Introduction to Paid SearchNovember 2014Anvil Media Lunch and Learn

Pascal InderabudhiPaid Search Specialist

pascal@anvilmedia.com

• Integrated marketing agency founded in 2000

• Specializes in SEO, SEM, Social Media, & Analytics

• Account Team Google AdWords & Google Analytics Certified

• Focus on education via monthly Seminar Series

About Anvil

Bio• Pascal Inderabudhi• Paid Search Specialist at Anvil• 3+ years SEM experience• Industry experience across hospitality, retail, B2B,

transportation, financial services, healthcare

Paid search concepts

- Paid search is the process of achieving marketing goals by purchasing ads on search engines or partner sites

- With paid search you pay either each time your ad is clicked (pay-per-click) or, less commonly, each time your ad is displayed (cost-per-impression - CPM)

What is paid search?

Examples of pay-per-click paid search ads on Google

Who does paid search?

Digital advertising growth• According to eMarketer, digital ad

spending world wide will reach $140B in 2014

• As a percentage of total media spend, digital paid media will make up over 25% of all advertising world wide

• Global trends show increasing importance on digital paid media and potential for growth

- Paid search ads can be placed on search engine results pages (SERPs), where users view the results of their search queries

- SERPs can range from the major search engines to review websites to social media platforms and more

Where can ads be placed?

Why use paid search

Why use paid search?• Low barrier to entry• Immediate &

consistent traffic• Highly targeted• Control costs• Measure results

Low barrier to entry• Effective advertising on a

limited budget• Build and launch a

campaign within hours• User-friendly training,

support, and toolkit

Immediate & consistent traffic• Gain first page exposure for

target keywords upon launch

• Control traffic lulls and spikes with consistency based on how much you want to spend

Highly targeted• Audiences are actively and

specifically seeking out advertisers’ products

• Advertisers are able to target searchers who have the intent to act on certain keywords with highly relevant ads

Control costs• With PPC, you only pay for

results• You have the ability to set

guidelines on spend to you comfort level and to reach your specific marketing goals

Measure results• Paid search is track-able,

testable, and transparent• You can measure clicks,

conversions, click through rates, and a whole host of key metrics

• Test elements in your account and build off learnings

How does it work?

Paid search process1. Advertiser targets and bids on

specific keywords2. Users enter a search query that

matches the advertiser’s keyword targeting

3. Advertisers paid search ad is shown

4. User clicks on ad, visits advertiser's website, and advertiser is charged for that click

Advertiser targets the keyword [pizza t-shirt] and bids $1.00 for it

1

2

3

4

Key components of paid search

Keywords Ad Copy Targeting

User Search

Landing Page

Conversion

Goal(Traffic)

Goal(Revenue/Leads)

Account Structure

Ad Group 1 Ad Group 2 Ad Group 3 Ad Group 4

Keyword 1Keyword 2Keyword 3

Ad Copy 1Ad Copy 2

Keyword 1Keyword 2Keyword 3

Keyword 1Keyword 2Keyword 3

Keyword 1Keyword 2Keyword 3

Campaign 2Campaign 1

Account

Ad Copy 1Ad Copy 2

Ad Copy 1Ad Copy 2

Ad Copy 1Ad Copy 2

AdWords Interface - Campaign

Account

Campaign

AdWords Interface – Ad Group

Ad Group

Campaign

AdWords Interface – Ad Group

Ad Group

Keyword

Ad Copy

AdWords Interface – Ad Copy

Ad Group

Ad Copy

Account Structure Example

Pepperoni Sausage Mushroom Peppers

Pepperoni pizzaPepperoni and

cheeseExtra pepperoni pizza

Pepperoni PizzasPepperoni for days.

Buy today, baby!

Sausage pizzaBreakfast sausage

pizzaMeat lovers sausage

pizza

Mushroom pizzaMushroom lovers

pizzaHalf mushroom pizza

Jalapeno peppers pizza

Pizza with banana peppers

Green pepper pizza

Veg PizzaMeat Pizza

Pizza Co.

Sausage PizzasAll kinds of sausage.

Order your pizza!

Mushroom PizzasIf that’s your thing,

get your mushrooms!

Peppers PizzasOur pepper pizzaswill destroy you!

Building the account

How to start a PPC campaign1. Identify & track goals2. Research target

audience & keywords3. Organize account4. Create ad copy5. Finalize targeting6. Launch

Identify & establish goals• To measure your paid

search campaign’s value, identify what you want to achieve:• More traffic• Cheaper traffic

• More revenue• Higher returns

• More leads• Cheaper leads

Track goals• Your goals will dictate how

you manage the account• Once goals are in place:• Benchmark

performance on a scheduled basis

• Manage account to achieve performance closer to goals

Key performance indicators• Use key performance indicators

to determine how well you are achieving your goals

• Driving traffic:• Total clicks/impressions

• Traffic Efficiency:• Increasing CTR• Reducing CPC

• Driving Leads/Revenue• Total Conversions

• Lead/Revenue Efficiency• Lowering CPA• Increasing ROI

“pizza t-shirt”

“a shirt with a pizza on it LOL”

“do pizza shirts exist?”

“funny pizza shirts”

Target Audience Research

Keyword ResearchKeyword Research tactics:

• AdWords’ Keyword Planner Tool• Google Search Suggest• Competitor Websites• Google Trends• Google Analytics• Internal Sales Data

Google Keyword Tool

Google Search Suggest

Read Your Competitor’s Websites

Google Trends

Organize the account

Pepperoni Sausage Mushroom Peppers

Pepperoni pizzaPepperoni and

cheeseExtra pepperoni pizza

Pepperoni PizzasPepperoni for days.

Buy today, baby!

Sausage pizzaBreakfast sausage

pizzaMeat lovers sausage

pizza

Mushroom pizzaMushroom lovers

pizzaHalf mushroom pizza

Jalapeno peppers pizza

Pizza with banana peppers

Green pepper pizza

Veg PizzaMeat Pizza

Pizza Co.

Sausage PizzasAll kinds of sausage.

Order your pizza!

Mushroom PizzasIf that’s your thing,

get your mushrooms!

Peppers PizzasOur pepper pizzaswill destroy you!

Organize the account• With the new long list of

keywords, the next step is to organize them in specific, tight ad groups

• Some ways to segment:• Product/Service• Intent (research v

purchase KWs)• Region/geography• Brand/non-brand• Keyword match-type

Keyword Match Types

Google Ad DiagramHeadline - 25 characters

Description Line 1 - 35 characters

Display URL

Call-out extension

Seller ratings

Social extension

Sitelinks extension

Description Line 2 - 35 characters

Anatomy of a good ad• Main KWs in headline• Descriptive KWs in descriptions • Price listed clearly• Availability info clear• Ad extensions utilized fully

• Call-out extensions showcase key features and promos

• Seller ratings provide social proof

• Social extension provides further authority

• Sitelink extensions improve user experience and encourage deeper engagement

Additional targeting - Devices

Geo-Graphic TargetingRegional Targeting Radius Targeting

Network Targeting

Google Search

• Searched Keywords• Text Ads• Google.com

Search Network

• Searched Keywords

• Text Ads• Partner Sites (+

Google.com)

Display Network

• No Searches• Contextual –

Articles, etc.• Text Ads• Banner Ads• Video Ads• Network Sites

(not Google.com)

Time of Day Targeting

Launch• With goals established;

account, campaign, ad groups, and keywords organized; and ad copy locked down all that is left is to implement and launch

• Advertisers can use either Google AdWords’ platform within their browser or download the AdWords Editor for advanced management

Managing the account

Manage budgets• Set and monitor daily

budgets at the campaign level

• Track spend across campaigns throughout the month to allocate spend to higher performing campaigns

• Make sure not to exceed monthly budgets

Manage cost• Keyword bids can be set at the ad group level – KWs with no bid set will

take the ad group bid by default – or at the keyword level• Monitor KW CPC on a routine basis to ensure that keywords are meeting

performance goals• For a low-touch, but less controlled solution, consider automated bidding

(not recommended due to lack of control)

Manage efficiency• Monitor campaign performance on a routine basis to ensure that the account is getting the most

out of its budget• Identify which KWs are driving the best performance at the most efficient rate

• For the goal of driving traffic, this would be KWs that have high CTR and low CPC• For the goal of driving leads, this would be low Cost per Conversion

• Assess the key performance indicators relevant to achieving the campaign’s goals, and pull the levers (pausing keywords, adjusting bids, improving quality score) to bring the account closer to goals

Qualify keyword traffic• Broad and phrase match-type

keywords can bring in search queries unrelated to your targeting, which can drive up costs• Ex: “pizza t-shirt” can bring

up the search query “how to clean pizza from my t-shirt”

• Analyze the account’s search query report, found in the Keyword tab, to see what exactly users are searching for, and exclude irrelevant searches

Measure Conversions• Make sure your conversions

are set up properly so that you can accurately track goals

• Implement the conversion tracking pixel across your site

• Define what a conversions mean for your campaign:• Form fill• Whitepaper download• Sales• Visiting a specific page

Testing• Test, test, TEST!• Continue to test and refine

your account to optimize it to the fullest

• Test:• Ad copy headlines and

descriptions• Landing pages• Keyword combinations• Day and time adjustments• Everything

Questions & Answers

Thank you!