Intro to PPC – Pubcon Session Review
I selected this session as I do not have much experience with PPC and would like to get into it with my own business. I figured it should cover all the basics:
First spoke Cathrine Seta, she gave a basic breakdown of what PPC results look like in Yahoo, and mentioned that if done correctly, one should track, Landing Pages, Keywords, and ROI, and apply the results into his SEO efforts once familiar with what works and what converts.
She mentioned, Kanoodle as being a good source for financial related PPC traffic, Business for B2B traffic and Superpages for local traffic.
She named 5 steps to setting a campaign: Keyword selection, Write copy, Assign landing-pages, Set-up traffic, Track results, and showed how she uses a spreadsheet for this process with a column for each step.
Keyword tools mentioned are: Wordtracker [paid service], Yahoo Suggestion, and Google Suggestion.
Tips for beginners:
* Be specific, define exact match for keywords in order to avoid over-spending (at least at the beginning), and monitor all the time. She mentiones a client who went out of town and got a $4000 bill for his campaign…
* Use standard signup page at Yahoo! Search Marketing and do a walkthrough of the registration without providing credit card information, to view monthly estimate and plan accordingly.
Next came up Joe Agliozzo of BetterPPC. He started with the notion of setting up the right combo between ads and keywords, and testing to refine results.
Why test? 86% chance of improving performance. Preformance increase of 30%-50%. And therefore, more $$.
He explained the notion of average users allowing 3-5 seconds per ad. And therefore, stressed the idea of being different. Most ads are copied of each other, therefore they all look the same. Be creative and different, and catch the eye.
Credibility words mentioned: Guaranteed, authorized reseller, large selection, lowest price (lower / great).
Next spoke Brad Geddes of LocalLaunch. He started with the notion of realizing why one would want to place an ad: Branding vs. Sales. He then went on to reviewing the use of Features vs. Benefits in the description, and explained how ‘localized terms’ can point to locals who search (ie. The Strip = Las Vegas Blvd. here in Vegas).
Tips mentiones:
* Emphasize benefits
* General structure:
Line1: What you get (get attention)
Line2: Why it is better (Focus attention)
Line3: What to do (Call for action)
Line4: URL
* Breaking down ROI per impression will give one a better idea of real results.
Landing pages should be related to the search, ie. search for Compaq Persario 3700 memory should result in an appropriate page. The idea is that the surfer had already done his research, don’t make him start searching your site as well. Therefore, Landing pages, should be an extension of the adcopy.
Variables to measure:
* Ad + Landing page combo
* High CTR + Low conversion
* Low CTR + High conversion
Find out in your case which is better.
In general, the gist of this session is “Test & Apply” and then repeat. There are many ppc-illeterate people out there, don’t waste your $$, don’t race for top spot, set a budget, test and apply.
