PPC ADGROUP EXPANSION & OPTIMIZATION TIPS

In many cases, identifying a well structured PPC campaign usually consists of many “highly relevant” adgroups (keyword groups, text ads and LP’s). But one of the biggest challenges is Budget Allocation within those campaigns which contain those adgroups, especially when dealing with continuous expansion. Most of the time, certain adgroups will ether “suck up” all of the spend and/or provide the most conversions. In the fortunate case of having a few “goldmine” adgroups, it makes sense to re-evaluate the campaign structure to ensure that all of the best performing adgroups get their fair share of the budget. Let’s discuss…..

In essence, this is a very good problem to have because it allows for better management of ROAS%. Adgroup expansion is a sign of good Quality Score methodology. Overtime, there will be Winners, Losers and Others that need more attention. With that said, there are a few ways to alter the campaign structures to get the most out of the budgets. Here are a few ideas:

Keep them in their Family:
This approach, even though not optimal for conversions, is a good way to control the budgets across an entire group of related products or services. This can be applied to eCommerce as well as Lead Generation. If the client prefers to spend money on specific adgroups/terms, even though they do not generally drive a lot of conversions, this a good way to go.

Performance Classification:
Sometimes, you need to mix things up from the typical Quality Score structure. In this phase in the PPC Game, it’s all about Revenue’s and maximizing ROAS%. Bucketing the top performing adgroups will allow for increase Ad Serving exposure to those adgroups which need it the most. The difficult task in doing this is where the “cut off” line is with the adgroups, especially with Seasonality trends.

Intent Classification:
In this case, identifying the top keyword modifiers which drive the highest level of interaction from the searcher will generate this classification. In a past blog post on SemGeek entitled “Tips on How to Maximize Lead Quality in PPC Marketing”, I talk about the importance of measuring Keyword Intent and using that information along with conversions to create the different classification buckets.

In Conclusion:
As I mentioned before, this is a good problem to have because it’s a natural growing pain of a well structured campaign. The bottom line in all that we do in PPC is Optimal Performance. The more money we make for the advertiser/client, the better the relationship and that’s what we want. Personally, I think every PPC Marketer needs to be creative in how they approach Paid Search. Achieving good Quality Score is always a best practice, but I would take conversions and a respectable ROAS% over Quality Score any day.

TIPS ON HOW TO MAXIMIZE LEAD QUALITY IN PPC MARKETING

One of the biggest issues PPC Marketers face today is knowing what is a considered a GOOD lead and what is a BAD lead. Some would say that doesn’t matter to them, as they feel their job is to just drive leads and keep the ROAS% within their threshold, while others to strive for perfection and count on their clients for future referrals. Well, for those who don’t care about lead quality, that is just bad business practice. To solve the issue of “unqualified leads” takes cooperation from both sides and it’s pretty easy to get a sense of what’s working on what is not. Let’s Discuss.

Why “After the Click” is just as important as “Before the Click”
PPC Marketers who put a blind eye to just look at conversion quantity and not conversion quality is setting themselves up for failure. No client is going to stay with them very long if their leads never turn into $$$ for them. However, taking this first step to solving this problem starts with a simple conversation with the client and asking very specific questions like:

• Why is this not considered a good lead?
• What information do you need from the visitor to consider them qualified.
• What other information can you give me from past clients?

Then after those questions are answered, the PPC Marketer should also be allowed access to view the leads that are coming in so they can analyze the messaging and all of the other demographic and geographic information so they can come back and adjust their messaging and/or entire strategy.
Measuring Keyword Intent
Many of us know that certain Long Tail terms have specific motivations behind them. As in human behavior, our words and how we say them impact responses from those listening. Terms like Buy, Order, Immediate, Fast,  Help, Need, etc… have different levels of intent as compared to others which do not have that same level of intensity. Based on the industry that the PPC campaign is targeting, work with the client to identify these terms and apply them to the adgroup, as well as the Text Ad Messaging and test it.
Conversion Tricks to Filter out Bad Leads:
Instead of using a basic Online Form, you should create a brief survey to get the visitor engaged and allow them to provide information that could automatically  qualify them or put them in the trash. Surveys are good for two (2) reasons.

• Often get a better response rate
• Provide a sense of interaction and engagement that a general form does not.

Point Based Conversion tracking:
Tracking Conversions is a pretty easy thing to do and no matter how much work is done “before the click”, understanding with Keywords and Text Ads drive the most “qualified leads” is difficult to identify. One way to fix this problem is putting a point system in place based on the answers to the questions and have those points calculated in the Conversion Tracking Revenue Dynamic Variable (as used in eCommerce).
Based on these points, we now can see that from 1 – 10, with 10 being best, we can identify what is generating the best leads. Moreover, this will require some programming to generate a point system, but the end result will save the advertisers hundreds if not thousands of PPC dollars in the future. See an example below:
In Conclusion:
PPC Marketing is an evolving industry which continually keeps getting more and more complex and we need to find ways to get our clients they best results possible. Quality Scores and Optimal Landing Pages are good, but unless the lead turns into strong prospect, it’s all useless to the client. Obtaining better qualified leads is as easy is chatting the client to see the types of leads coming in and understanding why they were good or unqualified.

Asia Cup 2012: Bangla Tigers aim for a final roar against Pakistan

Mirpur: History beckons Bangladesh as they aim to rise above the minnows tag and notch up their biggest title since arriving on the international scene when they take on an unpredictable Pakistan in the final of the Asia Cup here on Thursday.

With former champions India and Sri Lanka shockingly thrown out of the competition, it is the most surprising summit line-up for the event which is struggling for relevance in a crowded international calender.

Defending champions India paid the price for a stunning loss to Bangladesh in the league stage while four-time winners Sri Lanka failed to register a single triumph this time.

The debacles of the two teams, who have dominated the tournament since its inception way back in 1984, paved the way for an unlikely finalist in Bangladesh, a side which is known to upstage biggies but not for going the whole hog.

he giant-killers thrashed India, chasing down a mammoth 290, but that was seen merely as one of the rare stunners that the Tigers are so well known to throw up in multi-national events.

However, the determined side proved the critics wrong by beating an already demoralised Sri Lanka as well, a result that knocked India out of the final.

"It`s a great achievement for the country, so far the biggest. We realise it`s still not over, we have another very important game. We`ll enjoy, we`ll party, but tomorrow we`ll be back to business. I hope we will fire on the 22nd," said opener Tamim Iqbal, the hero of the win over Sri Lanka with a half century.

The triumph on Tuesday night triggered wild celebrations through the country and the team itself was in a delirious huddle much after the presentations were done with.

"I think when we talk in the dressing room its like, 100 runs in 20 overs is no problem. This is the sort of confidence that we have now," said in-form all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.

"Cricket is a mental game so this confidence is very important. If a player goes down the wicket and thinks he`ll get stumped, he will. If he thinks he will hit a six, he`ll be successful at most times," he said.

If the hosts manage to carry this confidence and clinch the big prize tomorrow, the country is set for one big party that might last quite a few days. And both Tamim and Shakib hold the key to this, at least on the batting front.

But Pakistan would look to play the party poopers. Misbah-ul-Haq`s men have not won the title since 2000 edition, which was interestingly held in Bangladesh.

Pakistan were given a mighty scare in the league encounter that they played against the spirited hosts but would still be overwhelming favourites to win the title for only the second time

They certainly have the arsenal to complete the job. Their batting looks solid with in form openers Mohammed Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed providing fine starts in the league stage.

Younis Khan and Umar Akmal have made decent contributions in the middle order. Overall, Pakistan have the line-up to post a huge total on board.

What probably might be slightly worrying is the way their bowlers have leaked runs. Pace spearhead Umar Gul has picked up wickets but it is the flow of runs that he has to check.

Aijaz Cheema was ineffective, at least against India, who managed to chase down a huge target of 330 due to the pedestrian effort of Pakistani bowlers.

Pakistan`s fielding too needs to improve. The reflexes haven`t been sharp enough and it could cost them dearly if Bangladesh manage to continue their superb run.

To sum it up, Pakistan certainly start favourites when the two captains walk out for toss tomorrow but given the high Bangladesh is on right now, it could well be the night of the underdog.

The Teams (From):

Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Abdur Rehman, Aizaz Cheema, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Hammad Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Saeed Ajmal, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Younis Khan.

Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain; wk), Abdur Razzak, Anamul Haque, Elias Sunny, Imrul Kayes, Jahurul Islam, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza, Nasir Hossain, Nazimuddin, Nazmul Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Shahadat Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal.

Match starts at 1.30 pm (IST).