Sunday, May 19, 2013
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Category: Search Network

More Bang for the Buck – Optimize PPC Campaigns

bang1.jpgThe whole idea of optimization is to make your advertising dollars produce more traffic and more conversions, and thus put more money in your pocket. Google has plenty of money. There’s not much point in giving them any more than you have to.

With just a little patience, dedication, and applying these tips to your PPC advertising campaigns, you really can get more bang for your advertising buck.

Choose Keyword Matches Wisely

Google really loves it when you choose the “Broad Match” option. THEY will make a lot more money. The fact is that choosing the “Broad Match” option means that your ad will be displayed many, many times, and you’ll get many, many clicks for which you will pay Google. But not many of those clicks will convert into sales.

Choosing “Phrase Match” or “Exact Match” will result in fewer impressions and fewer clicks, but the clicks are much more likely to convert to sales. Fewer clicks + more sales = More bang for the buck.

Develop a Meaningful Relationship with Negative Keywords

Adding a long list of negative keywords to your PPC campaign will prevent many clicks that will not result in sales. For example, if you don’t offer “warranties” or if you aren’t giving anything away “free,” those words need to be added to your negative keyword list. If you sell “red widgets,” then “blue widgets,” “green widgets,” “yellow widgets,” and “purple widgets” are all negative keywords.

Reduce the number of clicks on your ads by adding to your negative keyword list. Use negative keywords to get fewer clicks + more sales that will equal more bang for the buck.

Make “Educated” Bids

Your keyword bid will determine your ad’s position. If you bid too low, your ad will be so far down the food chain that you’ll be invisible. On the other hand, if you bid too high, you’ll go broke in an amazingly short period of time.

The only surefire way to get your bid “right” is to test, test, test, and then test some more. We’re back to keywords. Use Google Analytics to find out which keywords are actually producing traffic that converts into sales. Big higher on high-performing keywords and lower (or not at all) on junk keywords.

Use All the Tools You Have

Using Google’s Search Query Reports can give you real insight into what words people are using to search, and if they are relevant, or not, to the content of your site. And Google’s Keyword Conversion Tracker is invaluable.
Learn to use Google Analytics to get more bang for your advertising buck.

Think! Optimize! Remember the formula:

Fewer clicks + more sales = More bang for the buck.


The Week’s Top Affiliate Marketing News Stories (January 23, 2009)

newsLag Effect: Paid Search Surges Despite Economy, Cost Continues To Fall
It may be a lagging indicator, but the paid search advertising market actually surged during the fourth quarter of 2008, rising 43% over the same quarter in 2007.

Rental Sites Cash in on Inauguration With Search Ads
An affiliate marketer reaped the benefits of renters looking for vacancies during the Inauguration and credits AdWords as “the core component”.

Google Makes More Cuts; Keyword Prices Decline
Google implements some cost-cutting measures as keyword prices continue to decline and the search giant releases its earnings.

Advanced Forum Link Building
As part of your affiliate link building strategy, forums should not be overlooked. They are endless sources of linky goodness waiting to be tapped into.

Microsoft Expected to Cut Jobs as Profit Weakens
Microsoft Corp is expected to post a quarterly profit that misses its own target and announce thousands of job cuts this week as the global economic slump hurts even the technology industry’s biggest players.

Next Up for ‘The Pool’: Standards for UGC Advertising
Two Publicis entities are likely to tackle the wild world of user-generated content.

eBay Reports 12% drop in Q4 Gross Merchandise Sales
Gross merchandise volume, the total value of goods other than motor vehicles sold through eBay Inc.’s e-commerce sites, fell more than $1 billion.

New Programs Available Through Google Affiliate Network
New programs such as BabyAge, Splendid and Ella Moss join Google’s Affiliate Network.


Great News! Google Keyword Results Now Show Search Volume Numbers

Google just did affiliate marketers a HUGE favor! It’s one that they once claimed they would never do, but now it’s done.

I found out when I did a keyword search using Google’s External Keyword Tool and noticed that the keyword result was no longer a rating of 1-5. Now it’s returning results that show search numbers!

That’s right, instead of just showing you those “green bars” – which only gave you an idea of relative search volume – you now get to see search numbers based on Google’s database.

Whatever your reason to search keywords – AdWords PPC, SEO, article marketing, blog marketing – getting real Google search counts for those keywords is a very welcome development.

In fact, the only people who probably don’t think this is great news are the people who have developed fee-based keyword search tools. Because now, at long last, we can get up-to-the-minute search volume information from Google itself, and for free.

Most of the comments I’ve seen say “it’s about time!” Many of us often wondered about the purpose of Google’s keyword tool, since it didn’t actually show real numbers. Yes, it was useful for knowing whether a given search term would get a little or a lot of traffic, especially when compared to related search terms.

But now that Google is showing search counts, their Keyword Tool has jumped way ahead of any other free tool – and may even mean you can do without a paid tool, if all you do is very basic keyword research.

And now you don’t have to guess about the amount of Google traffic in a market or niche. You’ll be able to base your marketing decisions on approximate numbers.

According to this Google Blog post, “Now, when you use the Keyword Tool to search for relevant keywords to include in your keyword list, you’ll be able to see the approximate number of search queries matching your keywords that were performed on Google and the search network.”

You can check it out yourself here.

This is great news. Thanks Google – and it’s about time :-) !


The Week’s Top Affiliate Marketing News Stories (July 1, 2008)

AdGooroo Lays Out Profitable Search Marketing Rules In New Report – If you are into search marketing don’t pass up this recap of AdGooroo’s latest report. Highlights include how to know when bidding more for a keyword really isn’t worth it, and the correlation between ad placement, conversions and average CPC.

Google Affiliate Network – DoubleClick Performics Evolves – Google takes yet another step toward taking over the world :-) . DoubleClick Performics and Google have merged into the brand new Google Affiliate Network – a move that is sure to help bring Affiliate Marketing into the mainstream.

Differences Between CPA and CPC Affiliate Mindsets – Read on to find out how and why CPA and CPC affiliates differ, and why they may end up at odds in their merchant relationships.

Do You Suck at Making Money Online? – Zac Johnson offers a refreshing view point on making money online, and how to get yourself in the right state of mind…even if you think that you suck at it right now!

This Is Just How Effective Good SEO Copy Can Be On Your Affiliate Site! – A quick and motivating update on SEO and how to make it work for you with just a little bit of effort – complete with stats to help make sense of it all.


8 Expert PPC Ad Writing Tips

Pay per click ad writing takes ad copy to a whole new level. PPC experts agree that these tips will help you produce ads that produce optimum results.

1 – Set a Goal for Your Ad. Choose a specific goal for the ad campaign. Is there a specific sale, deal, or offer that you can focus on to convert visitors into buyers? Are you collecting leads? Building your subscriber base? Having a goal will help you keep your keyword lists focused and manageable.

2 – Use Keywords that Will Pre-qualify Prospects. A search engine user who searches a broad keyword like “headphones” is most likely researching – not buying. But a searcher who types in a model or brand is looking to make a purchase. Going for specific key phrases like “noise canceling headphones,” combined with brand names or model numbers, will grab the eyeballs of serious shoppers.

3 – Use the SE’s Keyword Tools. Balance broad match and specific keyphrases, as well as all important negative keywords. In the headphone example, you would want to negative match non-shopping related keywords like “manual,” “user guide,” or “repair.”

4 – Choose an Appropriate Style. Some of your competitors will use the same text for all their search ads, with the only differences being the highlighted search phrases in each ad. You can gain instant competitive advantage by writing with a unique style. Match the style and wording of your ads to the audience. For example, if you are looking for bargain hunters, use to-the-point messages and an upbeat tone to grab attention.

5 – Use a To-the-Point Headline. The headline should work the hardest to grab attention, since it’s the most visible part of the ad. But never compromise on targeting and specifics. A headline shouldn’t be counter-intuitive to the searcher, and often funny or puzzling headlines backfire. If possible, include specifics on what you are advertising. Try not to just echo the search terms, but “speak” to the user. And unless you are advertising a very specific offer to a very closely targeted audience, don’t include pricing or coupon codes in the headline.

6 – Add Urgency to the Body. If your headline invites searchers to check out an end-of-season sale, include details like a deadline for a coupon offer or a free shipping deal. If you are targeting a very specific product search and your headline contains the product name, include an irresistible offer in the ad body.

7 – Include the Keyword in the Ad if Possible. Search engines will highlight the search phrase if it is included in your ad copy, further increasing the chance that your ad is seen as relevant to the query. Try not to run the same generic ads, even with dynamic keyword insertion.

8 – Use Descriptive URLs and Test Them. In the URL, use keywords or descriptive phrases that work together with the copy. Keywords will get highlighted just like they do in the ad text. Be sure to test a variety of URLs to see which ones get the best click throughs and, more importantly, the highest conversions. Often searchers will go for a descriptive URL that triggers an emotional response, rather than a keyword-based URL.