Using Google PPC Like a Pro to Compete with “The Big Guys”

Twitter Questions: #KabbageKam

• Turning pay per click into a revenue driver for your business• Digging deeper into AdWords settings• Avoiding common money wasting pitfalls• Get the best ROI on your spend with smart bidding tips and

strategies

Meet the speakers…

Andres ThomasCustomer SuccessKabbage, Inc.

• MODERATOR

Matt HesslerDirector of SearchPPCPath

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Matt HesslerDirector of Search, PPCPath@PPCPath

Is it possible as a small local business to compete with national advertisers with WAY bigger budgets?

Advantages and Disadvantages of using PPC as a small / local business

Advantages● Local Brand recognition● Immediate Gratification● Face to Face Service / Support

Limitations● Your smaller budgets mean less

data to optimize● Website will likely have lower

conversion rates than big national competitors

● You may not be price competitive due to economies of scale

Make Every Dollar Count

You can’t afford to waste a dollar when your competitors are out spending you by 10x!

● Use Day Parting● Be Smart with your Geo Targeting● Use Negatives

Make Every Dollar CountDay Parting

● Run Hour of Day segmenting for at least 30 days of data

● Eliminate late night hours even if you offer 24/7 online shopping

● Add day parting segments and adjust bid modifiers to boost peak conversion hours

Make Every Dollar CountGeo Targeting

● As a local business this is your secret weapon and major differentiator

● Campaign Settings for Local businesses○ How wide is too wide○ Nested Geos

● Campaign Setting for Local + National businesses○ Creating multiple campaigns○ Use Geo exclusions

Make Every Dollar CountUse Negatives

● What is a Keyword Negative?

● How can I build a list that applies to my campaign?

Make Every Dollar CountUse Negatives

Create Your Local Advantage

● Start at https://www.google.com/business/● Look up your business and go through the call to verify or

verify by mail process ● Build out your listing

○ Add photos○ Hours ○ Summary should be 100-300 words (more content is

better)● Learn tools for Ratings & Review management

Location Extensions

Create Your Local Advantage

Why should you use Google AdWords for your

business?

Create Your Local Advantage

Create Your Local AdvantageCall Extensions

● Apply call extensions at the campaign level

● Phone numbers will appear in text below ads on the desktops

● Call button appears on mobile devices

Create Your Local AdvantageAd Copy for Local Businesses

● Use Auction Insights to identify competitors who are garnering the greatest impression share

● Test your top terms as queries on Google ● Add your top competitor ads to a spreadsheet or word doc

● Use the City Name● Use the words like “Local” “Neighborhood” or “Near You”● Make the ad actionable. Give the user a reason to click or

call!

Create Your Local AdvantageAd Copy for Local Businesses

Why should you use Google AdWords for your

business?

Insane Smartphone Adoption is great for Local Advertisers

Leveraging Mobile

Why should you use Google AdWords for your

business?

Leveraging Mobile Why it matters - Volume

Why should you use Google AdWords for your

business?

Leveraging Mobile Why it matters - Connection

Why should you use Google AdWords for your

business?

Leveraging Mobile Why It Matters - Connection

Leveraging Mobile What Can You Do

● Test your Site on different mobile devices ● Use an Online Simulator -

http://mobiletest.me/● Mobile Design Solutions

○ Responsive Design○ Mobile Site○ Responsive Landing Page

Leveraging Mobile Mobile Vs. Responsive

● Responsive design allows a site to adjust to the dimensions of the screen○ It is prefered by Google for PPC Quality Score & SEO

● Mobile Specific sites○ Typically live on a sub domain ○ Give you more control over mobile specific content and offers○ Are harder to maintain and can cause indexing issues

Leveraging Mobile Responsive Landing Pages

● Benefits include○ No IT professionals needed○ Create simple responsive

pages specifically for your PPC campaigns

● Limitations○ You may not be a very

good designer! ○ Requires a monthly

subscription

You can create PPC landing pages with tools like http://unbounce.com/

Why should you use Google AdWords for your

business?

Leveraging Mobile Understanding Your Traffic

● Device type bid adjustments are set at the campaign level

● Typical Bid Adjustments○ Bid -99% if your site is not mobile friendly○ If your campaign shows strong mobile

performance increase bids 5-10% increments

● There are only 3-4 ad placements on mobile devices

● Desktop bids cannot be adjusted and must be changed by resetting the bid level at the adgroup and keyword levels

Leveraging Mobile Setting Mobile Bid Adjustments

Why should you use Google AdWords for your

business?

Leveraging Mobile Using Mobile Specific Ads

● Use Local language or city name● Encourage a Call Action (use with call extension)● Once the Mobile ad box is checked only mobile ads will be served

Why should you use Google AdWords for your

business?

Leveling the playing field and Creating Advantage

● Make Every Dollar Count○ Use Day Parting○ Apply Negatives○ Use Geo-targeting (nested if applicable)

● Create a Local Advantage○ Create a Google My Business Account○ Use Location Extensions○ Use Call Extensions

● Take Advantage of Mobile Trends○ Asses your website for mobile users○ Analyze your traffic by device ○ Set mobile bid adjustments and use mobile ads

Competing with the Big Guys

Know When To Call In Reinforcements

When is it time to call in the Cavalry? Be honest about your expertise and the time you can allocate to your campaign.

Are you doing these things at regular intervals?• Checking / Updating bids on top 10% of KWs (weekly)• Writing and testing new ads (monthly)• Run search query reports & adding negatives (monthly)• Making QS improvements or removing low QS content (monthly)

Hiring a PPC consultant can seem expensive but wasting thousands on an under optimized Adwords campaign is typically more costly!

Hiring a Search Expert

Hiring a PPC expert has never been easier…• Hire PPC experts on a per project basis• The PPCPath Application creates the statements of work to

insure work hours and cost are fair to all parties• Get reports, and change logs on all activities• Hire specialists for any particular channel (display,

retargeting, creative and more

I am a Search Nerd(ask me anything)

Presented by

Matt HesslerMHesssler@PPCPath.com

@PPCPath | @Trada

Get 20% off your first AdWords overhaul from PPCPath!

Visit: http://kabbage.ppcpath.com/Enter Promo Code: kabbage20

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