Don’t: Start using Google PPC without gaining knowledge. I know, this sounds like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at the number of people that think “I’m smart enough, I’ll figure it out”. These are the same people that run through all the money they had with nothing to show for it. There are plenty of resources online that will get you up to speed on the in’s and out’s at basic level so you can go into PPC with a solid foundational understanding of how it works. Google has some good, free online training. There’s also Perry Marshall’s Definitive Guide To Google AdWords that will take your knowledge even further.

Don’t: Start without reviewing Google’s Advertising Terms Of Service. Recently Google has been cracking down on violators of its terms of service. It is important that you understand what is and what is not allowed with Google. Chances are that if you violate these terms, you will be suspended and in some cases, banned from advertising on Google.

Don’t: Market duplicate websites. Google has a very complex algorithm that calculates the quality of your website. One thing that is known is that this algorithm takes into account whether the content on your website is duplicate. If you are going to market via Google PPC, make sure that you have a unique website with content that is unique.
Okay, now that we know some of the don’ts, lets look at some of the Do’s.

Do: Keyword Research. Before you initiate any campaigns, the first thing you want to do is your keyword research. Find out what keywords you want to target that your potential buyers are using to search for you. Without the right keywords, you might get some traffic, but it will not be the right traffic. You want certain type of people visiting your website, you want to attract your target market. There are some free keyword tools that Google provides including Insights, Trends and External keyword research tool. You can also purchase some more elaborate keyword research tools online. Don’t underestimate the importance of this very basic step!

Do: Competitive Research. It’s always good to do competitive research. Find out what your competitors are doing. Review the top ads in your market, the ones that continue to appear at the top of the list, day after day, week after week. Take a look at their website. How does their ad tie back to their website? Put yourself in the shoes of the buyer, What about their ad attracted you? Did the website make sense after you clicked on the ad?

Do: Test, Test, Test. The most successful PPC marketers constantly test their ad copy and websites. Always have two or more versions of your ads running so you can split-test to find the best performing ad. Once you do that, make another small tweak and test again. Keep making minor improvements, but more importantly…

Do: Analyze Your Results. The only way you are going to make any sense of testing is if you analyze your results. PPC marketing involves a lot of analysis. Constantly testing means constantly analyzing your results so you can move forward with the best performing modifications. Google provides reporting, charting, trending that will provide you with the tools you need to do some thorough analysis.

Do: Track Your Results. Always track what works and what doesn’t work. Don’t forget that you are in this to make a profit. What good is a great ad, great website, great product, if you can’t track what does and what doesn’t make sales?
Google PPC marketing is a force in the internet marketing world. There are plenty of people that have made tons of money using this method of advertising. Always remember to diversify your efforts, make sure that you’re marketing strategy includes PPC but does not completely rely on it. Treat your marketing strategy as you would your investment portfolio. Diversify, diversify, diversify. Just be sure to follow the practical do’s and don’ts when dealing with Google PPC.

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As I thought of the question the local Green Grocer came to mind. Because that is what the greatest change in shopping in my lifetime is.

That was the first place to start with the question of what are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime.

Our local green grocer was the most important change in shopping in my lifetime. Beside him was our butcher, a hairdresser and a chemist.

Looking back, we were well catered for as we had quite a few in our suburb. And yes, the greatest changes in shopping in my lifetime were with the small family owned businesses.

Entertainment While Shopping Has Changed
Buying butter was an entertainment in itself.
My sister and I often had to go to a favourite family grocer close by. We were always polite as we asked for a pound or two of butter and other small items.

Out came a big block of wet butter wrapped in grease-proof paper. Brought from the back of the shop, placed on a huge counter top and included two grooved pates.

That was a big change in our shopping in my lifetime… you don’t come across butter bashing nowadays.

Our old friendly Mr. Mahon with the moustache, would cut a square of butter. Lift it to another piece of greaseproof paper with his pates. On it went to the weighing scales, a bit sliced off or added here and there.

Our old grocer would then bash it with gusto, turning it over and over. Upside down and sideways it went, so that it had grooves from the pates, splashes going everywhere, including our faces.

My sister and I thought this was great fun and it always cracked us up. We loved it, as we loved Mahon’s, on the corner, our very favourite grocery shop.

Grocery Shopping
Further afield, we often had to go to another of my mother’s favourite, not so local, green grocer’s. Mr. McKessie, ( spelt phonetically) would take our list, gather the groceries and put them all in a big cardboard box.

And because we were good customers he always delivered them to our house free of charge. But he wasn’t nearly as much fun as old Mr. Mahon. Even so, he was a nice man.

All Things Fresh
So there were very many common services such as home deliveries like:

• Farm eggs

• Fresh vegetables

• Cow’s milk

• Freshly baked bread

• Coal for our open fires

Delivery Services
A man used to come to our house a couple of times a week with farm fresh eggs.

Another used to come every day with fresh vegetables, although my father loved growing his own.

Our milk, topped with beautiful cream, was delivered to our doorstep every single morning.

Unbelievably, come think of it now, our bread came to us in a huge van driven by our “bread-man” named Jerry who became a family friend.

My parents always invited Jerry and his wife to their parties, and there were many during the summer months. Kids and adults all thoroughly enjoyed these times. Alcohol was never included, my parents were teetotallers. Lemonade was a treat, with home made sandwiches and cakes.

The coal-man was another who delivered bags of coal for our open fires. I can still see his sooty face under his tweed cap but I can’t remember his name. We knew them all by name but most of them escape me now.

Mr. Higgins, a service man from the Hoover Company always came to our house to replace our old vacuum cleaner with an updated model.

Our insurance company even sent a man to collect the weekly premium.

People then only paid for their shopping with cash. This in itself has been a huge change in shopping in my lifetime.

In some department stores there was a system whereby the money from the cash registers was transported in a small cylinder on a moving wire track to the central office.

Some Of The Bigger Changes
Some of the bigger changes in shopping were the opening of supermarkets.

• Supermarkets replaced many individual smaller grocery shops. Cash and bank cheques have given way to credit and key cards.

• Internet shopping… the latest trend, but in many minds, doing more harm, to book shops.

• Not many written shopping lists, because mobile phones have taken over.

On a more optimistic note, I hear that book shops are popular again after a decline.

Personal Service Has Most Definitely Changed
So, no one really has to leave home, to purchase almost anything, technology makes it so easy to do online.
And we have a much bigger range of products now, to choose from, and credit cards have given us the greatest ease of payment.

We have longer shopping hours, and weekend shopping. But we have lost the personal service that we oldies had taken for granted and also appreciated.

Because of their frenetic lifestyles, I have heard people say they find shopping very stressful, that is grocery shopping. I’m sure it is when you have to dash home and cook dinner after a days work. I often think there has to be a better, less stressful way.

My mother had the best of both worlds, in the services she had at her disposal. With a full time job looking after 9 people, 7 children plus her and my dad, she was very lucky. Lucky too that she did not have 2 jobs.