Q1: How do you handle client access to PPC campaigns? And what happens if the client makes updates without alerting you?

• If they request access, it’s almost always report level unless they created the account. If client is making changes than question should be why are they paying us to manage? – Andy Groller (@AndyGroller) +
  • 2nd set of eyes. perhaps you have software or insight or strategy from other experiences that are useful. etc. – James Zolman
    • 2nd set of eyes doesn’t always equal 2nd set of hands. – Andy Groller
• Dont give them admin access, no matter what! – John Lavin (@Johnnyjetfan)
• Don’t normally have that problem. Our clients generally only have reporting access unless requested otherwise. – Cassandra McClure (@imcassy)
• Give them admin access. Never had issues with clients messing things up too much. We give them trust, they give us trust. – Luke Alley (@LukeAlley)
• As a client, I’d say it’s your job to check the change history and keep up with me and my changes. – James Zolman (@jameszol)
• Hard to tell a client they can’t have access to their account when it’s their money, however, must be strict about authority. – Matt Umbro (@Matt_Umbro)
• Contract Agreement – they pay fine. – Sergey Smirnov (@Smirnovi4)
  • Certainly not happening. I ask my team for their thoughts and advice on changes, then I pick and choose. – Michelle Morgan (@michellemsem)
• Ultimately they are paying the bill, have to be nice when reprimanding. Set up diff logins w/ diff types of access if you can. – Lisa Sanner (@LisaSanner)
• Really the account is there’s to do as they wish – the understanding is what they ‘play with’ could impact our work. – Anna George (@AnnaGeorge)
• I don’t. All they see are reports, ad copy, and the conversions that are generated. I own the accounts on their behalf. Larger businesses need access which is fine. Smaller businesses usually have too much to worry about. – Steve Hill (@epiclysteve)
• If client’s make changes without saying make sure you look at change history, let them know you can see them, they soon stop. – Matt Hopson (@matthopson)
• I think transparency is the answer. As a client, I try to keep up with bid changes by agency or software or others. – James Zolman
• Really the account is theirs to do as they wish – the understanding is what they ‘play with’ could impact our work. – Anna George
  • As long as don’t ask for guarantees and then charge you for SLA. – Sergey Smirnov
• I knew a client that paused their own campaign randomly, without notice. Can’t optimize with random ons & offs. Read only access. – Cassie Allinger (@_CassieLee_)
• Have people given admin access and then had clients making tons of changes? Never had that here. Good comm. helps avoid that. – Luke Alley
• Transparency. If they don’t have some sort of access, that’s a problem. – Jeremy Brown (@JBGuru)
• I think we would all prefer i f the client left the account alone – but they own it. It’s their choice on how to work with it. – Rick Galan (@RickGalan)
• The REAL question is, who owns the account? The agency or the client? – Luke Alley +
  • Client in the end. – Matt Umbro +
    • If client owns the account they need ADMIN access then. Right? – Luke Alley
  • Always the client. – Andrew Baker (@SEOEdinburgh) +
• Google MCC or SEM Plat. If client updates w/out alerting, policies need to b communicated if cont. would need to fire client. – Tropik Media (@TropikMedia)

Q2: Aside from sharing new features, do you find value in having an AdWords rep? If so, what is this value add?

• Who doesn’t mind a little personal attention from time to time. – John Lavin
  • For sure! You have to take a fine-tooth comb through kw suggestions though. They throw in some serious BS. – Michelle Morgan
• Not really, any question I ask gets the standard Google answer. Get much better answers from #PPCChat. Although I do like going to Google’s offices and eating at the cafeteria and drinking free Starbucks. – Matt Umbro +++
• Not ever over the 8 years I have been doing this in terms of optimizing accnts. very cookie cutter advice? – David Beltramini (@dbeltramini)
• Not really, Google seems to be getting worse in their ability to quickly solve problems related to their products. – Steve Hill
• I found our rep just relayed stuff to me I had already read on forums and blogs! It was sometimes useful to have a sounding board. – Anna George
• Good to bounce ideas off of, double check work, get new ideas for keyword groups. – Luke Alley
  • Agreed to a certain extent, have to take their advice with a grain of salt. – Matt Umbro
• Marginally useful, especially on new features. Sometimes they do more harm than good. And usually the Google reps push for more spend (i.e. Youtube) even when it’s not a great fit for client. – Jeremy Brown +
• Rep valuable in passing along new features/betas. Otherwise pretty much as knowledgeable as us unless they go to the help center. – Andy Groller
• Having an adwords rep is great if you have a problem or need something to get approved.. It’s nice if someone has your back! – Rick Galan
• Sadly, I find out about new features before my rep does. They’ve helped get things done about lead fraud recently. – Michelle Morgan
  • I’m with Michelle, I tend to find things out before my rep but they can help advocate for the account. – Amy Hoffman (@Hoffman8)
• I’ve found previous reps just copy/pasted things from help centre when you ask questions. No use at all when they do that. – Matt Hopson
• If you ask the right questions, you don’t get cookie cutter advice from @adwords imo. – James Zolman
  • Disagree, I try to press them but always get pushback. – Matt Umbro
    • True. It seems like they haven’t managed accounts. They know Adwords interface. They don’t know Adwords strategy. – Luke Alley
    • Tell me about it. I ask them about features, communication extensions for example, and they have to look them up. – Michelle Morgan
    • Also agree, you get the standard document downloads as well with ‘I’ll send you more info on that” – Anna George
• The value in an AdWords rep is to get the inside story. Their technical ability is paltry & their copy writing sucks. – David Pedersen (@SeaPPC)
• Ultimately their job is to get you to spend more money with Google. – Steve Hill
• Best thing to do: build a personal relationship with them. Go visit or something. They start working harder on your accounts. – Michelle Morgan
• I find @adwords reps to be incredibly valuable from a policy perspective-I run landers by them now, tactics that may push limits. – James Zolman +
• Adwords rep don’t tell me anything that google.com can’t. – Cassie Allinger
• I’ve in some cases found the reps to know much less that i do about ppc & would be faster to find an answer on my own. – Cassandra McClure
• Anyone know how much you need to be managing to get a personal rep? I can only get the generic help line atm. – Luke Alley
  • You can ask any rep for dedicated support. then you get put into a queue that updates every quarter normally. Sometimes you will only be in the dedicated support team’s portfolio for the quarter, other times it’s perpetual.- James Zolman
  • I think our smallest account with a dedicated rep is around $30k …. Or did you mean an agency rep? – Amy Hoffman
• If they let you bend rules depends heavily on how much $ you spend. – Amy Hoffman +++
• Agree if you get a chance a bit of face to face first goes a long way if you have issues. – Andrew Baker
• Sometimes they are great for getting tedious tasks done. I outsource work to my reps sometimes. – Michelle Morgan +++
• Sometimes I ask reps questions that I know the answer to, just to see if they are truly qualified. – Austin Dillman (@Austin_Dillman)
• Expedited ad copy review. – Lisa Sanner
• Goes without saying that some Google reps are more knowledgeable and helpful than others. – Jeremy Brown
• I’ve found them helpful with getting info on disapproved keywords but most of the time they just want me to spend more money. – Robert Reay (@robreay) +
• Basic support on campaign grouping otherwise no. – Tropik Media

Q3: How do you fight complacency? In other words, how do you continue to show clients your value when results start to plateau?

• Recommend pushing the boundaries – new platforms, engines, etc. Always room to expand (budget aside). – Andy Groller ++
• Spend more time showing clients the competitive landscape of #PPC ads, and show how you’re defending their turf. – Mike Shollenberger (@webjock)
• I think there is always opportunities, an account won’t manage its self, markets change, features change, etc, be creative! – Andrew Baker
• I start asking questions not necessarily related to PPC, ie: how are your other mediums doing compared to PPC. – Matt Umbro +++
• Diversification is key! – Lawrence Aaron (@CrazyFingers)
• Find new features/releases that make sense for their account. Never ending lately. – Lisa Sanner ++
• Always work and show them what your doing. Every account always needs new ads, bid adjustments, new negatives, new kws, and more. – Luke Alley
• I find building new Ad Groups to be a good creative exercise to fight campaign boredom. – James Svoboda (@Realicity) +
• Focus on the relationship you have & seek to strengthen it. Chances are there are other aspects of their business you can help. – Steve Hill
• Number 1 thing – Ad copy testing. Continuous testing drives continuous improvement. – Jeremy Brown +
• There is no plateau unless you have 100% conversion rate. – Andy Groller ++
• Get Creative and also reanalyze data – Constantly set higher goals. – Amy Hoffman
• Why would there be a plateau to begin with…? I like Jeremy’s answer re: testing. W/ testing, hardly ever see a total plateau. – James Zolman +
  • I think the plateau comes when a client is just happy with results. You make yourself invaluable when you go beyond that. – Luke Alley
• Adding value in a way that goes beyond what you were hired to do is how you build a lifelong relationship. – Steve Hill
  • Focus on the relationship you have & seek to strengthen it. – Amy Hoffman
• Agree with those that mentioned ad copy testing. Landing page optimization/testing should always be a priority too. – Austin Dillman
• Manage to strict goals. When the goals get too easy to hit, set harder goals. It’s never ending. – Cassie Allinger ++
• Landing page optimization, particularly usability testing. – Sergey Smirnov
• Plateau is probably the wrong word, closer to the first part, complacency. – Matt Umbro
  • There’s still the client’s PERCEPTION of a plateau though, which we must anticipate and head off. – Mike Shollenberger
    • Agreed. Communication key in ID’ing ways to avoid/overcome the perceptive plateau though. – Andy Groller
    • Instead shape/guide their perception. – Cassie Allinger
• I’ve seen accounts reach a maturation level. Then it’s time for more ad copy, landing page testing, vertical audiences. – Lisa Sanner
• Actively seek feedback then. complacency = uncritical satisfaction of results, right? be your worst critic. – James Zolman
• Focus on conversion & optimization. Convey value. – Tropik Media

Q4: Talk about your initial impressions of the “Top vs. Side” report in AdWords?

• “Awesome! Look at all that data! What the hell do I do with this?” < That’s about how it went. – Michelle Morgan +
• Neat to look at. Not sure what to do with them?! – Luke Alley
• Psychology – do users see top ads “in different light” since they are formatted similarly to organic results? – Andy Groller
• Potentially increase bids required to compete ( even in QS 10 adwords). Also we have Geo KWs with QS 10 on the side – means very competitive market / KW – David Beltramini
  • If top positions, high QS, side, it probably means low volume kw that Google doesn’t show many/any tops. – Lisa Sanner
    • Very Possible – David Beltramini
    • Or high volume, but not ad-friendly. Think ‘golf’ for example (range, clubs, VW?) – Jeremy Brown
• I find it incredibly useful. More for CTR & position comparison than anything. Most top placements on high vol kw = awsm CTR. High ctr leads to higher QS. I can measure the impact of bids vs ads and opportunity in higher places a lil better now.- James Zolman
  • What did you do after you compared CTR and position? – Luke Alley
    • Paid attention to impressions & calculated whether or not i have headroom to boost bids. Then tested ad copy asap. The goal is to qualify the ad/kw combo for more top impressions than side via QS & ctr optimization imo.- James Zolman
      • True, so you can get there without having to bid/pay more. Good point. – Luke Alley
• Confirmed that some clients do better in top spots and others better in side spots. CTR always is higher in top spots. – Luke Alley
  • Usually ** … When local results come into play, I’ve seen that stat change. – Cassie Allinger
• “Top vs. Side” report Rocks! Analyze the segment where you get most of your impressions. – James Svoboda +
• Really like it, no surprise in the results but useful to show performance of top ad features, extns, etc. – Andrew Baker
• I found all the surprise to be interesting. Much previous research pointed to those numbers. – Jeremy Brown
• Torn, it doesn’t tell you much beyond confirming best practices. – Steve Hill
  • Just proves best practices to clients. – Mike Shollenberger
  • Agree about the proof of best PPC practices, however, report just enforces a well run campaign. – Matt Umbro
• Throwing out a vote – in most situations top ads are significantly better in CTR, etc? Not necessarily convs/CPA. – Andy Groller +
  • Conversions also higher in top spot(obviously b/c of volume) CPA is the metric I compare between top and side. – Luke Alley
  • Definitely in CTR, but I’ve also found conversion/con rate, probably because these ads get more opportunity to convert. – Matt Umbro
    • We’ve seen the same but just wanted to get more perspectives. Thanks. – Andy Groller
• I would like to see the information on whether certain users prefer viewing ads on the top vs side. Where do they look first? – Steve Hill
  • Based on CTR for “Top” we can feel confident that the Top 3 actually get “Views”. Side often do not get “Viewed”. – James Svoboda
• Very Helpful. Especially with the addition of tablets & smart phones where the position # does not always tell you top/side. – Cassie Allinger
• Wow! Had an idea but didn’t realize how effective top ads were. By huge margins I am seeing better top ad results. – Matt Umbro
• I think it could help w/sitelinks (top positions only) & architecture but need to do more analysis & come up with methodology. – Lisa Sanner
• It’s good that Google made the data easier to access. Now how about Exact Match Impression Share for keywords? – Jeremy Brown
• Huge difference Both in CTR and Conversions. – Sergey Smirnov +
• Is anybody seeing better results in ‘side’? My ‘top’ performs better by a landslide. – Amy Hoffman
  • Same here. – Michelle Morgan
  • No. – Matt Umbro +
  • In CPA yes. – Luke Alley
  • Nope, huge difference in favour of top (as was expected). – Andrew Baker
  • Rare, but I’ve seen it. – Cassie Allinger
• News to me! Guess I need to check out this top/side data and see if I can mine some data to improve my ppc algorithms. – David Pedersen
• Would love to be able to do top vs side by hour! ( don’t think it’s possible yet). – David Beltramini
  • I’d love to be able to day part call metrics, but that’s another topic for. – Matt Umbro +
• Eye-tracking studies are still showing the F-shape with lot of views in upper-left of search results. – Jeremy Brown
• Google has maintained that avg position doesn’t affect conversion rate. Shouldn’t we be seeing that demonstrated in top vs side? – Neil Sorenson (@iNeils)
  • I see it. CVR within reasonable delta of each other in top vs side. going for conv volume in analyzing top vs side. – James Zolman
• Since top performs so much better, anyone thinks it’s a ploy to get us all to bid more? – Lisa Sanner
  • I would if CPC wasnt lower. – John Lavin
  • You never know with Google. – Matt Umbro
  • Diff. is so dramatic u have to wonder. – Mike Shollenberger
  • My initial impression was “Google is going to make a lot more money now!” – Paul Kragthorpe (@PaulKragthorpe)
  • Everything Google does is a ploy to get us to bid more! I swear. – Luke Alley +
  • Everything Google does is to improve relevancy but also improve their financials. Top vs side segment just another way to do both. – Neil Sorenson
    • Then they try to find a way to “show how it will help advertisers”… It’s a stretch at times. – Luke Alley
    • This will definitely mean more money for Google. Just the “my ads have to be high” people will push bids up. – Amy Hoffman
  • This will definitely mean more money for Google. Just the “my ads have to be high” people will push bids up. – Jeremy Brown
• One neat thing is that it does help you identify kw where Google rarely shows top ads. Some mostly have side ads. – Jeremy Brown +
• Wish Google would just report top & side positions seperately as T1 – T3 & S1-S10 in AdWords reports, this would be helpful. – David Pedersen
• Extremely valuable, less costly and informative. – Tropik Media

Q5: As die hard PPCers, do you feel we sometimes make things too complicated and are too biased in our ways? How do you make sure you put yourself in your audiences’ shoes instead of yours?

• IMO being in the shoes of the audience IS what defines QS. It’s googles definition too. – Eloi Casali (@Eloi_Casali) +
• I think sometimes we over analyze things that aren’t worth the time. But we have to answer to clients, so its worth it. – John Lavin
• Think about who’s buying the product/service and why are they buying it. Focus on their concerns and pain points. – Jeremy Brown
• Certainly sometimes. It comes down to diversifying what I do in a day. Reminders that PPC isn’t everything definitely helps. – Steve Hill
• Sometimes we have to take a step back which is hard to do. Always good to ask non PPCers what they would search for. – Matt Umbro
• All have to do is watch my hubby do queries. He doesn’t trust ads & either queries single words or specific 10 word model names. – Lisa Sanner ++
  • Good point, watching someone else search for something can be a nice reality check. – Amy Hoffman
    • I feel like a spy. It is both humbling & incredibly useful. I also watch my sophisticated tech kids (12 & 10). – Lisa Sanner
• We can’t do our jobs correctly if we don’t put on the audience shoes/hat. Plain & simple. – Andy Groller +
• I tend to spend more of my time trying to make things *less* complicated, while keeping up with constant change. – Mike Shollenberger
• We get paid to deconstruct the complicated, understand it and make it easier for our clients to generate ROI. – James Svoboda +++++
• Ask yourself, if I were the client what would I want my account executive to acheive? Lower CPL, More Clicks, all of the above? – Amy Hoffman
• Ask non-PPC’ers (wife, friends, family, co-workers) for feedback (i.e. if you were looking for…). – Andy Groller
• We are all very biased (or perhaps I should say narrowly focused). We over complicate some things and over simplify others. – Richard Fergie (@RichardFergie)
• I just think at times we are too invested and need to step back, if only to gain a different perspective. – Matt Umbro +
• Being biased can give you an edge. Smart, complex targeting and messaging = better results. Bias isn’t always bad. – James Zolman +

Q6: Could PPC advertising be a legitimate college major (or at least a core area of a marketing/advertising major)?

• Legit major but need lots of hands on activities/internships. – Andy Groller
• Awesome question, and yes I think so. Though I’d lean toward core area rather than standalone major. – Mike Shollenberger
• Area of emphasis, yes. I wouldn’t think it could be a major. I would think certainly a minor. – Michelle Morgan
• I think it’d be a waste of time. It changes too quickly for colleges/universities to stay on top. Graduates wouldn’t have a clue. – Cassi Allinger +
  • But don’t most college majors/studies change all the time as well? – Matt Umbro
  • I agree too much change to be a major but certainly could be a course in an online marketing core area. – David Beltramini
• It should be, it’ll open up our future job prospects! Professor Jetfan sounds good! – John Lavin
• Certain aspects of it are very similar to Direct Mail or other marketing/advertising disciplines. A course on it wouldn’t hurt. – James Zolman
• Definately, but I believe it then should be understood as a union of Search+Display+PPC in SM. – Sergey Smirnov +
• As someone who went for marketing, I say minor at best. Marketing isn’t as diverse as engineering or history. – Steve Hill
• Core area yes. Might be a push to have enough classes for a degree. – Luke Alley
• The issue is the entire digital ad space is merging together and the lines between areas are blurring. – Mike Shollenberger
• I definitely think it could be an ‘emphasis’ or a ‘minor’ for someone with a marketing Degree. – Amy Hoffman
• Also classes are already being taught on it … and already, by the time ppl graduate, the info learned is irrelevant. – Cassie Allinger
• It could be though if you think of all the different aspects that go into it… Writing… Designing… HTML… Statistics… etc. – Luke Alley
• “core area of a marketing/advertising major” – Online Marketing major (LP, PPC, social, email, psych. components). – Jeremy Brown
• Thats another thing too. Not a whole lot of valid scientific research done in the field yet. – Steve Hill
  • Tons of companies are collectively spending billions of dollars and there isn’t enough “research”. – Jeremy Brown
• Bottom line is that PPC/display advertising needs to be a part of education as it is so prevalent these days. – Matt Umbro +++
  • Considering the garbage taught in many colleges, it’s a no-brainer to teach something useful. – Jeremy Brown +
• Maybe I’m old school but I think of myself as a marketer first (core) w/PPC as specialty. I’d hate to think of losing foundation. – Lisa Sanner
• It’s about learning techniques to approach data, analyze it and apply conclusions, time can’t kill this. – Sergey Smirnov
  • True. There’s a lot of theory that would have to be taught. The basics are easy but most would have to be practice. – Michelle Morgan
• Good luck finding a college professor, that is proficient in PPC & up-to-date on PPC SEM tactics/tools/strategies. – Cassie Allinger
• Internet Marketing edu will be in terms of certifications rather than traditional degrees due to dynamic info. – Nate Schubert (@NateSchubert)
• I will say it is interesting that I have a career that I didn’t study for at all in college (heck I didn’t even know it existed). – Matt Umbro ++
  • I would hope those kids in Med school don’t do that. I’d prefer not to have a scalpel left inside me! – Steve Hill
• Too many students would simply learn it for a test and forget about it after. – Steve Hill
• Think a full degree in PPC would be too much but could feature as good modules in many others. – Richard Fergie
  • Perhaps a certificate program would be more realistic. – Cassie Allinger
• Major, not sure, but PPC is a major fundamental of Online advertising & shld be addressed. Creative is most important as software will continue to evolve and automate. – Tropik Media

Additional Resources

• Using Top vs. Side Ad Segmentation To Make Bidding Decisions – by Jessica Niver (@whetherwithjess) of PPC Hero (shared by Amy Hoffman in reference to Question #4)
• Google Adwords: Top Vs Side Ad Performance – by John Lavin in reference to Question #4
• User Testing in the Wild: Joe’s First Computer Encounter – Shared by James Svoboda in reference to Question #5
• Business Management Bachelor’s or Associate’s degree – Internet Marketing specialization – Shared by James Svoboda in reference to Question #6.
• For those of you who do SEO there is an #SEOChat on Thursdays at 9:00PM EST with new expert guests every week. – Neil Sorenson

More PPC Chats

Don’t forget to stay tuned for the next #PPCchat on Tuesday at 12 noon Eastern, 9 am Pacific and 5pm in the UK. Same Chat time, same Chat channel.

Participants

Check out the PPC Chat Twitter list to see and connect with all current and prior participants.

• Matt Umbro (@Matt_Umbro)
• James Svoboda (@Realicity)
• Paul Kragthorpe (@PaulKragthorpe)
• Andy Groller (@AndyGroller)
• John Lavin (@Johnnyjetfan)
• Cassandra McClure (@imcassy)
• Luke Alley (@LukeAlley)
• James Zolman (@jameszol)
• Sergey Smirnov (@Smirnovi4)
• Michelle Morgan (@michellemsem)
• Lisa Sanner (@LisaSanner)
• Anna George (@AnnaGeorge)
• Steve Hill (@epiclysteve)
• Matt Hopson (@matthopson)
• Cassie Allinger (@_CassieLee_)
• Jeremy Brown (@JBGuru)
• Rick Galan (@RickGalan)
• David Beltramini (@dbeltramini)
• Andrew Baker (@SEOEdinburgh)
• Amy Hoffman (@Hoffman8)
• David Pedersen (@SeaPPC)
• Austin Dillman (@Austin_Dillman)
• Robert Reay (@robreay)
• Mike Shollenberger (@webjock)
• Lawrence Aaron (@CrazyFingers)
• Neil Sorenson (@iNeils)
• Eloi Casali (@Eloi_Casali)
• Richard Fergie (@RichardFergie)
• Nate Schubert (@NateSchubert)
• Tropik Media (@TropikMedia)

About the Author

This is a guest post by Paul Kragthorpe, Search Manager at WebRanking in Eden Prairie, MN, #PPCChat Streamcap putterer togetherer, very infrequent seo blog author, SEM Padawan, Tweeter @PaulKragthorpe, and Google+’er PaulKragthorpe.

Audience Based Targeting

Many pointed out that Google’s Display Network (GDN) is making good improvements, but still lacks the user volunteered content that Facebook and LinkedIn have at their disposal.  Managed placements are still the best way to target audiences in the GDN.  Gathering user content could be the reason for Google’s recent social ventures, including +1 and better Gmail ads.  David Szetela also brought up the notion of “audience-need targeting” being better than keyword targeting, but again, not as effective as managed placements.

MSN adCenter

This topic was the elephant in the room as many are not fond of adCenter’s interface and features.  Interestingly enough, some advertisers have seen poorer performance since the Yahoo/Bing search alliance.  Szetela mentioned turning off Yahoo Search Partners to combat this issue.  Chris Kostecki also mentioned that adCenter conversion tracking is convoluted.  Many also made note that we should be able to have separate bids for Yahoo and MSN, something that Melissa Mackey argues for strongly.  The consensus is even though adCenter has a much less friendly UI than AdWords, the platform is still a player in the PPC industry.  Andy Groller noted that adCenter warrants attention due to less competition and lower cost-per-clicks (CPCs).

Quality Score

Another hot topic was AdWords quality score (isn’t it always?)  Low quality scores aren’t desirable, but many argued that as long as these keywords provide a solid ROI, conversion rate, and/or CPA they are fine to keep in the account.  My words were “If a keyword has a great conversion rate or is bringing in much revenue but has poor QS I’m keeping it.”  We all know that click-thru-rate (CTR) is a primary factor that Google uses to determine quality score, but Szetela debunked the landing page factor.  He states there is almost zero correlation between landing pages and quality scores.

AdWords Ad Extensions

Everyone was in agreement that ad extensions lift CTR and help overall campaign performance.  Sitelinks allow you four more chances to include additional benefits and calls to action while product listings qualify traffic prior to the click.  Perhaps the biggest benefit of ad extensions is that they take up more real estate and contain more links to your site.

The first PPC Chat is in the books, but we’re going to do it again next week, same day and time!

Lack of Funds

I find the number one reason companies shy away from PPC campaigns are the costs.  PPC campaigns are not cheap, no matter what Google tells you:

In my experience advertisers need to at least spend $200 a month on PPC (at the low end) to see results that will allow actionable decisions.  By actionable decisions I mean analyzing enough data in order to make informed decisions about what is and isn’t working.  One of the core components of PPC is testing, whether that is bidding, ad copy, or landing page testing.  The more funds you spend the more data you will have to accurately assess this testing.  Of course the term “enough data” is subjective, but can you really make actionable decisions based off say 50 clicks or less?  I say no.

Solution

By no means am I advocating going on a PPC spending spree, but you need to be willing to spend money.  Give the campaign a 3 month trial run with enough funds so it has a legitimate chance to do well.  You might need to save some money before beginning, but allow 3 months with a competitive budget to see what the campaign can do.  During this time period (and all the time) you must bid competitively and actively optimize the campaign.  Features such as day parting, geotargeting, and negative keywords allow you to spend your dollars wisely, but nonetheless dollars must be spent.  Additionally, Google consistently gives away $100 AdWords credits to new customers, further reason to give a campaign a 3 month trial.

Old Habits Die Hard

PPC is a relatively new means of advertising compared to traditional forms such as television, print, and banner.  Companies, especially ones with small advertising budgets, are hesitant to break from the norm, even if the norm really isn’t all that great.  Websites are great sales tools and should be thought of as such, not just marketing brochures.  I once spoke with a business owner who told me the majority of her business came from referrals.  I told her how PPC would bring mostly new visitors to her site, visitors that had never heard of her company before.  This fact intrigued her as it broke from her traditional line of thinking and raised a plethora of questions, not just about the campaign, but the goals of the site.

Solution

Truth be told, rhetoric goes a long way when pushing companies to think about PPC.  This mode of advertising should be encouraged as PPC opens up new possibilities.  “People are searching for you” is the message I try and convey.  I speak of the advantages of this advertising medium compared to others and the success stories I have seen.  I speak of how easy it is to track everything and how measurable PPC is.  I also speak of the new features and advances happening in the industry every day.  PPC is a highly innovative medium that companies need to be doing.

Conclusion

There are certainly hurdles for companies wanting to run PPC campaigns.  There are costs and plenty of effort involved to be successful, but the labor is often worth it in the end.  Along with showing results, PPC will open a new road of traffic and help to define your website goals.

How do you help companies get on the PPC bandwagon?

Think of this notion in terms of AdWords Search Funnels.  Someone may search for “nike shoes” and click the ad.  This person leaves the site without purchasing anything but then searches for “nike running shoes” 2 days later and makes a purchase.  The conversion will be attributed to “nike running shoes,” but the term “nike shoes” was the first click and assisted in this purchase. 

Here are 2 ways that PPC assists in making revenue, but isn’t always recognized.

Visitors Contacting You through the Site

Many sites have conversion and revenue tracking setup for online purchases, but some do not track contact inquiries and phone calls.  Let’s pretend that I am a retailer researching which brand of men’s running shoes I’d like to sell in my store.  I do a search for “men’s running shoes” and see ads show up for several brands, including: Adidas, Nike, New Balance, and Reebok.  Researching each brand, I decide to carry New Balance running shoes in my store.  I email the company and a week later (after several more back and forth emails) I agree to buy $5,000 worth of New Balance product every month for the next 12 months.  That click on the New Balance ad for the term “men’s running shoes” netted the company a revenue of $60,000.

Without digging deeper, this click would be deemed as yielding no revenue.  Though the conversion might be tracked, it would require follow-up on the company’s part to definitively say this email resulted in revenue.  Just because the conversion process is longer in this situation, it doesn’t mean revenue shouldn’t be attributed to the correct source.

Through your analytics program, every form submission and click on an email address can be tracked.  If your analytics and your sales team are aligned then attributing revenue to the right source is simple, but this isn’t always the case.  Additionally, with call tracking software the source can be identified.  Even without call tracking software, it’s good practice to ask callers how they found you.  Not all customers are going to make a purchase at the first touch point.  Some will contact you and won’t purchase through the site (e.g.: via phone) so this revenue needs to be appropriately attributed.

Purchases Made in Person

Let’s take the same example from above, but say I’m looking to buy myself a pair of running shoes.  I do the same search for “men’s running shoes” and see several different ads.  After browsing each site I decide that I really like a specific model New Balance offers.  I’m hesitant to buy online because I don’t know how the shoe will fit so I go to a New Balance store and make my purchase.  The revenue for this pair of shoes is attributed to the retailer.  As far as New Balance is concerned, the click on the ad yielded no revenue.

In all fairness, attributing revenue to the PPC campaign is extremely difficult in this situation.  Aside from asking the consumer how he heard about New Balance (and even then you aren’t guaranteed the true answer) there is no way to attribute the sale to the PPC campaign.  If your site contains a store locator you can see how many visitors use it, but again, this isn’t a definitive means of tracking revenue.  The bottom line in this case is that some consumers who click your PPC ads are more comfortable purchasing in store.  Though it is nearly impossible to calculate an exact revenue, you should always take this notion into account when determining PPC campaign success.

Conclusion

Going the extra step to determine total PPC campaign revenue can be difficult, but it’s absolutely necessary since you want to make sure the PPC campaign gets the credit it deserves. Don’t think just in black and white terms.  You must understand that additional PPC revenue is generated through other channels and at later times.

How do you make sure you are tracking total PPC campaign revenue?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I then clicked to expand the link and saw this:

Perhaps a new Google AdWords extension available for the merchant services industry?

Has anyone else seen this extension before?

The Conundrum

After using Sitelinks for about a month, I realized that this extension would offer greater utility at the ad group rather than campaign level.  For example, say I have a campaign around men’s outerwear with 3 ad groups:

Ideally, I want Sitelinks for each ad group.  So if users type in “men’s sweatshirts,” they would see links specific to that term:

Men’s Hooded Sweatshirts
Men’s Fleece Sweatshirts
Men’s V Neck Sweatshirts
Men’s Embroidered Sweatshirts

Unfortunately, with Sitelinks only available at the campaign level I can’t guarantee the particular sitelink will match the query.  A user typing in “men’s winter gloves” has the potential to see one of the sweatshirt Sitelinks, which could do more harm than good because the link has nothing to do with the query.  If I want to use Sitelinks for this campaign I would have to make the links applicable to each ad group.

The Solution

I have emailed my Google rep about this matter and have received the stock answer “We’re looking into it,” thus; I have taken matters into my own hands.  Over the last couple of weeks I have been creating several new campaigns in order to utilize Sitelinks appropriately.  Taking the example from above, instead of 1 campaign solely around men’s outwear, I would create 4 campaigns:

Men’s Outerwear
Men’s Jackets
Men’s Sweatshirts
Men’s Gloves

Each of these campaigns would only have 1 – 2 ad groups, while providing users with highly relevant Sitelinks to complement their search queries.  In the early going I have seen some good results with click-thru-rates (CTRs) increasing and some cost-per-acquisitions (CPAs) decreasing.  However, I do not have enough data to make an accurate claim that this technique is working.

Yes, it takes more work to create individual campaigns for each keyword theme.  Not only do you have to set up Sitelinks for each campaign, but you must make sure your settings are configured correctly (geo targeting, day parting, etc).  With 20 campaigns vs. only 4 there is a greater chance of missing something due to the added volume of work — with Google’s authorization, you can have up to 100 campaigns in your account.  For the time being, however, I find this tactic worthwhile in order to provide users with the most relevant ads.

How are you utilizing Sitelinks?