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Aha!Local University Session ThreeLocal Paid Search Advertising

The third in a series of seminars and webinars about how to market your business online to local customers

© Parallel Path Corp., 2011

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Agenda

• What Is Local Paid Search Advertising?• Why Does It Matter?• How Does It Work?

>What Can the Local Business Operator Do Herself?>What Should be Done by an Agency?• What Should You Look for in an Agency?

• Preview of Next Session• Final Thoughts

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What is Local Paid Search?

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Ads are generally sold on a pay-per-click model, although pay-per-call is also available.

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Why is Local Paid Search Important?

Pluses• 30-40% of clicks go to paid

ads• Purchase-ready prospects:

People click on ads to be sold something

• Assured first page placement• Measurable ROI• Lots of control

Minuses• Competitive auction

environment• Complicated to manage

profitably• Challenging to link a click to

an in-store visit

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Why Focus on Google?US Search Market Share

Google; 65%

Bing; 14%

Yahoo!; 16%

Others; 5%

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For advertisers with limited budget, focus advertising on Google, because that’s where the traffic is

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Providers of Local Paid Search

• Packaged providers>Selling clicks>ReachLocal>Google Boost

• Full agency model

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The ReachLocal Model

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ReachLocal Proxies Your Site

• Advantage:>Tracking

conversions v. clicks

• Disadvantage:>How much do

they really manage or optimize?

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Google Boost

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Google Boost Summary

Advantages• Easy to implement

> Write ad copy> Pick landing page> Set budget

Disadvantages• Limited controls• Oriented toward clicks, not

conversions

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What is Paid Search?

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What Is Paid Search?

• Keyword Ad Placement Usually Based Around a PPC Model (Pay-Per-Click)

• Advertiser Only Pays When the Ad is Clicked On

• Google Uses Two Types:>Search Network>Display Network

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Why Use Paid Search?

• It Allows Businesses to Target Relevant Searches in a Targeted Area

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Benefits of PPC

• Control of Audience• Geo-Targeting

• Control of Message• Ads

• Control of Traffic• Keywords

• Control of When the Ad is Showing• Dayparting

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How To Set-Up a PPC Account

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• 1st Level - Campaign >Best Use – Separating Products

• 2nd Level – AdGroups>Best Use – Separating Product Sub-Categories

• 3rd Level – Keywords>Best Use – Targeting Terms Relevant to Your

Business

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Campaigns

• Main Actions:>Daily Budget>Geo-Targeting>Dayparting>Network Selection

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Search vs. Display

Search - Organic

Display - Placed Ad

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• Pros:>More Displays of Ad>Cheaper CPC (Cost-per-click)>More Clicks

• Cons:>Ad Targeting is Harder to Control>Can Spend Your Budget Quickly

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Campaigns -> AdGroups

• Main Actions:>Set Default Bids>Write Ads

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Ads – Best Practices

>Text Ad Format:Headline – 25 Characters 1st Description Line – 35 Characters2nd Description Line – 35 charactersDisplay URL – 35 Characters

• Create Simple, Enticing Ads• Include One of Your Keywords• Include Prices or Promotions• Use a Strong Call-To-Action• Direct Searcher To a Landing Page

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Landing Page Best Practices

• Limit Navigation>Don‘t distract them. Limit where they can go

• Deliver Value>Offer an incentive to the user for sharing information

• Keep It Short>Too much information can overwhelm the reader

• Test, Test, Test>Don’t settle on your first landing page design

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Examples of Good Pages

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Campaign -> AdGroup -> Keywords

• Main Action>Control Over Individual Bids>View of Quality Score

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>Makes New Suggestions>Shows Competition for Keywords>Shows Estimated Click Price

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Match Types

• Broad Match: Tennis Shoe• Matches: Tennis, Shoes, Buy Tennis Shoes, Tennis Shoe

Photos, Running Shoes, Tennis Sneaker

• Phrase Match: “Tennis Shoes”• Matches: Red Tennis Shoes, Buy Tennis Shoes• Won’t Show: Shoes For Tennis, Tennis Shoe, Tennis

Sneakers

• Exact Match: [Tennis Shoes]• Matches: Tennis Shoes• Won’t Show: Anything else

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Conversions

• Critical For Understanding CPA (Cost-Per-Acquisition)• Easy to Set-Up, But Requires Being Able to Place Code

on Pages on Your Website

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Best Practices

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Best Practices

• Determine Your Performance Goals>How Will You Measure Success?

• Don’t Put Everything In One Campaign>Products Shouldn’t Compete For Budget/Visibility

• Don’t Set Your Budget Too Low>Ad Serving Can Be Limited if The Budget is Too Small

• Don’t Make Changes Too Quickly>Decisions Made Without Enough Data Can Hurt an Account

• Pay Attention To Your Account

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• Negative Keywords>Allows For the Elimination of Unrelated Queries

• Ad Delivery>As Fast As Possible or Evenly Over Time

• Language Targeting>Target Users In Other Languages

• Device Targeting>Target Mobile Devices

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Why Do I Need An Agency?

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Why Use An Agency?

• Because You Aren’t Making Money• Agencies Offer:

>Experience With Many Different Business Models>Imaginative New Ways to Build Accounts>Knowledge of How to Use Your Data Effectively >A Pulse on the Ever Changing Paid Search Features>The Time Available to Manage Your Account

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What to Look For In An Agency

• Transparency>How much information does the agency share

• Ownership>Who owns the accounts, you or the agency?

• Efficiency>Bids don’t need to be adjusted hourly

• Education>Does the agency work to help you understand your

account?

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Wrap-Up

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Planned Curriculum

• Local Listings and Local Search• Local Paid Advertisements• Social Media• Reviews• Online Coupons• Location-Based Social Networking• Mobile

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Final Thoughts

• Slides will be posted online>Link will be sent to meetup.com group and to

Twitter followers (@parallelpath)• Please sign in to make sure we have your complete

contact info• Please provide feedback on the meetup.com group

site• Referral gift: Bring another next time and get a gift!

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