So investment in paid search is growing and growing, clients are bartering harder on agency commissions, more and more focus is being put on the efficiency of your search marketing programme. So what, as a client, can you do to ensure you’re getting the most bang for your buck?
One thing that you can do is review the practices involved in the management of your account. All of the engines will be able to support you in this, but some of the things you can review to get you started are:
Bidding & Budgeting:
Are you operating at a fixed CPA across the entire account, all year round? Or are you flexible on your CPA so that you can maximize ROI? The uplift in traffic around seasonal peaks may make competition more fierce, and as such each conversion more expensive, but if you’re willing to be flexible you can capture the volume and improve profit. Your agency should be feeding back to you on a monthly basis what the investment should be in different areas of your campaign, understanding this can allow you to further your understanding of what’s affecting different parts of the PPC account, and adjust bidding strategy accordingly.
Coverage:
Are you testing to see if generic keywords that don’t cost in on their own create an uplift across the rest of the account? It’s not always the case, but if you’re in a quest for the final 5% of volume it can make the difference.
Have you got the balance of investment on your brand terms right? Sometimes you need to bid on them to keep out the competition, but sometimes you’ll cannibalise your natural traffic – again, testing is the answer!
Using a search query report will help you ensure you’ve got coverage on the right terms, and you can use the searches that you’re getting clicks from but don’t have content or products for to inform you over what you need to be doing – search isn’t just about traffic or conversions, but about listening to what the searchers are asking for!
Structure:
Does your account structure evolve, or is it static? Paid search offers an opportunity to constantly improve your account using the timely, conversion focused data that it’s capable of supplying. As a result, keyword lists should constantly change shape and new ad copy should be built. The structure will have to change around this to support the delivery of relevant ads – so if your structure isn’t changing then either your account isn’t, or it’s not making the most of the changes that are being made.
Processes & Automation:
Of course, these recommendations are only a starting point, and rely on a smooth, uninhibited flow of information between an agency and a client. Once you’ve reviewed these and all of the more granular points that you investigate as a result, it’s time to review the processes that will help you improve your budgeting, coverage and structure.
Do you have a report that informs you what is being spent on what keyword groups and clearly shows you the trends over time?
Do you have processes set up that allow you to feed new keywords into the campaign quickly and efficiently?
Do you have a process in place to test different ad copy and continually optimize your creative messaging?
If not, then it’s likely that the time being put into your account is inefficient – and if time equals money for both you and the agency, there’s an opportunity for improvement here.