Here is a look at some of my new favorite features in Google AdWords. I’ll review IP Exclusion, Traffic Estimator Beta, and Search Funnels. IP
New AdWords Features Explained
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Tag Archives: conversions
A Holistic Approach to PPC
Paid search is hot. Well, it’s been hot for a while — at least the past 5 years. And it continues to grow: according to eMarketer, search spending will reach $11,422 million this year. But with all this growth and attention on the click, most conversations on PPC start and end there — from bids, to ads, to keywords and more — without any mention of how to convert the click. But if you think about it, the click is really just the first part of search marketing — the first phase. The goal of most search campaigns is actually the conversion — the second phase. The click is the yin; the conversion the yang. Search marketing really deserves a holistic approach — one that combines the two goals of search marketing — getting the click and converting it. Instead of just launching your ads and optimizing your clicks, take a holistic approach to PPC and follow through on your paid clicks by optimizing landing pages. Here are 5 ways to develop a holistic approach to search marketing in your online marketing: 1. Develop collaboration between search & conversion experts. Assuming you are optimizing your landing pages, it’s essential that the person in charge of your landing pages (whether an outside vendor, or someone on your team) openly collaborates and works with the person in charge of your search campaigns. 2. Match agility of search with agility of conversion. The most exciting part of search marketing is it’s agility — you can launch & update your keywords and ads in real-time! Have an idea? Simply log-in, add some keywords, create an ad, and you’re done — well, not really. When you take a holistic approach to PPC, you must match the agility of search with the agility of your landing pages. When you create and edit your keywords & ads, you must follow through and optimize your landing pages with that same velocity. 3. Prioritize conversion within your organization. To take a holistic approach to PPC, you must prioritize conversion optimization within your organization — that way you can be sure nothing (IT, design, schedules etc.) gets in the way of you creating and updating your landing page. 4. Follow through to the landing page when developing search strategies. When developing your search strategies, make sure you include the landing page test (a nice A/B test) that should be included with each ad, inclusive of its messaging and call-to-action. 5. Illuminate landing pages when reporting search metrics. When reporting on search metrics, include important key metrics of your landing pages, such as bounce rates, conversion rates, cost-per-acquisition, and overall engagement. That way, you can gauge the overall health of your landing pages in tandem with your PPC, and assess ares of concern and opportunity. Because it’s not all about the click — it’s how you convert it. Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . A Holistic Approach to
3 Best Practices of Conversion Rate Optimization
Conversion rate optimization is “everywhere” these days, from Twitter, to publications, to conferences and beyond. But while it’s gaining steam in the industry, it’s still a relatively new initiative for many marketers. So what exactly IS conversion rate optimization, you ask? Conversion optimization, often referred to as landing page optimization, is best defined as the on-going process of refininig and testing the post-click experience to optimize for conversion goals. It can be anything from testing a microsite against a landing page, to testing hero shots within an experience, to optimizing shopping cart forms. Conversion goals include a lead, purchase, download, social interaction and more. And as obvious as it my seem, conversion rate optimization is the most efficient way to generate more revenue & improve return on online advertising spend. So whether you are new to conversion rate optimization or already have live experiments up and running, here are 3 key best practices of conversion optimization to ramp up your online marketing performance : 1. Inject speed into your marketing culture The faster online marketing gets — from PPC, to banner, to social — the faster your conversion rate optimization programs need to be. So when you optimize your ads, you must optimize your post-click experiences with the same velocity. Whether that’s testing an image, changing a headline, or creating a completely new experience, speed doesn’t stop after the click. It must continue from the click all the way to the conversion. 2. Take a holistic approach to pre-click and post-click The disciplines of PPC, banner, and social media, should work in tandem with your conversion rate optimization initiatives — not in a vacuum. Whether you manage your PPC in-house or outsource to an agency, the driving strategy of your PPC marketing should be completely in sync with your conversion optimization strategy. Your keywords determine your ads, your ads determine your landing pages, and the learnings that you gain from optimizing each should be applied to your overall strategy. 3. Start with A/B testing, then refine with multivariate testing A/B testing is the best way to find page champions. MVT is the best way to refine those champions. A/B testing is a methodology that tests completely different experiences against each other to find champions — think apples to oranges. Multivariate testing optimizes one experience to find a winner — think Honeycrisp to Macintosh. Once you find a winner with A/B testing, you can further optimize it with multivariate testing. But don’t start a multivariate test until you’ve determined whether an apple converts better than an orange. Now, I’m just tipping the iceberg here with these 3 essentials of effective conversion rate optimization. Stay tuned for more posts where I will dig into more actionable how-to’s and tactics to apply to your online campaigns. Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . 3 Best Practices of Conversion Rate
Google Releases AdWords Search Funnels
Google is currently testing a new Google AdWords feature called Search Funnels. These are set of reports that describe the ad click and impression behavior on Google.com that results to conversion for ad campaigns. What makes Search Funnel different from the current conversion system in AdWords is that it gives you an insight of how customers interact with your ads before they complete the shopping process that translates to ad conversions for your campaigns. Taking into account that customers may have conducted multiple searches before conversion, Search Funnels is composed of several reports – Top Conversions Report, Assisted Conversions, First and Last Click Analysis, Time Lag, and Path Length. Stating it into the perspective of search ad campaign managers, Search Funnels give you a complete picture of the value of your keywords, ad groups and campaigns. Search Funnels also helps you understand keywords that were both seen by converters and those that were not. It also provides you with the “Path Length” or the average number of clicks and impressions made prior to ad conversion. This is useful for understanding and targeting your repeat visitors. You can also learn about “Time Lag” or the time it took a customer to convert after seeing or clicking on your ads. This is useful for determining lead time for your seasonal ad campaigns and help you understand customer behavior. Now it’s up to you to create strategies that would cater to those behaviors. Search Funnels will be rolled out in the next few weeks. It will appear under the “Conversions” section of your AdWords account’s “Reporting” tab. Here are some restrictions and limitations of this new feature as enumerated by the Inside AdWords Blog . Keep in mind that Search Funnels are only available in your AdWords account (not in Google Analytics), and will only show data for keywords that show up in at least one conversion path. Search Funnel data is currently limited to search ads showing on Google.com, for ad impressions and clicks within 30 days of the conversion. Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Google Releases AdWords Search