Paid Search Optimization step-by-step guide to implement a paid
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CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-1
Planning Paid Search
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search campaign
Types of Paid Search
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In this section, we discuss:
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Optimize Your Paid Search Program
Customer segmentation
Cost
Timing
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Unlimited keywords
Flexibility
Customer oriented design
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Technical advantages
Customer quality
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Economic advantages
CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-2
Compare to SEM, what are the advantages of paid
search?
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Why Paid Search?
CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-3
Paid search can be expensive if not executed properly
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Remember the click frauds?
Show me the money!
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What’s the catch?
Why Paid Search?
The price is usually also fixed
Pay – per – impression
Long contract time
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Not flexible
Bottom line: be VERY SURE about what you are pursuing
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CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-4
Place guaranteed. Price predictable & fixed
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Pros & Cons
The place your ad appears remains fixed
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Fixed Placement
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Types of Paid Search
Google & Yahoo still own 97% market
Small players: GoClick.com & msn AdCenter
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Pay by bidding in keyword auction
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CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-5
Pay-per-click
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Characteristics
The one we’ve been discussing the whole semester
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“Traditional” Paid Placement
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Types of Paid Search
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CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-6
This makes estimation of final keyword cost difficult
Both Google and Yahoo now use a combination of price
and click-through to determine the winner for a bid
Keyword bidding is a complicated process
“Traditional” Paid Placement
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Types of Paid Search
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CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-7
Google: same as AdWord; Yahoo: separated
Google’s AdSense & Yahoo’s Content Match network are
examples of contextual Ad. Vendors
It is a more sophisticated form of affiliated marketing
Contextual ad system scans the text of a Web site for
keywords and returns ads based on what the user is
viewing
Contextual Ads.
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Types of Paid Search
CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-8
Cost: should contextual ad. Cost the same as paid
placement?
Control: You cannot choose the site, the place or the ad.
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Audience: very specific customer groups
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Contextual Ads: Pros & Cons
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Types of Paid Search
CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-9
70% had used the Internet to search for a local service
business at any point, and 46% had used the Internet to
search one or more times for a local service in 2005
More than ¼ searches in 2004 are near home or work
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At infancy stage online
Used to be mainly offline (think yellow page and local
newspapers)
Local search is deemed as the holy grail of advertising
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Local Ads
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Types of Paid Search
Yahoo is the biggest vendor
Free listing
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Local Ads
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CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-10
Types of Paid Search
CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-11
Competitors in the same product category are charged the
same per-click fee
Major players
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1% of all Internet traffic, 22% growth rate (2004)
Customers: transactional searchers ready to buy (twice as
likely to buy and buy twice as much)
Specifically designed search engines that offer one-stop
shopping for particular products
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Shopping Search
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Types of Paid Search
Remember to measure them!
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80% of the lower demand keywords show higher
conversion rates for lower slots!
Top position attracts 40% more traffic than 2nd position
CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-12
STEP 3: Don’t forget local search!
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STEP 2: Paid Placement Search – Position
What do you want? Traffic or conversion?
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STEP 1: Don’t forget your GOALS!
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Planning Paid Search
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In paid placement – more bidders = higher fees
In shopping search -- product categories with more competitors cost
more
CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-13
In paid placement – better understanding of your keyword value is the
key to higher efficiency
In the real world, no market is totally efficient – information asymmetry
In other words, the market price is an unbiased estimate of the true
value of the product
Efficiency: sellers will maximize the price based on the value
to the buyers
Scarcity: scarce items cost more (less supply, more demand)
Marketing Basics (and how they relate to SEM)
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Planning Paid Search
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CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-14
In other words, why would the value of a keyword be higher for your
competitors?
Why could someone outbid you?
Efficiency: sellers will maximize the price based on the value
to the buyers
Marketing Basics (and how they relate to SEM)
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Planning Paid Search
Optimize the list
Iterate!
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CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-15
Monitor closely: collect traffic, conversion, profit…. As much
data as you could get
Start broad: choose a collection of keywords, collect data
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Start small: don’t expect it to work at the beginning
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Starting your paid placement campaign
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Planning Paid Search
And google only shows you the AVERAGE bid
And MORE THAN that!
CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-16
Very difficult task, since cost is dependent on click-through
Decide your media cost
Media costs
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Management costs
Budget to build : handed a budget to do everything
Creative costs
Build to budget: add up all your costs and ask for the budget
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1. Decide your budget
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Step-by-step Paid Search
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Don’t estimate
Use the average
Second price auction
Conversion affects fee
Auction is an ever-changing game
CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-17
Media cost could not be estimated accurately
Test using both yahoo and google
Decide your media cost
1. Decide your budget
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Step-by-step Paid Search
Gap surfing, bid jamming & dayparting
No longer useful
$0.99
$0.25
$0.5 $0.51
$1
CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-18
Used to have different style
Google vs. Yahoo
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Focus on one vendor to begin
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2. Set Up Your Account
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Step-by-step Paid Search
Market leap
performics
The search works
CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-19
Other tools are:
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To start, google or yahoo tools are fine (and free!)
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3. Select Bid Management Tool
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Step-by-step Paid Search
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CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-20
For paid placement, refer to our discussion before regarding
keyword selection
For shopping search engines, set up trust-feed and pay a
fixed fee
Keywords or products
4. Select Targets
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Step-by-step Paid Search
Google refers to them as ad groups campaign
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Negative match
Exact match (google) / standard match (yahoo default): only
the exact phrase
Phrase match (google): must contain the exact phrase!
Broad match (google default) / advanced match (Yahoo):
include variation of keywords
CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-21
7. Geographic targeting of keywords
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6. Match Type for Keywords
Yahoo divide keywords into categories
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5. Manage Keywords
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Step-by-step Paid Search
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ROAS: revenue / ad cost (maximize returns)
ROI: profit / ad cost (maximize returns)
Allowable: highest CPA
CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-22
Different optimization strategy leads to different performances
You cannot optimize ALL metrics!
Profit Margin: profit per unit / revenue per unit (maximize profit)
Metrics useful for bid management
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CPA: ad cost / number of ACTIONS (minimize costs)
The key is to use metrics to drive your bids – objective bidding
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Three focuses: maximize returns, minimize costs, maximize profit
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8. Select Bidding Strategy
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Step-by-step Paid Search
Every bid must be at least 1 cent higher than the bid below
You can set budget maximums, bid maximums, and cap for your campaign
Bidding is usually an iterative process – trial and error!
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CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-23
Bids start at 1 to 10 cents
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9. Make your bid
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Step-by-step Paid Search
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Don’t hype it up, but try to draw attention
Call to action
Create urgency
Complete and correct metadata
Price
Merchant rating
CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-24
Sell your uniqueness
For shopping search
Use the keywords
Optimize the copy
10. Attract the searchers
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Step-by-step Paid Search
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Reinforce your offer
Do NOT use pop-ups and visitor traps
CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-25
Include the keywords – reinforce the message
Optimize the landing pages
10. Attract the searchers
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Step-by-step Paid Search
CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-26
“Maintenance” -- Measure and Adjust!
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Step-by-step Paid Search
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CSE 197/BIS 197: Search Engine Strategies 14-27
What’s Next?