Originally presented at SES NY 2012. Paid search advertising provides visibility in search engines at a cost-per-click. Every major search engine offers a paid placement program. This introductory session will teach you how to kick-start a successful paid search advertising program and will focus on the critical components of paid search including tips for: -Keywords -Ad Copy -Targeting - Optimizations to achieve the best results

1. A
Beginner’s
Guide
to
Paid
Search
Lisa
Raehsler
Founder/
SEM
Strategy
Consultant
Big
Click
Co.
New
York
|
March
19–23

2. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Agenda
– Search
Results
Page
– Adver2sing
goals
– Account
Structure
– Keywords
– Budgets
&
Bids
– Ads
– Targe2ng
Networks
– Targe2ng
Mobile
– Retarge2ng
– Tracking
Conversions
– Key
Take-­‐Aways
– Thanks
and
Contact
@LisaRocksSEM

3. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
The
Search
Results
Page
Paid Related People
& Pages- G+
Results
discovery
Organic
Results

4. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
AdverKsing
Goals
– Know
what
conversions
you
are
measuring
 Purchase/Sale:
2ed
to
revenue
 Lead:
receives
a
follow
up
 Sign-­‐up:
for
email
subscrip2ons
or
newsleHers
 Page
View:
users
looked
at
a
page
on
your
site
 You
can
set
up
separate
codes
for
mul2/different
conversion
ac2ons
Be sure to check conversion code
implementation.
Next:
Account
Structure
@LisaRocksSEM

5. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Account
Structure
– Start
with
Structure
– Ensures
the
correct
ad
is
served
– Helps
with
account
quality
costs
– Should
focus
on
2ght
themes
– Mirror
the
website
structure
@LisaRocksSEM

6. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Account
Structure
 Campaigns:
 Brand
 Product
categories
 Promotions
 Geo-targeting
This is where you set
your budget
 Adgroups:
 Product lines/ sub
cats
 skus
 Any smaller segments
This is where you link
your ads & keywords!
@LisaRocksSEM

7. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Account
Structure
– Look
to
the
funnel
– Searches
are
always
more
general
when
just
star2ng
out
– Searches
get
more
defined,
moving
closer
to
the
sale
– Apply
to
ad
wri2ng
as
well
Too many or disparate
adgroups/keywords in one
campaign under one budget
Next:
Keywords
can cause your account to
perform poorly.
@LisaRocksSEM

8. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Keyword
Best
PracKces
– Keywords
are
used
to
trigger
your
ads
– Select
the
closest
fiSng
keywords
– Use
2
or
3
word
keywords,
minimum
– Match
types
and
nega2ves
– Check
related
searches,
Google
sets,
or
Adgroup
Ideas
(beta)
– Review
query
reports
and
web
analy2cs
logs
to
get
ideas
based
on
keywords
currently
driving
traffic
– Check
for
and
remove
duplicate
keywords
from
account
– Include
all
products
or
services
from
website
@LisaRocksSEM

9. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Keywords
Tools
– Google’s
Keyword
Tool
– Keyword
Ideas
– Adgroup
Ideas
-­‐
Beta
– Google
Insights
for
Search
 hHp://www.google.com/insights
– Google
Search
Suggest
 Terms
appear
when
you
type
in
the
drop-­‐down
box
on
Google.com
– Related
Searches
 BoHom
of
search
results
page
in
Google

10. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Keyword
Match
Type
– Keyword
match
op2ons
determine
the
searches
that
can
trigger
your
ads
to
appear
– Broad
match:
laptop
computers
 Allows
your
ad
to
show
on
similar
phrases
and
relevant
varia2ons,
ie.
Desktop
computers
– Broad
match
modifier:
laptop
+computers
 keyword
must
appear
in
the
user's
search
exactly
or
as
a
close
variant,
such
as
misspellings,
singular/
plural
forms,
abbrevia2ons
and
acronyms,
and
stemmings
(like
”computer"
and
”compu2ng").
– Phrase
match:
"laptop
computers”
financing
 Allows
your
ad
to
show
for
searches
that
include
the
exact
phrase
and
possibly
includes
other
words
as
well
– Exact
match:
[laptop
computers]
 Allows
your
ad
to
show
for
searches
that
match
the
exact
phrase
exclusively
– Nega2ve
match:
-­‐cheap
 Ensures
your
ad
doesn't
show
for
any
search
that
includes
that
term
@LisaRocksSEM

11. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Keywords:
Look
To
The
Funnel
 New computers
 Laptop computer
 Plasma tv
 computer stores
 Reviews
 Ratings
 Compare
 Best
 Buy / Purchase/ Order
 Brands
 Delivery
 Sale
 Model #’s
 Geographic modifiers @LisaRocksSEM

12. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Keyword
OpKmizaKon
Tips
 Are
your
keywords
too
general?
 Typically
you’ll
see
low
CTRs
and
conversions
– Remove
anything
too
general
with
lots
of
impressions
and
low
CTR
<1%
 Clicks
to
the
site
have
high
bounce
rate
– Use
different
match
types
and
nega2ves
– Focus
keywords
at
middle
and
boHom
of
funnel
@LisaRocksSEM

13. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Keyword
OpKmizaKon
Tips
– Do
you
have
low
Quality
Score?
 Measures
relevancy
of
your
keyword
– Common
problem-­‐
can
be
difficult
to
resolve
– Sort
or
filter
by
low
QS,
no
conversions
– Keywords
in
ads
– Landing
page
=
keywords
– Work
on
CTR!
@LisaRocksSEM

14. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Keyword
OpKmizaKon
Tips
– Create
various
filters
for
specific
keyword
condi2ons
– Review
on
regular
basis
Next:
Budgets
&
Bids
@LisaRocksSEM

15. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Budgets
&
Bids
Best
PracKces
– Budgets
and
bids
control
costs
and
directly
relate
to
profit
– Budgets:
set
at
campaign
level
 Budget
can
exceed
the
limits
you
set
 Your
total
daily
cost
could
be
up
to
20%
more
than
your
usual
daily
budget
 AdWords
prevents
your
campaign
from
overspending
for
the
month
as
a
whole
based
on
a
monthly
charging
limit
– Bids:
set
at
keyword
level
Steps to set-up your budget:
1. Total Account PPC Budget/ 30 Days in Month = Daily Budget
2. Daily Budget / # campaigns
3. Allocate Equal $ to Start
4. Reallocate for Performance and Click Traffic
@LisaRocksSEM

16. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Budgets
&
Bids
Best
PracKces
– Bidding
op2ons
 Cost-­‐per-­‐click,
CPC
(search
or
display)
 Cost-­‐per-­‐thousand,
CPM
(display)
 Enhanced
CPC
– Automa2cally
adjusts
your
Max.
CPC
bid
up
or
down
for
each
auc2on
to
get
more
conversions
while
maintaining
the
current
CPA
 Automa2c
bidding
– Google
automa2cally
sets
all
of
your
bids
– You
can
define
a
max
CPC
to
pay
 Conversions
op2mizer/
CPA
– You
bid
using
a
maximum
CPA,
which
is
the
most
you're
willing
to
pay
for
each
conversion
– Google
automa2cally
adjusts
bids
to
reach
desired
CPA
@LisaRocksSEM

17. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Budgets
&
Bids
OpKmizaKon
Tips
– Automated
rules
can
help
to
manage
your
keyword
bids
– First
page
bids
– Top
of
page
bids
Next:
Ads

18. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Ads
Best
PracKces
– Ad
texts
should
be
wriHen
in
a
compelling
way
 Messaging
consistent
with
offline
– Keywords
in
ads
to
make
them
more
relevant
(bold)
– Unique
features,
benefits,
and/or
offer
 Free
delivery
– Call-­‐to-­‐ac2on
 Buy
now
 Sign
up
today
– DKI
(dynamic
keyword
inser2on)
– Custom
URL
– Read
the
editorial
guidelines
@LisaRocksSEM

19. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Ads
OpKmizaKon
Tips
– Ads
not
showing?
 Don’t
panic!
 Check
for
an
alert-­‐
make
sure
they
are
approved
 Not
an
ad
problem
 Budget
 Individual
Bids
 Use
the
Google
Ads
Diagnos2c
tool:
 Tools
>
Ads
Diagnos2c
Tool
@LisaRocksSEM

20. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Ads
OpKmizaKon
Tips
– Are
you
geSng
a
low
CTR?
 CTR
is
important
for
account
quality
 Ad
posi2on,
below
3?
 Check
to
make
sure
there
is
a
very
close
connec2on
between
your
keywords
and
ads
 Check
best
prac2ces
for
crea2ve
 Emphasis
on
DKI,
Offer,
CTA
 Try
ad
extensions,
sitelinks
@LisaRocksSEM

21. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Ads
OpKmizaKon
Tips
– Ad
extensions
expand
a
standard
text
ad
with
one
or
more
lines
that
provide
addi2onal
page,
call,
or
product
links
– Includes
up
to
four
addi2onal
page
links
on
qualifying
text
ads
– Helps
to
increase
CTR
Next:
Targe2ng
@LisaRocksSEM

22. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
TargeKng
Best
PracKces
– Networks
 Search
 Google
Display
Network
@LisaRocksSEM

23. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
TargeKng
Best
PracKces
– Loca2on:
countries,
states,
etc
– Languages
– Ad
scheduling:
day,
hours
– Devices:
computers,
mobile
devices
– Use
analy2cs
to
find
out
where
people
are
coming
from
Next:
Mobile
@LisaRocksSEM

24. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Mobile Targeting Best Practices
- Set-­‐up
basics
- Mobile
only
campaigns
- Exclude
mobile
from
the
other
campaigns
- keyword
list
with
shorter
terms
- Mobile
Landing
page

25. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Mobile Targeting Best Practices
- Mobile
keyword
research
- Adwords
(keyword
research
tool)

26. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Mobile Targeting Best Practices
Ad
Placements
Ad
Formats
- Search
engine
- Text
- Mobile
Display
Network
- Image
- Mobile
Apps
- Video
- YouTube
Next:
Retarge2ng

27. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
RetargeKng
Best
PracKces
- Reconnect
with
consumers
that
have
previously
been
to
your
site
- Redirect
your
prospects
back
- Keeps
your
site
or
product
top
of
mind
- Mul2-­‐touches
- Known
to
be
more
effecKve
than
typical
display
due
to
more
qualified
audience
@LisaRocksSEM

28. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
RetargeKng
Best
PracKces
How
it
works
Small piece of code placed
on advertiser’s site
Sets a "cookie" in the user's
browser
Cookie identifies user and
instructs the ad network to
save website visitors to a
retargeting list

29. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Retargeting Optimization Tips
Reaching
the
full
prospect
list
• Google
Display
network,
accepts
 image
ads
 text
ad
 video
• Create
mul2ple
crea2ve
versions
of
all
sizes
to
maximize
reach.
@LisaRocksSEM

30. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Retargeting Optimization Tips
- Reaching
the
prospect
list
- What
if
you
are
not
reaching
your
full
list?
- To
find
out,
calculate
the
share
of
users
you
are
reaching
-
If
the
percentage
of
users
you
are
reaching
is
low,
you
are
missing
opportunity
In
the
formula,
“5”
represents
the
average
number
of
impressions
per
one
user.
@LisaRocksSEM

31. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Retargeting Optimization Tips
- Reaching
the
prospect
list
- Adjust
the
membership
dura2on:
number
of
days
the
cookie
stays
in
the
users
browser
- Be
sure
this
correlates
with
the
sales
cycle
of
the
product
- HoHer
prospects
may
be
You will find this setting in the “Audience”
more
recent
visitors,
but
tab.
a
longer
sales
cycle
will
require
targe2ng
your
audience
for
a
longer
period
of
2me
@LisaRocksSEM

32. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
RetargeKng
OpKmizaKon
Tips
- Reaching
the
prospect
list
- Your
prospect
is
already
qualified,
no
need
to
restrict
your
campaign
geographically
- Remember,
you
want
to
reach
your
users
wherever
they
are
which
can
include
all
countries
and
languages
@LisaRocksSEM

33. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
RetargeKng
OpKmizaKon
Tips
- Reaching
the
prospect
list
- Increase
bids
to
appear
in
the
Display
Network
more
frequently
- Reach
more
users
to
drive
beHer
performance
- Display
Network
bid
is
set
at
the
ad
group
level-­‐
separate
from
search
@LisaRocksSEM

34. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
RetargeKng
OpKmizaKon
Tips
- Click
vs
view
through
conversions
- De-­‐dupe
view-­‐through
conversions
- Users
who
clicked
on
your
search
ad
in
the
last
thirty-­‐days
won't
be
counted
as
a
view-­‐
through
conversion
“View-through conversion search de-duplication” can
be found in the conversion section of the “reporting
and tools” tab.
Next:
Tracking
@LisaRocksSEM

35. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Tracking
Best
PracKces
– Google
Adwords
tracking
and
Google
Analy2cs
tracking
 You
can
use
either
one
of
these
products
alone,
or
use
both
at
the
same
2me
-­‐
they
don’t
interfere
with
each
other’s
tracking.
– Adwords
Conversion
tracking
 Code
snippet
 Mul2-­‐conversion
ac2ons
 30
day
cookie
– Google
Analy2cs
 Set-­‐up
“goal”
ac2ons
@LisaRocksSEM

36. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Key
Take-­‐Aways
– Basics
will
help
to
build
a
strong
account
– Manage
PPC
daily
and
try
automa2on
– Small
op2miza2ons
can
make
a
big
difference-­‐
test!
– Experiment
with
new
features
– Analyze
results
across
systems
and
take
ac2on

37. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Thank
You
A
Beginner’s
Guide
to
Paid
Search
Lisa
Raehsler
Founder,
SEM
Strategy
Consultant
Big
Click
Co.
lisa@bigclickco.com
(612)
424-­‐1SEM
@LisaRocksSEM
www.linkedin.com/in/lisarockssem