Top Ten PPC Tips – part 2

So here we have part two of our Top Ten Tips on how to run a successful paid search campaign. These tips focus on the elements of PPC that are often dismissed by advertisers despite the massive improvements they can provide!

Tip 1: The new broad match modifier

The broad match modifier is the latest addition form Google. It is ultimately a different keyword match type that fits between the existing broad and phrase match types. It enables us to either target a wider audience or refine our campaigns if we are currently only using broad match yet provides us with a level of control that is easier to manage.

By simply preceding a word with a +, the system will ensure that either that word or a close variant or misspell has to be in a users search query. If you had the keyword ‘orange dog toy’ and placed it on modified broad match like ‘+orange +dog +toy’, each of the words within the keyword have to appear in the search query. This is a great tool as this would then prevent your ad from showing for irrelevant searches on ‘orange toys’ or ‘toy dog’.

By paring out users who are looking for something entirely irrelevant, the broad match modifier has the potential to double the CTR of a campaign by moving away from broad. It also prevents self competition or cross over between ad groups or campaigns with similar broad keywords, ensuring that the right ad is served at the right time and for the correct search query.

I think that the only negative point about the broad match modifier is that it cannot eliminate the problem of session based broad traffic. However, it can increase the traffic that is stopped by an exact or phrase match without the risk of a broad so it is definitely worth considering as you could potentially be missing out on quality traffic!

Tip 2: Ad extensions

Adwords ad extensions are another fantastic creation that many advertisers fail to utilise. Ad extensions enable us to expand a standard text ad with location, site, product or phone number links. Not only do they provide this additional information to a user but they also increase the overall ad space and make the ad increasingly eye capturing. It can also increase the quality of your traffic as it extends a user’s experience by giving them the chance to find out more about your business or products before they click.

I think the main point to consider when deciding whether to use ad extension or not is that there is no additional cost involved. It will only cost you the same as your standard cost per click for that keyword.

Location extensions – The location ad extensions appear on Google and Google maps. It dynamically matches a text ad with the most relevant address in your account based on a user’s location. This can drastically improve your click through rate as a user can learn exactly where your local branch is or where to find you. The bonus with location ad extensions is that you are not charged for clicks generated from the expanded map window.

Additional sitelinks – Additional sitelinks can include up to 4 additional page links underneath text ads on Google search and search partners. The additional site links will only be displayed when the ad is in top position however this has proved very effective for many advertisers. This extension can also let users know what to expect when they get to your site, improving the quality of your traffic and letting them know what you provide outside of your text ad description limits.

We can also now see this data in a separate tab so that we can analyse which sitelinks have worked for which campaign or product and optimise other campaigns based on these findings.

Product extensions– The additional product links are currently only available in the US. These allow you to link your existing Google merchant centre to adwords in order to highlight products in the search below your ad space. This has also proved very effective for advertisers who want to prequalify their traffic and provide potential customers with an insight of what products are available before they click on ads.

Telephone number extensions – In order to include telephone extensions you must have location extensions enabled too. This displays a telephone number below your ad if the user is using a full internet enabled mobile device such as an iPhone or Android. It is essentially a click to call service that enables users to simply click on your ad and be connected to your business directly. This service is also charged the same as any other click, yet it brings with it the potential to create a direct customer relationship or even the potential to generate a lead over the telephone.

Tip 3: The Conversion optimiser

There are mixed opinions on the conversion optimiser but I personally think that any savvy advertiser should be utilising this tool. My main reason for including this tool in my top 10 tips is that it is ultimately designed to increase conversions and controls your CPA’s for you. Yes, we have to consider that we do not have control over individual CPC’s when using the optimiser but if Google can do this on our behalf based on history of which auctions work best for you, why not give it a go?

Google has stated that on average campaigns achieved a 21% increase in conversions and a 14% decrease in CPA after adopting the conversion optimiser. The system simply creates predictions to decide which auction will benefit you the most in terms of conversions and adjusts the bids automatically so that your money is invested wisely, you don’t have to constantly update bids to maintain positions and most of all the conversions are achieved within your target cost. This is achieved at no extra cost!

The conversion optimiser enables us to choose either a target CPA which will be an average to pay for each conversion or a maximum CPA which the system will not exceed. Without using the conversion optimiser, you could potentially be restricting when your bids are varied at different times of the day. The optimiser decides when your bids need increasing to maintain the optimum position to achieve conversions and will bid more aggressively during this time and vice versa.

Tip 4: Opportunities tab

There has been much discussion about whether the opportunities tab in Adwords is purely a money making scheme for Google or whether advertisers can actually benefit from this. I am still also sitting on the fence with this however I do know that if you use the Opportunities wisely, this can be extremely useful in finding cost effective traffic that could be missing from your account.

Along with the usual Adwords tools such as the keyword tool, placement tool, traffic estimator, conversion tracking, ad diagnostics and the ad preview tool, the Opportunities tab provides us with keyword suggestions and their estimated traffic, average cost per clicks and rates of competition.

You do need to be careful when using this tool as Google does not consider the structure of your account when making suggestions and therefore adding keywords to the suggested ad group could ultimately affect the existing quality score and performance. In my opinion, the best way to use the keyword suggestions is to export the suggestions into excel and then decide for yourself if any of the keywords could be added and where they would need to sit within your account. It is also vital that you consider whether an increase in impressions is what you need or if it would be best to focus on and refine your existing keywords to maximise ROI.

Tip 5: Be trendy – think outside the box and watch your competition!

There are plenty of tools out there that enable us to monitor our competition’s budgets, ads and keywords. Doing so will give you the chance to think outside the box, look at what others are doing and do something different!

Create copy that gives people a reason to click your ad rather than your competitors – don’t be bland – be unique and make sure that your customers have this opinion of you!

Stay competitive and be creative with your ad copy and landing pages. By monitoring your website and ensuring that your ads are of the same feel or theme will let users know what to expect when they click! Don’t limit yourself to boring ads that are the same as your competitors – marketing is about being creative and innovative.

Reviewing your creatives can be a great way to effortlessly increase your CTR. If your ads blend in with everyone else’s, why would a user click yours?

So, there we have part two of our top ten tips to help you on your way with expanding and simultaneously refining your paid search campaigns. There are so many opportunities out there so make sure that you do not miss out on any of them – get ahead in the game and you can make your PPC work!

Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you want to achieve the best from your paid search campaigns or if you are interested in learning more.