Beginners Guide PPC Lisa Raehsler SES NY 2012

New York | March 19–23

A Beginner’s Guide to Paid Search

Lisa Raehsler Founder/ SEM Strategy Consultant Big Click Co.

New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny

Agenda –  Search Results Page

–  Adver2sing goals

–  Account Structure

–  Keywords

–  Budgets & Bids

–  Ads

–  Targe2ng Networks

–  Targe2ng Mobile

–  Retarge2ng

–  Tracking Conversions

–  Key Take-‐Aways

–  Thanks and Contact @LisaRocksSEM


The Search Results Page

Organic Results

Paid Results

Related People & Pages- G+ discovery


AdverKsing Goals –  Know what conversions you are measuring

  Purchase/Sale: 2ed to revenue

  Lead: receives a follow up

  Sign-‐up: for email subscrip2ons or newsleHers

  Page View: users looked at a page on your site

  You can set up separate codes for mul2/different conversion ac2ons

Be sure to check conversion code implementation.

@LisaRocksSEM

Next: Account Structure


Account Structure

–  Start with Structure

–  Ensures the correct ad is served

–  Helps with account quality costs

–  Should focus on 2ght themes

–  Mirror the website structure

@LisaRocksSEM


Account Structure

  Campaigns:   Brand   Product

categories   Promotions   Geo-targeting This is where you set your budget

  Adgroups:   Product lines/ sub

cats   skus   Any smaller segments This is where you link your ads & keywords!

@LisaRocksSEM


Account Structure –  Look to the funnel

–  Searches are always more general when just star2ng out

–  Searches get more defined, moving closer to the sale

–  Apply to ad wri2ng as well

Too many or disparate adgroups/keywords in one campaign under one budget can cause your account to perform poorly.

@LisaRocksSEM

Next: Keywords


Keyword Best PracKces –  Keywords are used to trigger your ads

–  Select the closest fiSng keywords

–  Use 2 or 3 word keywords, minimum

–  Match types and nega2ves

–  Check related searches, Google sets, or Adgroup Ideas (beta)

–  Review query reports and web analy2cs logs to get ideas based on keywords currently driving traffic

–  Check for and remove duplicate keywords from account

–  Include all products or services from website

@LisaRocksSEM


Keywords Tools –  Google’s Keyword Tool

–  Keyword Ideas

–  Adgroup Ideas -‐ Beta

–  Google Insights for Search

  hHp://www.google.com/insights

–  Google Search Suggest   Terms appear when you type in the drop-‐down box on Google.com

–  Related Searches

  BoHom of search results page in Google


Keyword Match Type –  Keyword match op2ons determine the searches that can trigger your ads to appear

–  Broad match: laptop computers

  Allows your ad to show on similar phrases and relevant varia2ons, ie. Desktop computers

–  Broad match modifier: laptop +computers

  keyword must appear in the user's search exactly or as a close variant, such as misspellings, singular/plural forms, abbrevia2ons and acronyms, and stemmings (like ”computer" and ”compu2ng").

–  Phrase match: "laptop computers” financing

  Allows your ad to show for searches that include the exact phrase and possibly includes other words as well

–  Exact match: [laptop computers]

  Allows your ad to show for searches that match the exact phrase exclusively

–  Nega2ve match: -‐cheap

  Ensures your ad doesn't show for any search that includes that term

@LisaRocksSEM


Keywords: Look To The Funnel

  New computers   Laptop computer   Plasma tv   computer stores

  Reviews   Ratings   Compare   Best

  Buy / Purchase/ Order   Brands   Delivery   Sale   Model #’s   Geographic modifiers @LisaRocksSEM


Keyword OpKmizaKon Tips

  Are your keywords too general?

  Typically you’ll see low CTRs and conversions

–  Remove anything too general with lots of impressions and low CTR <1%

  Clicks to the site have high bounce rate

–  Use different match types and nega2ves

–  Focus keywords at middle and boHom of funnel

@LisaRocksSEM



–  Do you have low Quality Score?

  Measures relevancy of your keyword

–  Common problem-‐ can be difficult to resolve

–  Sort or filter by low QS, no conversions

–  Keywords in ads

–  Landing page = keywords

–  Work on CTR!

@LisaRocksSEM



–  Create various filters for specific keyword condi2ons

–  Review on regular basis

@LisaRocksSEM

Next: Budgets & Bids


Budgets & Bids Best PracKces –  Budgets and bids control costs and directly relate to profit

–  Budgets: set at campaign level

  Budget can exceed the limits you set

  Your total daily cost could be up to 20% more than your usual daily budget

  AdWords prevents your campaign from overspending for the month as a whole based on a monthly charging limit

–  Bids: set at keyword level

Steps to set-up your budget:

1.  Total Account PPC Budget/ 30 Days in Month = Daily Budget

2.  Daily Budget / # campaigns

3.  Allocate Equal $ to Start

4.  Reallocate for Performance and Click Traffic

@LisaRocksSEM


Budgets & Bids Best PracKces –  Bidding op2ons

  Cost-‐per-‐click, CPC (search or display)

  Cost-‐per-‐thousand, CPM (display)

  Enhanced CPC –  Automa2cally adjusts your Max. CPC bid up or down for each auc2on to get more conversions while maintaining the

current CPA

  Automa2c bidding –  Google automa2cally sets all of your bids

–  You can define a max CPC to pay

  Conversions op2mizer/ CPA –  You bid using a maximum CPA, which is the most you're willing to pay for each conversion

–  Google automa2cally adjusts bids to reach desired CPA

@LisaRocksSEM


Budgets & Bids OpKmizaKon Tips

–  Automated rules can help to manage your keyword bids

–  First page bids

–  Top of page bids

Next: Ads


Ads Best PracKces –  Ad texts should be wriHen in a compelling way

  Messaging consistent with offline

–  Keywords in ads to make them more relevant (bold)

–  Unique features, benefits, and/or offer

  Free delivery

–  Call-‐to-‐ac2on

  Buy now

  Sign up today

–  DKI (dynamic keyword inser2on)

–  Custom URL

–  Read the editorial guidelines

@LisaRocksSEM


Ads OpKmizaKon Tips

– Ads not showing?   Don’t panic!   Check for an alert-‐ make

sure they are approved

  Not an ad problem   Budget

  Individual Bids

  Use the Google Ads Diagnos2c tool:   Tools > Ads Diagnos2c Tool

@LisaRocksSEM


Ads OpKmizaKon Tips

– Are you geSng a low CTR?   CTR is important for account quality

  Ad posi2on, below 3?

  Check to make sure there is a very close connec2on between your keywords and ads

  Check best prac2ces for crea2ve

  Emphasis on DKI, Offer, CTA

  Try ad extensions, sitelinks

@LisaRocksSEM


Ads OpKmizaKon Tips –  Ad extensions expand a standard text ad with one or more lines that provide addi2onal page, call, or product links

–  Includes up to four addi2onal page links on qualifying text ads

–  Helps to increase CTR

@LisaRocksSEM

Next: Targe2ng


TargeKng Best PracKces –  Networks

  Search

  Google Display Network

@LisaRocksSEM


TargeKng Best PracKces

–  Loca2on: countries, states, etc

–  Languages

–  Ad scheduling: day, hours

–  Devices: computers, mobile devices

–  Use analy2cs to find out where people are coming from

@LisaRocksSEM

Next: Mobile


Mobile Targeting Best Practices

- Set-‐up basics

- Mobile only campaigns

- Exclude mobile from the other campaigns

- keyword list with shorter terms

- Mobile Landing page


Mobile Targeting Best Practices -  Mobile keyword research -  Adwords (keyword research tool)


Mobile Targeting Best Practices

Ad Placements

- Search engine

- Mobile Display Network

- Mobile Apps

- YouTube

Ad Formats

- Text

- Image

- Video

Next: Retarge2ng


RetargeKng Best PracKces

-  Reconnect with consumers that have previously been to your site

-  Redirect your prospects back

-  Keeps your site or product top of mind

-  Mul2-‐touches

-  Known to be more effecKve than typical display due to more qualified audience

@LisaRocksSEM


RetargeKng Best PracKces

Small piece of code placed on advertiser’s site

Sets a "cookie" in the user's browser

Cookie identifies user and instructs the ad network to save website visitors to a retargeting list

How it works


Retargeting Optimization Tips Reaching the full prospect list •  Google Display network, accepts

  image ads

  text ad   video

•  Create mul2ple crea2ve versions of all sizes to maximize reach.

@LisaRocksSEM


Retargeting Optimization Tips

-  Reaching the prospect list -  What if you are not reaching

your full list?

-  To find out, calculate the share of users you are reaching

-  If the percentage of users you are reaching is low, you are missing opportunity

In the formula, “5” represents the average number of impressions per one user.

@LisaRocksSEM


Retargeting Optimization Tips

-  Reaching the prospect list -  Adjust the membership

dura2on: number of days the cookie stays in the users browser

-  Be sure this correlates with the sales cycle of the product

-  HoHer prospects may be more recent visitors, but a longer sales cycle will require targe2ng your audience for a longer period of 2me

You will find this setting in the “Audience” tab.

@LisaRocksSEM


RetargeKng OpKmizaKon Tips

-  Reaching the prospect list -  Your prospect is already

qualified, no need to restrict your campaign geographically

-  Remember, you want to reach your users wherever they are which can include all countries and languages

@LisaRocksSEM



-  Reaching the prospect list -  Increase bids to appear in the Display Network more

frequently

-  Reach more users to drive beHer performance

-  Display Network bid is set at the ad group level-‐ separate from search

@LisaRocksSEM


-  Click vs view through conversions

-  De-‐dupe view-‐through conversions

-  Users who clicked on your search ad in the last thirty-‐days won't be counted as a view-‐through conversion

“View-through conversion search de-duplication” can be found in the conversion section of the “reporting and tools” tab.


@LisaRocksSEM

Next: Tracking


Tracking Best PracKces –  Google Adwords tracking and Google Analy2cs tracking

  You can use either one of these products alone, or use both at the same 2me -‐they don’t interfere with each other’s tracking.

–  Adwords Conversion tracking

  Code snippet

  Mul2-‐conversion ac2ons

  30 day cookie

–  Google Analy2cs

  Set-‐up “goal” ac2ons

@LisaRocksSEM


Key Take-‐Aways

– Basics will help to build a strong account

– Manage PPC daily and try automa2on

– Small op2miza2ons can make a big difference-‐ test!

– Experiment with new features

– Analyze results across systems and take ac2on


Thank You

Lisa Raehsler Founder, SEM Strategy Consultant Big Click Co. [email protected] (612) 424-‐1SEM @LisaRocksSEM www.linkedin.com/in/lisarockssem

A Beginner’s Guide to Paid Search

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Beginners Guide PPC Lisa Raehsler SES NY 2012