Campaign Management

  1. Choose Keywords – Before starting the set up process we will identify the keyword phrases that are most important to our client’s campaign. We will then group these into keyword themes or buckets that will serve as our ad groups and review them with the client to prioritize based on search volume and existing bid competition.
  2. Choose Geo – Targeting Method & Areas to Target – Many programs will include a blend of national, international, regional, and local campaigns.
  3. Break Keywords into Ad Groups – Enter Ad Groups into CPC system.
  4. Create Text Ads for Ad Groups – Design text ads consisting of a Title, Description, and Display URL that will build brand recognition, attract qualified visitors, enhance one’s quality score, and detract undesirable visitors. (Multiple ads can be created for each Ad Group for A/B testing purposes.)
  5. Point to Destination URLs – Ensure that ads are pointed to effective landing pages within the site for particular keyword phrases. If effective pages do not exist, suggest creating them.
  6. Choose Phrase Matching Method – Determine whether keyword phrases will utilize braod mathc, phrase match,, etc...
  7. Determine Whether Ads will be Shown in Content Network – Since Content Networks are the most susceptible to “Click Fraud,” we typically opt out or bid lower in this area.
  8. Set Bids – Work with client to create initial bids for Ad Groups and particular keyword phrases.
  9. Apply Tracking URLs – Add tracking codes so that the effectiveness of individual ads and keywords can be monitored.
  10. Set Budget and Daily Spending Limits – Develop cost estimates and apply limits to ensure that client’s budget is not exceeded.

VII. Web Analytics Set Up

One of the greatest benefits that search engine marketing has over other forms of advertising is that it is much easier to track how it’s working. With web analytics we can see who is coming to your site, from what domains, which keywords, etc… More importantly, we can see what activity is actually generating leads, sales, visits to a distributor locator, etc…

While we use different analytics programs depending on the complexity of the client’s site, we typically utilize Google Analytics for most simple lead generation sites and reserve the more sophisticated programs for larger ecommerce sites. We can also work with one’s existing analytics program. Setting up Google Analytics typically includes the following:

  1. Add Domain – Set up the domain name to track in the Google Analytics onlineprogram. Once complete, a small piece of code will be supplied.
  2. Add Code to Website – We then take this code and apply it to every page that needs to be tracked.
  3. Set Up Conversion Goals – Once code is installed and working properly, we set up1-4 conversion goals…typically the Inquiry Forms and Thank You Pages.
  4. Set Up Users – Grant access to client so they can enjoy 24/7 access to reports.
  5. Apply Tracking URLs – add code to any ads, CPC programs, or other online marketing materials than can be tracked.

VIII. Monthly Campaign Management

Once your site has been optimized and its CPC advertising program configured, a large part of our job has just started. Armed with information from your site analytics, we will now have actual data telling us which aspects of the campaign are working well and which are not.

Using this data, we can make tweaks to your CPC campaigns or recommend other work that may help improve the overall number of leads and/or its ROI. Done on a monthly basis, this involves the following tasks:

Traffic & Source Monitoring

While the number of visitors to your site is rarely a good measure for the effectiveness of your search engine marketing program, evaluating traffic patterns on a monthly basis gives us a good feel for what areas of your campaign are performing optimally. For those advertising online, running email marketing campaigns, submitting press releases, or the like, this report can help us quickly evaluate the performance of these activities. In the screenshot below, you can see how we can track each major sources ability to not only drive visitors to the site, but also how many of these visitors visit and complete the RFQ form, enter the store, and order online.

traffic and source monitoring

Keywords Report

Keyword searches form the basic building block of most search engine marketing campaigns. Our goal is to use the data we get from the site analytics along with our organic ranking and CPC advertising reports to determine how the program can be improved in terms of both quantity of leads generated and ROI. To help explain this concept, we modified the traditional BCG matrix known to most marketers and applied it to search engine marketing.

Like a business manager that breaks his/her business units into cash cows, stars, question marks, and dogs, we apply the same logic to categorize keyword phrases. Depending on the search volume (HSV = High Search Volume and LSV = Low Search Volume), there are different activities that we can implement to try to improve effectiveness and ROI. Our goal is to reduce efforts and costs associated with phrases on the bottom half of this chart while allocating more effort and budget to those in the top half.

sem managment matrix

The following “Keywords” report shows the number of visits each keyword generated along with data on how many of these visited the contact page and completed the inquiry form. For keywords that are not performing, we must assess whether the keyword is not a strong performer or if something else like the ad/title, landing page, call to action, or phrase matching method that is limiting its success.

Goals

We also run and review a “Goals” report that provides an overview for how many conversions (leads, sales, contact form visits, etc...) have been achieved. Data from this report is a key indicator of how the overall campaign is performing and allows you to assess a value to the campaign compared to your other marketing activities.

Organic Ranking Report

Many novice search engine marketers focus so heavily on achieving organic rankings that they lose site of the ultimate goal of generating sales or quality leads. Still, there is no arguing that once you determine your Power Phrases, earning high organic rankings for them can be the key to succeeding with search engine marketing.

By monitoring your organic rankings, we can determine how your site is performing for its targeted keyword phrases and where opportunities lie. Plus, as we compare your reports against other sites that we have optimized, we can more easily identify algorithm changes, link popularity updates, and other variables that may affect your rankings.

CPC Reports

Nearly every search engine marketing campaign that we run will utilize some CPC advertising. Whether it is to complement you organic optimization program, expand your site’s presence for strong performing phrases, or exploit inexpensive opportunities with low volume phrases, constant monitoring of your CPC advertising can lead to very beneficial results.

As part of our process, we utilize the keyword conversion data to determine whether any of the following actions should be taken:

  • Adjust bids
  • Add, delete, or modify ad titles and descriptions
  • Change or enhance landing pages
  • Create new ad groups
  • Change the phrase matching methods
  • Add negative keywords
  • Adjust time periods in which the ads show