Top 3 Tactics to Consider in Paid Search

12.13.11

Danielle Leitch, EVP

As we round the corner into 2012, here are my top 3 Paid Search tactics to consider within your advertising campaigns for the New Year:

1. Remarketing – If you aren’t already using this marketing technique, consider adding it! This type of campaign allows you to reach out to a former website visitor who didn’t convert, when they are visiting other sites online. There are a variety of parameters available for advertisers to leverage in these campaigns, including multiple targeted audiences with unique corresponding ads to each and the ability to limit the number of impressions seen per user.
   
   Google AdWords allows advertisers to set-up these campaigns within their existing accounts, with relative ease.
   
   Don’t take our word on how great it is, our recent case study highlights the success remarketing ads brought to one of our clients.
   
   
2. Look Beyond Google – there are some great channels to consider, outside of the market-share leader. Facebook allows advertisers to target an audience based on self-defined user interests. The billing is cost per click, with the ability to impose pricing and budget caps. Although it’s not ideal for every campaign, it does work well for niche or targeted audiences, particularly consumer-oriented. You can direct the visitor to either your website or a Facebook page. Check out Facebook Insights for some neat data and web intelligence.
   
   For B-to-B marketers, LinkedIn Ads is a channel to consider. Going way beyond job seekers or recruiters, this platform is ideal to reach your decision-makers. Targeting options include: Title, Geography, Company Name or Size, Industry, etc. These are typically very accurate, as they come directly from the user’s profile and as a business networking platform, people tend to be very honest.
   
   
3. Quality not Quantity – define key performance indicators (kpi) and metrics before initiating any advertising efforts. From there, don’t focus on the amount of traffic or search volume delivered within a campaign – analyze the results. This can be done with website analytics installed on the site properly and tracking url’s established for marketing campaigns.
   
   If you are unsure what metrics or KPIs you should be using, then step back and determine what is feasible for your business or what you pay (willing to pay) in other channels (on or offline). Determining a cost per lead/conversion is the first step, however there can be multiple Goals in Google Analytics established to help ascertain the value of a non-converting visit. These may include: Downloads, Time on Spent, Pages Viewed, Email Sign-up, etc.

From our office to yours: Happy Holidays and a Prosperous New Year!

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