PPC Click Through Rates vs. ROI: What’s Really Important?

• By: David
• Categories: Pay Per Click
• Comments: 1

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One of the most common questions we get from website owners is: What is a good click through rate for a PPC campaign?

This question is not as cut and dry as general click through rates for organic listings… PPC click through seems to have a much higher degree of variance based on the keyword itself, the relation of the keyword being searched to the title, text and visible URL in the ad, etc…

You have to do keyword research. Some keywords lend themselves to a higher percentage of PPC clicks. These are typically terms related to purchases… the statistics that I have seen vary widely but all indicate that if the person is in an information gathering / research mode, they tend to click on the organic results. However, if a person is closer to making a purchase then the PPC click through rate increases significantly. As you know this tends to be especially true for the longer tail more specific terms… in many people’s minds paid advertising is closely related to coupons or other advertised savings and this may be a factor in a persons decision to look at paid vs. organic listings.

Google Rolls Out “Google Tags” Nationally

• By: Jesse
• Categories: Pay Per Click
• Comments: 0

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Google had been experimenting in selected cities with a beta program so SEO Inc was right there learning this new tactic. Local businesses could pay to make their listing stand out from the crowd for a flat monthly fee of $25. The program was essentially an enhancement of the listings on the “7-pack” map listing. See below:

Google Tags is now out of beta and available nationwide. For local businesses that rely on Google searches, this is now a way to stand out from the crowd with your own special offer or message in the map 7-pack. For now, they are relatively rare and stand out. As Google Tags become ubiquitous, it might be the price of admission.

Here’s what Google had to say about this new feature:

For a flat monthly fee of $25, businesses can enhance their listings that appear on Google.com and Google Maps with a yellow tag that emphasizes specific information such as a coupon, video, website, menu, reservations, photos, or a custom message. Tags do not affect the ranking of the listings, and we clearly indicate which parts of the search result are sponsored.

As with all things Google, expect the paid listings to expand over time and start to overwhelm the free listings. To learn more and try it out, please visit Google Tags.

If you need help with your Google Places listing, Local Search Optimization or want to be a head of the curve with Google Tags contact us today.

PPC Management is like a Potato Farm

• By: JC
• Categories: Pay Per Click
• Comments: 0

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Pay Per Click marketing is as simple as choosing some keywords, creating a few ads, and letting the campaign run, right? Not quite; efficient paid search marketing campaigns require constant upkeep as well as ad and keyword testing.

I read an article on Search Engine Land this morning about crucial steps in building a PPC campaign and completely agree with the “one best piece of advice” that was given. “Once the account is live, it will need to be robust enough to test many different types of targeting, various keywords, ad messages and so on.,

When I create an account, I plan on it growing in the near future. I structure it so that there are many different segments that can be easily and quickly modify or paused without disturbing the rest of the account.

Why Social Media Helps PPC Conversions

• By: JC
• Categories: Pay Per Click
• Comments: 0

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If you haven’t already realized it from reading anything that John has written on here, Social Media is critical and extremely helpful when it comes to search engine optimization. As a Paid Search Manager, my focus has been more on pay-per-click campaigns on the major search engines rather than on social media sites. However, after reading a report on Gigya that said that nearly 20% of social consumers are now using social networks as their core navigation tool, I’ve been thinking of how to successfully combine paid search campaigns and social networking strategies.

Social media is, naturally, going to strengthen brand awareness. Because of this, consumers are more likely to click on paid search ads because they are more familiar with your company. So, with a strong social media based brand campaign, people are going convert on your ad when searching for your product or service, which will improve your click through rate and improve your quality score.

Google Adwords Authorized Reseller Program to Shut Down

• By: Brad
• Categories: Pay Per Click
• Comments: 0

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While there has been no official announcement from Google and their Authorized Reseller program website is still live, rumors have been swirling that Google is ending it’s Authorized Adwords Program. The program as it exists today includes around 30 PPC Management companies and was designed to allow these companies to provide pay per click management services (Google Adwords) to the local SMB market. Companies who get approved in the program must achieve and maintain a client base of over 500 clients and get free API access.

Paid Search Marketing and Search Engine Optimization: A Perfect Pair

• By: JC
• Categories: Pay Per Click
• Comments: 0

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Paid Search Marketing is an often overlooked and misunderstood method of search engine marketing. Many companies ask “why should we pay for sponsored links when we are showing up in the organic results?”

There are several reasons why paid search marketing methods like pay per click (PPC) are not only beneficial, but crucial to your search engine optimization strategy.

• First, you are dominating more real estate on the search page. People are more willing to purchase from companies they are more familiar with, so the more your company’s name shows up the more that will be reinforced.
• Studies have shown paid search has the highest ROI of all advertising/marketing vehicles (SEMPO Survey February 2007).