Getting clicks on your paid listings can be a challenge. You need to compel the consumer to click through, yet your ad must also comply with editorial standards controlling what you can say and even the punctuation you can use. You also want the RIGHT type of click. Choose your words poorly, and the wrong audience will come, costing you money and offering no hope of conversion. This session looks at ways to get the right clicks. NOTE: The session is designed for those who are already familiar with how paid placement works. If you are new, be sure to have attended Search Advertising 101 on Day 1. Moderator:
* Allan Dick, General Manager, Vintage Tub & Bath
Speakers:
* Brad Geddes, Director of Search, LocalLaunch.com * Vic Drabicky, Search Strategist, Range Online Media * Mona Elesseily, Director of Marketing Strategy, Page Zero Media
Allan Dick says that you have to create good ads so you don't waste money on PPC.
First up is Mona Elesseily from Page Zero Media. There are some things you should keep in mind when you focus on ad copy. In order to test well, you need to create a good foundation and in order to do that, you need to create killer ad copy.
A good idea is to look at what your competitors are doing. You should also try to have a good grasp of your unique selling proposition (USP): what distinguishes you from your competitors. You need to create compelling ad copy that jumps out at the audience.
Competitive Analysis: - Ad Copy "Free Shipping" Example. 3 of 5 in her example use that. In that case, it may be worth testing alternative shipping offers especially around busy seasons like Christmas. That can yield significant increases in conversions. - Test, test, and test.
Ad Copy - best practices: - Cater ads to different buyer's needs: Test the following: price (state it in ads), price vs. no price might work too.; information that reassures buyers (i.e. official site or 24/7 phone support); time sensitivity or a deal ending soon - encourages them to buy sooner than later. - The ad copy should be appropriate "in feel" to the industry category. Sometimes you can't do "Need Thermal Oxidizers?" Try "Get Thermal Oxidizers" - Consider the "buy cycle" - for terms like financial planning, financial planner, financial plans: try - Financial Planning Services Long term growth with a margin of safety. Try this quiz. www.bank.com - For people further along in the buy cycle, like IRA, get IRA, buy IRA: Need to invest in an IRA? [etc.]
Multivariate Testing: uses mathematical formula and algorithms to test many things at the same time. Using advanced statistical methods, you can test a few ads. A large number of ads is impossible to do.
Good prices vs. great prices Same-day shipping vs. fast shipping www vs. non-www
If you put certain ad copy on the first line and others on the second line, you may put "ship same day, order today" - you might see different impacts. Try it on the first line instead.
You can't really divorce ad copy from landing pages. Adding some completely remapped pages helps yield better conversions. Simply displaying features and benefits to a page can raise conversions for specific products. Don't be complacent in your landing page - keep tweaking.
Testing in multivariate testing: - Headlines - Offers - Buy words - try, get, etc. - URLs with www vs. URLs without - URLs with a subdomain versus without - Different landing pages
Free tool - adcomparator.com
Next up is Brad Geddes. He talks about Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) - getting keywords into ad copy. You can add a keyword that reflects everything in that ad group. How do you make that 1-to-1 relationship where the intent is reflected in the ad copy itself?
Why DKI? Putting keywords in the ad copy Building ad copy keywords Great for part numbers and testing It can lead to a higher clickthrough rate.
With DKI, you can target the ad to the particular user.
DKI on Google: Syntax: {KeyWord: Default Text} Default text is what shows if the keyword cannot be inserted Default text is displayed if the ad copy line exceeds character limits.
You can test DKI anywhere in an ad.
With Google, however, in the ad copy, you can use different capitalization techniques to see what shows up in the ad copy. For example: {KeyWord: Default Text} {Keyword: Default Text} {KeyWORD: Default Text} etc.
But the order of keywords in an ad group matters. Someone might search for "plasma tv sony" and it will look funny if that comes up in your ad copy. Keep that in mind.
DKI and Expanded broad match: Google AdWords inserts what the search query matches to - not the user's query. e.g. query is homes for sale, but your keywords are condo sale or townhouse sale - that's what will show up.
Yahoo DKI also offers this functionality. Yahoo doesn't control the casing from the insertion of the keyword. They have something called alternate text. Alternate Text allows you to specify exactly what you want to show.
Microsoft came along and took DKI to a brand new level. There are 3 different ways to insert keywords automatically. There's a drop-down box, a parameter system, and text entry.
Tip: Use the Help link in adCenter. It has useful tools.
Be aware of your ads - use competitive research because if everyone is using DKI, there's less effectiveness. Always be aware of how your ad stands out. Check it out in different geographies, so be sure where your ads show up in different geographies.
DKI best uses: - Helps bring a 1-to-1 relationship between keyword and ad copy - Saves time on very large keyword campaigns - If all ads look the same, test in the 2nd or 3rd line of the ad copy - and don't forget how it looks in different geographies
Last up is Vic Drabicky.
Using creative to maximize campaign success. Using creative creatively. Rules to live your life by.
Creative Basics - - Challenge is improving already high brand CTR - Strategy: use 2-3 differnet versions of the creative; test various key drivers like the official site, quality of brand, seasonality - Results - 3 different creatives showed different CPCs. You need to take it all the way to the conversion.
Maximize seasonality: increase last minute gift card focus if applicable. Like before father's day: add copy that says "don't forget dad!"
Maximize geotargeting (weather). Take advantage of spring-like weather in NYC. Test geotargeting in top markets.
Capitalize on events: - Challenge: associate Nike with sports moments and events (sports branding) but avoid being an obnoxious marketer. - Challenge: Be effective and relevant. - Strategy: Good luck on the Boston Marathon. - Results: increased market share and incremental customers. 90% of the customers hadn't purchased in the past 5 years. - Branding.
5 steps to improving search and creative results 1. maximize creative to your campaign goals. 2. maximize creative around your business ebbs and flows (seasonality) - do something like a month before, not a week before. Holiday stuff = mid october. 3. Target your creative to your customers and locations = geotarget 4. Effective search branding must be done creatively. 5. The goal may not to get every click, but to get every profitable click.
