Thoughts and ideas regarding Paid Search Marketing:
- For mass updates, mass banner upload, copying and changes to paid search campaigns, use AdWords Editor and Bing Ads Editor
- If purchasing brand terms, include negative terms to weed out intent (‘login’, ‘review’, etc.) and ensure ad copy focuses on desired intent
- Dig deep into location targeting to ensure it’s correct (e.g. people in the actual area vs those who are interested in the area)
- Observe results by device (computer/mobile phone/tablet) – and adjust bids accordingly by device type, if necessary
- Observe quality difference between engine traffic and ‘partner network’ traffic
- Heavily scrutinize Bing Ads traffic:
- Fraud is prevalent among partner sites (Look for keyword searches run on partner sites that have nothing to do with the content of the partner site)
- Sometimes searches are generated by cheap display ad campaigns that lead users to a page of search results (i.e. much less intent)
- Campaigns may have impressions from native ad placements (see ‘Audience ad’ figures)
- Observe conversion rate differences by geographic location, time of day, etc. (and utilize bid multipliers accordingly)
- Dig deeper into report of actual search terms used by users – possible basis for negative keywords to add
- Create relevant landing page content that meshes with ad copy and keyword
- Test multiple ads and gain insight into click-through-rates and conversion rates; a higher CTR will lower your CPC
- Name Campaigns and Ad Groups in a consistent manner as this allows for easier report filtering
- Automated Extensions: Turn off if they don’t make strategic sense
Thoughts and ideas regarding PPC Display ads:
- Test various options: keyword targeting, placement targeting, demographic targeting, etc.
- Dig deeper into traffic reports and remove under performing placements, keywords, devices, etc.
- Utilize site category blocks (possibly: in-video, in-game, racier content, mobile apps, etc.)
- To refine traffic, consider adding a layer of demographic targeting (less traffic, but more targeted)
- Test multiple creatives and observe click-through-rates and conversion rates
- Landing page copy, ad copy and keyword(s) targeted should be consistent
- If multi-national service/product, try international traffic: may convert at lower rate, but cost of ads usually cheaper as well
- Create retargeting campaigns targeting visitors who do not convert (the more relevant the ad is to visitor site activity or search term the better — show products placed in shopping cart, or copy relevant to search terms used to visit site, etc.)
- If appropriate, create an ongoing list of converters (via Google Analytics) and exclude them from future ad impressions
- Test Gmail ads: There is a lot of volume to take advantage of (test and tweak to make it cost effective); pricing is based on opens – not website visits