Google AdWords allows users to enter identical search terms with different matching options. For instance, you can purchase the broad match term Buy Books. Any search query that contains "Buy" and "Books" regardless of order or other terms used may display a paid search listing because of the broad match term Buy Books used.
However, most paid search should not stop here. Broad match terms are often more expensive because you are competing with more matching and, hence, more competitors. A good option is to also include phrase match and exact match for the same terms. In this way, users can often pay lower cost-per-clicks when search engine users type in exact phrases.
In this case, you would enter and bid on the following keywords:
Buy Books -- Broad Match: Any search query that contains Buy and Books in any order and with any additional terms may serve your ad.
"Buy Books" -- Phrase Match: Any terms outside of the term Buy Books will result in this being served as long as "Buy Books" is in this exact order.
[Buy Books] -- Exact Match: only this exact term will generated a served results. Any additional terms, e.g. I Buy Books, will cause this to not be a match.
Remember, you can also set negative keywords. Negative keywords are terms you set in Google and will cause your ads to not display if certain terms are included with the search query.
Using matching options and negative keywords allows users to target different search niches and also gives better bidding options. Often times broad-match terms may need to be removed yet phrase and exact match options will yield positive results.
For help with your paid search campaigns, visit MJM Ecommerce.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Keyword Strategy
I was going through a potential client’s existing keyword list for their paid search campaign and found an incredible hodge podge of terms that indicated a lack of clear objectives and strategy.
Whether you’re starting a new campaign or reorganizing a current one, you should ask yourself several questions, but, there is one I want to focus on:
1. What terms have people used to find my site?
Simple question right? You’ll be amazed at how many people don’t know this or simply rattle off terms in their PPC campaign. Use your analytics package to scour for terms that have been proven traffic generators. Look for patterns. Are people doing general searches and finding your site (i.e. t-shirt)? Are visitors finding your site by using your company name (i.e. company x)? Is it a combination of both (i.e. company x t-shirts)? Are they showing a propensity to buy through their queries (i.e. discount t-shirts)? Create a simple spread sheet that breaks out the terms under the following headers:
- generic
- generic plus brand
- buy trigger terms
- generic plus brand plus buy trigger
Do searches on these terms and do a competitive analysis. Where do you rank organically? Are there a lot of ads for that term? If you don’t rank well organically, buy the term. If there aren’t any other ads, buy the term. If you rank well, don’t see other ads…buy the term. You get the drift…buy the term and test it.
Use suggestions from Google/Yahoo/MSN and use tools like Word Tracker and Good Keywords to build out a more robust list. The point is to capture browsers at all phases of their buying cycle. The first phase is general research where the customer searches for a broad term like ‘t-shirt.’ After doing some research, the customer finds your company and does another search for ‘company x t-shirts’ to get more information on your company. The visitor likes what they see about your company and starts moving towards buying your product, but, now the focus shifts to finding the best price. Now the query is ‘discount t-shirt.’ The visitor finds your ad yet again and decides that you’re a prominent player in this category and wants to find the best price for your product. The query is now ‘discount company x t-shirt.’ Your ad appears again and you’ve closed the loop.
The cost to get that sale is going to depend on the competitive landscape for the term, but, you landed the sale and now you can work on building a profitable relationship. You should also buy placements for your specific product SKUs. You’ll find that people will do a search for your product SKU in the hopes of finding it elsewhere. If you’re selling a homogenous product (i.e. stereo) visit sites like Amazon, Best Buy, Circuit City or other dominant players in your industry and buy ads for their model numbers.
Here’s an example: I went to Amazon and did a search for ‘Sony TV.’ I picked up the ASIN # B000HGQJZW and did a search on it. You’ll see Amazon listed organically because its specific to Amazon. Better yet, there are no ads! Great opportunity to buy a cheap term and pick off customers from Amazon. I’ve had great success using this little strategy in the past.
Try this out and let me know if you need any help.
Whether you’re starting a new campaign or reorganizing a current one, you should ask yourself several questions, but, there is one I want to focus on:
1. What terms have people used to find my site?
Simple question right? You’ll be amazed at how many people don’t know this or simply rattle off terms in their PPC campaign. Use your analytics package to scour for terms that have been proven traffic generators. Look for patterns. Are people doing general searches and finding your site (i.e. t-shirt)? Are visitors finding your site by using your company name (i.e. company x)? Is it a combination of both (i.e. company x t-shirts)? Are they showing a propensity to buy through their queries (i.e. discount t-shirts)? Create a simple spread sheet that breaks out the terms under the following headers:
- generic
- generic plus brand
- buy trigger terms
- generic plus brand plus buy trigger
Do searches on these terms and do a competitive analysis. Where do you rank organically? Are there a lot of ads for that term? If you don’t rank well organically, buy the term. If there aren’t any other ads, buy the term. If you rank well, don’t see other ads…buy the term. You get the drift…buy the term and test it.
Use suggestions from Google/Yahoo/MSN and use tools like Word Tracker and Good Keywords to build out a more robust list. The point is to capture browsers at all phases of their buying cycle. The first phase is general research where the customer searches for a broad term like ‘t-shirt.’ After doing some research, the customer finds your company and does another search for ‘company x t-shirts’ to get more information on your company. The visitor likes what they see about your company and starts moving towards buying your product, but, now the focus shifts to finding the best price. Now the query is ‘discount t-shirt.’ The visitor finds your ad yet again and decides that you’re a prominent player in this category and wants to find the best price for your product. The query is now ‘discount company x t-shirt.’ Your ad appears again and you’ve closed the loop.
The cost to get that sale is going to depend on the competitive landscape for the term, but, you landed the sale and now you can work on building a profitable relationship. You should also buy placements for your specific product SKUs. You’ll find that people will do a search for your product SKU in the hopes of finding it elsewhere. If you’re selling a homogenous product (i.e. stereo) visit sites like Amazon, Best Buy, Circuit City or other dominant players in your industry and buy ads for their model numbers.
Here’s an example: I went to Amazon and did a search for ‘Sony TV.’ I picked up the ASIN # B000HGQJZW and did a search on it. You’ll see Amazon listed organically because its specific to Amazon. Better yet, there are no ads! Great opportunity to buy a cheap term and pick off customers from Amazon. I’ve had great success using this little strategy in the past.
Try this out and let me know if you need any help.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
For Our Readers Only
I just posted the last blog and thought it would be nice to help some folks out. Call MJM Ecommerce at 215.764.5712 and we'll audit your online marketing campaigns at no charge. There are no strings attached...there's no obligation to work with us...just contact us and we'll help you make the most of 2008 with actionable strategies.
Call us or email us at info@mjmecommerce.com
Call us or email us at info@mjmecommerce.com
Paid Search is Getting Expensive
I've been doing my year end recap to measure performance year over year and its been another prosperous year for our clients. The one thing that jumped out was the rise in PPC costs. I collected terms from each of the campaigns we run and compared costs year over year. Its amazing to see the increase. On average, the CPC rates rose 23% and some individual terms rose as much as 85%!
Some of these terms are brand specific terms and others are generic terms that are important to the business. This trend isn't totally alarming because CPC costs have been steadily rising over the psat few years. Analysts have predicted paid search campaigns would be much too costly for the small guys within the next 3 years.
This leads me to develop a new strategy for 2008 that involves an increase in SEO. My clients' marketing budgets can go a lot further if SEO is beefed up and a focus is put on improving organic ranks for critical terms. Doing this will allow me to use paid search as a supplement for those critical terms and divert money into other profitable channels.
Good luck to you in 2008 and start thinking more about SEO.
Some of these terms are brand specific terms and others are generic terms that are important to the business. This trend isn't totally alarming because CPC costs have been steadily rising over the psat few years. Analysts have predicted paid search campaigns would be much too costly for the small guys within the next 3 years.
This leads me to develop a new strategy for 2008 that involves an increase in SEO. My clients' marketing budgets can go a lot further if SEO is beefed up and a focus is put on improving organic ranks for critical terms. Doing this will allow me to use paid search as a supplement for those critical terms and divert money into other profitable channels.
Good luck to you in 2008 and start thinking more about SEO.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Customer Service (part 2)
Part 2 of this series focuses more on actual phone systems, metrics and tools to close sales.
Many times a business owner will run out to Staples, pick up a few business phones and desks and call it a customer service operation. While this works if you're just starting out or don't field many calls, you should research getting the right equipment and making the investment for the long run. Why you ask? Getting the proper phone system in place will allow you to make your customer service operations more effective and efficient because you're giving employees the proper tools. Its akin to giving a web designer a 10 year old computer with an old version of PhotoShop. Sure, you may get the job done, but its going to take longer and the end product may not be as nice.
Nortel offers a great call center package that includes well-featured phones and software to track phone metrics. With their system, you can make your business look bigger than it actually is by having enterprise level functionality. For example, you can implement a phone tree (menu) and group employees according to skillset. For example, you can divide your employees into one group of order takers and another group for order follow up. The entire system can be managed through a web interface.
Measurement is the key to effective management. You need to know how many calls are coming in, call reason, how many hang up, how long it takes to answer, how long the calls last and how many calls convert into sales. Knowing these numbers allows you to hold employees accountable, take steps to improve, create promotions and set up contests to reward performance.
Here's a scenario of how all this ties in to effective customer service:
Your current operation brings in 100 calls per day. 30 calls are for order follow up, 20 calls are for order placement and 50 calls are general product inquiries. Only 5 orders are placed (5% total conversion) for 10 total products (UPT =2) for total revenue of $200 (AOV=$40).
Keep in mind every phone call is an opportunity to sell.
After reviewing concrete data, taking steps to improve processes and creating a bank of promotions you devise the following contest. Employees will qualify for the contest if the group generates $300 in revenue. From there, you calculate which employee contributed most to the revenue total and you award him/her.
This is a simplistic take on the situation, but, you can't argue the results when you have a motivated group of employees who are working toward realistic goals set forth after reviewing concrete data. Making the investment in proper equipment will pay off in spades in the near and long-term.
If you have a call center operation and need help maximizing your operation, contact MJM for information that will get you moving in the right direction. Email us at info@mjmecommerce.com or visit us at http://www.mjmecommerce.com/.
Many times a business owner will run out to Staples, pick up a few business phones and desks and call it a customer service operation. While this works if you're just starting out or don't field many calls, you should research getting the right equipment and making the investment for the long run. Why you ask? Getting the proper phone system in place will allow you to make your customer service operations more effective and efficient because you're giving employees the proper tools. Its akin to giving a web designer a 10 year old computer with an old version of PhotoShop. Sure, you may get the job done, but its going to take longer and the end product may not be as nice.
Nortel offers a great call center package that includes well-featured phones and software to track phone metrics. With their system, you can make your business look bigger than it actually is by having enterprise level functionality. For example, you can implement a phone tree (menu) and group employees according to skillset. For example, you can divide your employees into one group of order takers and another group for order follow up. The entire system can be managed through a web interface.
Measurement is the key to effective management. You need to know how many calls are coming in, call reason, how many hang up, how long it takes to answer, how long the calls last and how many calls convert into sales. Knowing these numbers allows you to hold employees accountable, take steps to improve, create promotions and set up contests to reward performance.
Here's a scenario of how all this ties in to effective customer service:
Your current operation brings in 100 calls per day. 30 calls are for order follow up, 20 calls are for order placement and 50 calls are general product inquiries. Only 5 orders are placed (5% total conversion) for 10 total products (UPT =2) for total revenue of $200 (AOV=$40).
Keep in mind every phone call is an opportunity to sell.
After reviewing concrete data, taking steps to improve processes and creating a bank of promotions you devise the following contest. Employees will qualify for the contest if the group generates $300 in revenue. From there, you calculate which employee contributed most to the revenue total and you award him/her.
This is a simplistic take on the situation, but, you can't argue the results when you have a motivated group of employees who are working toward realistic goals set forth after reviewing concrete data. Making the investment in proper equipment will pay off in spades in the near and long-term.
If you have a call center operation and need help maximizing your operation, contact MJM for information that will get you moving in the right direction. Email us at info@mjmecommerce.com or visit us at http://www.mjmecommerce.com/.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Customer Service (part 1)
An issue that sometimes is overlooked or not given adequate resources is customer service. I'm going to write a series of posts addressing this important marketing and business function. Its important because for many of your website visitors, a phone call to your customer service is the only human interaction they'll ever have with your company. This first post will address a basic component of customer service which is having all customer data at the drop of a dime.
Occasionally, I'll buy a product from a small business because they had the best price. It hits me how small they are when I call their customer service phone number to follow up on an order. I'm left on the phone waiting while the agent digs through paper to find my order or has to call me because all the knowledge resides in the mind of an individual who is at lunch. As a customer, I expect to get answers to basic questions when I contact customer service because that's what I've come to expect when dealing with more well known companies. Its not out of line to expect the same from a small business becasue at the end of the day that business took my money for a product or service I expect to receive. A negative customer service experience can drive away a new customer or a long time customer. One bad call is all it takes.
One way to streamline your customer service operations is to implement and integrate a CRM tool with your ecommerce platform. At many small businesses, the staff wears many hats and its not uncommon to have a designer or other person fielding customer service calls. How much more productive can your staff be if they had the proper tools?
I use SugarCRM because it works, its open source and its comparable to other expensive solutions. At a previous position, I implemented SugarCRM for my customer service team and the results were incredible.
First, my costs went down. My phone bills went down because customers weren't sitting on the 800# while my staff went looking for information. It drove down cost on outbound calls becasue we addressed customer needs immediately. It also improved my revenue contribution per employee ratio because my staff could immediately address customer issues while spending more time on revenue generating activities (i.e. home page refreshes, paid search placements, etc.).
Second, it improved the customer's perception of my brand and turned potentially negative situations into positive ones. Customers will always recognize you when you do the right thing. Part of doing the right thing is having all the information at hand to make a good decision. It also allowed any one of my staffers to properly address a customer issue by having all the customers notes at hand. It didn't matter if one person initially took the call because that person put all the notes into the CRM tool.
Third, it housed all my customer data in one easy to access application. I could access Sugar CRM and segment my customer list based on any number of parameters I chose and market to those folks with relevant email blasts, mailers or package inserts.
Finally, contrary to popular belief, it's not expensive to have an enterprise level CRM tool or to integrate. Contact us at info@mjmecommerce.com or visit http://www.mjmecommerce.com/ and I'll tell you how to make this solution work for you. Check back soon for Part Two!
Occasionally, I'll buy a product from a small business because they had the best price. It hits me how small they are when I call their customer service phone number to follow up on an order. I'm left on the phone waiting while the agent digs through paper to find my order or has to call me because all the knowledge resides in the mind of an individual who is at lunch. As a customer, I expect to get answers to basic questions when I contact customer service because that's what I've come to expect when dealing with more well known companies. Its not out of line to expect the same from a small business becasue at the end of the day that business took my money for a product or service I expect to receive. A negative customer service experience can drive away a new customer or a long time customer. One bad call is all it takes.
One way to streamline your customer service operations is to implement and integrate a CRM tool with your ecommerce platform. At many small businesses, the staff wears many hats and its not uncommon to have a designer or other person fielding customer service calls. How much more productive can your staff be if they had the proper tools?
I use SugarCRM because it works, its open source and its comparable to other expensive solutions. At a previous position, I implemented SugarCRM for my customer service team and the results were incredible.
First, my costs went down. My phone bills went down because customers weren't sitting on the 800# while my staff went looking for information. It drove down cost on outbound calls becasue we addressed customer needs immediately. It also improved my revenue contribution per employee ratio because my staff could immediately address customer issues while spending more time on revenue generating activities (i.e. home page refreshes, paid search placements, etc.).
Second, it improved the customer's perception of my brand and turned potentially negative situations into positive ones. Customers will always recognize you when you do the right thing. Part of doing the right thing is having all the information at hand to make a good decision. It also allowed any one of my staffers to properly address a customer issue by having all the customers notes at hand. It didn't matter if one person initially took the call because that person put all the notes into the CRM tool.
Third, it housed all my customer data in one easy to access application. I could access Sugar CRM and segment my customer list based on any number of parameters I chose and market to those folks with relevant email blasts, mailers or package inserts.
Finally, contrary to popular belief, it's not expensive to have an enterprise level CRM tool or to integrate. Contact us at info@mjmecommerce.com or visit http://www.mjmecommerce.com/ and I'll tell you how to make this solution work for you. Check back soon for Part Two!
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