Campaign Setup: The Perfect Architecture

PPC campaign setupHave you already set up a campaign, and from the start it is a hit? Your campaign architecture is so well planned that as soon as you create your first 5 days report, the campaign has all the metrics you need to optimize for the real deal (Lower CPA / Increase Conv. Rate).

We recently did some research on how to reduce time-to-REAL-optimization and time-to-success. Here is one of our findings:…

5 Dirty Little Secrets about AdWords Conversion Optimizer

shhWhen most advertisers discuss Google AdWords’ Conversion Optimizer, they speak highly of the tool. What is there not to like about a simple bid automation utility that can easily help you reach your CPA goals? On the surface, not much. However, if you dig a little bit deeper you will find plenty of reasons to more carefully consider the use of Conversion Optimizer. Here are 5 dirty little secrets to make you think twice. …

Making the Leap to Enhanced Online Campaigns – What it Means, and How to Adapt

Image credit: google

Image credit: google

Without a doubt, one of the most-talked about subjects in the SEM sector these days is Google’s launch of Enhanced Campaigns. This launch represents a fundamental shift in the structure of PPC campaigns, and as marketers and agencies, we owe it to ourselves and our clients to be ahead of the curve in adapting to the changes coming to AdWords. In this post, I’ll break down some of the major changes between so-called “legacy campaigns” and new Enhanced campaigns….

Are You Ready for Conversational Search?

Search-Changes

It used to be the only time I talked to my computer was to scream expletives about how long it was taking to calculate a pivot table. That’s all about to change.

It’s time to tackle the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How of search marketing….

Online Advertising Changes – Can We Keep Up?

Image credit: blogs.philips.com

Image credit: blogs.philips.com

There’s no doubt that online advertising is changing, and at a rapid pace. Those of us who have been around for a while can marvel at these changes, and even those who have only been at it for the last couple of years are sure to be aware of the many technological advancements that are being made in online advertising. The challenge for all of us is to keep up with all of the changes in order to be able to create well-rounded marketing campaigns, making the best use of all the technology that’s available to us….

Fix Your Foundations – The Case For Account Rebuilds

Image credit: www.panoramio.com/photo/13583898

Image credit: www.panoramio.com/photo/13583898

When we kick off a client at SEER, we do a deep dive into any existing data to make sure we were covering top performers & using insights. As we manage accounts, we constantly A/B test, pause/expand keywords, tweak landing pages and copy and just generally toy around with the account as any good agency would.

What I think most PPC managers don’t do often enough (myself included) is look at the core layout of accounts, the foundation if you will.  Why do we only look at the extremely long term data when we build an account?

The fact of the matter is best practices in PPC change rapidly. Let’s take a quick look at major AdWords since May 1st, 2011:…

Strategy Tips to Overcome Facebook Ad Fatigue

Businessman Asleep At His ComputerIf there is one thing about Facebook Ads that is a constant battle to overcome, it’s dealing with Ad Fatigue. With all of the targeting options with Facebook Ads, advertisers can either FAIL miserably, or find a few “goldmines” that can allow for a much more robust strategy. In this post, I will discuss strategies that will limit the amount of Ad Fatigue over time as well as learning from all of the “slicing and dicing” of the data….

What PPC Marketers Can Learn From Jerry Maguire

ppc-marketersOne of the benefits of being a PPC Marketer is the opportunity to constantly educate ourselves with a clients products or services that they are trying to advertise. Maybe after a few beers it might be compared to an Actor, who in getting ready for a new role, needs to be trained in Finance for 10 weeks so that they can understand what the hell they are saying. Joking aside, putting more investment into the clients business can definitely provide an “edge”.

Let’s Face the facts. When a company hires a PPC Agency or “In-House” marketer, they expect some level of “Interest” into their business to help drive success. It is this expectation that whomever they hire, they want them to be as passionate as they are. However, once reality sets in, that is not such an easy task. This is especially true for PPC agencies that simply do not have the bandwidth to be that intimate with the client. This conundrum kinda reminds me of the movie Jerry McGuire where in his mission statement, it mentions. “Personal Relationship, Less Clients, more attention, etc” Now of course, even though we are not Sports Agents, it does resonate on the effectiveness of PPC Strategies, successes and relationships….

To Bid or Not to Bid: Working with Trademark Keywords

With Google’s recent announcement of updates to the international trademark policy, it’s always a good time to revisit trademark keywords and what to do about them. First off let’s review the policy updates and then go through some tips on how to handle trademark infringements as a brand and, most importantly, offer some things to consider before letting loose on a campaign of conquest.

1.) Google Updates & Streamlines their Trademark Policy

To bid or not to bid. These are the answers.

To bid or not to bid. These are the answers.

Google has recently announced a slight adjustment to their trademark policy. Officially not a whole lot is changing, according to Google’s announcement “we will not prevent the use of trademarks as keywords in the affected regions [but] trademark owners will still be able to complain about the use of their trademark in ad text.” Although it’s nothing drastically different, some changes are worth noting and always worthy of a reminder.

Here’s what’s new

1.      Google finally has a uniform global policy that should help international search marketers scale and enforce brand protection.

2.     The update affects advertisers in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Brazil which now have policies in line with other international markets.

3.      The change will go into place on April 23rd, 2013 and trademarked terms in international campaigns previously disapproved will be pushed live.

The most “Important” distinction: Bidding on Trademarked keywords is not the same as using trademark in ad copy….

Let Your Tail Terms Do the Heavy Lifting

Long tail conversions FTW!I’m of the humble opinion that far too many of us put Pareto’s principle in practice far too often. Logically, it makes sense, though. 20% of our keywords almost always account for at least 80% of our conversions, so naturally we focus our effort on those keywords driving traffic and conversion volume.

What we don’t consider often enough is exactly what types of conversions we’re getting from the top 20% head terms, or if the leads may be worth different amounts depending on searcher intent truly provide different values. Is a lead sourced from a query like “tracking software” worth the same amount as a user that converts on “IT asset tracking for midsize business?” Probably not, but I’d be willing to bet tracking software would drive far more traffic, cost & conversion volume. …