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Adding Efficiency to Your SearchEngine Marketing (SEM) Campaigns:

Tips and tactics on reporting, using Excel,and selecting an automated tool

A Search Marketing Now E-Book


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Introduction

GGood search engine marketing (SEM) takes time, lots of time. There are constant updates; reams of data

reports to read, analyze and act upon; and clients or marketing directors always asking why their keyword

performance isnt better.

SEM is one of the most technologically driven disciplines in the digital marketing landscape. Ideally, search

marketers want to keep all search marketing data in one place where it can be easily analyzed and formatted into

meaningful reports that benefit the entire organization. For some search marketers, that data resides in an Excel

spreadsheet. At some point, however, it becomes necessary to add efficiency using automated tools to manage all

of your search marketing data.

This E-Book looks at how to become more efficient at SEM -- whether you're using Excel or an automated campaign

management tool. We'll start with fundamental best practices in reporting, then look at some tips and tricks in Excel,

and finally examine when -- and how -- to select an automated PPC management tool.

Our thanks go to the following Search Engine Land columnists, who provided valuable insight for this e-book: Josh

Dreller, Vice President of Media Technology, Fuor Digital; Bonnie Jo Davis, owner, Your Marketing Assistant (a

division of Davis Virtual Assistance); Andrea Harris, SEM manager, Carfax Vehicle History; Brad Geddes, founder,

bgTheory; Mona Elessaily, director of marketing strategy, Page Zero Media; and George Michie, co-founder and

principal, Rimm-Kaufman Group. And thanks to Karen Burka, who compiled this report. I

1 2010 Third Door Media, Inc. http://searchmarketingnow.com Email: [email protected] (203) 664-1350

Adding Efficiency to Your Search Engine

Marketing (SEM) Campaigns:Tips and tactics on reporting, using Excel,and selecting an automated tool


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Best Practices in SEM

Reporting

SEM success depends largely on the ability to quickly

and efficiently gather and analyze data, then turn

that data into actionable strategies that improve

account performance. But as technology has made data

gathering easier, it has also created data overload for

online marketers, as well as a plethora of data that have

become meaningless without insightful analysis.

Data in and of itself is not useful. Interpreting what data

means so that you can make better business decisions is

what creates value. Great reporting does the following:

Creates measurability. Digital marketing is trackable and

accountable.

Tracks performance. Metrics and

measurability show context and

growth.

Analyzes data. Data analysis is a

point of connection with teams,

peers, and managers

Builds relationships. Skilled

reporting opens the door to

longer-term planning and

increases your value (and

potentially budget) within theorganization.

SEM reporting is also time-

consuming; daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly reports

demand continuity and scalability in order to build out

results and grow bottom lines. With leaner staffing and

greater expectations for marketing ROI, you need to

maximize the efficiency of your reports. Here are seven

best practices to improve your reporting skills.

1. Start With a StrategyPerhaps the most critical factor in SEM reporting success

is to have a plan that clearly sets out campaignrequirements for strategy, format, frequency, tracking,

metrics, accountability and the communication chain of

command. The goal is to better align your staff with

campaign objectives and derive more granular,

quantifiable metrics.

As part of the process, create a timetable for each major

action and associated task that is needed. Its important to

think everything through before you start since some

tasks will influence others and you dont want to create

inefficiencies or redundancy. There are always going to

be things you cannot plan for, but having a solid plan is a

must.

The next step is to manage expectations within the

organization. Whether this is a new or long-runningcampaign, you are going to make changes that will affect

its performance. Be sure to let your superiors know what

youre doing every step of the way. Strive for consistent

but progressive quality, and set up the campaign

structure to give you enough levers to control your

success.

2. Organize Staff for SuccessAn honest assessment of skill sets will allow you to more

clearly define responsibilities around planning, campaign

management, data compilation, report assembly and

more. Even if you are operating shorthanded, a few

adjustments to roles and team engagement models willencourage collaboration and help

you better manage workload and

flow. Exhausted analysis shows; its

easier to keep your analysis and

reporting fresh by enabling

creative thinking.

Regardless of role, motivate each

staffer involved in the SEM

campaign to think strategically and

think big, particularly those who

are scoping the opportunity, setting

the campaign framework, leadingthe analysis and drafting the

reports.

It is also a good idea to meaningfully engage with vertical

experts at the search engines and third-party tool

providers. They typically can provide additional layers of

value and marketplace context to boost the caliber of

your reporting.

3. Interpret and Analyze DataToo many SEM professionals mistake Excel keyword

dumps for data, data for analysis and rote analysis forbrilliant insight. The fact is that attributing straight traffic

volume numbers by site is only interesting if that

comparative is a metric.

Analysis is critical for reporting performance, identifying

trouble spots and finding your next great opportunity. In

fact, wed expect SEM professionals to spend 20 percent

or more of their time reporting and analyzing data. If

youre spending less than 20 percent of your time

reporting and analyzing search data, you are probably

missing key information about your campaigns.




SEM reporting is also time-

consuming; daily, weekly,monthly and quarterly

reports demand continuityand scalability in order tobuild out results and grow

bottom lines.


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that changes or stands out, not on data that remains the

same week after week or month after month. In addition,

this approach cannot and should not be automated. It is

time consuming, but will make the difference when your

contract is set to expire.

7. Automate When PossibleOn the flip side, automated tools can save a tremendous

amount of time and build efficiency into many aspects of

an SEM campaign. The les time you spend manually

pulling out data and aggregating key reports, the time

you can spend on analysis. There are numerous

automated search management tools now available that

enable on-the-fly campaign changes, as well as create

SEM data repositories that store all your information in

one place. A careful RFP process will show you what

tools are available to meet your particular SEM needs.(See What to Look for in an Automated Tool later in

this report for more information.) I

Building Excel Efficiency

TFor manual report processes, the first step toward

creating great reports is to increase your knowledge

and mastery of Microsoft Excel. Most SEM

professionals use Excel every day, yet few search

marketers receive any formal training in using this

software. Knowledge of Excel usually grows out of need.You may be in the middle of a task and think, There has

to be a better way to do this. Chances are, there is you

just dont know it yet.

Whether it is learning to use keyboard shortcuts, ribbon

icons or the right click menu, there are probably two or

three ways to perform any Excel task. But it is the right

combination that can turn an average Excel user into a

power user who can maximize its potential and minimize

how much time it takes. Here are six ways to improve

your knowledge of and efficiency with Excel:

1. Keyboard ShortcutsWhen using Excel, keep one hand on the keyboards left

side and one hand on the mouse. Using your pinky on

CTRL, your other fingers can reach about 75% of the most

important keyboard shortcuts you will use all of the time.

From flipping through worksheets to inserting columns or

even spell checking, the seconds gained from using can

add up to hours over the course of the year.

For example, CTRL + Z is Undo, CTRL + X is Cut, CTRL + B

is Bold, CTRL + A is Select All. Here are several more

shortcuts that will save you time:

Next Sheet: CTRL + Page Down

Previous Sheet: CTRL + Page Up

Go to: CTRL + G

Delete Column or Row: CTRL + K

Insert Todays Date: CTRL + Semi Colon

Insert a New Worksheet: SHIFT + F11

Extend Selection to the Next Blank Cell: Shift + CTRL

+ Arrow (any direction). To select all the cells of a table

go the top left cell and use this shortcut right and then

down.

Quick AutoSum: In the cell below a group values use

ALT + EQUAL Sign

Edit Data in a Cell: F2

2. Select Only Visible CellsHave you ever filtered a table and then tried to copy and

paste it only to find out that it has copied the hidden cells

as well? By default, Excel copies hidden or filtered cells in

addition to visible cells. To be more efficient, select just

the visible cells before you click COPY.

Here's how: Select the cells then go to the HOME ribbon,

FIND and SELECT, choose GO TO SPECIAL then click

VISIBLE CELLS ONLY. Then copy and paste as you would

normally. A second way to have a Select Visible button

in Excel is to click the Microsoft logo and choose EXCEL

OPTIONS down at the bottom right of the dialogue box.

Then choose CUSTOMIZE, ALL COMMANDS (top dropdown) and Select Visible Cells. (see screenshot below.)

Youll choose ADD to the right side. Click OK and you will

see the black flag with white cross on it symbol. This




Figure 1


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way whenever you select cells and then click that button,

youll only copy the visible cells.

3. MacrosMacros are extremely versatile and can be used for anyrepetitive task that requires multiple actions to perform.

You dont have to know any programming to build basic

macros; you literally press record, do one of your tasks as

normal and then assign that task to a keyboard shortcut.

To use macros, first access the DEVELOPER ribbon in

Excel. To display it, click the Microsoft Office button and

then click EXCEL OPTIONS. In the POPULAR category,

under Top Options for working with Excel, select the

SHOW DEVELOPER tab in the Ribbon check box, and

then click OK.

From the DEVELOPER ribbon in the Code group, clickRecord Macro. In the MACRO name box, enter a name for

the macro. Follow the directions for shortcuts and saving;

when you are ready, click OK to start recording. Perform

the actions that you want to record and click the square

STOP button on the mini-floating toolbar (see screenshot

Figure 2).

Note that macros can only be used on macro-enabled

workbooks. Save your files in that format by clicking

SAVE and choose the option from the drop down menu

under the file name. Macros can also be run from a

keyboard shortcut or the DEVELOPER ribbon, MACRO

option. You can set any shape or image to run a macrowhen clicked. Just right click the shape/image and choose

ASSIGN MACRO. Lastly, some email systems wont

accept macro-enabled workbooks since theyre

incorrectly identified in virus scans. It happens

infrequently, but be aware that it might when you try to

email macro-enabled workbooks.

4. Protecting Worksheets and Workbooks.Have you ever received back your workbook from

someone only to find they accidentally changed things

and saved over your original? To prevent a user from

accidentally or deliberately changing, moving or deleting

important data from a worksheet or workbook, you can

protect certain elements with or without a password.

Heres how: First, choose which cells you want locked; toselect every cell on a sheet, click CTRL + A. Once youve

chosen the cells you want protected, right click and

choose FORMAT CELLS. Click the PROTECTION TAB on

the dialogue menu that pops up and check the LOCKED

option. By default, the locked option is checked (see

Fugure 3).

Next, go to the REVIEW ribbon and click PROTECT

SHEET. You have many options here but choosing

SELECT LOCKED CELLS will ensure future users wont be

able to change your important data. You will have to

enter a password to continue (see screenshot). Now you

wont be able to select any of the cells you chose to lock.To unlock, click UNPROTECT SHEET and input your

password.

5. Custom ListsEvery Excel user has to type in the same list over and

over at some point. Whether its the days of the week, a

core group of keywords or the names of your colleagues,

this is a common spreadsheet task. You can create your

own list of values, which you can access quickly at any

time. The following day-of-the-week and month-of-the-

year lists are built in to Excel:

Sun., Mon., Tues., Wed., Thu., Fri., Sat.

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,

Friday, Saturday

Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, June, Jul., Aug., Sep., Oct.,




To prevent a user from accidentally or deliberately changing, movingor deleting important data from a worksheet or workbook, you can protect

certain elements with or without a password.

Figure 2

Figure 3


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Nov., Dec.

January, February, March, April, May, June, July,

August, September, October, November, December

To access these built-in lists, type one of the lists values

in and then drag the HANDLE (found when you hover

over the bottom right corner of any cell) in any direction.

You can go up, down, left or right. The list will auto fill in

order so if you start with a value in the middle of the list

(for example, June), the next value auto filled will be the

one after it in the custom list (for example, July).

To create custom lists, first create the list and select it.

Then, Click the Microsoft Office Button , click EXCEL

OPTIONS, click the POPULAR category, and then under

Top Options for working with Excel, click EDIT CUSTOM

LISTS.

In the Custom Lists dialog box, verify that the cell

reference of the list of items that you selected is displayedin the Import List From Cells box, and then click IMPORT.

The items in the list that you selected are added to the

Custom Lists box. Click OK twice. Now you can access

your custom list anytime by typing in any value of the list

and dragging the handle.

Once you create a custom list, it is added to your

computers registry, so it is available for use in other

workbooks. If you use a custom list when sorting data, it

is also saved with the workbook, so that it can be used on

other computers, including servers where your workbook

might be published to Excel Services.

6. Named Ranges

By naming a cell or group of cells, you can easily usethem anywhere in the workbook interchangeably with the

actual cell reference(s). For example, youre working with

your February SEM budget and youll be referring to that

cell often in the document in many tables. You can name

that value FebBudg and make formulas such as

=FebBudg/28 to get the daily amount. Or if you get

word that your budget might be going up by 25%, you

can simply use =FebBudg+(FebBudg*.25) to see what it

would be.

It might seem like a hassle in these simple examples, but

once you start naming ranges, youll see how efficient

you can be. Imagine: =YearBudget-(FebBudg+MarchBudg) versus having figure out what

cells those values are in. In this case, the formula makes

more sense.

Excel also autosuggests the range as you begin typing

the named range. In the example above, simply typing

Fe would bring up FebBudg in a drop down menu.

To create named ranges, look for the Name Box on the

Formula bar, right above columns A and B. Select your

cell(s) and type in the name (see Figure 5). I

What to Look For in anAutomated Reporting Tool

Some campaigns can be run using just Excel, but

there comes a time when it is more efficient to

automate using an outside reporting tool. When

you manage hundreds, thousands or millions of

keywords across multiple engines, you need campaign

management tools that can handle that volume of data.




Figure 4

Figure 5


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At some point, you will need to invest in an automated

solution so that you can devote more time to analysis and

effective campaign management.

Here are 10 capabilities that every automated PPC tool

should have to make your job easier:

Remote access that lets you manage your campaigns

from anywhere in the world, at any time.

A simple and intuitive interface that does not require an

engineering degree.

The ability to manage the most popular PPC advertising

vehicles: Google AdWords and Yahoo! Search

Marketing.

A wizard or step-by-step instructions on setting up an

account and campaigns, determining a budget,

selecting keywords and writing ads. The option of monitoring multiple campaigns with

multiple goals at the same time.

The ability to set goals and use several different bidding

strategies automatically.

The flexibility to fine-tune campaign keywords, ads,

goals and budget at any time.

The option to set up e-mail alerts for performance

changes defined by your own criteria.

A history or summary screen that provides an overall

picture of campaigns without running reports.

A robust reporting function that generates reports

using many different variables chosen by the user.

Additionally, there are automated tools on the market

from vendors such as Adobe that provide more

advanced functionality for work flow, tracking and

optimization, as well as management and reporting.

Here are 10 more features that can improve your SEM

optimization, performance and time management, as

well.

1. Platform integration. Integrating your search tool with

other tools, such as your ad server and email tool, creates

greater efficiencies when it comes to cross-channel

reporting and being able to use the same tracking

pixels/scripts. Most importantly, an integrated system is

critical for conversion attribution modeling, which

increasingly requires search engine marketers to track all

of your digital media in one place to see how users are

engaging your advertising before conversion.

2. Virtual groups. Several SEM tools now allow you to

segment elements of your account into virtual groups. If

you add in new promotional creative to several ad

groups, you can aggregate them all into a virtual group

and follow their performance without moving them into

new groups. The same is true for keywords that appear in

many places in your campaign; you can put them into a

virtual group and track them.

3. Landing page rotation. An increasing number of SEM

tools let you include multiple destination URLs for each

keyword to find the best combination that increases

conversions.

4. Analytics integration. To gain seamless analysis into

how your SEM traffic is performing on site, look for an

SEM tool that integrates with your web analytics tool.

This can prove valuable in understanding what keywords

drive high engagement (i.e., more page views, more time

on site, more repeat visits) versus just tracking

conversion. Integrating analytics with your SEM will also

show you how your paid and organic search traffic iseither working together or against each other.

5. Instant campaigns. Shadow campaigns let you

segment your campaigns to new geo-targets or day-

parting targets automatically, without having to

download a bulksheet, copy and paste, manipulate and

then re-upload. For example, if you want to split a

national campaign out to seven top states, you simply

choose those states via geo-targeting and the SEM tool

technology automatically creates seven shadow

campaigns in the engines instantly.

6. Sync Buttons. Most SEM tools require you to perform

all engine actions on their platform. If you dont, the tool

wont know youve made any changes and youll have

incomplete data. Having a Sync Button allows you to go

into the engines, make bid changes or add keywords,

then go back to your PPC tool and click Sync. This

offers great workflow efficiency as sometimes users are

more comfortable in the engine platforms.

7. Intra-day bidding. Most PPC management tools wait

each morning to pull down the previous days engine




Additionally, there are automatedtools on the market from vendors

such as Omniture that provide moreadvanced functionality for work flow,tracking and optimization, as well as

management and reporting.


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data. However, more are providing the ability to pull

impressions, clicks, click costs and average position

directly from engines every two to four hours, allowing

you to make changes and optimizations throughout theday.

8. Giving credit to assisting keywords. Auto-bidding

tools are becoming more accurate because they are

utilizing technology that follows not only the converting

keywords, but the other keywords that ultimately end up

converting users, even if they werent the last keyword

clicked. The result is that the tools dont end up

completely bidding down the top-of-the-funnel general

terms that actually have value, even if they dont show up

as converting keywords.

9. Competitive ads. More SEM tools can help youunderstand what other advertisers are bidding on your

keywords, as well as show you what ads they are

running. This feature allows you to see what is working

for your competitors or can help you craft ads that stand

out on the page by not doing what everyone else is

doing.

10. Not all conversions are equal. Margin-based bidding

allows you to set different weighted values on each

conversion metric to bid more efficiently. For example,

conversions resulting from white paper downloads or

newsletter sign-ups are probably not as valuable as actual

sales. You want your bidding methodology to take thatinto account.

Choose the Tool Thats

Right for You

Dont be overwhelmed by the number of automated

tool choices and capabilities. Take it one step at a

time, with the first step being to make a choice that

is right for your organizations SEM needs. The main

points that usually influence final decisions are the price,

technology, track record, interface, bells and whistles, and

support. For organizations short on resources, an SEMtool that offers a full-service approach may be most

important. Online retailers may decide that the most

important factor in choosing a PPC automated tool is bid

optimization that can handle millions of keywords toward

a CPA goal.

Have an internal dialog to establish the most important

criteria in choosing an automated tool for your SEM

team. Everyone who is going to be using the tool should

have some say in the final decision. Once youve gotten

to the vendor short list, have each one take your team

through their demos and urge your team to address

every question or concern they have.

Customer support is always one of the most criticalfactors in making a decision. Will you get an experienced

account manager or is the tool more of a self-service

solution? Can you reach an actual technical support

person on the phone 24/7 or just during business hours?

Or is it an email ticket system where you may have to wait

hours for an answer? Also find out what level of initial

training is provided. What is available to you after the set-

up phase? Training videos or a robust knowledge base?

You should also remember that no one tool will address

100% of your needs. If you find an automated tool that fits

most of your needs, consider yourself lucky. The goal of

your review is to find the best tool that is available foryour organization. Dont just choose the first vendor in

the door. Do your due diligence. Even if the first demo

seems like its the right fit, you owe it to yourself and your

team to make sure you look at least one or two others to

see whats out there.

When it comes to pricing, find out exactly what the deal is

-- including hidden soft costs such as set-up fees or

overages. Be aware of your minimum spends, i.e. some

tools need to have monthly/quarterly/yearly minimums in

place to make sure they have enough support bandwidth

in place to handle the volume of business. What happens

if your spend levels drop? Will you have to pay themthousands of dollars at the end of the quarter? Minimums

are a good business practice but you should know what

youre getting into. Just in case, make sure you have an

out clause, that is fair to both parties but gives you the

opportunity to break the contract with 30-days notice.

Lastly, utilize word-of-mouth recommendations from

other SEM professionals they are going to be your best

source of data. Try to find an SEM pro that you respect

and get their opinion. Find out what tools they use and

why. You may uncover some excellent information to

help you make your decision. I





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Summary

With time at a premium, creating efficiencies in your SEM reporting can enable you to focus more on big-picturecampaign strategy and less on time-consuming rote tasks. Two ways to do that are to improve your knowledge and

use of Excel as well as your ability to choose automated tools that fit your business model and client needs. The best

practices and suggestions presented in this e-book can help you, if you take the time to follow them and incorporate

them into your daily work. I

About the Adobe Online Marketing Suite

The Adobe Online Marketing Suite, powered by Omniture, offers an integrated and open platform for online

business optimization, a strategy for using customer insight to drive innovation throughout the business and en-

hance marketing efficiency. The Suite consists of integrated applications to collect and unleash the power of cus-tomer insight to optimize customer acquisition, conversion and retention efforts as well as the creation and

distribution of content. For example, using the Suite, marketers can identify the most effective marketing strategies

and ad placements as well as create relevant, personalized and consistent customer experiences across digital mar-

keting channels, such as onsite, display, email, social, video and mobile. The Suite enables marketers to make quick

adjustments, automate certain customer interactions and better maximize marketing ROI, which, ultimately, can pos-

itively impact the bottom line.

Search Marketing Now webcasts and white papers provide authoritative and actionable education about search

engine marketing issues. Register today for one of our free webcasts covering topics about search engine optimiza-

tion, paid search advertising and search marketing in general.

Search Marketing Now is a division of Third Door Media, which publishes web sites, and produces in-person

events and webcasts. Each of the four brands - Search Engine Land, Search Marketing Expo, Search Marketing

Now, and Sphinn - fosters continuing education, evolution and engagement for the community we serve.
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