book

Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Marketing: An Hour a Day

by David Szetela, Joseph Kerschbaum

August 2010

Intermediate to advanced

432 pages

10h 57m

English

Sybex

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Who Should Read This BookWhat You Will LearnThe Companion WebsiteHow to Contact the Authors
1.1. PPC and Direct Advertising Fundamentals1.2. Components of a Successful PPC Campaign1.2.1. Keywords1.2.2. Ads1.2.3. Bid Prices1.2.4. Landing Pages1.2.5. Conversion Path1.3. PPC Campaign Uses1.4. The Science of PPC1.5. The Art of PPC1.6. The State of the PPC Industry
2.1. Think Like a Search Engine2.2. How and Where Ads Appear on SERPs2.2.1. How Advertisements Are Triggered2.2.2. How Advertisements Are Ranked2.2.2.1. Auction Model2.2.2.2. Keyword Bids2.2.2.3. Quality Measurement2.2.3. How Keyword Match Types Work2.2.3.1. Exact Match2.2.3.2. Phrase Match2.2.3.3. Broad Match2.2.3.4. Negative Match2.3. How Ads Appear on the Google Content Network2.4. After the Click
3.1. Learn Scientific Advertising and Ad Copywriting3.2. Know Thy Customer3.2.1. Ask the Right Questions3.2.2. How Do Potential Customers Search?3.2.2.1. Interest3.2.2.2. Research3.2.2.3. Conversion3.2.3. What If There's No Search?3.3. What's Your PPC Strategy?

4.1. Week 1: Research Keywords4.1.1. Monday: Defining Personas4.1.2. Tuesday: Using Keyword Research Tools4.1.2.1. Google Keyword Tool4.1.2.2. Search Engine Autocomplete4.1.2.3. Google Search-Based Keyword Tool4.1.2.4. Google Wonder Wheel and Related Searches4.1.2.5. SEO Book Keywords4.1.2.6. The Permutator4.1.3. Wednesday: Using Your Best Keyword Source—Your Intuition, and Reports4.1.4. Thursday: Permuting and Concatenating4.1.5. Friday: Researching Your Competitor's Keywords4.1.5.1. The Ad Preview Tool4.1.5.2. Competitors' Website Review4.1.5.3. Third-Party Tools4.2. Week 2: Create Your Campaign Structure4.2.1. Monday and Tuesday: Planning Your Campaign and Ad Group Structure4.2.1.1. Creating a Mock Campaign4.2.1.2. Creating Content Network Ad Groups4.2.2. Wednesday: Determining the Number and Granularity of Ad Groups4.2.3. Thursday: Getting Acquainted with AdWords Editor4.2.4. Friday: Building Out the Campaign4.3. Week 3: Adjust Campaign Settings4.3.1. Monday: Setting Budgets and Delivery Methods4.3.2. Tuesday and Wednesday: Setting Your Bidding Strategy and Options4.3.3. Thursday: Targeting Networks and Devices4.3.3.1. Search Network4.3.3.2. Content Network4.3.3.3. Device Platforms4.3.4. Friday: Using Ad Scheduling and Geo-Targeting4.3.4.1. Ad Scheduling4.3.4.2. Geo-Targeting4.4. Week 4: Use Conversion Tracking and Set Click Pricing4.4.1. Monday: Setting Up Conversion Tracking4.4.2. Tuesday: Setting Up Google Analytics4.4.3. Wednesday: Testing Conversion Tracking4.4.4. Thursday: Determining Your Starting Keyword Bids4.4.5. Friday: Setting Keyword Bids
5.1. Week 5: Take Stock of Your Advantages5.1.1. Monday: Surveying Your Competition5.1.2. Tuesday and Wednesday: Listing Your Own Advantages and Benefits5.1.3. Thursday: Creating Causes for Urgency5.1.4. Friday: Collecting Your Resources5.2. Week 6: Write Right5.2.1. Monday: The Fundamentals5.2.1.1. Group Keywords Tightly5.2.1.2. Talk to the Reader5.2.1.3. Tell the Readers What You Want Them to Do5.2.1.4. Make It Clear What You're Selling5.2.1.5. Use Title Case5.2.1.6. Call Readers to Action5.2.1.7. Use Appropriate Punctuation to Emphasize Action5.2.1.8. Know that Benefits Sell Better than Features5.2.1.9. If You've Got It, Flaunt It5.2.1.10. Stand Out5.2.2. Tuesday: The Headline—The Most Important Characters5.2.3. Wednesday: Line 1—Features and Benefits5.2.4. Thursday: Line 2—Urgent Calls to Action5.2.5. Friday: The Display URL5.3. Week 7: Explore Industry Examples5.3.1. Monday: The Single-Product Retailer5.3.2. Tuesday: The Multiple-Product Retailer5.3.3. Wednesday: The B2B Service Provider5.3.4. Thursday: The Professional Services Provider5.3.5. Friday: The Financial Services Provider5.4. Week 8: Understand Ads for the Content Network5.4.1. Monday and Tuesday: Writing Contextual Text Ads5.5. Good-Better-Best5.5.1. Wednesday: Writing Static Banner Ads5.5.2. Thursday: Creating Animated Banner Ads5.5.3. Friday: Advertising on YouTube5.5.4. Friday Night: Taking Stock
6.1. Week 9: Understand the Differences between Site Pages and Landing Pages6.1.1. Monday and Tuesday: One Store, Many Entrances6.1.1.1. The Circular Building Metaphor6.1.2. Wednesday: The ADHD Site Visitor6.1.3. Thursday: The Golden Triangle6.1.4. Friday: The Risky Business of Landing Page Links6.2. Week 10: Create the Mock-up6.2.1. Monday: Start with the Golden Triangle6.2.2. Tuesday: Bullet Points, Not Paragraphs6.2.3. Wednesday: The Hero Shot6.2.4. Thursday: Action, Trust, and Privacy6.2.5. Friday: Sample B2C and B2B Mock-ups6.3. Week 11: Lay It All Out6.3.1. Monday: If It's Not Helping, It's Hurting6.3.2. Tuesday and Wednesday: Form Design6.3.2.1. People Hate Forms6.3.2.2. Set Expectations6.3.2.3. Keep Fields to a Minimum6.3.2.4. Keep Fields above the Fold6.3.2.5. Make Submission Easy6.3.2.6. Include Privacy Assurances6.3.2.7. Handle with Care6.3.3. Thursday: Error Trapping and Handling6.3.3.1. Head Off Problems6.3.3.2. Locate Labels6.3.3.3. Be Especially Polite6.3.3.4. Pop It Up6.3.3.5. Never Erase Fields6.3.3.6. Test Exhaustively6.3.4. Friday: Spouse Testing before Deployment6.4. Week 12: Design for Testing6.4.1. Monday: Decide on Test Elements6.4.2. Tuesday: Headlines, Subheadlines, and Hero Shots6.4.3. Wednesday: Action Buttons, Bullet Points, and Form Elements6.4.4. Thursday: Testing Never Stops6.4.5. Friday: Simple A/B Testing
7.1. Week 13: Understand Google Contextual Advertising7.1.1. Monday: Ad Types and Sizes7.1.2. Tuesday: Ad Formats7.1.3. Wednesday and Thursday: Why Search Ads Don't Work on the Content Network7.1.3.1. Example A: Bad Search Ad7.1.3.2. Example B: Better Search Ad7.1.3.3. Example C: Even-Better Content Network Ad7.1.4. Friday: Demand Generation vs. Search Satisfaction7.2. Week 14: Build Keyword-Targeted Ad Groups7.2.1. Monday and Tuesday: Why Keywords Are Different7.2.2. Wednesday: Building Your Keyword List7.2.3. Thursday: Demographic Bidding7.2.4. Friday: Ad-Frequency Capping7.3. Week 15: Build Placement-Targeted Ad Groups7.3.1. Monday: Placement Targeting7.3.2. Tuesday: Choosing Sites and Placements with the Placement Tool7.3.3. Wednesday: Other Tools for Choosing Sites for Placements7.3.3.1. DoubleClick Ad Planner7.3.3.2. ShoeMoney AdSense Crawler Tool7.3.3.3. Web Data Extractor7.3.4. Thursday: Bidding Considerations7.3.4.1. Initial Bids and CPM Bidding7.3.4.2. Conversion Optimizer7.3.4.3. A Note on Placement Targeting with Text Ads7.3.5. Friday: Separating Ad Types into Ad Groups7.4. Week 16: Launch and Refine Your Content Campaign7.4.1. Monday: Flipping the Switch—Campaign-Management Checklist7.4.2. Tuesday: Placement Performance Report7.4.3. Wednesday: Site and Category Exclusion7.4.4. Thursday: Enhanced Ad Groups7.4.5. Friday: Flipping the Switch (Again) and Judging Performance
8.1. Week 17: Bid Your Brands8.1.1. Monday: Your Brand May Be Weaker than You Think8.1.1.1. Boosting the Performance of Your Brand-Related Keywords8.1.2. Tuesday: Brand and Domain Name Variations8.1.2.1. General Strategy8.1.2.2. Product-Based Strategy8.1.3. Wednesday: URL Variations8.1.4. Thursday: Competitor Legal and Ethical Issues8.1.4.1. Microsoft adCenter8.1.4.2. Yahoo! Sponsored Listings8.1.4.3. Google AdWords8.1.5. Friday: Competitor-Name Ad Groups8.2. Week 18: Make Prelaunch Double-Checks8.2.1. Monday: Budgets and Bid Prices8.2.2. Tuesday: Campaign Settings8.2.3. Wednesday: Keywords—The Broad-Match Stomp8.2.4. Thursday: Verify Ad Destination URLs8.2.5. Friday: Launching Initial Ad Testing8.3. Week 19: Flip the Switch8.3.1. Monday and Tuesday: Launching All Your Campaigns at Once?8.3.2. Wednesday: Are Your CTRs High Enough?8.3.3. Thursday and Friday: Are You Reaching Your Target Conversion Rates and Costs?8.4. Week 20: Perform Early Course-Correction8.4.1. Monday: Activating Additional Ad Groups8.4.2. Tuesday: Adjusting Ad Group and Keyword Bids8.4.3. Wednesday: Adding Keyword Variations to Winning Ad Groups8.4.3.1. Review the Search Query Performance Report8.4.3.2. Review the Opportunities Tab8.4.4. Thursday and Friday: Adjusting Campaign Budget Limits
9.1. Week 21: Review Your Top-Level Reports9.1.1. Monday: Campaign and Ad Group Reports9.1.2. Tuesday: Network Distribution Reports9.1.3. Wednesday: Ad Performance Reports9.1.4. Thursday: URL Performance Reports9.1.5. Friday: Placement/Keyword Performance Reports9.2. Week 22: Review Your Deep-Level Reports9.2.1. Monday: Search Query Reports9.2.2. Tuesday: Impression Share Reports9.2.3. Wednesday: Geographic Performance Reports9.2.3.1. Targeting a Specific Location9.2.3.2. Removing Your Ads from a Specific Location9.2.4. Thursday: Placement Performance Reports9.2.5. Friday: Reach and Frequency Performance Reports9.3. Week 23: Create Additional Useful Reports9.3.1. Monday: Quality Score Reports9.3.2. Tuesday: Demographic Performance Reports9.3.3. Wednesday and Thursday: Google Analytics Reports9.3.4. Friday: The My Change History Report9.4. Week 24: Act on Your Data and Optimize Your Account9.4.1. Monday and Tuesday: Improving Your CTR9.4.1.1. Restructure Your Ad Groups9.4.1.2. Test New Ad Copy9.4.1.3. Expand Your Negative Keyword List9.4.2. Wednesday: Improving Your Quality Score9.4.3. Thursday and Friday: Improving Your Conversion Rate9.4.3.1. Make Sure Your Ad Copy Primes the Pump9.4.3.2. Review Your Contact Form or Shopping Cart9.4.3.3. Review Your Call-to-Action Buttons9.4.3.4. Find New Trust Symbols9.4.3.5. Check Your Privacy Policy and Returns Policy9.4.3.6. Try Using Testimonials
10.1. Week 25: Implement Advanced Text Ad Design10.1.1. Monday: Google Dynamic Keyword Insertion10.1.1.1. The One-Word Headline10.1.1.2. Incorrect Code Insertion10.1.1.3. Misspelled Keywords10.1.1.4. Using the Google AdWords Ad Preview Tool10.1.2. Tuesday: Ad Sitelinks10.1.3. Wednesday: Product Extensions10.1.4. Thursday: Product Listings10.1.5. Friday: Local Extensions10.2. Week 26: Insert Ad Text Symbols10.2.1. Monday: Bullets and Squares10.2.2. Tuesday and Wednesday: Multiple Characters in One10.2.3. Thursday and Friday: Non-English Punctuation and Random Characters10.3. Week 27: Use Google Content Nontext Ads10.3.1. Monday and Tuesday: Static and Animated Banner Ads10.3.2. Wednesday: Video Ads10.3.3. Thursday: Mobile Banners10.3.4. Friday: Banner Fatigue and Ad Rotation10.4. Week 28: Perform Advanced Ad Testing10.4.1. Monday: Set Up Split Tests10.4.1.1. Google AdWords10.4.1.2. Yahoo! Search Marketing10.4.1.3. Microsoft adCenter10.4.2. Tuesday: Know What to Split Test10.4.2.1. Keyword Density10.4.2.2. Calls to Action10.4.2.3. Different Benefits10.4.2.4. Offers or Specials10.4.2.5. Price Points10.4.2.6. Free Offers10.4.2.7. Display URL10.4.2.8. Punctuation10.4.2.9. Dynamic Keyword Insertion10.4.3. Wednesday and Thursday: Conduct Initial A/B Split Testing10.4.3.1. Test One Variable at a Time10.4.3.2. Launch with No More Than Three Ads10.4.3.3. Gain Enough Data to Make a Confident Decision10.4.3.4. Don't Base the Outcome on CTR Alone10.4.4. Friday: Reflect on the Outcome of the Test
11.1. Week 29: Plan Your Tests11.1.1. Monday: Prioritizing Test Elements11.1.2. Tuesday: Testing Headlines11.1.2.1. Emotional Messages11.1.2.2. Call-to-Action Messages11.1.2.3. Time-Based Messages11.1.2.4. Other Things to Test in Your Headlines11.1.3. Wednesday: Testing Body Copy11.1.3.1. Short vs. Long Text11.1.3.2. Bullet Point List vs. Block Text11.1.3.3. Testimonials11.1.4. Thursday: Testing Offers11.1.5. Friday: Testing Other Elements of Your Landing Page11.1.5.1. Contact Form11.1.5.2. Hero Shot11.1.5.3. Trust Symbols11.1.5.4. Product Images11.1.5.5. Call-to-Action Button11.2. Week 30: Use Google Website Optimizer11.2.1. Monday and Tuesday: Introducing Google Website Optimizer11.2.2. Wednesday and Thursday: Tagging Pages for Google Website Optimizer11.2.2.1. Control Script Tag11.2.2.2. Section Script Tag11.2.2.3. Tracking Script11.2.2.4. Wrapping Up11.2.3. Friday: Validating Your Pages11.3. Week 31: Conduct A/B and Multivariate Tests11.3.1. Monday and Tuesday: Using A/B Split Testing11.3.2. Wednesday and Thursday: Using Multivariate Testing11.3.3. Friday: Choosing the Right Test Method11.4. Week 32: Report and Interpret Results11.4.1. Monday and Tuesday: Reporting in Google Website Optimizer11.4.1.1. Combination Report11.4.1.2. Page Section Report11.4.2. Wednesday and Thursday: Interpreting Test Results11.4.3. Friday: Reaching the End of Your Landing Page Testing
12.1. Why Yahoo! Search Marketing and Microsoft adCenter Matter12.2. Different Look, Same Strategy12.3. Week 33: Understand YSM Differences and Advantages12.3.1. Monday: Standard and Advanced Match Types12.3.1.1. Advanced Match Type12.3.1.2. Negative Match Type12.3.1.3. Standard Match Type12.3.1.4. Setting Match Types at Different Levels of Your Account12.3.2. Tuesday: Geo-targeting12.3.3. Wednesday: Ad Types and Lengths12.3.4. Thursday: Ad Scheduling12.3.5. Friday: Demographic Targeting12.4. Week 34: Understand Microsoft adCenter Differences and Advantages12.4.1. Monday: Keyword Match Types12.4.2. Tuesday: Geo-targeting12.4.3. Wednesday: Ad Types and Lengths12.4.4. Thursday: Ad Scheduling12.4.5. Friday: Demographic Targeting12.5. Week 35: Create Google AdWord Exports12.5.1. Monday and Tuesday: Creating the Root CSV from AdWords Editor12.5.2. Wednesday and Thursday: Creating the Root CSV from Yahoo!12.5.3. Friday: Creating the Root CSV from adCenter12.6. Week 36: Upload and Fine-Tune12.6.1. Monday: Uploading into Yahoo!12.6.2. Tuesday: Troubleshooting Yahoo! Import Problems12.6.3. Wednesday: Uploading into adCenter12.6.4. Thursday and Friday: Reviewing Campaign Uploads
A.1. What Is AdWords Editor?A.2. Getting StartedA.2.1. Opening and Downloading Your AccountA.2.2. Downloading Campaign StatisticsA.2.3. Uploading Your ChangesA.2.4. Navigating, Editing, and Expanding Your CampaignsA.2.4.1. CampaignsA.2.4.1.1. Editing Campaign SettingsA.2.4.1.2. Creating CampaignsA.2.4.2. Ad GroupsA.2.4.2.1. Editing Ad Group SettingsA.2.4.2.2. Creating Ad GroupsA.2.4.3. KeywordsA.2.4.3.1. Editing Keyword SettingsA.2.4.3.2. Adding KeywordsA.2.4.3.3. Keyword ResearchA.2.4.3.4. PlacementsA.2.4.3.5. NegativesA.2.4.3.6. AdsA.2.4.3.7. Text AdsA.2.4.3.8. Image AdsA.2.4.3.9. Local Business AdsA.2.4.3.10. Mobile AdsA.3. Saving Time with AdWords EditorA.3.1. Find and ReplaceA.3.2. Detailed Ad Text ChangesA.4. Spreadsheets Are Still ImportantA.4.1. Backup Files (AEA)A.4.2. Export Changes (AES)A.4.3. Export Spreadsheet (CSV)A.4.4. Global EditsA.4.5. Upload to Yahoo! or MSNA.4.6. Import ChangesA.5. Working with General ToolsA.5.1. Find Duplicate Keywords ToolA.5.2. Keyword GrouperA.5.3. Keyword Opportunities
B.1. Getting StartedB.2. Targeting Facebook AdsB.3. Managing and ReportingB.4. Using Facebook Ad Performance Reports

Content preview from Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Marketing: An Hour a Day

Chapter 10. Month 7—Test Ads by Using Advanced Techniques

You learned ad copywriting basics in Chapter 5, "Month 2—Create Great PPC Ads," but now it's time to expand your horizons into more-advanced techniques and strategies for your pay-per-click (PPC) ads.
The techniques we discuss in this chapter can have a huge impact on your campaign's performance. We will show you how to automatically insert keywords into your ads, and we'll even show you how to list product images directly within the Google search results. Powerful stuff!
We'll also discuss how to properly split-test your various ad-text initiatives, as well as how to properly interpret the results of these tests.

Chapter Contents

Week 25: Implement Advanced Text Ad Design
Week 26: Insert Ad ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780470488676Purchase book