Courtesy DDM Generation
By Christine Graf
Queensbury digital marketing company DDM Generation was launched in March by Albany native Jenna Clark.
Before opening her own company, Clark worked at a search engine marketing company in New York City. She also worked for a New York City startup that launched a mobile ordering app for pizzerias. After several years of working in the city, she decided to move back to the area to start her own business.
“Entrepreneurship has always been a passion of mine,” she said. “I knew it was time to pursue what I truly love and that is helping businesses grow.”
Clark works with clients to make sure they have landing pages that are “optimized to convert.” Landing pages are standalone web pages where visitors “land” after clicking on an internet ad. A conversion occurs when a landing page visitor completes the company’s desired action. This includes making a purchase or signing up for an email list.
“The first thing I do is to help these businesses make their landing pages and searchable online profiles look good,” she said.
Asked about the attributes of a good landing page, she responded, “Number one, and I think a lot of companies overlook this, is simplicity. The younger generation has a very short attention span. Content needs to be simplified in an organized manner. ”
According to Clark, it is especially important that landing pages are cell-phone friendly.
“Seventy percent of searches are from mobile phones. A lot of businesses don’t consider mobile experience, but with everyone having a mobile phone in their hand, it is an important thing to have.”
Because companies spend a lot of money to attract visitors to their landing pages, she said their importance cannot be overlooked.
“You only have one chance and you pay for that chance for that user to find you, so you don’t want to waste that on a bad landing page.”
In addition to working with clients to improve their landing pages, Clark helps them with search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO). SEM involves the use of paid tactics to gain online visibility. SEO involves the use of various free tactics that prompt search engines to show a company’s content near the top of search engine results.
“You pay for online advertisement for your business to get to the top of Google. What we can do is bid on certain search terms and key words,” she said. “What I do is help companies to take their budgets and to use them strategically and to bid on the proper key words to help them get to the top of Google so that their business can be found.”
Data consulting is the third of the three core services Clark offers to her clients. Her company’s name—DDM Generation—reflects this component of her business. DDM stands for data driven marketing.
“I am very savvy with data and taking a data set and helping businesses use it,” she said. “I recommend different ways for you to use your data to make smarter decisions. I want to encourage business to consistently use their data to help them improve. I also use data in my search engine marketing and to improve landing pages.”
For example, Clark uses data from Google Analytics to track landing page conversions. Google Analytics is a free tool that allows companies to collect data related to website visitors and their interactions on the company’s website.
“You can take a look at the numbers and say, ‘This isn’t working. What can we do to improve?’” she said. “I look at how much traffic is coming to your web site and what percent is converting.”
As an example, she mentions that she works with a company based in Singapore. When she started working with them, their cost per lead was $30. After three months of working with Clark, that cost was reduced to $8.
“I helped them use data to make better decisions and lower costs,” she said. “They have been doing so well that they have expanded and tripled their (SEM) budget.”
When asked to name the number one digital marketing mistake being made by businesses, Clark said, “What comes to mind is that they are not taking advantage of all of the free tools that are out there. Google offers Google My Business and Google Analytics. There’s also landing page optimization tools you can use.”
Although she works with businesses of all sizes, Clark especially enjoys working with small businesses and startups.
“I get invested in every business that I do work for,” she said. “I have many different clients, and I find each client so interesting. I’m invested in them. They aren’t just another client. I like to think that I work for them and that I’m a part of their team. That’s why I do what I do.”