LSA Bootcamp Charlotte: Beyond SEO - Paid Search Best Practices (Google)

Google Confidential and Proprietary

Paid Search Basics & Best PracticesJuly 26, 2015


Channel Sales

Liz OlingerAccount Manager

Introductions


Objectives

The Digital Consumer. A Recap.

Search Engine Results Page (SERP) Basics

Why Paid is Important

Benefits of Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Paid Search Best Practices


The Digital Consumer.A Recap.


Vatican City, 2005


Vatican City, 2013


2.2Hours a day (in the US)

on mobile contentHours a day with digital

5+

Source: eMarketer, 2014.

As consumers, we’re constantly connected...


Day EveningMorningNight

Hourly Distribution of Searches by Platform(doesn’t reflect absolute traffic volume)

Source: Google Internal Data, 2011. % of each platform’s traffic shown hourly for one day. Does not indicate absolute or relative traffic volumes.

...but how we’re connected varies.


4:03pm

1:48pm

9:02am11:43pm

10:40am

7:36pm

10:02pm

9:51am

2:19pm

8:03pm11:11am

1:02am

Businesses want to be there, and be relevant.


10.7 sourcesConsumers consult an average of 10.7 sources prior to purchase

Consumers are hyper-informed before purchasing

Digital is changing the Advertising Landscape

of U.S. Internet users go online to search for information about products and services78%


Search“how to buy a new car”

ReadNews article for advice on different brands, models & specs

Emailfriend for car and dealer advice

VisitAutomotive site to read reviews and compare

Search“Honda dealers in Sacramento”

VisitHonda dealer

Conversion

Re-marketing

Display Ads

Making the Path to Purchase More Complex.


Search“how to buy a new car”

ReadNews article for advice on different brands, models & specs

Emailfriend for car and dealer advice

VisitAutomotive site to read reviews and compare

Search“Honda dealers in Sacramento”

VisitHonda dealer

Conversion

Re-marketing

Display Ads

Search is Key to Any Digital Advertising Strategy


For local services customers, search enginesare the leading source of information

Review sites or apps

39%Local service

comparison sites/apps

38%Coupon or daily deal sites/apps

32%Social networking

sites or apps

27%

Search Engines74%

Brand, company sites or apps

49%Map sites or apps

42%

Online Sources of Local Services Information (Any Device)

Source: Google/Ipsos, Industry Multi-Screen Study: Local Services, 2013. Base: Total Respondents (2012). Q. Which websites or applications ("apps") did you access in the last 6 months for your local services planning? Methodology Note: All participants were screened-in on category-specific service usage, use of Internet as a resource for local services and general smartphone usage.


Search Engine Results Page(SERP) Basics


query

paid results

Anatomy of Search Engine Results Page

organic results


Difference Between Organic & Paid Results


Why Paid is Important


Your customers expect to find you1

Control your message

Real estate matters

Paid + Organic: Drive more traffic

Direct potential customers

Why Paid Search is Important

2

3

4

5


Search Engine Results Page Heat Map

(After 8 seconds)

● ¾ of consumers expect leading brands to be at the top of the page

● ⅓ associate placement with a company’s prominence

1. Customers Expect to Find You

Google Confidential and ProprietaryStructuring An Account For Success

2. Control Your Message


3. Direct Potential Customers


4. Real Estate Matters

Google Confidential and ProprietarySource: Studies Show Search Ads Drive 89% Incremental Traffic, Research @ Google, July 21, 2013.

“Advertisers that pause their search advertising campaignssometimes cite concerns about how much of the traffic tothe sites is truly incremental to clicks on natural search results.”

Studies show search ads drive 89% incremental traffic on avg

For local SMBs, search ads drive 98% incremental traffic on avg

5. Paid + Organic: Drive More Traffic


Benefits of Search Engine Marketing (SEM)


PresenceMeet consumer expectations

ImmediacySEO takes time and is not guaranteed

Incremental Traffic beyond Organic Results

Targeted Reachuser intent + scaled message

Increased Relevancehyper-local targeting and message control

Transparencytrack conversions + ROI

Source: Studies Show Search Ads Drive 89% Incremental Traffic, Research @ Google, July 21, 2013.

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Vers

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Med

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Benefits of Search Engine Marketing


● Control Daily Spending Limit

● Control and Tailor Marketing Message

● Control and tailor targeting by Audience, Device, Day-part, Geography

● Conversion or Call tracking

You Have Control and Can Measure Results


Technology Levels the Playing Field for SMBs


Search Engine Marketing Best Practices


Account structure and targetingCampaign set-up & management, audience targeting, keyword match types, and ad extensions

Bid managementConsistent bid management with mathematical reason behind each bid change

Set GoalsBusiness driven; targeting financial outcomes

Search Engine Marketing Best Practices


Goal-setting drives search engine marketing success

Why is goal-setting critical? Best practices

Think of search engine marketing as an investment versus a cost.

Define business-driven objectives

● Articulate your business objective, e.g.,:○ eCommerce Sales○ Drive leads / sign-ups○ Boost in-store traffic○ Drive calls○ Raise brand awareness / brand affinity

Recognize full value

Target financial outcomes

● Define full value of each customer, incorporating

○ Online and offline value of customer○ Customer’s lifetime value○ Path to purchase○ Product profit margins

● For conversion-focused objectives:○ Consider prioritizing maximum profit○ Makes estimates where necessary

● For brand-focused objectives, focus on awareness / impression metrics


The Auction

Ad Rank = Quality Score x Bid


The Components of Quality Score

Quality Score

Expected Click-Through-Rate

Ad Relevance

Landing Page Experience

Takeaway: Higher quality scores means lower bids are needed to rank competitively in the search results.


Clear account structure and targeting greatly influences performance of Search

Best practices

Account

Campaigns

Ad groups

Keywords

● Plan each campaign around a single business goal (e.g., product sales, brand awareness, regional launch promotion, demographic targeting)

● Consider initial campaign structure around client website (e.g., products, brands)

● Advanced campaign structures should augment initial structure with audience based campaigns (e.g., geo, site visits)

● Split each campaign into ad groups each with a single theme○ Simpler to create focused, effective keywords and compelling

and powerful ad creative○ Can improve CTR and ad quality

● Variations in how consumers search should be reflected in your keywords(e.g., industries, products, concepts, brands)

● Expand keyword set usingGoogle Keyword Tool

● Iterate and refine as necessary

Example

ABC Furniture

Table sales

or

New York market

Coffee tables

glass coffee table

Best practicesComponent


Think About How Customers Could Reach You When Selecting Keywords

Why: Variations in the different ways consumers search should be reflected in your keyword set.

IndustrySnack Foods

ProductsCandy Bars

Related fieldsDessert Catering

ConceptsHoliday gifts for my boss

Your BrandCandy City

Brands You SellSnickers

Your Website


Implement ad extensions to meet your business goals and gain visual real estate

TOP OF THE PAGE

ORGANICLISTINGS

SIDEOF THEPAGE

BOTTOM OF THE PAGE

LOCATION

SOCIAL

CALL

SELLERRATINGS

PREVIOUSVISIT

example

Callout Review

LocationSitelinks Social

Call Previous Visit

Seller Ratings

Structured Snippets

Consumer Ratings

App Extension

$

Improved visibilityYou can show up to four extensions with your ad, giving you extra search engine results page real estate that can go a long way to stand out.

Better qualify your customersExtensions enable customer engagement the way you want it, whether you’d like customers to contact you by phone, come to your location, or visit your website.

More relevant traffic to your siteGiving users more information often translates to a higher clickthrough rate for you. More clicks means more customer traffic.


Rigorous bid management processes enable continuous improvement

Why bid management is critical Best practices

● Continuous bid management enables strong Search performance as consumer and competitive environment changes

● Refine bid strategies on an ongoing basis. Don’t “set it and forget it!”Be sure to add campaigns as business and results evolve.

● Define and adhere to mathematical rules for setting and modifying bids (e.g. to target maximum profit)

● Ensure ability to track cause and effect of a given bid modification


Key Takeaways Be there, be relevant; your customers expect to find you.

Technology levels the playing field for small and medium businesses

SEM is immediate, gives you control, and transparency

Set goals and optimize SEM through great account structure and bid management


Need Help?Visit www.google.com/partners


39 Google confidential

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Google Confidential and Proprietary 39

LSA Bootcamp Charlotte: Beyond SEO - Paid Search Best Practices (Google)

Marketing

Transcript of LSA Bootcamp Charlotte: Beyond SEO - Paid Search Best Practices (Google)