In the session “Search Advertising 101” the speakers offered advice to those who are new to the search advertising industry.
(Coverage of SES Chicago continues at Murdok Videos. Keep an eye on Murdok for more notes and videos from the event this week.)
Matt Van Wagner, President, Find Me Faster, said ads don’t have to be complex. They can be simple but targeted and effective. PPC is very measurable.
PPC and SEO are complimentary. They can help you get started quickly, discover words that convert and manage the risk of algorithm changes.
PPC allows more control over messaging. Van Wagner said,” you determine what pages visitors first land on-this is huge. PPC is not a said -it kind of deal – it gets better everyday.”
Always try to gain a sustainable advantage. Use system level thinking. Track performance and make adjustments. Set good goals and work toward them.
It’s important to get it right on Google first since they have close to 70 percent of the market share.
“Search engine ads are different from content ads, so treat them differently,” Van Wagner said.
When you start a campaign have goals, measure action and not just clicks. Remember to target using geo-targeting or demographic targeting.
Use Google’s ad targeting preview tool. Use this tool instead of trying to search for your own ads on Google.
Check on your campaign every month and update and edit your keyword lists.
Van Wagner said,” ads serve 2 purposes: to draw clicks and filter clicks. You’re only limited by your imagination when writing ads don’t stay inside your head.”
Mona Elesseily, Director of Marketing Strategy, Page Zero Media, offered ad copy tips and conversion tracking advice.
Ad copy tips:
- Include keywords in ad copy
- Ad copy needs to be appropriate in tone
- Filter clicks
- Consider different buyer motivations
- Buy cycle ads
- Test ads
Elesseily said,” testing ads yields results!”
On conversion tracking she said, “With conversion tracking, it’s important to identify your goals and then link it to the appropriate metrics. Tracking is obviously important to know what is happening.”
