mechanics of pay per-click marketing by lisa kirkman

MECHANICS OF PAY-PER-CLICK MARKETING

Draw your ideal customer to you.May 2, 2013

Marketing interrupticus

Today’s Agenda

• Who are we? Why are we here?

• Why search-driven campaigns work

• The mechanics of SEM

• The search players

• Good keyword hygiene

• Text ads

• Good landing page practices

• Managing your money & ROI

• Questions

Who Are You?

• Who has an AdWords or PPC campaign going?

• Who has run one in the past?

• Who is completely new to this?

Who is Lisa?

• Currently: Digital Media Strategist, Swift Digital/Swift

CommunicationsBoard Member, Reno-Tahoe AMA Adjunct Professor, Sierra Nevada College

• Previously: Hewlett-Packard, Digital Strategy Team Cielo Marketing Harlem Globetrotters

• Education:MBA, Pepperdine UniversityBA, Journalism

SEARCH: the right side delivers clients

Why Does Search Work?

20,400,000,000 searchesAds are in contextUsers self-qualify

1 2 3 4Idea about your product or service

Research on a search engine

See your ad and click

Visit your microsite, already self-qualified

How Search Works:

Search’s efficiency

Attract people already in a mindset for your service, allowing you to engage with people ready to buy:

•You set the budget by click or visitor

•25% of visits should become calls

•Only pay for unique visitors

•Talk in terms of a full-price pkg; no discounts needed

•Shortens your sales cycle

Sample Microsite:

Tools for SEM

• 200-250 keyword list

• Text ad AdWords campaign

• Landing page microsite

• Google Analytics on microsite

• Know your conversion targets. I like 25% visitor-to-caller conversion target.

• Unique, trackable phone number

• Record calls for training

The search players

Good keyword hygiene

• Describe your product from your client’s point of view

• Think in terms of campaign groupings:– “Yoga for beginners” vs.

– “Yoga trainer certifications”

• Be specific

• Layer in geography

• Use phrases

Text ads

HeadlineURLThree lines

• Be VERY succinct

• Stand out, make an offer

• Action-oriented (“buy flowers” rather than “we have flowers”)

• Use your most important keywords

• Optimize the ads: this is dynamic and on-going work

Good landing page practices

• Simple design

• Clear, concrete offer

• Don’t link out – this is a sales funnel

• Attractive, for credibility

• Include your phone, address, email

Sample Microsites:

Manage your money

• It’s an auction, be ready to bid

• Know what success is for you, then optimize

• Set a monthly budget in AdWords

• Set a daily budget in AdWords

• Set maximum bids on highly competitive keywords

• If you’re working with an agency or firm, get budgets in writing first

Per-click costs are dynamic!

Widen your ad’s reach

• Run within search results (right column)

• Run with affiliate network/display network

• Run on websites by topic

• Run in videos

Calculate your ROI

ROI = net profit vs. costs to get that profit

• Investment: $1000 in adwords• New sales: $1200 in sales tracked to your campaign• Profit: $ 200

(1200-1000) = 20% 1000

Remember…

• Don’t interrupt• Draw clients to you when they’re in the mindset for you

Thank you!

Please contact me with questions or comments:

Lisa KirkmanSwift Digitallkirkman@swiftcom.comD) 530-542-8030C) 619-347-9970