how to build a platform
TRANSCRIPT
How to Build a PlatformScale it up!
Gustavo Moreira
Before we Begin...Prerequisites, considerations, costs
Be sure to have...
● A manageable number of clients
● A strong engineering team
● A step-by-step/agile development process*
What is your target growth?
● If you plan to grow explosively, not ideal to build
● Not enough time if # of customers is too high
● Manageable growth is ideal
● Better if you have time to learn along the way
Strong Engineering Team
● Handle complicated coding scenarios
● Deploy and maintain servers
● Design for heavy load usage
● Keep up with API changes
● Clients will depend on their work
Step-by-step Approach
● Incremental, easy to steer
● The eng team will learn to work together
● AdWords knowledge takes time to spread
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
Three Technology Phases
0. Manual operations
1. Reporting
2. Account management
3. Automated optimisation
4. Landing page automatic creation
Phase ZeroManual Operation
Phase 0 - Manual operations
● Experienced AdWords Account Manager(s)
● Learn the product and get the process right
● Use this knowledge to scope out the automation
P. 0 - Expected Growth (Acc/AM)
● Scale horizontally only● Requires more people to
handle more accounts
0# of accounts per AM
No automation
Eng Cost: 0
Phase 1Reporting
Phase 1 - Reporting
● Customer reporting
● Account analysis
● Billing integration
● Enough automation for up to ~300 accounts per AM
P. 1 - Expected Growth (Acc/AM)
● Basic automation● Around 1-2 months to
complete● Very little maintenance
Customer ReportingGoogle reporting
Account Optimizations
0# of accounts per AM
Eng Cost: 1
Phase 1
1. Customer Reporting
● Pulls reports from AdWords to local DB
● Use a PDF or HTML template
● Create your own reports
● Automatically send to customers
● AwReporting does that for you!
2. Customer Analyses
Phase 2Account Management
P. 2 - Account Creation Doctor
Car Dealer
Electrician
Baker
Nurse
Florist
Plumber
Cook
● Integration with your site
● Taxonomy (catalogue) building
● Sales tools
● Automated account management / creation
● Up to ~500 accounts per AM
P. 2 - Expected Growth (Acc/AM)
● Dedicated team● Business knowledge● More experienced engineers● Around 3-6 months to complete● Some maintenance 0
Phase 2
Eng Cost: 2-3
Integration, existing systemTaxonomy buildingSales tool
Account creation
1. Create Taxonomy
● Business segmented catalogue● Instantaneously create campaigns for new
clients!● Can be specialised by market segments● Dentists in West London
1. Taxonomy - Geo Targeting
● On a granular market, just modify the bid● Sometimes can go as deep as the zip code
level● Great for franchisees● Awesome on mobile!
1. Taxonomy - Geo Modification
Car dealershipCountry (Australia)
Province (NSW)
City (Sydney)
- Car dealership Australia- Australia Dealership
- Car dealership NSW- NSW Dealership
- Car dealership Sydney- Sydney Dealership
- Car dealership Neighbourhood- Neighbourhood Dealership
2. Build a Sales Tool
Phase 3Auto-Optimization
Phase 3 - (Auto) Optimisation
● Conversion tracking
● Manual taxonomy / keyword optimisations
● Automated bid optimisations
● Further than many platforms
● ~1000+ accounts per AM
P. 3 - Expected Growth (Acc/AM)
● Dedicated team● Experienced team● 6-18 months to complete● Dedicated maintenance● Auto Landing Page
creation?
Phase 3
Eng Cost: 3-5
Automated taxonomy optimization
0
∞
Conversion trackingManual taxonomyoptimization
Three Main Areas
1. Conversion tracking
2. Manual optimisation
3. Automated optimisation
CT
AO
MOFull
Optimisation
Summary
● You made it! Your own platform!● But a lot more can be done…● Automatic landing page creation?● Landing page optimisation?● Predictive churn prevention?● We didn’t talk too much about negative
keywords...
Quick Note...
Just for Clarification...
● The tools mentioned, are internal only to the company
● External tools must implement the respectives RMFs
● Basic way of seeing things:○ Internal tools don’t expose AdWords data to the
customer○ External tools do!