the next couple of months as the company continues to grow from its successful acquisition of major Australian brands. More in the next newsletter.

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