Paid Search - 10 Commandments of Effective SEM Management
- 1. The 10 Commandments of Effective SEM Management Presented by: Jeff Lancaster Outrider @jefflancaster
- 2. About Me • 13 years in digital marketing • Managing Director of GroupM’s Outrider – Canada’s leading search consultancy, a WPP company • Chairman of IAB Canada Search Marketing Council • Google NA Agency Advisory Board • @jefflancaster Jeff Lancaster | Outrider | @jefflancaster
- 3. What is Optimization? • Strategic adjustments to an account to improve performance Jeff Lancaster | Outrider | @jefflancaster
- 4. The search commandments Jeff Lancaster | Outrider | @jefflancaster
- 5. Search commandments 1. More than 2 though less than 5 ads live at any time 2. Always test copy 3. Search query report at least once a fortnight 4. Broad and phrase must never drive the majority of your traffic 5. Only use broad to find new terms 6. Separate your best and worst keywords into separate campaigns 7. Separate campaigns for mobile, local and content 8. Test day of week, time of day and geo targeting options 9. Check visibility and budgets every day 10. Have a clear optimization plan and stick to it Jeff Lancaster | Outrider | @jefflancaster
- 6. Ad Copy Optimization • At least 2 but no more than 5 live ads per ad group • Be prepared to react to events in real-time • Integrate messaging with other media • Try and differentiate from the competition • Focus on USP’s, offers, price and savings • Test seasonal messages- time sensitive offers • Include call’s to action • Google Ad Policy • Test and refine Jeff Lancaster | Outrider | @jefflancaster
- 7. Search Query reports • Id new terms • Account and campaign negatives • Making other matches more efficient • Problem broad/phrase terms Jeff Lancaster | Outrider | @jefflancaster
- 8. Broad and Phrase must never drive the majority of your traffic Jeff Lancaster | Outrider | @jefflancaster
- 9. Match Type Waterfall – Give priority to Exact Match kws Jeff Lancaster | Outrider | @jefflancaster
- 10. Separate your Top Performers Jeff Lancaster | Outrider | @jefflancaster
- 11. Separate campaigns for mobile, local and content Jeff Lancaster | Outrider | @jefflancaster
- 12. Test Time of Day, Day of Week Time of Day Optimization Strategy: Optimizing spend efficiency using historical time of day conversion data Result: Lower CPA’s and complete coverage in SERP during the hours that work Day of Week Optimization Strategy: Discover the day of week where conversion volume and CPA are most efficient and heavy up budget accordingly. Result: lower weekly CPA’s and increased conversions Jeff Lancaster | Outrider | @jefflancaster
- 13. Test Geo Targeting options Jeff Lancaster | Outrider | @jefflancaster
- 14. Check Budgets daily • Campaign budgets • Engine checks • Delivery vs. target Jeff Lancaster | Outrider | @jefflancaster
- 15. Check Visibility daily • Top 10 terms by category: core generic, long tail • Ad copy, Landing page, Rank • Brand term monitoring • Ad preview tool – top 10 generic & brand • HTTP Watch can show you the redirect journey Jeff Lancaster | Outrider | @jefflancaster
- 16. Have a plan and stick to it Jeff Lancaster | Outrider | @jefflancaster
- 17. Thanks! Questions? Jeff Lancaster Jeff.lancaster@outrider.com @jefflancaster
Editor's Notes
- #9: Regular implementation of negatives on Broad/Phrase terms improves quality of traffic Less reliance on broad/phrase Pushing traffic to exacts via cross campaign negatives Keyword evolution- mining, testing & negative implementation Reduce reliance on broad/phrase through negative matching
- #14: Bid by proximity