Intro to Paid Search - SES Chicago 2011

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Introduction to Paid Search

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Where Else Can You…

• Quickly drive sales at a positive ROI

• Only pay when someone is interested in your ad

• Market to customers while they’re researching your product

• Test your ad copy and landing pages in real time

• Learn how people talk about your product or

service

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Paid Search Can Do That!

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Is Paid Search Right for You?

Direct marketing

Testing

Informing other marketing

Quickly driving traffic & conversion volume

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Great! I’m Sold!

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Before You Do Another Thing…

Determine business goals first

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Tips for Successful Goal Setting

• Goals should be measurable

– Conversion tracking

• Goals should help your business grow

– i.e. not just traffic

• Goals should be achievable

– Do you have the infrastructure in place? Can

your website fulfill the ad promise?

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Glossary

• Impressions

• Clicks

• Conversions

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Glossary

• Campaign

• Ad Group

• Keywords

• Search query

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Keyword Research

1. Brainstormdesigner jeans

buy designer jeans

deals on designer jeans

designer jeans online

designer jeans that fit

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Keyword Research

2. Use a keyword tool: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

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Keyword Research

3. Remove irrelevant termsKeyword

designer jean brands

design jeans

jeans that fit

plus size designer jeans

cheap designer jeans

designer clothes

new designer jeans

designer jeans for women

white jeans

design jeans online

seven jeans

designer jeans womens

7 for all mankind jeans

buy designer clothing

lee jeans

jeans on sale

jeans sale

flare jeans

designer denim jeans

boyfriend jeans

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Keyword Research

4. Segment relevant terms & organize into ad groups

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Keyword Match Types

Exact Match: Triggers ads only when the search query

exactly matches the keyword

[designer jeans]

Will only appear for that exact query

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Keyword Match Types

Phrase Match: Triggers ads when the search query

includes the keyword phrase in word order

“designer jeans”

May appear on searches for:

designer jeans size 10

women’s designer jeans

black designer jeans

where can I buy designer jeans cheap

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Keyword Match Types

Broad Match: Triggers ads when the search query

includes the keyword phrase in any order, as well as on

similar phrases and relevant variations

designer jeans

May appear on searches for:

true religions

designer shoes

levis jeans

jean jackets

what designer makes lucky brand jeans

cheap jeans

joes jeans

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Keyword Match Types

Modified Broad Match (Adwords only): Triggers ads when

the search query includes certain words within a keyword

phrase

+designer jeans

May appear on searches for:

But not for:

designer true religions jeans

buy jeans from famous designers

levis jeans

cheap jeans

jean jackets

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Keyword Match Types

Negative Match: prevents your ad from showing on

queries including the negative term or phrase

Eliminate brands you don’t sell:

-used

-american eagle

-levis

And low-conversion potential:

-lee

-free

-cheap

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Keyword Match Types

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Ad Copy

Review your ad groups & keywords: what is the goal of each ad group?

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Ad Copy

Write the call to action first

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Ad Copy

Research the competition – perform a few searches

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Ad Copy

Determine your USP

Unique

Selling

Proposition

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Ad Copy

By the way, these AREN’T USPs:

FedEx - The World On Time.

Nike - Just Do It.

De Beers - A Diamond Is Forever.

Miller Lite - Great Taste, Less Filling.

Ford Motor Co. - Drive One.

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Ad Copy

Start writing your ads Why should someone click?

Sense of urgency

Include numbers – i.e. price

Include keywords

Write at least 2 ads per ad group

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Ad Copy

25

35

35

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Ad Copy

Good Ad Copy

Bad Ad Copy

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Choosing a Landing Page

Must be relevant to the search query!

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Query = “womens seven designer jeans”

Bad landing page:

Choosing a Landing Page

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Query = “womens seven designer jeans”

Better landing page:

Choosing a Landing Page

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Query = “womens seven designer jeans”

Ideal landing page:

Choosing a Landing Page

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Account Setup

• Daily Campaign Budget

• Billing and Currency Settings

• Account time zone

• Ad Distribution – Geography

• Campaign Language

• Ad Distribution

• Ad Rotation

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Account Setup

Key Setting #1:

Daily Campaign Budget – never more than you

can afford and are willing to spend per day

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Account Setup

Networks – Google and Search Partners Only!

Key Setting #2:

WRONG!

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Account Setup

Ad Rotation – Rotate Ads More Evenly

Key Setting #3:

WRONG!

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The Big Scary Quality Score

Quality score “looks at a variety of factors to measure how

relevant your keyword is to your ad text and to a user's

search query.”

If you follow the method I’ve outlined so far, you’ll have a

good chance at good quality scores.

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Bid Management

Top Tips for Effective Bid Management:

• Keep it simple

• Don’t bid more than you can afford

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What Are We Getting Out Of This?

Measure everything with conversion tracking

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Evaluate with analytics – some are free!

FREE!

What Are We Getting Out Of This?

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Social PPC: Opportunity For the

Right Advertisers

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Facebook Ads

• Good for building fan base

• Can work for other activities (lead gen, ecommerce,

etc.) as long as visitors stay on FB

• Read “Killer Facebook Ads” by Marty Weintraub:

http://killerfbads.com/“Now that you’ve had the wow-that’s-dry-stuck-in-your-throat hors d’oevres, it’s

time for the caviar, baby. (I don’t know about you, but I’m rocking out to “Black

Cat” by Janet Jackson for this section.)”

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LinkedIn Ads

• Ads for jobs & professional services that are highly

targeted to professions can work well

• Can be effective driving conversions off LinkedIn to

an optimized landing page

• Read “6 Tactics for Awesome ROI on LinkedIn Ads”

article on Search Engine Watch by Joe Kerschbaum:http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2113351/6-Tactics-for-Awesome-ROI-on-LinkedIn-Ads

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Takeaways

PPC is more than a few keywords and a

credit card: plan, track, test

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Takeaways

You must plan ahead! It will be worth it…

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Resources

• PPC Basics Series, Web Marketing Today:http://www.wilsonweb.com/paid-search/mackey-ppc-mix1.htm

• Adwords Beginner’s Guide:http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/static.py?hl=en&page=guide.cs&guide=21899

• Microsoft adCenter Training Guide:http://advertising.microsoft.com/small-business/support-center/training-accreditation/adcenter-training

Melissa Mackey

mmackey@fluencymedia.com

@Mel66