The State of PPC Marketing in 2015 & Beyond

Larry Kim (@larrykim)

June 11, 2015

Download Slides Here:http://bit.ly/sascon-2015

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Actual Photos From My Commute From Boston to SAScon this Morning…

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Today is My First Time Visiting England!

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3. Originally From Winnipeg, Canada!Born & Raised in Winnipeg, Canada

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Lots in Common Between UK & Canada

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We Both Have Very Colourful Money!

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We Have The Monarchy in Common!

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The Queen = Most Popular Person in The World!!

Vs.

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The Queen = Owns All My Stuff

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Not Much Stuff Named After Canada Here…

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Doesn’t Resemble Any Canadian Water I’ve Ever Seen…

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Today, I Live in New England! (USA)

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Actual Photos of Boston From February 2015

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I Live in Harvard Square

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WordStream’s Global Headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, USA

2008 2015

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The Boston Tea Party

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The Boston Tea Party

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Five Key Trends Impacting The Future of PPC Marketing

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PPC TREND #1

Price and Inventory Headwinds in Paid

Search

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GOOGLE: SEARCH CPCs KEEP FALLING (overall)

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HOWEVER, PAID SEARCH CPCs AT ALL TIME HIGH IN ESTABLISHED MARKETS!

Source: Approx. 2000 WordStream Customers

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What About Ad Inventory Volumes in Established Markets?

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APPS ARE STEALING FROM DESKTOP SEARCHES!

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FEWER AD SPOTS ON MOBILE(which is 50% of searches in 2015)

VS.

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High CPCs & Low Growth in Search

Volume in Established Markets

(YIKES!)

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WINNING AT PAID SEARCH IN 2015 MEANS BEING MORE PICKY THAN

BEFORE

Quantity of Searches

Pri

ce o

f Pa

id S

earc

h C

licks

Fewer, Higher Quality, more expensive clicks

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NEW DEMOGRAPHIC BIDDING OPTIONS (Bing Ads)

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• Customize search ads specifically to people who recently visited your site!

• On average:• Doubles CTR, raises Quality

Score

• Cuts CPC in HALF!

REMARKETING LISTS FOR SEARCH ADS (RLSA)

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So Where Will Growth in PPC Come From?

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Your audience spends 95% of its time on the web reading and engaging with news sites, blogs, general interest sites, social networks, email, etc.

95% OF TIME ONLINE IS SPENT ON CONTENT WHERE DISPLAY ADS CAN REACH USERS

Customers consider, evaluate, and advocate online.

Source: Internet Activity Index (IAI) by the Online Publishers Association (OPA); http://www.online-publishers.org/page.php/prmID/421

Everything else95%

Search5%

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DISPLAY CLICKS ARE CHEAPER

IndustryGoogle Search

Display Network

Finance $3.09 $1.03

Travel $0.29 $0.28

Shopping $0.25 $0.27

Jobs & Education $1.80 $0.34

Internet & Telecom $1.11 $0.40

Computers & Electronics $1.29 $0.44

Business & Industrial $1.67 $0.97

Home & Garden $0.76 $0.83

Autos & Vehicles $0.97 $1.03

Beauty & Fitness $1.11 $1.01

AVERAGE $1.23 $0.66

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Source: WordStream Client Data (Not Official Google Data)

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DISPLAY CLICKS CONVERT OK

IndustryGoogle Search

Display Network

Finance 6.12% 5.12%

Travel 1.45% 2.99%

Shopping 3.58% 2.19%

Jobs & Education 6.09% 2.09%

Internet & Telecom 6.27% 8.59%Computers &

Electronics4.79% 2.96%

Business & Industrial

4.23% 4.10%

Home & Garden 2.21% 3.43%

Autos & Vehicles 4.29% 6.15%

Beauty & Fitness 4.56% 2.27%

Average 4.36% 3.99%

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Source: WordStream Client Data (Not Official Google Data)

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DISPLAY CPAs ARE USUALLY LOWER

Industry Google Search

Display Network

Finance $50.49 $20.12Travel $20.00 $9.36

Shopping $6.98 $12.33Jobs & Education $29.56 $16.27

Internet & Telecom

$17.70 $4.66

Computers & Electronics

$29.02 $14.86

Business & Industrial

$39.48 $23.66

Home & Garden $34.39 $24.20Autos & Vehicles $22.61 $16.75Beauty & Fitness $24.34 $44.49

Average $27.46 $18.67

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Source: WordStream Client Data (Not Official Google Data)

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WEIRD THING ABOUT DISPLAY REMARKETING

Conversion Rates

Increase With More

Ad Impressions

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Source: WordStream Client Data (Not Official Google Data)

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• CPCs from search are going up, inventory down (in established marketing) – so be pickier!

• Display ads have a much higher inventory, lower CPCs, Convert OK = Decent ROI and Scale

QUICK RECAP

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PPC TREND #2The Rise of Identity-Based

PPC Marketing

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EVOLUTION OF DISPLAY AD TARGETING OPTIONS

5. Website Targeting(e.g.: Inc. Magazine or Home & Garden Weekly)

4. Keyword Targeting (e.g.

Articles containing “Health Insurance”)

3. Interests & Market Segments(e.g. Business Services, Photography)

2. Remarketing(e.g. People who

visited the “buy” page of your website)

1. Identity(e.g. Specific Emails or

Phone Numbers)

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Email Marketing

• Limit # of blasts to reduce unsubscribes

• 0.5-2% unsubscribes each blast

• People need to opt into your list

• Tons if unqualified emails on the list

People-Based Marketing

• FIXED

• FIXED

• FIXED

• FIXED

PEOPLE-BASED PPC IS LIKE EMAIL MARKETING BUT WAY BETTER!

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Email Targeting is Coming to AdWords!!

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Identity Based Marketing Opens

Up a TON of New and Exciting

Advertising Use Cases!!

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How does stuff go “Viral”?

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A True Twitter Ads Story

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SHARED CONTENT ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA

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CREATE A CUSTOM LIST OF “INDUSTRY INFLUENCERS”

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STORY PICKED UP IN MARKETING LAND TWO HOURS LATER…

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Exponential Growth

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Key Takeaway:You need interesting content + influential people finding your stuff

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PEOPLE WHO AREN’T JOURNALISTS CAN MAKE STUFF GO “VIRAL” TOO

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• 500 High Value Press Pickups + Links

• Massive Brand Exposure

• +100k Site Visitors• Total Cost: $50• Total Time: 10

Minutes

Return on Investment Analysis:

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WordStream Articles

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f S

ocia

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hare

s

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IDENTITY MARKETING TO SPECIFIC INFLUENCES INCREASES THE CHANCE OF

GETTING “NOTICED”

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IDENTITY MARKETING TO SPECIFIC INFLUENCES INCREASES THE CHANCE OF

GETTING “NOTICED”

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WordStream Articles

# o

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IDENTITY + USER DEMOGRAPHICS (CUSTOMER PERSONA) = $$$

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THE FUTURE OF DISPLAY ADS IS NATIVE MOBILE

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• Display ad targeting is better than ever

• Identity-based ad targeting opens up all sorts of new PPC marketing use cases!

• Identity + Behavioral/Demographic Filters = $$$

• Future of Display Ads = Native Mobile

QUICK RECAP

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PPC TREND #3Mobile Ads, Duh.

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The Top Secret Mobile Ads Hack!

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Join Me at 15:30 in Room 1 for “The Mobile Opportunity – The Untapped Goldmine!”

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PPC TREND #4Google Taking Away

All Our Toys!

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RIP KEYWORD MATCH TYPES

These are Pretty Much all the Same

Now!

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RIP DEVICE TARGETING

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Recently Added/Changed or In Danger:

• Keywords (seriously!)

• Dynamic Sitelinks

• Etc.

MINDLESS REPETITIVE TASKS ARE GOING EXTINCT

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So, What Do We Focus Our Efforts On?

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Be a unicorn not a donkey!

DONKEYS VS. UNICORNS

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TOP 1% OF ADVERTISERS GET 6x AVG. CTR

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These Ads Are All Donkeys

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This Ad Gets 6x The Average CTR and is a Unicorn

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TOP 10% OF ADVERTISERS GET 3-5X AVG. CONVERSION RATES

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FIRST MOVER ADVANTAGE

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GMAIL ADS: Email Ads in Disguise

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5x Higher CTR! Target Competitor Emails!

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YouTube Ads!

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Use YouTube Ads To Buy SEO Rankings

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• Mindless repetitive optimizations = smaller gains

• Strategic marketing focus = HUGE gains

• Don’t fret loss of old features, be the FIRST to use new features

• Be a unicorn among a sea of donkeys

QUICK RECAP

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PPC TREND #5Rise of “Content Remarketing”, Convergence of

Paid/Organic Teams

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HELL HAS FROZEN OVER: ME DOING THE ONLY PPC MARKETING SESSION AT HUBSPOT

INBOUND 2014

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OMG

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SOCIAL PLATFORMS ARE KILLING OFF ORGANIC REACH

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Content Marketing + Remarketing =

Content Remarketing

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• Amplify/promote your content to the right people

• Dramatically accelerate & increase brand recall

• Generate sales and qualified leads

INTRODUCING CONTENT REMARKETING

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STA

RT /

GO

How Content Remarketing Works

CREATEProduce content

& share on social

AMPLIFYSelectively promote top content on social media

TAGBuild remarketing

audience by tagging site visitors with a cookie

3

1

2

ADVERTISETarget your

audience with display & social ads promoting

offers

FILTERApply

behavioral and demographic

filters on audience

CONVERTCapture qualified leads or sale

EN

D / R

EPEAT

4

6

5

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WHERE CONTENT REMARKETING FITS IN THE INBOUND MARKETING FUNNEL

Content Remarketing…

Relies on having great content

Dramatically amplifies social visibility

Makes this happen faster and more often

Lead Capture /Nurturing

Social Media Promotion

Blogging /Content Creation

CLOSED DEAL!@larrykim #sascon

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Content Remarketing!

WHERE CONTENT REMARKETING FITS IN

SEO & Content Marketing

PPCMarketing

Social MediaMarketing

Content Remarketing is on the intersection of social, content, and PPC marketing.

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Lets Review Some Key Steps in Detail.

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PROBABLY WON’T END UP IN THE WALL ST. JOURNAL

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PAID SOCIAL PROMOTION TO REGULAR FANS MAKES ALL OF YOUR CONTENT DO

BETTER

WordStream Articles

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How to (Cheaply) Target Fans

(Regular People) on Social Media

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TARGET USING REMARKETING

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TARGET FANS WITH POST ENGAGEMENT ADS

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Refine Audiences By Layering Recent Purchase Activity

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Or Recent Life Events (Or 2500 Other Demographic Targeting Options)

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PAID PROMOTION YIELDS ORGANIC EXPOSURE

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Buy One Retweet, Get 3 Clicks Free!

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TARGET FANS ON TWITTER

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Even Google+ Has Ads

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+Post Ads on Google+

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The Flywheel Effect of Social Promotion + Insane Power of

First-Mover Advantage

AfterBefore

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Promoting Content on the Google Display Network Using Remarketing

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QUALITY SCORE EXISTS ON GOOGLE DISPLAY NETWORK

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Source: WordStream Client Data (Not Official Google Data)

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PUSH DISPLAY ADS BACK TO YOUR CONTENT

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THESE EMOTIONS MAKE PEOPLE CLICK ON THINGS

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GREAT DISPLAY ADS LOOK MORE LIKE CONTENT

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• Content remarketing, social media, and PPC marketing are rapidly converging. Success will require integrated paid/organic teams.

• Content remarketing greatly amplifies content marketing and social media marketing

QUICK SUMMARY

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Summary: The Five Key Trends Impacting The Future of PPC Marketing

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1. Super-Picky PPC: Buy fewer, Higher Quality Clicks. Embrace display ads for scale.

2. Identity Marketing: Think about PPC ads as email marketing.

3. Mobile, Duh: (Stay Tuned for Next Panel Discussion)

4. Embrace Automation: Focus on Marketing Strategy Not Mindless Repetitive Tasks.

5. Content Remarketing: Use PPC Ads to catalyze content marketing efforts.

Five PPC Trends to Remember

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Slides: http://bit.ly/sascon-2015