Ready…Aim…SEM/PPC “Everybody’s searching for something…we just wanna help em find you.” Jeff Morton Vice President Search | Social | Advance Local

[email protected] @jeffmlive www.linkedin.com/in/jeffmorton

Good Morning! PPC/SEM levels the marketing playing field Get excited about search!

Understand the basic concepts of search marketing with .

Set up for SEM success - before you give Google a single penny.

Today’s Objectives Search Speak – The Language of Search

How Google Keeps Score

The ”Relevance Imperative”

Setting up for SEM Success Readiness Keyword Prep Goal Setting and Measurement Account Structure

DIY vs Professional SEM Management

Agenda Google – 9.5B (63.5%)

Microsoft Bing – 3.4B (22.5%)

Yahoo – 1.7B (11.7%)

Ask Network – 205M (1.4%)

AOL – 142M (.9%) Source: ComScore, January 2017 15 Billion US Desktop Searches in Dec 2016 Google Global MOBILE Market Share

Source: StatCounter Over 50% of Global Searches are Mobile Marketing (SEM) Search Engine Optimization (SEO) SERP (Search Engine Results Page) Clickthrough Rate (CTR) Bid Algorithm Ad Rank

Search Speak (SEM / Pay per Click) • A model in which advertisers pay only for each click on their search engine text ads. The click directs searchers to a specified or the advertiser’s website. Charges are based on bids in auctions and are influenced by competitor bids, competition for keywords and search engines’ proprietary quality measures of advertiser ad and landing page content.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) • Listings on Search Engine Results Pages for which search engines do not sell space. Sites appear in “organic” results because a search engine has applied algorithms to its search crawler index, combined with editorial decisions and content weighting, that it deems important enough for inclusion without payment.

Source: SEMPO Learning Center Glossary http://www.sempo.org/learning_center/sem_glossary#q Search Speak Keyword Query Organic Listings (SEO influenced)

Search Engine Marketing (PPC)

Google Map Listings

SERP – Search Engine Results Page Clickthrough Rate (CTR) • A ratio showing how often people who see your ad end up clicking it. Clickthrough rate (CTR) can be used to gauge how well your keywords and ads are performing.

Bid • The maximum amount of money that an advertiser is willing to pay for a click. Bid prices can vary widely depending on competition and popularity.

Algorithm Rules a search engine uses to rank listings. Search engines guard their algorithms closely, as they are the unique formulas used to determine relevancy. Sometimes referred to as the ”secret sauce.” Search Speak Quality Score • Quality Score is an estimate of the quality of your ads, keywords, and landing pages. Higher quality ads can lead to lower click prices and better ad positions. • Quality Score is reported on a 1-10 scale. It’s components include expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience, and it is an aggregated estimate of your overall performance in ad auctions. • The quality score for a campaign, ad group, keyword, or ad is actually an overall average, and it’s only updated every 4-6 weeks or so. When you make changes to improve your account, Google is in no hurry to reward you – they want to see some proof. Ad Rank • A value that's used to determine your ad position (where ads are shown on a page relative to other ads) and whether your ads will show at all. Ad Rank is calculated using your bid amount, your auction-time ad quality (including expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience), and a number of other factors.* *Source: Google AdWords Help Search Speak – How Google Keeps Score Relevance Makes Google Happy Quality Score Ingredients • Past click-through rate (CTR) of a keyword Quality Score Impacts • Account history (overall CTR for ads and kw) • Ad auction eligibility • Relevance of keywords to ads • Actual cost per click (CPC) for a keyword • Relevance of keywords to search queries • First page bid estimate for a keyword • Relevance of ads to landing page • Top of page bid estimate for a keyword • Geographic performance • Ad position • Performance of an ad based on targeted device • Mobile page load speed

THE “RELEVANCE IMPERATIVE” “Never let ads write checks your website can’t cash” – Avinash Kaushik • User Experience

• Content Engagement

• Conversion Potential

Website Readiness for SEM Success! üRelevance - will the customer engage or bounce (leave without visiting another page)? qDoes the site appear fresh or stale? (Has the copyright date been updated?) qIs the site Mobile Responsive? qTest for page speed / load time User Experience üRelevance - will the customer engage or Query Specific Landing Page – “washer repair kalamazoo mi” bounce (leave without visiting another page)? qDoes the site appear fresh or stale? (Has the copyright date been updated?) qIs the site Mobile Responsive? qTest for page speed / load time User Experience üRelevance - will the customer engage or bounce (leave without visiting another page)?

üDoes the site appear fresh or stale? (Has the copyright date been updated?) qIs the site Mobile Responsive? qTest for page speed / load time User Experience üRelevance - will the customer engage or bounce (leave without visiting another page)?

üDoes the site appear fresh or stale? (Has the copyright date been updated?)

üIs the site Mobile Responsive? qTest for page speed / load time User Experience üRelevance - will the customer engage or bounce (leave without visiting another page)?

üDoes the site appear fresh or stale? (Has the copyright date been updated?)

üIs the site Mobile Responsive?

üTest for page speed / Speed Scorecard: an easy-to-use tool that allows you to compare your mobile speed with other companies’ load time User Experience Speed Scorecard: an easy-to-use tool that allows you to compare your mobile speed with other companies’

User Experience üRelevance - will the customer engage or bounce (leave without visiting another page)?

üDoes the site appear fresh or stale? (Has the copyright date been updated?)

üIs the site Mobile Responsive?

üTest for page speed / Speed Scorecard: an easy-to-use tool that allows you to compare your mobile speed with other companies’ Impact Calculator: a tool that estimates the revenue impact that could result from improving the speed of your load time mobile site. User Experience üPages are built out for each service/product line? qIs the navigation user friendly and in line with business profit centers? qDoes each page have relevant, engaging content written to solve a specific problem or answer a question? qIf driving in-store traffic, does it contain embedded maps, directions?

Content Engagement üPages are built out for each Query Specific Landing Page – “dryer repair kalamazoo mi” service/product line? qIs the navigation user friendly and in line with business profit centers? qDoes each page have relevant, engaging content written to solve a specific problem or answer a question? qIf driving in-store traffic, does it contain embedded maps, directions?

Content Engagement üPages are built out for each service/product line?

üIs the navigation user friendly and in line with business profit centers? qDoes each page have relevant, engaging content written to solve a specific problem or answer a question? qIf driving in-store traffic, does it contain embedded maps, directions?

Content Engagement üPages are built out for each service/product line?

üIs the navigation user friendly and in line with business profit centers?

üDoes each page have relevant, engaging content written to solve a specific problem or answer a question? qIf driving in-store traffic, does it contain embedded maps, directions?

Content Engagement üNAP (Name | Address | Phone #) appears in header or is visible above the fold on every page and is not an image. (hard coded in to the page). q Check mobile and tablet version, is the phone number still visible? q Is there a click to call available from mobile devices? qStrong call to action (website copy asks for the business) qSimple forms/user input above the fold on every page. q <5 input fields q Connected to CRM or (minimum) e-mail lead notification Conversion Potential üNAP (Name | Address | Phone #) appears in header or is visible above the fold on every page and is not an image. (hard coded in to the page). ü Check mobile and tablet version, is the phone number still visible? ü Is there a click to call available from mobile devices? qStrong call to action (website copy asks for the business) qSimple forms/user input above the fold on every page. q <5 input fields q Connected to CRM or (minimum) e-mail lead notification Conversion Potential üNAP (Name | Address | Phone #) appears in header or is visible above the fold on every page and is not an image. (hard coded in to the page). ü Check mobile and tablet version, is the phone number still visible? ü Is there a click to call available from mobile devices?

üStrong call to action (website copy asks for the business) qSimple forms/user input above the fold on every page. q <5 input fields q Connected to CRM or (minimum) e-mail lead notification Conversion Potential üNAP (Name | Address | Phone #) appears in header or is visible above the fold on every page and is not an image. (hard coded in to the page). ü Check mobile and tablet version, is the phone number still visible? ü Is there a click to call available from mobile devices?

üStrong call to action (website copy asks for the business)

üSimple forms/user input above the fold on every page. ü <5 input fields ü Connected to CRM or (minimum) e-mail lead notification Conversion Potential User Experience / UX Content Engagement Conversion Potential q Relevance - will the customer engage q Pages are built out for each q NAP (Name | Address | Phone #) or bounce (leave without visiting service/product line? appears in header or is visible another page)? above the fold on every page and is not an image. (hard coded in to q Is the navigation user friendly and the page). q Does the site appear fresh or stale? in line with business profit q Check mobile and tablet version, is the (Has the copyright date been centers? phone number still visible? updated?) q Is there a click to call available from mobile devices? q Does each page have relevant, q Is the site Mobile Responsive? engaging content written to solve q Strong call to action (website copy a specific problem or answer a asks for the business) question? q Test for page speed / load time q Simple forms/user input above the q If driving in-store traffic, does it fold on every page. contain embedded maps, directions? q <5 input fields q Connected to CRM or (minimum) e-mail lead notification

SEM Website Readiness Checklist Goal Setting

Keyword Research

Account Structure

SEM Pre-Launch Preparation Website Engagement Website content consumption, how many pages per visit, time spent on site. BE SMART. Specific | Measurable | Attainable | Results-Focused | Timed Lead Generation Form fills, downloads, phone calls, in-store traffic

E-Mail Marketing List Growth An e-mail list is one of the most powerful owned assets you can develop, and the more opt-in subscribers you develop, the better your search marketing will be.

Build Remarketing Lists Capturing your website traffic from all sources for future remarketing is more than just a tactic – it should be a goal within every successful PPC campaign.

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Track your goals with !

Goal Setting Website You just put a ton of work in to setting up your website for success. It is the best starting point for keyword development, and it will drive the structure of your campaigns.

Google AdWords Keyword Planner Google’s built-in planner will give you pretty much all that you need to get started. Use your best instincts when culling keywords that you don’t think fit, but DON’T get paralyzed by analysis,

Think like your customer Take a step back and put yourself in the customer’s shoes. What would someone who’s looking for your product or service type into a search engine. Often times you will find people searching a problem you have a solution to.

Don’t forget brand terms Seems obvious enough but there is value in showing up in both paid and organic on your branded keywords. Keyword Research Organization is key when developing a structure for your campaigns. Proper organization of your Account structure will impact your quality score and influence how your account performs.

Campaign and Ad Group Best Practices Campaigns should be segmented by higher-level ideas (just like the structure of your website) so that you can drill down into more tightly themed ad groups and keywords.

Pre-Launch Based on the products and services you offer Based on geographical location Based on seasonality of your service or product Based on brand names vs. generic names

------The goal is to create a structure where campaigns, ad groups, keywords and ads all relevant to each other within your structure. Account Structure Do It Yourself Professional SEM Management Search Engine Marketing • Account set up for each search engine. • Account set up across all search engines. • Initial research of appropriate keywords. • Ongoing keyword research. • Create copy for each search engine • Creates advertising copy for each search engine. (different rules for each one). • Manages keyword bids and budget. • Daily management of keyword bids and budget. • Optimizes keywords and advertising copy. • Monthly optimization of keywords, ad copy. • Consolidates bills into one statement. • Multiple bills from multiple search engines. • Potential technology advantage • No fee, all dollars spent are applied toward • Management Fee on top of PPC – Do the results PPC – Do the results justify the time/effort justify the cost of doing business? (ROI?) commitment? (ROI?) • What is your time worth?

Google’s own AdWords blog is overwhelming!

DIY vs Professional SEM Management “The Internship” Movie – Available Now on Amazon Prime! - https://goo.gl/oiwCAi

Google Keyword Planner - https://adwords.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/#?modal_active=none

Optimize Google My Business listing - https://moz.com/blog/how-to-optimize-your-google-my-business-listing

Mr. Appliance [Ready] Website Example - https://www.mrappliance.com/kalamazoo/

Ted’s Appliance [NOT Ready] Website Example - http://www.tedsappliance.com/

Ad Rank Demystified Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGShroCrIOs

PPC Hero – The Beginners Guide to Setting Up an AdWords Account - https://goo.gl/DeRyPn

Resources