Optimize your PPC campaigns

2008.
The year is coming to an end.
How much are you spending on search marketing ?
Are your marketing dollars well spent ?
Or are you throwing your $ out of your window ?

So how do you better optimize your ppc campaigns ?
Enough said, here's some quick tips to implement now.

PPC elements optimization:

Negative keywords
* Removal of non-performing keywords which are not converting but costing $

Split testing
* Any split test conducted on a on-going basis ?
* Which ad group is converting better ? In individual countries ? In seasonal period ?
* How long is the test conducted ? Too long ? Too Short period ?

Historical keyword performance
* What's the historical keyword performance of individual ad groups / campaigns ?


Other on-page elements to test:

Call to Action Button
* Colour - which colour on the cta button converts better ? In different countries ? In different seasonal period ?
* Copy on cta - which copy on cta converts better ? In different countries ? In different seasonal period ?
* Shape - Which shape coverts better ? In different countries ?

Web Form
* Which part of your web form field is actually necessary ? Or which part of web form fields are hindering conversion rates ?
* Shorter web form field, have you tried testing the conversion after alteration ?

Landing Page Load Time
* How fast is your landing page loading ?
* What is the landing page individual document size ?
* What is the average Internet connection speed of your visitors ?

Landing Page Copy Font
* Is your landing page fonts visible ? (Even though visitors / potential customers scan web pages)
* Which Font size / colour converts better ? In different countries ?

Landing Page Friction Elements
* Which element of your landing page is actually hindering conversion rate ? (Don't make the visitors / potential customers think !)
* Are there any substantial claims or testimonials to support your copy content in reducing friction,thereby increasing trust factor ?

Implement this:
> Try using Google Website Optimizer, let the consumers test / decide for you, which on page elements work best at which country, for which seasonal period, for which promotional campaign, etc.

Test, Test, Test
Learn.
Optimize.
Re-Test, Re-Test

Are you testing ?

Ads on PDF ?

Ads on Adobe PDF ?
A recent partnership between Adobe and Yahoo allows PDF
publishers to embed Yahoo ads in it and earn revenues
based on the ads click through.

To get started, Publishers simply just upload their
PDF files to Adobe for ad registration. After which ,the PDF is
than analyzed and relevant ads will be placed.

Users
So how will this have an impact on the current users ?
Will they be enticed to click onto the relevant ads while reading
through the PDF file ? Or will they find it an intrusion ?
Only time will tell whether this model work or fail.

Advertisers
So how will this have an impact for advertisers ?
How could you tapped into this new ad placement channel ?
How can you better optimized your ad copy and content for PDF ?

Your turn now.
Your thoughts.

Optimize Your Email Marketing, Part 2

Have you tried utilizing the last email optimization
tips which was shared in the last post ?

More to share you say ?
Alright let this post be the Part 2
of Optimize Your Email Marketing

Less talk...here's some additional
optimization tips to share:

> Allow your readers to opt in or opt out
from your email communication conveniently.
Yes, you definitely do not want your readers to
labeled your emails as SPAM just because they
felt frustrated of not being able to opt out from your
email offers conveniently .

> Instead of bombarding them with everything at once,
try communicating relevant content with your segments
at different stage of their relationship with you.
Build an on-going relationship with them step by step and
NOT a one-way dialogue.

> Track all the clicks in the emails...be obsessed with
tracking the readers' clicking behavior. Let them help
you determine what works and what don't with your copy,
colors, hero shot to call to action buttons.

> Remember to instill a control and variable group
for your email marketing testings efforts. In order to
track which or what new elements work or don't in the
variable group as compared to the control.

Your turn.
Share your optimization tips with us.

Related Post:
> Optimize Your Email Marketing, Part 1

Optimize your Keywords

To begin with today's topic....here's some questions to ponder
How do people land onto your website ?
Where do people land onto your particular web page ?

If they came from search engines;
What is / are the particular keywords that they keyed in that brought them into your website ? Are you finding out about which particular keywords that is most popular among your visitors with regards to your particular product or product lines ?

If its a NO for the above....time to take action
If its a YES for the above....congratulations
Whether its a YES or NO for you.....here's something to share with you today on optimizing your keywords.

Generic Keywords or niche keywords ?
You might be thinking that generic keywords are the best approach. As a rule, it's better to focus on niche keywords related to your product or service. Even though highly targeted and specific keywords doesn't bring in as much traffic as compared to generic ones, however having target those niche keywords you can expect visitors to find what they want and have a higher probability of converting into customers. If someone searches for the specific name of your product, there is a high possibility they are looking to make a purchase. These keywords are too important to be ignored.

Localized search terms
So how does localized search terms helps you ?
Let's say you're a Italian cafe in Suntec, Singapore. Using keywords like "Italian cafe Suntec Singapore" or "Italian cafe Singapore" not only make people easily locate your cafe but also helps search engines refer most people from Singapore to your site.

Here's the recap for this post:

• Finding out what are the general terms with relations to your business, then determining the relevant / specific keywords and optimizing your respective webpages for the most specific search term.
• Localized search terms characterizing your business.
• Don't stop at just one page; optimize all your webpages for localized search terms.
  

Optimize Your Organic Click Through Rates

Your Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads carefully deployed and optimize.
You are found on the top search rank for the relevant search terms or keywords keyed in by your visitors and leading them to the respective relevant offer/ landing page.

Now you have done all of the above, so what's next you say ?
Are you stopping the process here ?

Are you tracking your organic click rate as well ?
How are you measuring your organic click rate ?
And are you conducting any tests in optimizing it ?
Or are you taking your search optimization driven traffic for granted ?

If you're not taking any action in measuring and running tests to optimize SEO-driven traffic to your website, here's a lab test ran by MarketingSherpa which resulted in a 250% more Search Marketing Clicks which might just get you started:

In the lab test, Search Marketing Benchmark Guide, MarketingSherpa conducted a study with business professionals. Through the test conducted on Google search, it is discovered that executives are 250% more likely to click on an organic listing if it:

(i) had a fairly short URL and
(ii) appeared directly below a listing with a long URL.

So what does this meant ?
Time to optimize by keeping your URLs short and precise.

Time to take action
Conduct a search on your website in comparison with the relevant keywords.
And compare your organic listing URLs with your competition.
How are you faring in comparison with the competition ?

Short URLs ?
You decide.

Optimize Your PPC

Where does all your visitors coming into your landing page or website ?From you PPC (Pay-Per-Click) ads ? Or from your organic search ?

If most of your traffic are coming based on your PPC ad campaigns, how can you increase the conversion rate or optimize it ? So as to allow your PPC ad campaigns to not only be cost effective in driving visitors and customers but also increase your overall conversion rate.

So how do you optimize your PPC (Pay-Per-Click) ads campaign ?

Deep Linking:
Don't lead your visitors to your default homepage or try to cross sell them. Instead lead them to the relevant or unique landing page related to the PPC ad. Try this and compare how your conversion rate increases as compared to leading them to irrelevant web page.

Relevant keywords:
Instead of targeting a general keyword term, target keywords that are specific and relevant to your product or service offering.

Deploy search term suggestion tools:
Try researching on your specific search terms with the suggestion tools offered by Google and other third party vendors and compiling your search terms research before submitting.

Listing on relevant sites that offer PPC ad service:
Having your PPC ads placement on relevant sites or your industry, you can be sure to be targeting the relevant visitors or audience. Thereby, maximizing your return on investment on your PPC ad and not wasting any dollar on blasting to visitors whom are not interested.

Relevant Copywriting:
Having relevant copywriting on the descriptions and headlines specific or relevant to the product or service you are offering rather than general terms.

Biding on lower value keywords:
You might be thinking why should I bid on lower keywords. Although biding on these keywords generate lower traffic as compared to higher value ones, however it does allows you to get the top position with just a very low bid. Though the traffic is low, you can be sure that the visitors coming to your website or landing page with their keyed in keyword is much likely to know what they are looking for.

Research Research:
The research doesn't stops here......you have to kept on researching and researching to understand what's the latest keywords or search term that are relevant to your keywords.

Research + Optimize

8 Landing Page Optimization Tips

How do visitors come to your website ?
Did they came from search engines when they click onto your paid ads? If it is so, what are they searching for ? Have you optimized your landing page or website to conforms according to meet their needs? Are they searching for something specific which leads them eventually to your website or landing page. Are they here looking for information or are here to shop for a product or service ? If your website or landing page doesn't relate to their needs, don't blame them for immediately clicking away from your website.

It is too much of an importance to overlook or leave this very vital optimization action. Don't bring all visitors to your default home page which doesn't relate to the pay ads or PPC. Simply put your visitors don't really care about your company's history or what you are trying to tell them, what they are interested in is why they link or came to your website or landing page in the first place.

Take them directly to what they want and where they are interested in. (e.g. If your visitors are looking for business laptops, don't lead them to all of your laptop selections.)

So how do you optimize your landing page ?

1. Leading your visitors to your unique landing page.
2. Leading your visitors to the specific page of your website in relation to the PPC or search term.

Having determine that, what are the design elements that are essential to increase your conversion rate ?

1. Landing Page Design

• Is the landing page design appealing ?
  
• Is it browser friendly ?
• Does the design took too long to load ?

2. Copywriting

• Which are the key-phrase that leads them to action ?
• Repeating the key-phrase within the headline is the easiest way in which to do this is.
• Does your headlines captivates visitor's attention ?
• Are your headlines prominent and bold ?
  

3. Content that leads to Action
Is your content related to your PPC ad ?
Simply put, why do you want your visitors to land on this particular page ?

• Why they would be interested ?
• What is the product or service offering ?
• Why would they be enticed to take action ?

4. Web Forms - If your desired actions from the visitors is leading generation, is your required fill-in form too lengthy or asking too much of information in this initial stage ? What are the most important fields that is only required for this first stage ?

• Name
• Email
• Contact
• Desired interest area

5. Call to Action Buttons

• Where is the best place for your "Submit" button ?
• Is the "RESET" button even required ? Why you say it is not required ? Do you wish your visitors to fill up the form only to accidentally hit the "RESET" button instead of your "Submit" button and not refilling up the form and eventually leaving the site ?

6. Where are the Clicks

• Where are the visitors clicking on your landing page ?
• What are they clicking on ?
• Have you tried using third party software like crazyegg for the heat map tracking, are they clicking onto what you want them to and where are they actually clicking on your landing page.
  

7. Testing
You will never know what works and doesn't until you track the visitors' behavior in your landing page. If you're serious about increasing your landing page conversions, you have to keep on testing and testing. Some of the landing page elements you should keep in mind when conducting your tests are:
* Hero shots picture (placements and type)
* Testimonials or Endorsements
* Calls to action button (Colors and placements)
* Headings and headlines
* Web Forms
* Product or service price range
* Copywriting
* Colors

8. Thank You Page
Have you taken into the consideration of inserting the Thank You Page after your visitors have completed the required action ? Don't leave this opportunity to thank your visitors for their time and first touch point.

Are you optimizing your landing page ?

Related Posts:
. Optimization #01: Call to action button
. Optimization #02: Test ! Test ! Test !
. Optimization #03: Landing Page

Reasons why you're not testing and optimizing your website

Before we begin with today's topic....
Are you testing and optimizing your website ?
Yes ?
If yes....how often ?
On-going basis or a one time basis ?
Daily ?
Weekly ?

If your answer to the above mention is a NO.
Read on to see if you can find the reason/s why you're not testing and optimizing your website.

• I don't have the time or resource to commit in testing and optimizing my website.

Sounds familiar ? Instead of saying you don't have the time or resource, have you tried justifying the returns on having invest your precious time and resources into testing and optimizing your website ? Why not try monetizing the potential revenue gain or lost to the management, should they fail to take action. To begin with, you could try starting testing small or particular areas of your website and show the improvements to the people involved and try to get them to recognize the benefits of testing and optimization.

• Thinking that all visitors to your website are similar.

The most dangerous thought to harbor is thinking that all the visitors coming to your website have similar surfing habits and behavior. Similarly for consumer products from around the world, even if the products are similar in function, there is still a need to adapt the products accordingly to the local needs and wants.

• Arrogance - Thinking that your competitors are slow to change and catching up.

• Thinking that the web channel is just another corporate brochure.

More "NO /s" I left out ?
Or more "NO /s" to share with us ?

Time to test and optimize ?
Or ?

Related Posts:
. Optimization #01: Call to action button
. Optimization #02: Test ! Test ! Test !
. Optimization #03: Landing Page

Optimization #03: Landing Page

How are you optimizing your landing page ?
Does it ultimately leads your audience....
Signing up for your newsletter ?
Downloading your trial software ?
Signing up for latest product updates ?
Or....?

High conversion or low conversion rate ?
How can you improve your conversion rate ?

Or are you going by your "Gut feeling" ?

In this post, I will be sharing my humble tips on optimizing your landing page, which hopefully will help drive your conversion rate. All the elements found in your landing page, plays a role on driving your overall conversion rate success . So what are the elements ?

1. The Layout for your landing page:

• 1 vertical column layout.
• Or 2 vertical column layout.
• Or 3 vertical column layout. Or ?
• The placement of your copy (top of the page, middle, bottom or ?)
• The placement of your image (top of the page, middle,bottom or ?)
• The placement of your call to action button (top of the page, middle,bottom or ?)

2. The Copywriting:

• The message / s that entice your audience in taking action. Which version converts better ?
• Longer or shorter copy ? Which version converts better ?
• Product benefit or key benefit copy ?
• Quotes, testimonial or 3rd party endorsement ? Does it help convert ? Which version converts better ?
  

3. Call to action button:

• The copy on the call to action button that entice your audience in taking action.
• The size of the call to action button. Bigger or smaller ?
• The color of the call to action button. More color or one color ?
  

4. The image:

• Portraying human or graphic design ? Which version converts better ?
• Flash or static version ? Which version coverts better ?
  

So what works and what doesn't works ?
Let your audience decide for you.
Lastly, even with the data, nothing is going to happen unless you test it !

Take action: Run the Multivariate page testing.

• Evaluate your control versus your variations.
• Let the data do the talk.

Gut feeling or your audience telling you what they want ?
You decide.

Related Posts:
. Optimization #01: Call to action button
. Optimization #02: Test ! Test ! Test !

Optimization #01: Call to action button

How are you testing and optimizing your web channel ?
Are you optimizing at a on-going effort ?
Or are you even testing and optimizing at all ?

Testing and optimizing your web channel or web site should never be a one-time process or effort, instead it should be a continuous process. Keep up the good work if you're testing and optimizing your web on an on-going effort. If you're don't know where or how to start, starting from this post and forthcoming posts, I'll be sharing some of my humble optimization hacks in helping you optimize your website.

Optimization #01: Call to action button

• What is the message on your call to action button ?

1. Are your visitors or audience even clicking it at all ?
2. Even if they are, do they ultimately convert into dollars and cents ?
3. How are you enticing your visitors towards the desired outcome ?

• What does the call to action button meant to them:

1. Why should we(visitors) click on it ?
2. What's IN for us(visitors) ?
   

How to optimize it ?
Instead of having those overused messages or words like "Click here", "Find out more", "Click here to read" or "Read more here".

• Build your call to action button that persuades them in taking action, which contains the "Why should we click on it" and the "What's IN for us" instead of those overused words which don't convert.

Related post:
. Optimization #02: Test ! Test ! Test !
. Optimization #03: Landing Page

Highly Recommend book on call to action:
. Call to action by Bryan & Jeffrey Eisenberg