A White Paper from Search Star
PPC Trends & Tips
Accountancy
July 2012
About Us
Search Star was set up in 2005 and is now a top 10 independent UK PPC agency.
• We do 100% Pay Per Click (PPC) and we do it extremely well.
• By combining our expert PPC knowledge with a sound understanding of technology
and a passion for campaign delivery, we achieve unbeatable results for our clients.
• These results are reported as frequently as you need them and in the most coherent
possible fashion. We expect and want to be judged by them.
• We’re based in the centre of Bath and work for clients across the UK including Jimmy
Choo, Claims Financial, PHS, the Chartered Institute of Marketing & Good Energy.
• We do not do SEO. We do not do affiliate. We do excellent PPC.
Accountancy Search Trends
*Google Insights for Search, July 12
Generating 50% of
searches, bookkeeping is
the most popular sub
sector, followed by
business, chartered and
tax related terms.
Bookkeeping also has the
most expensive terms
(average CPC is £1.81).
Chartered accountancy
offers the most profitable
opportunities with
average CPCs of £0.89 and
CTRs of 5%.
With unemployment rising
and 15,000 new
businesses registered each
month in the UK,
accountancy-based
searches are increasing
(+15% from June 11 to
June 12*). This is a sector
with increasing volume,
mid to high competition
and decent opportunities
for worthwhile ROI.
Microsoft Advertising Intelligence Data, July 2012
Top Terms
Top Accountancy Keywords
Short-tail
Short-tail
Short-tail
Short-tail
Short-tail
Short-tail
Short-tail
Short-tail
Short-tail
Short-tail
Long-tail
Long-tail
Long-tail
Long-tail
Long-tail
Long-tail
Long-tail
Long-tail
Campaign
Ad Group
Top Service Provider Searches
Accountancy
Accountancy
Bookkeeping
Accountancy
Bookkeeping
Accountancy
Tax
Chartered Accountant
Tax
Accountancy
Chartered Accountant
Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping
Business
Chartered Accountant
Chartered Accountant
Accountants
Accountants
Bookkeeping
Accounting
Bookkeeping Services
Accountancy
Tax Accountant
Chartered Accountant
Tax Advice
Accountancy Services
Certified Chartered Accountant
Outsourced Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping London
Bookkeeping Cheshire
Bookkeeping Rates
Small Business Accounting
Chartered Accountants London
Chartered Accountants England
accountants
accountant
bookkeeping
accounting
bookkeeping services
accountancy
tax accountant
chartered accountants
tax advice
accountancy services
certified chartered accountant
outsourced bookkeeping
bookkeeping services london
bookkeeping services cheshire
rates bookkeeping services
small business accounting uk
chartered accountant firms in london
chartered accountants england
Group similar keywords
together in a granular
campaign and ad group
structure. Most
accountancy accounts
have at least 50 ad
groups. Some have
thousands, each one
containing just a few
closely related keywords
and highly targeted ads.
* Think with Google
The statistics above are
all based on position 1
and broad match. Broad
match is brilliant for
targeting the ‘16% of the
daily queries on Google
that have never been
seen before’*. Include
the broad match
modifying +sign before
crucial keywords for
lower average CPC with
quality scores equivalent
to exact match.
Daily Impressions Daily Clicks Average CPC Average CTR
13693
3739
1669
1097
895
665
571
436
424
403
18
7
22
0
1
0
0
24
Go for the mid and longtail. Longer search strings
containing more specifics
generate the same CTR (6%
in this example) for lower
CPC (£1.03 compared to
£1.23). Searchers using mid
and long-tail terms are
generally further into the
buying cycle so are more
likely to convert. Google
also love relevancy, and will
reward you with lower CPCs
and higher ad positions.
929.03
217.93
103.18
65.16
60.53
37.64
37.96
27.8
28.91
28.39
1.2
0.54
1.62
0
0.12
0.04
0.01
1.56
£1.09
£1.34
£1.39
£1.50
£1.31
£1.04
£1.21
£1.04
£1.38
£1.04
£1.30
£1.59
£3.22
£0.00
£0.24
£0.04
£0.05
£1.56
6.80%
5.80%
6.20%
5.90%
6.80%
5.70%
6.60%
6.40%
6.80%
7.00%
6.40%
7.50%
7.00%
0.00%
6.60%
6.90%
7.70%
6.40%
Build up a tailored,
keyword specific list of
negatives. Use Google’s
keyword tool and search
query reports (AdWords
>> Campaigns >>
Keywords >> Keyword
Details) to find irrelevant
terms. Use -exact, ”phrase” and –[broad]
matching on your
negatives to filter
effectively.
Structuring your Account
The top 5 accountancy campaign must-haves:
1.
Set up accounts on all search engines - Google, plus the Bing/Yahoo! partnership. The
current average CPC for accountancy keywords on Bing/Yahoo! is £0.56 less than on
Google.
2.
Use geographical targeting to reach the areas that are going to yield the best ROI for
your accountancy firm (AdWords >> Campaigns >> Settings).
3.
If you’re going to capitalise on the reach of Google’s display network, set up a
completely separate campaign. There are many benefits to be had from remarketing,
contextual and keyword marketing, but they need to be run, managed and optimised
in a completely different way from search network advertising. With the display
network, always use site exclusion. This removes high-click, low yield partner sites
from the display network. Go to networks >> show details and check & remove all
underperforming sites.
4.
Do the same for mobile campaigns. Mobile search has grown 400% in the past 12
months* and 15% of UK Smartphone owners have ‘awareness of advertising on
smartphone’*. Copy your mobile campaign, run it separately and keep on top of this
emerging market.
5.
Link to the right landing pages - test whether deep or category links work best for
your site. This will reduce bounce rates, increase dwell time and lead to improved
sales.
* Think with Google
Writing effective PPC ads
Get the basics
right:
Include the
keyword
Use correct
spelling,
punctuation,
grammar &
capitalisation
Use calls to
action
Include special
offers
Have at least 3
ads per ad
group. Test
different
messages. More
than 5 ads per
ad group can
dilute your
data.
* Think with Google
Be local.
‘Including
location or
phone
information in
a search ad
increases CTR
by 6-8%’*.
Cost is king so
include it
where you can.
Check prices
are competitive
first.
Filter out
nonconverters by
being as
specific as
possible, e.g.
‘small
business
only’.
Qualifiers also
work wells for
this.
Ad scheduling
on Google
AdWords
allows PPC
advertisers to
set different
bids for
different days
of the week
and different
hours of the
day. If your
business is
closed on
weekends, you
can pause your
ads.
If you’re bidding
on shorter tail
terms, consider
using persuasive
language to
encourage
searchers away
from what they
thought they
were looking for
(e.g. ‘online
bookkeepers’)
to you
(‘bookkeepers
in Bath’)
Tracking
Implement Google AdWords Conversion
Tracking (AdWords >> Tools & Analysis
>>Conversions). This piece of code on your
conversion page will allow analysis of
campaigns, ad groups, keywords, ads and
search queries that resulted in specific
customer actions. The only con is the 30 day
cookie length, which means that if a
searcher returns to your site after 30 days,
the conversion won’t be attributed to the
PPC keyword.
Google Analytics has a longer default
cookie length of 6 months. Google Analytics
is also the best place to analyse
engagement – you can see page views, time
on site and bounce rate for every single
keyword. You may find terms that aren’t
performing well in terms of conversions, but
are still generating strong engagement. This
software also allows you to track non-PPC
traffic sources, including social media.
Demographics
•
•
•
•
The best PPC accounts target the
right audience. When it comes to
accountancy, it’s a fairly even-split of
men and women aged between 35
and 49 (37.5%) doing the searching.
The majority of people searching for
accountancy services are in London,
followed by Southampton, Essex and
Gloucester.
If your business is targeted to these
demographics, consider uplifting
bids for this audience.
Also bid on long-tail terms especially
relevant locations. These Londonbased accountancy keywords have
high CTRs for relatively low CPCs.
Microsoft Advertising Intelligence Data, July 2012
Next Steps
A decent PPC campaign takes patience, commitment and time. It’s no
longer profitable to adopt a ‘set it and forget it’ attitude. Return to your
account regularly and optimise, optimise, optimise:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Run search query reports (AdWords >> Campaigns >> Keywords >> Keyword Details)
to find the phrase and broad matched search queries for your keywords. Add any
relevant ones with decent click levels to your account. Use the irrelevant search
queries as negatives.
Use Google Insights for Search to find breakout searches – those which have
increased in popularity by at least 40%. These should have low competition and
therefore low CPCs.
Run an ad group report. Ad groups with large click volumes might need splitting out.
Also analyse ad groups with high CPCs and low CTRs. You may need to rework ads to
boost relevancy.
Analyse your tracking data regularly. Update everything from landing pages to your
social media to improve conversions and engagement.
Keep up-to-date with the latest algorithmic and product updates. Search engines are
constantly striving to provide their audience with better results, and you’ll need to do
the same.
Be aware of seasonality. January is the key month for accountancy. Ensure you have
enough budget, seasonal ads and the right keywords to capitalise.
‘Two line sitelinks increase click-through rates by more than 30% compared to
standard AdWords ads’*. Sitelinks are brilliant for helping users to quickly navigate
your site. This is an automated process, but Webmaster Tools allows you some
control.
And lastly, please get in touch with us if you need any further assistance.
*Google Insights for Search, July 12
Contact Details
http://www.search-star.co.uk/
info@search-star.co.uk