Pay-per-click Marketing Principles : Part 1

A Quick & Easy Guide to Understanding Pay-per-click Terminology, Strategic Structure & Set-up

Neil Lemons▫ Built & managed search engine marketing & search engine optimization programs &

strategies since 2005▫ Managed, built & evaluated dozens of accounts, 100s of campaigns annually spending millions

of dollars in clicks through Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing & Microsoft adCenter▫ Experience in dozens of industries & verticals , many with very high returns▫ Tested & earned official Google AdWords Professional Certification in 2007 & also trained

three others leading to a Google Certified Company recognition ▫ Implemented SEM & SEO strategies for names such as: AT&T WiFi, Feed The Children,

National Breast Cancer Foundation, CURE International, Lucky Brand Jeans, Roots International , Children’s Medical Center, Comedy Defensive Driving School ®, Texas Teachers

▫ Created “Most Read Thread” on Google AdWords in world-renowned SEO/SEM learning site SEOChat : 32 Useful AdWords Tips for Intermediate to Experienced Users

▫ Wrote landmark whitepaper guide on AdWords: 21 AdWords Mistakes Business Owners Make & How to Avoid Them

▫ Education Background – BS in Journalism: Major Advertising , Minors: Marketing, Psychology

Notable Past Internet Marketing Clients

Other Internet Marketing Clients 1. John Teakell – Defense Attorney 2. Power Jack - Foundation Repair 3. Alexa Rose - Jeweler4. Evanesque - Medical Spa5. Daired’s – Salon & Medical Spa 6. MadeLoud.com – Indie Music Community 7. Erickson Partners, LLC – Business Valuations8. N-Bone – Organic Dog, Cat & Ferret treats9. Matt Arnold - Defense Attorney

The Four Pillars of Online MarketingSearch Engine Marketing(SEM)• **Pay-per-click (PPC)• Banners & Display Networks • Local Business Listings & Reviews• Product Search • Shopping Comparison Engines• Conversion Optimization

Search Engine Optimization(SEO)

• Organic Traffic• Keyword Research• Optimized Content Strategies• Incoming & Internal Linking• Online Public Relations • Site Architecture

Social Media Marketing (SMM)

• Social Networking Sites• Blogging On & Off Site• Video On & Off Site• Content Creation • Engagement &

Conversations

Email Marketing • Building Targeted Lists• Opt-in Drivers • Message Strategy • Open Rates • Direct Response Offers

**This Presentation Only Covers Pay-per-click, the Biggest Area of SEM.

Pay-per-click Marketing Principles : Table of Contents

1. Quick History of Pay-per-click2. Pay-per-click Effectiveness 3. Search Share: The Big Three4. Pay-per-click Terminology Defined5. Account Architecture 6. Knowing Your Networks7. Setting-up Your Account for Success8. Structuring Your Account for Success 9. Confronting Common Pay-per-click Mistakes 10.PPC Tools to Optimize Your Efforts

Quick History of Pay-per-Click• In February 1998, Goto.com (Bill Gross ) presented a pay-per-

click search engine proof-of-concept to the TED conference in CA.

• In November 2001, Yahoo! partnered with Overture (name change) & started syndicating listings. In July 2003, Yahoo! bought Overture for $1.63 billion.

• In December 1999, Google started search engine advertising CPM style. In October 2000, the self-managed AdWords system was introduced, still CPM. PPC in current form was introduced in 2002.

• In 2009, Google made 23 billion, 97% of their income from AdWords.

*According to Wikipedia & Google Investor relations FAQs

marketing sherpa: Effectiveness of PPC Objectives

Bottom Line: Paid search is better for direct response leads, traffic, and on-site sales, not branding.

comScore Releases July 2010 U.S. Search Engine Rankings

July results released August 17, 2010, by comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world.

Speculative Client: Dallas Medical Spa

• Located in Uptown Dallas

•Offers laser hair removal, Botox, microdermabrasion spray tanning, other services.

•Conversion goal: Set-up appointment through contact form or call them to set an appointment.

Pay-per-Click Terminology• Keyword Match Types – broad, phrase, exact,

negative• Impression – Ad displayed, not clicked. • Cost-per-thousand Impressions (CPM)• Click-through Rate (CTR) – Clicks/Impressions• Conversion – rate, cost-per, amount. • Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)• Maximum cost-per-click – 1st page bid est.• Cost-per-click (actual)• Quality Score (QS) – All around, based on

relevancy & max CPC.

Keyword Match Type: Broad

spray tan

Ad may show for: spray tanningspray on tansunless tansunless tanningairbrush tanninghome spray tanning productsspray tanning equipment for sale

Keyword Match Type: “Phrase”

“spray tan”

Ad may show for: spray tan spaspray tan salonspray tan solution

Ad won’t show for: spray tanningairbrush tansunless tanning

Keyword Match Type: [Exact]

[spray tan]

Ad may show for: spray tan

Ad won’t show for: spray tan spaspray tan salonspray tan solution

Keyword Match Type: -Negative-spray tan

Negative Keywords: -products-equipment-home-for sale

Ad won’t show for: spray tan products

spray tan equipment for salehome spay tan

What is a Conversion? An arbitrary action taken on a website by a user deemed valuable. This could be an onsite purchase (direct value) or action bringing a visitor closer to a purchase (projected value).

•Product purchase•Contact form submitted •Report download (exchanged for email)•Free Software Trial Download•Online application filled out•Appointment request•Newsletter subscription•Seminar registration •Phone call

Conversion – All of these different types of conversions are measured the same way: unique pageview.

•Seeing Map & Directions•Thank you for your purchase•Thank you submitting your question•Thank you for subscribing to our

newsletter •Thank you for downloading our report

Bottom line: Only way to measure conversion tied back to specific keywords, ads, is a unique pageview.

How to Create an Ad w/ Killer Click-Through

•Matches user’s query exactly (bolding)•Differentiates itself from other advertisers

(USP)•Stands out in appearance & message•Call-to-action (CTA)

AdWords Account Architecture

10 Crucial Steps to Starting a PPC Account

1. Campaign Organization & Naming 2. Adgroup Organization & Naming3. Geo-Targeting (IP & Keyword)4. Ad Serving Rotation & Rate 5. Distribution Networks 6. Ad Scheduling7. Tagging Destination URLs

AdWords Account Architecture: Campaigns

AdWords Account Architecture: Adgroups

AdWords Account Architecture: Keywords

Knowing Your Networks

1. Google Search 2. Search Partners3. Display Network4. Mobile Network

By default, your ads are displayed to all four.

Google’s Search Partners

•The Nine Components of a Profitable Pay-per-click Account1. Profitable Cost-Per-Conversion: The cost of a sale is less than the price of

the product or average customer at the adgroup level (consider margins). 2. Extremely High Click-Through-Rate (10% +): Brand-based keywords at

the adgroup level. 3. Above Average (2%+) Click-Through-Rate : Generic category based

keywords at the adgroup level. 4. Relatively Low Impression # Per Click: Least amount of irrelevant

impressions by filtering out common unrelated keywords triggering ads (use 100s of negative keywords). This goes for brand-based campaigns as well.

5. Consistency: Most relevant keyword-to-ad-to-landing page match possible. 6. Attractive & Compelling Ads: For a high click-through rate, use every eye-

catching advantage possible (bolding, local extention, saturation). 7. Consistent & Constant Testing: Use a/b split testing of new ad copy on

large volume keywords to increase click-through-rate & conversions over time.

8. Channel Separation: Separate channels into campaigns for different audiences (Display Network, Mobile).

9. High Quality Score (s): This is a 1-10 rating assessed at the keyword level, but is also averaged account-wide and at the adgroup level (conversion does not apply).