Performics Performance Marketing Blog: SEM, SEO, Social & Display

Search Happenings

Posted by JC Longbottom, Marketing Analyst

From the Engines:

·         Don’t know where to vote? Ask Google.

·         Holiday click and conversion trends from Google’s Chief Economist.

·         adCenter: New look, feel and features for fall.

Other Topics of Interest:

·         How location-aware browsers will revolutionize search.

·         eMarketer: Online ad spending to grow in ’09.

·         LinkedIn rolls out new search platform.

·         eMarketer: 32% of retailers have their own Facebook page.

Some Fun Stuff:

·         After an extensive search, Fudgie, the runaway hamster, is finally found.

·         Is it unreasonable to expect a caddy should anticipate injury?

·         Search happenings would like to celebrate Brad Sciullo’s remarkable accomplishment.

Hear Performics Speak at PubCon!

Posted by Dan Malachowski, Product Marketing Manager (Natural Search)

 

If you’re planning on attending PubCon Nov. 11-14th in Vegas, be sure to stop by and see Eric Papczun, Performics’ Director of Natural Search, speak.  Eric will be participating in the Organic Keyword Research and Selection panel on Tuesday the 11th at 2:50, as well as the Interactive Site Review: Focus on SEO Design and Usability, on Tuesday at 4:10.  Submit your site before the start of the interactive review session for the chance to have your site audited live during the session.

 

Use the Performics’ coupon code (pa-65820) when you register by Nov. 5th to get 20% off your conference pass.  We hope to see you in Vegas!

Google Quality Score 101

Posted by Stephanie Norman, Manager, Strategic Partnerships

What is Quality Score?

Quality Score is a dynamic variable calculated for each of the keywords in a Google paid search campaign.  It is a dynamic score that is calculated after a 1,000 impression threshold.   Quality Score combines a variety of factors and measures how relevant a keyword is to the ad text of that keyword and to a user's search query.  There is no weight given to one factor over another.  Other Quality Score factors include:

• Keyword history

• Landing page quality (relevance of the keyword to the landing page)
• Landing page load time
• Keyword relevancy
• The relevance of the keyword to the ads in its ad group
• The relevance of the keyword and the matched ad to the search query
• The account's performance in the geographical region where the ad will be shown
• Engineering factors (other relevancy factors that Google does not disclose; complex algorithms on the backend)

Performics Hits the Nail on the Head for Northern Tool in U.K. Market

Posted by Andrew Caravella, Product Marketing Manager (International)

After running a successful U.S. paid search program, Northern Tool wanted to establish a footprint in the U.K. Northern Tool's goals were to increase brand awareness, gain market share and grow sales. Performics executed a five-phase PPC strategy to meet these goals. The results exceeded Northern Tool U.K.'s monthly sales volume targets while consistently keeping costs low.  Read the full case study.

Beyond the Bid

Posted by Isiah Drake, Manager, Bid Strategy Team

It is a well-known fact that paid search is reliant on bid management, but SEM success is about more than just the bid. A high level of strategic thinking and planning combined with meticulous execution propels advertisers beyond the initial bid to maximize the performance of a paid search campaign. Performics identified the complete components of a successful paid search campaign in a white paper titled "Beyond the Bid: 20 Levers for Paid Search."  Read the white paper.

Search Happenings

Posted by JC Longbottom, Marketing Analyst

From the Engines:

• Google explains “first click free” to Web news publishers.
• Suggestions from Yahoo! on how to scare up some clicks this Halloween.
• Google offers advice on how to increase traffic with the impression share report.
• Yahoo! adds ZIP Code ad targeting.

Other Topics of Interest:

• The Internet war: Obama in the lead.
• Optimize your local search spend.
• No one will kill Google, but 3 companies may change how we search.
• eMarketer: Online holiday sales forecasts.

Some Fun Stuff:

• Drunken horse hits the pool for the after party.
• How will the "goldfish vote" influence the election?

Message Consistency: Keyword- Ad- Landing Page

Posted by Andy Murray, Program Manager, Paid Search

The user is in control of their search experience.  However, as marketers, we need to craft the user experience and interaction with our ads in the best way possible.  This is search 101, and common sense in ways, but is a very common error in search marketing campaigns.  The error being message inconsistency.  In order for the user to have the best experience, you need to make sure that your keywords, copy and landing pages are tightly wound together.

This is accomplished by utilizing search best practices in keyword development, copy creation, and landing page selection.

Keywords

·         Only bid on keywords that are actually relevant to your Web site.

·         Avoid grouping high traffic keywords with low traffic keywords.

·         Segment keywords into groups with a common theme.

·         Bid on keywords that are found in your site’s content.

AdWords Now Breaking Out Search Traffic between Google and Search Partners

Posted by Matt Miller, Senior Manager, Search Marketing

Google just took a huge step towards transparency by announcing that they’ve added an additional level of detail into the way campaign performance is reported.  Instead of just dividing statistics into search and the content network, Google is now showing:

(1)    A set of stats for Google

(2)    A set of stats for the content network

(3)    A set of stats aggregating performance from the partners, which include AOL, Ask.com and may smaller engines

AdWords allows each campaign’s performance statistics to be broken up by different combinations, i.e. “Split: all search/content network” or “Split: Google search/search partners/content network” or “Only show: search partners.”

This additional level of detail, along with the geo-targeting information Google released last month, will give us more visibility into the performance of campaigns on the Google partner network, and thus greater ability to optimize our client’s search spend.  We’d like to eventually see statistics broken up by each publisher (i.e. AOL or Ask.com), but this is a big step in the right direction.

Win the Game or Know the Reason Why: Creating a Simple Benchmark for Traffic Search Programs

Posted by Brian Aubert, Program Manager, Search

“We’ll win the game or know the reason why!”  An old Ohio State fight song contains a nugget of wisdom that should be applied to traffic accounts in search engine marketing.  You don’t know if you hit or miss your goal unless you know what the goal is.  Further, you cannot optimize if you don’t know if you’re performing well or poorly.  In a traffic program, there are simple ways to determine a benchmark against which to measure performance.

Determining Traffic Benchmark

If driving searchers to your site is the goal, clicks should be a benchmark.  But how many clicks are good?  Set a target for the number of clicks you expect in a certain time period, such as a month.  One simple calculation of target clicks is to divide your budget by your expected average cost per click (CPC):

Target Clicks = Budget / Expected Avg CPC

Average CPC can be based on historical performance or backed out from back-end ROI or other internal goals.  If neither of these options is available, you can ballpark an estimate based on what you feel comfortable spending per click – over time you can refine this estimate. 

Search Happenings

Posted by JC Longbottom, Marketing Analyst

From the Engines:

• AdWords now showing separate search metrics for partners.
• Incoming link advice from Google.
• Yahoo! improves Content Match to drive more relevant clicks.
• Google Webmaster Tools now identifies the source of broken links.  Matt Cutts shows how to use the tool to fix incoming broken links to your site.
• New Yahoo! shortcut shows you where the cheapest gas is in your area.

Other Topics of Interest:

• Joe the plumber, the presidential debates and search.
• Crisis on Wall Street boosts traffic for some sites.
• More search advertisers turning to MSN.
• Search engine execs hint at the future of search.

Some Fun Stuff:

• The song “Staying Alive” could save your life.
• Baby monkey has a guard dog.