5 Ways PPC Campaign Structure Can Increase CTRs

Posted on December 10, 2011 by Kevin Adams

The Best Click-thru-Rates Comes from Great Account Structure

If you’re relatively new to ppc, this claim can seem rather bold. I promise you the title is not misleading or just to ‘get the click’. Account structure involves clearly defining the purpose and settings for each campaign and ad group in an account.

The most commonly talked about aspect of click-thru-rate involves the actual ad copy matched up with the right keyword. In order to right good ad copy it is imperative to understand who you are targeting, but it is even more important to understand what the user is searching for at that moment.

Better Click Thru Rates = Higher AdWords Keyword Quality Scores = Lower Costs Per Click

1. Day Parting

Let’s start at the ad copy level. Consider the following concept: a good ‘Call Now’ search ad during the day is probably a terrible ad at night. Why, because most users aren’t expecting to call at night. If your business can actually handle at a late night call it would need to be explicitly stated in the ad in order to be effective. The solution would be to Create a separate mobile campaign and choose effective day-parting. The remaining campaign should still consider day-parting for times of night when the click-thru-rates drop off significantly.

2. Call-to-Action:

The call-to-action itself is an important distinction. To save time, many account managers rely on a single campaign to handle each area for desktops and laptops, tablets, and smart phones. It has been shown the smart phone users do not convert at the same as displayed in the following article: Mobile conversion rates lag behind tablet. Users searching on a smart phone are far more likely to call a business than complete an online form. Why go against the grain?

3. Match Types

Once the right ads at the right time of day are established comes the keyword factor. Matching ad copy with keywords should be obvious, but different match types may confuse the issue. The biggest question is “What search queries are triggering your ads?” Phrase and especially Broad Match attract a much wider variety of search queries than Exact Match. The search query ‘auto loan rates for good credit’ could trigger the keywords “auto loan”, auto loans, auto loan rates, or even +rates for +auto +loans (broad match modifier being used).

4. Add More Keywords

That’s a lot of weight for each of those keywords to service. How does one write ad copy for all of the myriad search queries a keyword could service? Add more keywords, separate the ad groups, and use negatives. If a more general keyword, such as “auto loans”, isn’t performing well, but it’s being triggered for ‘bad credit auto loans’, the account may lose the ability cover that search query effectively if the bid for that keyword is dramatically lowered If the keyword ‘+bad +credit +auto +loans’ is added there is no longer a need worry about that concern. Keep checking the search query reports to find new keywords to add, block, or move to another ad group.

5. Campaigns as Silos:

The same match type problem may also create inappropriate ad serving. The keyword “home mortgage” may be triggered for the query ‘home mortgage refinancing’. The search intent of ‘home mortgage’ is more likely to informational to find rates or explanations for a home purchase loan. On the other hand, the rates and information regarding refinancing of a home are very different. The account may be able to service both, but the customer needs are different. This is handled easily by putting the keywords in separate campaigns and using a few well-placed negatives to funnel the queries into neatly divided silos. Caution: excessive use of this technique may create significant gaps in queries for which the account is triggered.

Each of these concepts can be broken down further, such as making sure the sitelinks are written well for the individual campaigns. However, that should be enough information to get started re-considering the entire account. After all, the click-through-rates depend on it.

Written by Kevin Adams,

Director of Client Services and Paid Search Marketing Director at smbSEO

Kevin Adams

Kevin Adams is smbSEO’s Director of Client Services.

Kevin began working in online advertising at Superpages.com, March of 2004. He learned Google AdWords and Yahoo! Sponsored Search before leaving to work in a small digital marketing agency. He expanded his skills to include extensive knowledge of Google Analytics and works heavily with Google AdWords and Microsoft adCenter. Kevin has managed accounts spending as little as $400 per month up to $120,000 per month. His understanding of sales attribution methods and business models allows him to easily support any client need for SMB SEO.

Kevin is smbSEO’s “ROI Guy.”

Dallas PPC Management

If you want a Dallas PPC (pay per click advertising) Firm that provides transparent reporting and flat fee management pricing with no click markups, then give SMBSEO a call.

My name is Mike Stewart, and I am a local search engine market who specializes in pay per click and local search engine optimization. My agency helps advertisers improve their results. The truth is, making money online is not a problem for most experienced web marketers. What is a problem for them is pay per click. On the other hand, those that have mastered pay per click advertising have trouble with content strategy. Content strategists have trouble with social media, so on and so on. Internet marketing has many niches, my agency has specialists for all different types of internet marketing niches. I personally consider myself a “Jack of All Trades” and master of a few.

Just a few of my recent Pay Per Click training sessions:

Google AdWords Seminars for Success 301/302

PubCon Masters Course Pay Per Click Track

Online Marketing Summit PPC Sessions

DFWSEM.org PPC meet-up discussions

Google AdWords Certification Exams

Manage SMBSEO client budgets that total more than $60K per month ad spend

I am going to be honest-pay per click is hard. This is particularly true when it comes to Google Adwords and small business owners who attempt to manage campaigns themselves. The reason is, unlike the other search engines, Adwords uses a sophisticated scoring device known as “quality score”. This is how Google ranks every advertiser on every keyword, and the advertiser with the highest score will rank the best.

In other words, the days of ranking at the top of the search engines by just bidding the highest amount are over. This is because Google takes quality into consideration as well. This makes sense when you think about it from Google’s perspective.

After all, they want to provide the best results for their searchers. Otherwise, they will leave and go to a search engine that provides more relevant results. Therefore, it is in their best interest to provide the advertisers that are most relevant to that keyword… even if that advertiser is not bidding the highest amount.

Many marketers groan when they hear the term quality score, because they think that it is some incredibly complicated formula that nobody can figure out. While it might seem daunting at first, their score is actually a blessing in disguise. The reason is, it allows you to compete with big money marketers, who you would not be able to otherwise.

After all, if the only thing Google took into consideration was bid price, than the larger, wealthier companies would always appear at the top of the rankings for every keywords. However, now a whole bunch of factors are taken into account. This could potentially allow you to outrank someone who is bidding twice as much as you (you read that correctly).

Do you think some of the Google Adwords Resellers who mark up clicks can properly build campaigns beyond “Product/Service & Geography” terms? No! The reason being is they typically use proxy pages or mirrored sites, provide tracking numbers that you never own that often get indexed by search engines, and use automated bid management systems that spend your money where the companies generate the highest profit. I often recommend to clients that if you are not paying Google directly for clicks, you are likely paying a marked-up fee for those clicks. Google PPC is basically the World’s Largest Silent Auction, you need someone bidding on your behalf who wants you to pay the lowest fee possible.

PPC advertising scams have become a serious problem for small businesses.

Are you interested yet? Here is how to rank for someone that is literally bidding twice as much as you (or more)-be more relevant with targeted campaign structures. You will hear me say this word again and again, so get used to it.

As mentioned, Google is all about relevancy. The way to make yourself more relevant is to include the target keyword in your ad title, as well as the body of the ad (if possible). If the term is too long, then simply include as much of it as possible.

The reason is, Google ranks your quality score of each keyword separately. The problem most marketers have is that they have 100s of keywords within each ad group. Not only does this make tracking them impossible, but it also lowers their quality score.

This is because there is no way to include all those keywords in their titles and ad body. There is only so much space, after all. Therefore, their quality score drops, and they have to bid extremely high prices just to show up.

Instead, having a separate ad group for each and every keyword will allow you to include those terms in the ad.

Not only does Google view this as being more relevant, but it will increase your click through rate (and in turn your quality score). The reason is, Google automatically bolds the keywords in your ad that are the same as the keywords the searcher just typed in. Therefore, your ad will stand out more than an ad that has none of the keywords listed.

The bottom line-if your remember nothing else, remember that increasing your relevancy for each keyword is imperative to Adwords success. If you want a Dallas PPC (pay per click advertising) Firm that provides transparent reporting and flat fee pricing, then give us a call. Again, my name is Mike Stewart, and I would love to talk with you and help you improve your quality scores on Google as well as build your Bing/Yahoo AdCenter Campaigns and Facebook Ads.

Dallas Pay Per Click PPC Advertising Management & Consultants

Posted on February 3, 2011 by SMB SEO

For anyone who is dealing with internet advertising on Google AdWords, it is highly unlikely that they are not aware of the importance of quality scores and low cost per click/bid for thier business. However an understanding of the meticulous nature of how Google ranks ads against eachother is something that most internet marketers do not have. Playing by the rules of Google is definitely a sensible approach. As a matter of fact, this can actually enable the internet marketer to pay less than the competitors as well as rank higher on the search engines along with getting more clicks for a relatively trivial payment compared to competitors. What we are saying is, “Google rewards those that do things the right way.”

SMBSEO has internet marketing specialists who actually deal with this aspect of Google. These specialists are Google AdWords Certified Professionals who have been hands on experience and have been trained by Google AdWords Seminars for Success, PubCon PPC Training, and various other online marketing courses. They help their clients in a number of different ways:

Making targeted adgroups for the client’s keywords
Making adgroups that are targeted to the clients specific geographic markets
Increasing the relevance of the landing page, which means the landing page contains keywords in meta settings as well as in title etc.

Serving the Dallas area can be a plus for a small business given the presence of our local Dallas Internet Marketing Boutique (also known as SMBSEO), the valuable services of which are available to the small and medium-sized businesses in the region, especially when it comes to Dallas Pay Per Click Advertising management. The diverse array of services available on behalf of SMBSEO are inclusive of helping clients cut down pay per click advertising costs and enable a lower price to be paid by the client for Google’s unspoken auction of search traffic. Also article marketing is offered to our clients along with free web ranking reports that give the client about the areas of strengths and weaknesses. SMB SEO believes in holistic search marketing efforts, incorporating FREE clicks from local and organic results in combination with paid search marketing clicks or ppc.

Also a tracking system is there for knowing the statistics through Google Analytics. With the help of these stats, business owners will be able to track down each and every visitor along with the referral domain that guided them to the website and also the keywords that became the initial source of their visit.

The targeted directional marketing process focuses on drawing traffic from a number of different sources. It is especially effective in bringing potential customers that have a high level of interest in the client’s products and/ or services. Cashing in on this interest, they are compelled and persuaded to visit the website.

In addition to that, Google AdWords Certified team members help in the management of pay per click campaigns. These experts are experienced in running Google and Yahoo/MSN AdCenter interfaces. SMBSEO strives for transparency and does not indulge in unethical practices. We also help our clients in a diverse array of Internet marketing services. State of the art expertise is offered to clients at a flat monthly charge and no hidden costs. Nevertheless, quality work requires added effort and lengthier time spans so the same applies to this enterprise also, which is further evidence of the veracity of the claims made. Basically the Dallas Pay Per Click Advertising Management services offered by SMBSEO are not a piece of cake; instead it is an integrated campaign where both the parties work together to achieve the desired results, which is not an overnight process and takes time before one actually starts witnessing the generation of results.

Dallas SEO Firm Increases Rankings

Posted on November 21, 2010 by mike

Small businesses that have a web site often need help with search engine optimization. Regardless of location, SEO specialists can increase a website’s visibility on the Internet, resulting in more traffic and potential sales.

Search engines recognize specific key words when computer users key in phrases. Dallas SEO specialists have the capability of helping business owners improve their name recognition by creating favorable text. Thanks to the Internet, there are no restrictions when it comes to serving clients.

What exactly is SEO?

SEO includes editing and improving web site content. The main goal is to improve a web site’s rankings on various Internet search engines. There are many factors that prevent or increase any given site’s ability to continuously climb in rankings. Some of these issues include link building, keyword density, individual pag rank, and page optimizations. The idea behind seeking the assistance of an SEO company is to earn top listings in random Intenet searches.

Why Pay Attention To SEO?

There are well over sixteen billion searches conducted on the Internet every single month. There are numerous web sites revolving around the same topics. It is very common to have upwards of twenty page results full of listings related to the keywords searched. In order for a business to rise in popularity and earn more sales, being listed within the top five results is highly desirable. There are not many people that will look beyond the first page of site listings when conducting an organic search.

3 Basic rules governing SEO campaigns:

SEO (on-page)
SEO (off-page)
Keyword Analysis

On-page SEO is in reference to changes made to individual web site pages. This generally includes text, HTML/CSS mark-up, and layout alterations. In order for pages to be easily recognized by search engines, a W3C compliant design is suggested. This format is the most commonly understood and easily crawled by Internet engine spiders. In reality, this aspect of SEO is the most understood portion of it all, accounting for a mere 1/5th of any web site’s rank.

Off-page SEO includes changes made that do not directly involve the web pages of a site. Off-page is concerned with fine-tuning the quality and quantity of inbound links. Off-page SEO is concerned with increasing exposure on the Internet while establishing respectable links pointing back to the web site in question. In-bound links are responsible for at least 60% of current ranking algorithms on the most frequently visited search engines.

Keyword analysis is centered around word selection. Relevance, competitors, and traffic are all related to keyword selection. Using the correct words within a site is critical. Additionaly, the text used, as well as the overall theme, should mirror the tags and keywords included.

Dallas SEO

Creating successful Search engine optimization findings can be very frustrating and time-consuming. In addition to appropriate code and interesting content, a lot of time must be spent researching the best possible keywords in relation to a business’s products or services. The Internet is extremely competitive when it comes to web site rankings. Everyone wants to have the number one spot. There are a few very capable, competent specialists in the Dallas area that are willing to put in the time necessary to earn a web site top rankings. The highest standards of ethics are followed in all areas.

A successful Internet marketing campaign includes a number of areas including, but not limited to, online press releases, pay-per-click advertising, and social site marketing. Serious entrepreneurs and business heads recognize the importance of acquiring and keeping a top listing in search engine results. Knowing the ins-and-outs of Internet marketing goes a long way in forming solid name recognition. Agreeable results are best obtained by letting SEO professionals handle revisions. Dallas SEO experts can be a valuable asset to any business looking to establish credibility and longevity.
If you want more information on the pricing for Dallas SEO services, click here.

Google AdWords is now offering Location Extentions, here’s how to transfer from Google Local Business Center Ads

Posted on May 17, 2010 by mike

Google AdWords is now offering Location Extentions here is how to transfer from Local Business Center PPC Ads.

Google has further improved ability to target ads. Great for small and medium-sized location based businesses who want to target ads on both PC and mobile smartphone internet browsers. Here are some of the advantages of transfering your localized ads from LBC to Location Extentions. (this is better targeting than Phone Book Directory Distribution isn’t it?)

allow you to show an address with your text ads.
same ad can be used for multiple locations.
no longer required to only use your name as the headline, which was a restriction on LBC ads.
no longer have to wait for LBC ads to appear before connecting Adwords to a location based LBC ad. so your ads get launched faster!
previous ads on LBC only appeared based on radius, location extentions appear based on relevency and results.

You can transfer your ads over in just 5 easy steps. Watch this video to learn more about Google Location Extentions in AdWords.Here is a video from Google on how to transfer from LBL ads.

Did you know that Google tracks the IP (Internet Protocol) address as well as geo-location and history of searchers to determine how to offer search results? They began to offer localized results to this extreme in late 2009!

Here is an example or screenshot of a Google AdWords Location Extention settings page:

What the heck is SEO and what is better than an SEO Guru?

Posted on May 7, 2010 by mike

I recently read a comment by Danny Sullivan (a well respected expert in the search marketing industry) via Marty’s blog post, titled What the Hell is SEO Now Anyway? . Danny’s comment was as follows:

So SEO is for search engines — it’s just that people often limit the definition of search engines to mean something with a search box and/or Google. Instead, it’s anything that allows people to find something. SEOs understand how to show up in the free listings provided in such places. Search marketers understand how to show up in either the free or paid listings.

Simple as that.

Danny is totally right. I find that so many SEOs tend to try to make SEO (which like Mark Jackson from Vizion Interactive in Dallas once said: Search is a verb.) a product centric or search engine focus. SEO is now SEM. SEM is Search Engine Marketing. SEM consists of Paid Search (or Pay-Per-Click) and Organic search optimization (or natural search engine optimization. SEM is an acronym that includes both paid and organic, and it now also encompasses other aspects of search including social media.

SEO has changed. Facebook is not really a “search engine.” Yet at the same token the benefits of having a Search Engine Marketer to consult and plan a marketing strategy for Facebook, now the World’s 2nd most popular site behind Google, is imperative. If your business is ignoring the marketing power of Facebook, you need to get on board. Social media is here to stay. So are the benefits of an SEO Guru and even more so the benefits of a Holistic Search Engine Marketer.

For many years I have been “preaching” the benefits of a holistic search engine marketing strategy. Just as search engines were once considered fragmented from many sites with no clear defined industry leader, now it seems that Google is managed to create a dominance in search volume by providing the highest quality search results for queries. Local search is extremely fragmented, and I believe that as Google continues dominance in search, it will also become the dominant player in “Local Search.”

Until Google has THE MONOPOLY on Search by being #1 in every vertical, such as Auto Search (Autotrader), News Search (Fox News), Finance Search (MarketWatch), Video Search (YouTube) , Image Search (Google Images), Local Search (CitySearch/YP.com), Shopping Search (Ebay), Review Search (Yelp.com), Real Estate Search (Zillow) and all the other hundreds of different kinds of search sites, you will continue to need a Search Engine Marketer more-so than a Search Engine Optimizer or SEO Guru.

I love reading discussions between experts like Danny Sullivan (the Editor of Search Engine Land) and Marty Weintraub (the President of aimClear). Real search engine marketers don’t have there head stuck up there butt and look at search marketing as “What PageRank is my website or the site I am linking from” and tend to have a more holistic view point, as myself, about the whole thing.

That’s my 2 cents!

Cheers,

Mike Stewart