Based in Los Angeles, Calif., WebMetro is an interactive marketing firm committed to helping online advertisers maximize their ROI and expand their reach. A leader in the industry, the company specializes exclusively in Internet marketing, showcasing a suite of solutions that cover everything from e-commerce integration to video advertising. Covered extensively by traditional media outlets such as BusinessWeek and Los Angeles Times, WebMetro is widely recognized as one of the premiere providers of search engine marketing services.

Contel Bradford of DMB recently chatted with Michael Behrens, WebMetro vice president of eMarketing, to learn more about this dynamic marketing firm and get some expert insight on the state of the industry.

Can you share some of the success WebMetro has enjoyed in the area of SEM and Internet marketing in general?
Most recently, MarketingSherpa published a case study about how we helped a client drive branded conversions from non-branded keywords and tail terms. By properly assigning credit instead of using last click attribution, our client in this case was able to reduce its cost-per-acquisition over 25% while increasing sales by over 15%.

It really comes down to proper attribution and understanding which elements in any campaign or marketing mix assist or contribute to a sale or lead. This enables a brand to gain insight into what drives conversions and appreciate what weight should be allocated to various media.

Another area where we’ve helped our clients enjoy success is from contextual advertising in the content networks. For some time, advertisers treated and managed contextual campaigns just like search. In addition, many advertisers feel they’ve been burned by the content networks in years past. However, the content networks have made dramatic improvements over the last couple of years providing significant transparency and control and contextual campaigns should be managed and optimized differently than search campaigns.

As you’ve probably guessed, DMB is a firm believer in social media. What makes social media marketing such a powerful tool for businesses looking to increase their bottom line?
There are a couple ways we divide social media marketing. One arena is social media advertising, such as advertising in Facebook. Despite reports of this type of activity being largely ineffective, we have been able to make it work successfully as a form of direct response for some of our clients. A key factor in this revolves around understanding a brand’s audience, where the audience is, what the audience is doing at those online locations, and the strengths/limitations of the advertising platform.

Another aspect of social marketing is social interaction via the networks or platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Once again, depending on a brand’s audience, the level of engagement varies. It is important to recognize these are, as you said, in fact tools. They are mechanisms that can be leveraged to support a brand’s overarching marketing strategy. The reach provided by social marketing can be exponential, as demonstrated by Twitter and user retweets.

Standardization, or the lack thereof, is one of the most hotly debated topics in the world of online video advertising. What, if any, impact has this had on your online video marketing solutions?
The focus of our online video marketing is content used to increase conversions. It’s not the viral or guerilla tactics we stress. We concentrate on how video on a website can turn the visitor into a customer while improving ROI. That may mean using video to condense the learning curve of a product that has a higher perceived risk or a brand that is not as well-known. It can mean using video to engage a visitor, drawing the visitor to complete a call-to-action.

It’s all about online video for the direct marketer. It’s about using video to lower CPA, increase conversions, and ultimately improve ROI.

The importance of a sound marketing strategy is clearer than ever today. Please explain how you have emphasized this importance in your offerings such as website design and ecommerce development.
When developing a website a company needs to fully appreciate the obligations the website has to the marketing strategy. Those obligations have grown tremendously over the past few years. A website is not only here to support your online marketing efforts, but to support all of your marketing efforts, including traditional advertising, promotions and CRM.  Appreciating the multi channel engagements we have with our customers, and the role digital plays in the mix, is a critical and essential step, before ever embarking on a Web design project.

In your opinion, what digital marketing trends should we keep an eye on in 2010?
For years, we have all been hearing that brands need to take mobile more seriously, to be prepared for the mobile revolution. I think it is safe to say that it is here, and mobile needs to be integrated more diligently into the mix. So being abreast of the key mobile trends, from usage to purchase behavior, to search volume, will be crucial for marketers in 2010. Budgets will need to shift, and in this economy shifting too early or too late can be devastating.