PUBCON 2014: Hacking AdWords - Winning at PPC the Weird Way by Larry Kim, WordStream, Inc.
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Transcript of PUBCON 2014: Hacking AdWords - Winning at PPC the Weird Way by Larry Kim, WordStream, Inc.
CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE 1
Hacking Adwords: Winning at PPC the Weird WayLarry Kim (@larrykim)Founder/CTO, WordStream, Inc.March 19, 2014
Win This $25 Amazon.com Gift Certificate!!
• Include the hashtag #wordstream and #pubcon in your tweets
• May the best tweet win! :)
Larry Kim (@larrykim) #wordstream #pubcon
Over 1000 Changes in AdWords in 2013 Alone!
Previous Best Practices Become Outdated
Warning: Lots of Data Ahead!
Epiphany #1:What is Quality Score and Why Does it Matter?
How Quality Score Impacts Ad Position
• AdWords is Like Real Estate: It’s all about Location!
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How Quality Score Impacts Actual CPC
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Epiphany #2:What’s an
Average Quality Score in 2014?
Avg. Quality Score Has Been Falling.
• Today, average score is 5/10. Previously was 7/10!
Larry Kim (@larrykim) #wordstream #pubcon
CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE 11
Cost Per Conversion Greatly Impacted by QS
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The Impact of Quality Score on Cost Per Conversion
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Epiphany #3How is Quality
Score Calculated?
QS is Based on Your CTR vs. Expected CTR!
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Quick Recap So Far
1. QS plays huge role in determining CPC and Avg. Position and cost per conversion
2. QS is largely based on beating the expected click through rate for your ad position
3. So Winning at AdWords Requires Writing Ads with Above Average CTR.
Larry Kim (@larrykim) #wordstream #pubcon
Epiphany #4:Google Expects (Much) More Of
Your Ads
Which Ad Wins?
a)Ad A– 32,423 Impressions– 453 clicks (1.4% CTR)– Average Position: 2.8
b)Ad B– 36,223 Impressions– 760 clicks (2.1% CTR)– Average Position: 3.0
Larry Kim (@larrykim) #wordstream #pubcon
Trick Question! Both Ads Suck.
• Neither ad is worth declaring a “Winner”.• Not even the 2.1% CTR in the 3.0 Avg. Position.• Why??
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What’s a Good CTR?
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• Even the “Winner” is a Loser!
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Forest vs. Trees
Even the “Winning” Ad is a Loser!
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Epiphany #5:What’s a Good
CTR These Days?(You’d be surprised)
What’s a Good Search CTR? (Account Avg. CTR’s)
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But Lots of Variance!!
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Under-Performing vs. Unicorns
Percentile Vs. Expected CTR
Name
Bottom 50% Below Expected CTR
Under-Performing Advertisers
Top 15% 2X Higher Awesome Advertisers
Top 5% 3x Higher Super Awesome Advertisers
Top 1% 6x Higher!! Unicorns
Larry Kim (@larrykim) #wordstream #pubcon
@larrykim
Unicorns?! (6x Avg. CTR!)
What Unicorns (Top 1%) Look Like
Larry Kim (@larrykim) #wordstream #pubcon
Ad Text Testing
• Same Story – 20% of Ads Generate 92% of Spend• 20% of Ads Generated 65% of Impressions• But CPA, CTR, and Conversion Rates vary
@larrykim, @perrymarshall
Hunting Unicorns
1. Keywords With High Commercial Intent
Larry Kim (@larrykim) #wordstream #pubcon
2. Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI)
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2. DKI Doesn’t Produce As Many Unicorns
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3. Ad Extensions Impact on Quality Scores
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3. Ad Extensions Impact on Click Through Rate
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Epiphany #6How To Write “Unicorn” Ads
4. Most Ads Suck. Create Emotional Ads.
36Larry Kim (@larrykim) #wordstream #pubcon
Creating “Emotional” Ads
Larry Kim (@larrykim) #wordstream #pubcon
An Example:
Larry Kim (@larrykim) #wordstream #pubcon
Versus…
Larry Kim (@larrykim) #wordstream #pubcon
Epiphany #7You Need To Test 100 Ads To Find 1
Unicorn.
Relative Abundance
Name Percentile Relative Abundance
Vs. Expected CTR
Awesome Ads
Top 15% 1:6.7 2X Higher
Super Awesome Ads
Top 5% 1:20 3x Higher
Unicorns Top 1% 1:100 6x Higher!!
Larry Kim (@larrykim) #wordstream #pubcon
You’re Not Testing as Many Ads as You Think…
Larry Kim (@larrykim) #wordstream #pubcon
Epiphany #8It’s Not as Hard
As You Think
Most Small Businesses Aren’t That Active
Larry Kim (@larrykim) #wordstream #pubcon
85% of Impressions are From 5% of Ads
Larry Kim (@larrykim) #wordstream #pubcon
Epiphany #9Life is Great for
Unicorn Accounts
Here’s What It Looks Like IRL
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• Grade Your Account at http://www.wordstream.com/google-adwords
Quality Score Average of 8.8/10!!
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14% Click Through Rate!!
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Consistent Account Activity
CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE 50
Mostly Targeting Long Tail Keywords!
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Negative Keywords
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89% Impression Share
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Epiphany #10Life Stinks for
Low QS Accounts
The Bottom 4% of Accounts IRL
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Avg. Quality Score 3.8/10
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Avg. CTR of 1.32%
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No Activity in Last Quarter
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Awful Keyword Targeting
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No Negative Keywords
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61% Impression Share LOST
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Epiphany #11Don’t Pursue a Low CTR Strategy (Low QS)
Quick Recap
1. Low CTR = Low QS2. Low CTR ads don’t
even get displayed3. They get penalized with up to 400%
higher CPCs 4. Dramatically increases cost per
conversion
Larry Kim (@larrykim) #wordstream #pubcon
Epiphany #12How to Scale
Your PPC?
Quick Recap
1. Above Average CTR Keyword/Ads = Great Success.
2. Below Average CTR Keyword/Ads = Train Wreck
3. So … Delete the bottom third of your account and re-deploy that spend to remarketing
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Average CPC’s by Industry and Network
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Average Conversion Rates by Industry
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Average CPA’s for Search & Display, by Industry
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Your Questions
Thank You PUBCON!Benchmark your AdWords account today!
http://www.wordstream.com/google-adwords
Today’s Slides: http://bit.ly/hacking-adwords
Larry Kim (@larrykim) #wordstream #pubcon