aaron levy
ppc planning ppc to save your sanity
@bigalittlea
@bigalittlea
@SEERinteractive
ppc has a problem
flickr.com/photos/ishmaelo
@bigalittlea
flickr.com/photos/bunchofpants/
3 stages x 3 ideas = 9 tips to keep it together
7 beer
beer
beer
food
food food food
food & beer food
food food food
food
@bigalittlea
flickr.com/photos/bluesquarething/
@bigalittlea
10
prepare
flickr.com/photos/henryalva/
@bigalittlea
1: meez
flickr.com/photos/bluesquarething/
12
LEARN:
the busness the goals the stakeholders the fears the marketing plan the bonus plan
@bigalittlea
RO
LE
PL
AY
ING
@nick_vigg: "every second week of the month conversions pick up…”
RO
LE
PL
AY
ING
@client: "we run radio the second week of most months. think that has an impact…?”
DO
ES
RA
DIO
IMP
AC
T?
yes. yes it does.
DR
OZ
= P
RO
FIT
!
@bigalittlea
SEARCH VOLUME SPIKE R
AS
PB
ER
RY
KE
TO
NE
S
@bigalittlea
GUESS HOW MUCH CLICKS COST? R
AS
PB
ER
RY
KE
TO
NE
S
@bigalittlea
2: label relentlessly
Image credit: http://ralamac.deviantart.com/
20
“AdWords Labels for Effective Account Management: Moar Labels!” - @michellemsem
@bigalittlea
“AdWords Labels: Why I Love Them & You Should Too”- @katiewalton85
“4 Ways I Use AdWords Labels to Manage My AdWords Campaigns Faster” - @AndrewLolk
@bigalittlea
UNIVERSITY CLIENT L
AB
EL
RE
LE
NT
LE
SS
LY
COLLEGES: 12 PROGRAMS: 60 DEGREE LEVELS: 4 REGIONS: 5 AGENCIES: 2
@bigalittlea
400+ campaigns
flickr.com/photos/superyyy100/
@bigalittlea
UNIVERSITY CLIENT L
AB
EL
RE
LE
NT
LE
SS
LY
CAMPAIGN:
agency college geo channel
@bigalittlea
UNIVERSITY CLIENT L
AB
EL
RE
LE
NT
LE
SS
LY
AD GROUP:
program level branded/non brand
@bigalittlea
UNIVERSITY CLIENT L
AB
EL
RE
LE
NT
LE
SS
LY
KEYWORD:
general category-specific program-specific
pow-pow powerpivot
flickr.com/photos/gurana/
27 @bigalittlea
@bigalittlea
3: scratch made vs. store-bought
flickr.com/photos/mountjoy/
@bigalittlea
SE
ER
RE
PO
RT
HO
UR
S
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Acquisio Excel
@bigalittlea
ROI VS. ROE F
OR
YO
U…
?
ARE YOU A…
small business? small campaign? small spend? low maintenance account?
$=free.99 infinite roi
33
execute
@bigalittlea brecht vandenbrouche
4: keep busy, avoid the busy trap
@bigalittlea
AUTOMATED OR ALGORITHMIC? B
ID C
HA
NG
ES
NORMAL BID RULES:
if keyword is x above cpa over 30 days, drop bids by y
if keyword is z below cpa over 30 days, bump bids by q
@bigalittlea
DAILY CHANGES = PROBLEM B
ID C
HA
NG
ES
BID RULES WILL:
look at the same keywords
look at the same data
over compensate
seer.is/bidrules
@bigalittlea
5: test small, win big
flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/
@bigalittlea “i want to fail fast” flickr.com/photos/jeanpaulmca/
@bigalittlea
SO
UN
DS
EX
PE
NS
IVE
? flickr.com/photos/ishinelike/
@bigalittlea
MOBILE TEST T
ES
T S
MA
LL
, WIN
BIG
CAMPAIGNS? mature
CMO? test everything now! MOBILE SITE? piece o’ crap
@bigalittlea
MOBILE TEST T
ES
T S
MA
LL
, WIN
BIG
SOLUTION? exact-only campaigns best keywords per category sky high mobile bids
@bigalittlea
MOBILE TEST RESULTS T
ES
T S
MA
LL
, WIN
BIG
EXPECTED WINNER? 58% higher cpa EXPECTED LOSER? 37% lower cpa
@bigalittlea
ACTUAL COSTS T
ES
T S
MA
LL
, WIN
BIG
TEST ACTUALLY SPENT: 3% of total budget TEST COULD’VE SPENT: 13% of budget
@bigalittlea
POTENTIAL BUSINSS COST T
ES
T S
MA
LL
, WIN
BIG
TEST COULD’VE COST: 7% of total conversions
@bigalittlea
6: set expectations
flickr.com/photos/mistersmed/
@bigalittlea
AIM FOR SALES, NOT CLICKS A
WE
SO
ME
OU
TE
RW
EA
R
1.2% ctr 3.7% cvr
1.2% ctr 4.1% cvr
48
grow
flickr.com/photos/mistersmed/
@bigalittlea
7: can’t please everyone
flickr.com/photos/penguincakes/
@bigalittlea
eh, screw it
@bigalittlea changethis.com/manifesto/13.ParadoxOfChoice/pdf/13.ParadoxOfChoice.pdf
print all of the things!
flickr.com/photos/blue_mountains_library_-_local_studies/
PA
RA
DO
X O
F C
HO
ICE
@bigalittlea
GU
ES
S H
OW
IT W
EN
T flickr.com/photos/ishinelike/
@bigalittlea
CUT THE CRAP PA
RA
DO
X O
F C
HO
ICE
SOLUTION curated images 9 categories 9 images per category conv. rate ↑↑↑
56
8: kaizen
@bigalittlea
nobody grew from query mining
flickr.com/photos/curtisperry/
storage containers
@bigalittlea
@bigalittlea
STORAGE CONTAINERS
SOLUTION:
survey the sales team
AL
WA
YS
IMP
RO
VE
@bigalittlea
FINDINGS:
regional language need-specific terms red flag negatives
AL
WA
YS
IMP
RO
VE
FIND SOMETHING NEW
@bigalittlea
NEW VS. OLD AL
WA
YS
IMP
RO
VE
cost conversions cpa
old storage $356k 3,555 $100
sales team terms
$40k 562 $70
@bigalittlea
9: challenge convention
molecularrecipes.com
@bigalittlea
no
t for e
ve
ryo
ne
NO
RM
AL
LP
S
…B
UT
WH
AT
IF
@bigalittlea
DOESN’T MATTER! L
AN
DIN
G P
AG
E F
OR
MS
RIGHT:
1,162 clicks 83 conv 7.1 % cr
LEFT:
1,175 clicks 85 conv 7.2 % cr
lets play again!
NO
RM
AL
3-C
OL
UM
N
CE
NT
ER
3-C
OL
UM
N
@bigalittlea
WEIRD WINS! L
AN
DIN
G P
AG
E F
OR
MS
CENTER:
215 clicks 30 conv 14.0 % cr
RIGHT:
187 clicks 23 conv
12.3 % cr
72
oh s*%#...
flickr.com/photos/feil/
73
10: life in the weeds
flickr.com/photos/kenudigit/
@bigalittlea
em
bra
ce
su
rpris
e
flickr.com/photos/judybaxter/
ENHANCED CAMPAIGNS
76
@bigalittlea
“they’re just campaigns now…”
@fmshovlin
@bigalittlea
MOBILE:
start with the best
FIG
UR
E IT
OU
T
ENHANCED JUNK
@bigalittlea
TABLETS:
-adsenseformobileapps.com -appspot.com -bids in the evening
FIG
UR
E IT
OU
T
ENHANCED JUNK
@bigalittlea
GEO:
+ strong conv. rates leave nyc + ca alone
FIG
UR
E IT
OU
T
ENHANCED ADVANTAGES
@bigalittlea
SUPER SITELINKS!
FIG
UR
E IT
OU
T
ENHANCED ADVANTAGES
@bigalittlea
CROSS DEVICE TRACKING:
call conversions estimated total conversions
FIG
UR
E IT
OU
T
ENHANCED ADVANTAGES
@bigalittlea
CROSS DEVICE…
…REMARKETING??
FIG
UR
E IT
OU
T
ENHANCED ADVANTAGES
@bigalittlea
you can still clean up
flickr.com/photos/tojosan/
@bigalittlea flickr.com/photos/riekhavoc
reward
@bigalittlea
…or just reward me
flickr.com/photos/brostad/