If you are among the 66% of PPC users unhappy with their current results, the solution for your problem is Competitive Intelligence. Tools such as SEMrush and WordStream can show you how best to use your competition's data to formulate the most effective PPC strategy for the long-term. Join us for this joint webinar "How to Beat the Odds in AdWords with Competitive Intelligence" (originally aired on Thursday, January 8th 2015) where we will expand upon the information in our companion ebook of the same name. In this webinar, you will learn how to: Identify your competitors and quantify their PPC investment. Learn from their campaign successes (and failures) to minimize your own risk. Gain a competitive edge with optimized landing pages. Increase your Quality Score with ad copy relevance.

1. How to Beat the Odds in
AdWords with Competitive
Intelligence
#PPCcompetition

2. Join the conversation on Twitter
#PPCcompetition
@SEMrush
@WordStream
#PPCcompetition

3. Today’s Presenters
Navah Hopkins
Customer Success Specialist,
WordStream
@navahf
Michael Stricker
Marketing Director,
SEMrush
@RadioMS
Headshot
#PPCcompetition

4. What is your PPC budget in 2015?
a. Less than $999 per month
b. $1,000 - $2,499 per month
c. $2,500 - $9,999 per month
d. $10,000 - $19,999 per month
e. $20,000+ per month
#PPCcompetition

5. How long does your average campaign run?
a. Up to one month
b. Up to three months
c. Up to six months
d. At least six months
#PPCcompetition

6. Do you manage your own PPC?
a. I direct the PPC manager
b. I am the PPC manager
c. I direct the PPC agency
d. An automated platform manages my PPC
#PPCcompetition

7. Sleuthing for Data

8. What does it take to pass
a PPC audit?
(and can I?)

9. Account Audits
Benchmarking Success
and Avoiding Set-Backs

10. Focused Analysis - Audit Campaigns Regularly!
• Campaign Health
• Ad Group Size and Focus
• Keywords, Match-types, and Bidding
#PPCcompetition

11. Audit Competitors – Early and Often!
• SWOT Analysis
• what to avoid
• what to emulate
• GOAL: Data-based decisions
#PPCcompetition

12. Audit Competitors – Budget Allocation
• Audit your Competitors, too!
• SWOT Analysis
• what to avoid
• what to emulate
• GOAL: Data-based decisions
#PPCcompetition

13. Audit Competitors – Traffic VS Traffic Price
• Audit your Competitors, too!
• SWOT Analysis
• what to avoid
• what to emulate
• GOAL: Data-based decisions
#PPCcompetition

14. Audit Competitors – Keywords and Traffic Cost
• Keywords and Traffic Cost
Domains’ Total AdWords Keywords and Traffic Cost
#PPCcompetition
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
1,600,000
1,800,000
Cars.com Edmunds.com AutoTrader.com CarGurus.com KBB.com
Keywords
Traffic Cost

15. • Traffic and Traffic Cost
Competitor Domains’ Traffic and Cost for that Traffic
#PPCcompetition
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
1,600,000
1,800,000
Cars.com Edmunds.com AutoTrader.com CarGurus.com KBB.com
Traffic
Traffic Cost
Audit Competitors – Traffic and Traffic Cost

16. • Cost / Keyword and Cost / Traffic
Competitors Cost / Keyword and Cost / Unit of Traffic
#PPCcompetition
Audit Competitors – Cost per Traffic Unit
$0.00
$2.00
$4.00
$6.00
$8.00
$10.00
$12.00
$14.00
Cars.com Edmunds.com AutoTrader.com CarGurus.com KBB.com
Cost/Keyword
Cost/Unit of Traffic

17. How much time/money
should I spend on PPC?

18. Time is Money
Spend Both, Wisely

19. How Much Time Should I Spend on PPC?
• How much time are you spending on PPC?
• How much time is ideal?
#PPCcompetition

20. How Much Time Should I Spend on PPC?
• Save Time to Go Beyond AdWords Dashboard:
• Prepare Reports
• Check competition’s budgets and efficiencies
• Total Spend
• Spend per Keywords
• Spend per Unit of Traffic
• Research new Keywords that Work!
#PPCcompetition

21. How Much Time Should I Spend on PPC?
• Can I get good results with 20 minutes per day?
#PPCcompetition

22. Spend Your Budget Wisely – Including Time!
• 20 minute PPC work week = work smart, not hard
• Know your industry and optimize for transactions
• Leverage Targeting and Auto-bidding
• Invest in a robust negative keyword list
• Chase tail (long-tail that is!)
#PPCcompetition

23. #PPCcompetition
http://bit.ly/1yg3jGH

24. Where should my PPC
focus be, and am I
focused enough?

25. AdWords vs. Bing
Which is For Me?

26. Is there a Place for Both?
• Cons of AdWords-only approach?
• Pros of an integrated approach?
• Trade-offs? Time? Return?
• How will you know when you need more network?
#PPCcompetition

27. How do I generate action
items from data?

28. Turn Data
into Action

29. How Do I Keep From Drowning in Data?
• Think ROIs, KPIs (CPA) VS ‘noisy’ metrics
• Automate data reports
• Leverage competitor data
Research Paid KWs that perform – for others!
Save time, effort, money. Emulate winners; shun losers
• Triple Witching
▲ Ads Traffic rising
▲ Ads Keywords rising
▼ while Ads Traffic Price falls
• Cost / Keyword instead of number of Keywords
• Cost / Traffic Unit (CPC) instead of bid rates
#PPCcompetition

30. • Ad A
• 2,423 Impressions
• 453 clicks (1.4% CTR)
• Average Position: 2.8
• Ad B
• 36,223 Impressions
• 760 clicks (2.1% CTR)
• Average Position: 3.0
Pick the Winner
#PPCcompetition

31. •
• SEMrush new PLA Tool with rapid updates on popular items prices,
images, appearance in SERPs.
Metrics That Move You – Google Shopping
#PPCcompetition

32. Metrics That Move You
• Google Trends
• The case of the disappearing skirt
• The case of the changing lexicon
• Extensions give you more real estate and more user
interaction data
#PPCcompetition

33. Turning Data into Action Items
• Focus on transactional users VS aspirational users
Go beyond “money words” to detect transactional intent with “buy”
words. (See the Ebook for a list!)
• ID winners; steal KWs; steal Ads text; counter offers; price check
• High impressions + low CTR = Negative Keywords are needed!
• CPA tinkering based on event and device trends
#PPCcompetition

34. I got got the click –
now what?

35. Highway to the
Danger Zone
When Landing Pages Don’t Convert

36. Bad-News Bears Landing Pages
#PPCcompetition

37. Strong Landing Pages…
Deliver on the ad’s promise.
Adding keywords from the PPC campaign led to 144% increase in
conversions for a marketing solutions company.
Are conversion focused – across all devices!
Mobile optimized landing pages led to 153% increase in
conversions for Deluxe.
Aren’t one size fits all.
Companies with 40+ landing pages get 12X more leads than
those with 5 or less.
#PPCcompetition

38. Examples of Strong Landing Pages
#PPCcompetition

39. Headshot
#PPCcompetition
Thanks for Joining Us!

40. Keep Learning!
(It’s free!)
EBook: How to Beat the Odds in AdWords with Competitive Intelligence
Article: The Great Debate: Google AdWords vs. Bing Ads
Infographic: Google AdWords Vs Yahoo Bing Network
Infographic: 18 Mind-Blowing Landing Page Stats
Worksheet: The 20- Minute PPC Work Week Checklist
AdWords Performance Grader
AdWords Landing Page Grader
#PPCcompetition

41. Special Offers
I would like…
A. FREE 1-on-1 AdWords & Landing Page Audit
B. WordStream Advisor: 20 Minute Work Week Demo
C. SEMrush FREE Trial 30-Day Guru: http://bit.ly/Free30SEMrush
D. I don’t need any help with my PPC
#PPCcompetition

43. Questions?
Headshot
#PPCcompetition
We’d love to hear from you!
marketingteam@wordstream.com
michael.stricker@semrush.com