Archive for May, 2008

Welcome to PPC Hero, the authority on pay-per-click strategy, industry news and great ppc-insider tips. Here you'll find our Reader's Favorite posts, PPC management handbooks, Team's Favorite posts, and our collection of blog series. Don't forget to subscribe to our RSS Feed!

PPC News Roundup – 5/22/2008

Posted by Amber on May 22, 2008 in PPC News Round Up
  • Still having trouble with the Google Adwords Quality score? Check out this cool video by Matthew Bredel from ‘Inside the Marketing Mind’ that goes in depth about what the quality score is, and how you can improve it within your account.
  • Writing ads with strong calls-to-action is one of those techniques every PPC advertiser should be using! In case you are new to what a call-to-action is, or are unsure of the best way to incorporate them into your …

From 19 Leads to 95. Turn Your PPC Account into a Lead Generating Machine!

Posted by Amber on May 21, 2008 in Basic PPC Strategies
Prominent form above the fold (above the fold meaning to where you can see the entire form without the computer screen cutting it off)
  • Large ‘submit’ or ‘enter’ button above the fold

  • One image that portrays a professional look
  • Small content area that describes the top reasons why a customer should choose your company. Or the top services you can provide to a prospective client.

This is a great post on landing page do’s and don’ts that if implemented correctly, it can really boost your conversions.

Tip #2: Stray from pausing keywords, focus on the best converter: My motto: stick with what works! If there is one keyword in your account that generates a majority of the leads, stay focused on that one keyword. What I mean by stay focused is don’t lower that keyword bid if you’re over budget, lower all other keywords that aren’t generating any leads. This allows for more of your budget to go towards that one better performing keyword. If you’re generating more traffic towards one particular great performing keyword then the chances of it converting more are high.

Lowering bids at the ad group level, and not working at the keyword level is a HUGE mistake in my opinion. Keep increasing that one keyword bid, and continue lowering all other keywords that aren’t converting. I wouldn’t recommend pausing any keywords unless they haven’t converted in a long time. If you pause keywords then you have absolutely no chance of getting them to convert. The idea is to try and make these poor performing keywords work. Leave them on, but lower their bids.

Tip #3: Take advantage of match types in Adwords: I have used it and it works! Add all match types to each and every keyword in your account. This of course only works in Google with exact, phrase and broad match. Once I began adding all match types in every ad group, I immediately saw a huge increase in traffic, and leads were soon to follow.

Tip #4: Be direct, tell your customers what to do: Ad text is extremely important when trying to generate leads. It’s important to tell the customer exactly what they should do. Whether it’s to download a whitepaper, sign up for an email newsletter or request a quote for a service, be sure to tell them so in your ad text with a call to action. To learn more on ad text read my post on 9 mistakes when creating ad text.

Tip #5: Use the free keyword tools frequently: Ideally, the more traffic you drive the more leads you’ll generate. Be sure you’re not missing out on any potentially great converting keywords. This includes simple variations of current keywords, misspellings and new keywords. There are a ton of free keyword tools for advertisers, use them! Run through each ad group and use the keyword tools frequently. More keywords are likely come up each time you use the tools.

Not only can you use the basic free keyword tools but Google has a great option where you can enter the url of your landing page and they’ll find keywords for you. To use this option go to the Google external keyword tool and click on the website content option, then simply enter your url and voila!

Tip #6: Organize your campaigns and ad groups better: I can’t emphasize how important it is to have an organized account with a small list of keywords per each ad group and a very targeted, relevant ad text. If you download Adwords editor it’s super easy to rearrange your keywords within ad groups and move things around. Writing new ad text that contains keywords within your ad groups is essential to getting more click-throughs and generating more leads and conversions.

Tip #7: Use backwards math: It’s pretty simple when you think about it; just calculate the number of clicks it takes to generate one lead. Then, use these traffic generating tips to increase clicks and traffic to your site.

For example, if in the past seven days I’ve generated 100 clicks and 5 leads, therefore it takes 20 clicks to generate one lead (100/5). If my goal is to generate 15 leads, then I know I need to drive an additional 200 clicks to achieve the 15 leads.

Tip #8: Run a Search Query Report to find relevant keywords: Running a search query report in Google Adwords is a great way to find out what keywords your users are actually typing in the search box that displays your ads. I’ve run search query reports in all of my accounts and always seem to find additional keywords that I wasn’t previously targeted before.

The bottom line, always try new things and stick with what works! If you have additional tips that you’ve used personally to generate more leads and conversions, feel free to pass them on!

 

-->

Today I’d like to share with you some tactics that I’ve used personally to help turn one of my pay-per-click accounts around from generating 19 leads per month to 95 leads per month in a short period of time!

leads

 

Tip #1: Perfect your landing page: This is the starting point in giving users a great experience and becoming a trustworthy site. A lot of our clients are very open to recommendations on …

Getting PPC Advice from Yahoo!? Take the Good with the Bad

Posted by John on May 19, 2008 in Ad Texts, Yahoo! Search Marketing

gump.JPG

Reading search marketing blogs is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re gonna get. Today I was scrolling through my blog reader quickly reviewing the “big three” blogs. When I got to the YSM Blog, I was greeted with this headline: “Writing Effective Ads.” With a smile I clicked through and began reading. Very soon into this excerpt from Yahoo!’s Smart Start guide, my …

Your Contact Form Might Be Hurting Your PPC Campaign

Posted by Joe on May 16, 2008 in Advanced PPC Strategies

Beyond your keywords, ad text, and your landing page, the engine that drives your PPC campaign is your contact form (if you’re generating leads). If your contact form isn’t geared toward your core audience, and if it’s not requesting the appropriate amount of information, then you’re shooting yourself (and your PPC campaign) in the foot.

Most users guard their personal information as if it were made of gold (as well they should). Yes, your …

Increase Customer Retention with Simple Social Networking

Posted by Amber on May 15, 2008 in Google Adwords

logo

If you’ve sat in a marketing meeting lately you may have heard the ever evolving question of online marketing today, “How can we add social networking to our site?” Google may have mastered a way to do this, and it’s a very simple process.

It’s a new program my Google rep emailed us today called, ‘Google Friend Connect’ that’s currently available for preview only. Release date yet to be known. …

PPC Hero Readers Are Winners!

Posted by Joe on May 14, 2008 in Uncategorized

untitled.JPG

The results from the PPC Summit Best Practices & Successful Strategies Contest are in, and one of our very own readers has won! The winner is Sterling Simpson from AbeBooks.com. Sterling has won a free pass to either PPC Summit San Francisco (May 19-20) or Los Angeles (Sept. 25-26). Way to go Sterling!

Just for participating in the contest, PPC Summit is extending a special $300 …

Hanapin MarketingeMarketingSilo

 
Advanced Search
PPC Hero Handbooks
PPC Hero Blog Series
Team Favorites
Blog Cateogry Blog Archives Blog Authors Illustration Archive



Google Ad Words Qualified Company

Yahoo Search Marketing Ambassadors

Microsoft adExcellence Member

BIGLIST of Search Marketing Blogs







PPC Hero & SEO Boy



Home Contact About Subscribe