I am asked often, as pay-per-click “professional”, why do I not use bid management software. Arguing against PPC automation is often futile in the search marketing community. We are often bombarded with software vendors that seem to dominate the conversation. Our voice, from an in-house perspective, is often shunned.
First, let me clear up one misconception on why I do not use bid management software: Job Security.
The concern of losing my job has nothing to do with not using pay-per-click automation software. I have plenty of day-to-day tasks that keep me busy, along with pay-per-click. From search engine optimization to social media, and various projects in between, there is not a lack of work in the online marketing world. Plus, anyone that has used a pay-per-click bid management software, knows that it’s not a “set it and forget it” program. It requires maintenance and reporting as well. Bid automation does not replace people. Hopefully, we all agree on that.
I have listed below my major reasons for saying no to pay-per-click automation. It is important to note, I am assuming a company has a quality pay-per-click manager on staff. If not, that is where the investment should be, not in software.
Last Click Theory
By the nature of analytics, it is often only the last click that gets credit for the sale. However, the research process starts many keywords and many weeks before. Setting up automated rules based on conversion does not take into account the early keywords.
Also, pay-per-click automation tools do not take into account non-PPC efforts. It’s often display ads, offline campaigns, or press releases that strike the interest of a consumer. Keywords are needed to support those efforts. Those initial keywords may not see the conversion, but they most definitely played a major role in the revenue.
Timing delays and seasonal demand
Often bid rules are based on timing. For example, if keywords perform poorly over a 30 day period, then spend on those keywords are adjusted accordingly. In a vacuum, that makes sense. But if you are a seasonal company, those 30 days are a lifetime. Things change in 30 days.
That 30-days is just one example, but it is not uncommon for timing delays in performance not to match up with seasonal issues. Human interaction is still needed to prevent these rules from executing. In fact, are the rules even needed at all?
In general, pay-per-click automation is reactive. It reacts to data and makes adjustments. Marketers need to be proactive, especially seasonal marketers.
Quality Score
Automated bid management software takes quality score into account at a minimal degree. Their solution to getting better rankings is to bid higher. Search engines are no longer this simple. Pay-per-click marketing includes quality keywords, relevant ads, great copy, and landing page relevancy. These influences are not measured in many bid management tools. Quality score plays a stronger role now than ever.
People are cheaper and smarter
The cost of a pay-per-click automation program is normally a large flat fee or a percentage of spend. Either way it is often a substantial part of a companies marketing investment.
If managing pay-per-click turns out to be extensive work for a PPC Manager, then it makes more sense to invest that money into an analyst to help with that work. A PPC Analyst can be trained on landing page creation, keyword research, seasonal issues, and various non-PPC efforts that will affect campaigns. In other words, that analyst can be trained to be proactive.
So, although it is easy to be persuaded by an industry full of software vendors selling automation, stand strong. Pay-per-click is too sensitive to be handled by automation.
Tags: Bid Management, in-house, Pay Per Click, PPC
I discuss and write often about the Google Content Network. However, sometimes I forget to go bring it back to the basics.
What is the Google Content Network?
Google allows advertisers to place ads on “relevant” websites. This is the Content Network, a contextual targeting advertising network. Google analyzes each site’s content and matches that with your campaigns. Contextual targeting matches advertising with interest. Thus, website visitors are not bombarded with irrelevant ads and advertisers are assured their ads are showing to qualified “eyes”.
Exclusion
By default, using the Google Content Network can result in wasteful spending. But with a few exclusions you can quickly eliminate the bad spend. Google provides performance data on which sites content ads run. That data allows you to see content sites that perform well and most importantly which sites are performing poorly. For example, for me content ads on Gmail and MySpace bring in a lot of traffic, thus a lot of cost. However, the conversion is terrible, if any at all. Therefore, I exclude ads from MySpace, Gmail, and other big sites. Obviously, that will vary per industry. This is why it s extremely important to run AdWords Placement Reports.
Google Ad Planner
The Google Ad Planner is still unknown to many marketers. Yet, it provides great insight into Google Content Network websites. The Google Ad Planner breaks down publishers into demographics and ad types to allow advertisers to plan better. It’s a great way for advertisers to dip their toes in the network, without spending tons of money.
Separation
If you read only a few of my posts, you know that I repeat the word “separation” over and over again. It’s no exception with the Google Content Network. Although the content ads may perform well, the CPC and budgets vary. It is important to be able to adjust one without affecting performance of the other. Separating content from search is a necessity in measuring performance. Content Network campaigns should always be separated from standard search campaigns.
There are many pay-per-click “experts” that avoid the Google Content Network, but that’s usually because it takes extra effort to optimize. It can be a very valuable tool to have in a marketer’s arsenal, but the work is required.
Tags: Content Network, Google, Pay Per Click, PPC
If you have caught any news this week you heard about the recent Massachusetts election. Scott Brown, Republican, defeated Democrat Martha Coakley in a race for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by the late Ted Kennedy.
But what you may not have heard is the online marketing technique Brown used to win. Twitter? Maybe. YouTube? Sure, that helped. Google? Most definitely.
Yes, Brown was very aggressive with his social media tools, but it was Google that sent him over the edge. A recent article on blogs.wsj.com points out it was Brown’s “groundbreaking use of Google to drive volunteers and voters”.
It was Google that got people to the voting polls. Social media was great for generating a buzz that was certainly needed to win a historical democratic seat. However, the Google Content Network sealed the deal.
“If you were in Massachusetts, pretty much all day every day you would see a Scott Brown ad” – said Galen Panger, a Google spokesman.
“We have targeted towns that we want to win,” said Rob Willington, Brown’s online campaign strategist. The campaign targeted specific towns with specific messages. For example, ads targeted to people living near Plymouth encouraged supporters to “Volunteer in Plymouth.” – as mentioned in clickz.com
It was not “groundbreaking” to any of us who use the Google Content Network every day, but it was something new in the political world. On the days leading up to the election, the Scott Brown Team flooded the Google Content Network with display ads. These ads were very geographically and demographically targeted.
The Google Content Network is often misunderstood and under appreciated. Through detailed customization and reporting, users can create targeted campaigns. The cost of the Content Network can quickly rise, if mishandled, which is often where most people give up. However, high cost and no return is usually a result of a poorly managed campaign.
Like any strong Google campaign, content or search, the key is separation: separating keywords, separating content from search, separating geographically, separating messages, etc. For more optimization tips: 4 Tips for a Successful Google Content Network Campaign. Google recently posted New ways to optimize Content Network campaigns that should help if you are having problems getting started.
Scott Brown’s use of the Google Content Network once again shows that although social media definitely has its place, there is still a place for well-targeted online marketing messages.
Tags: Content Network, Google, Pay Per Click, PPC
Since I picked of my favorite Nashville blog posts of 2009, I figured it was only right to pick my own too.
Please forgive my self-indulgence. The following is a list of my top posts from 2009, based on traffic, comments, and personal preference. In other words, it’s my list I can put what I want on.
Pay Per Click
4 Tips for a Successful Google Content Network Campaign
Broad Match is giving me a headache
Budget? What budget? It’s pay-per-click
Search Engine Optimization
Optimizing for Google Caffeine
Social Media
Twitter and the Nashville media
Search Industry News
Bing is missing the point. It’s not the destination
Yahoo, you are going to do what?
Bing and Google to Integrate Twitter in Search
General Marketing
In-House Search Engine Marketing – Job Qualifications
Real Men of Marketing Genius: Mr. Clinging-to-Old-Marketing
If your idea of search engine optimization is meta tags, site submissions, and keyword stuffed content, then keep reading.
The fact is many of the old SEO tactics are dead. It is not to say you can’t still use meta tags and submit your sites to search engines. Those tactics, if done properly, won’t hurt. However, their value to rankings has very little impact these days.
There are many existing myths with today’s SEO efforts. I could spend a whole other post discussing myths, but for now, let’s focus on the right things to do.
1. Link Building
I know link building is “so old school”, but it’s still important. Search engines use link popularity to measure the value of a website.
Link Building is not going away. It’s still is a concrete way for automated spiders to measure value of a site. It’s a solid formula for algorithms to understand and measure worth.
Obtaining high quality links should be a goal. Those links can be obtained by doing the following items correctly.
2. Social Media
The simple fact is there is a direct correlation between social media and search rankings.
There is the obvious fact that Twitter and Facebook conversation is showing in Google results. If you missed the Google & Bing Twitter integration news now is a good time to catch up.
Also check out Google’s post on real-time search integration.
That alone should be enough to tell you to get moving on social media. But there are also the unseen, long-term benefits to search rankings.
Social media marketing enforces a brand. Having a brand in the online community leads to conversations. Conversation leads to links (see the importance of link building above). That does not mean just creating a presence in Facebook is enough. In fact, many of social media sites will dynamically change your link or truncate it. The link value there is limited. It ultimately comes back to good content and good branding. Through that more conversation and more linking happens. In some ways, social media is an “off-line” campaign. Just like a television commercial can gather interest and awareness, social media can do that same thing. By reminding people, through good conversation, that you exist, it ultimately leads to brand recognition.
3. Video
Yes, video is a subset of social media. It reinforces the above topic. However, it requires its own strategy. Video is often called “The Easiest Way to a First-Page Ranking on Google”. Although that maybe a bit overstated, video is still an essential part of a modern day SEO campaign.
Google loves video. The key to video is not the video itself. In fact, Google can not actually read video. Just as important to the video, is the keywords that surround the video. By creating great titles and descriptions, on short concise videos will help the search engines pick up your video.
Good video earns a lot of links. In fact, there are 1000’s of AdSense-based sites that look for video to post on their automated “blogs”. Creating good descriptions and titles will help videos get picked up.
4. Local
As you probably noticed, Google Business Listings are showing more often in search engine results. Having a local business listing is essential. By creating and optimizing listings, you can quickly pass a competitor in search. Google has made the process relatively easy through their Local Business Center.
However, it’s not just Google. There are multiple places where adding business listings will boost awareness, links, and ultimately rankings. Below are a few others worth checking out:
www.superpages.com
www.yellowpages.com
www.citysearch.com
www.yelp.com
www.insiderpages.com
local.yahoo.com
bing.com/listings
**
Back away from the meta tags, stop submitting your sites to search engines, and remove all those duplicate keywords you just added to content. With limited time and money, it’s best to focus on the big targets first. The ones that work.
Tags: Link Building, local, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, Social Media, Video
