Seven New Ways to Target Your PPC Campaigns

PPC search engines are constantly looking for new ways to improve their services — and your results. After all, they WANT you to keep purchasing advertising from them (not their competitors).

Here’s an overview of some great tools they’re offering to help you better target your ads and keep your campaign costs
down:

1. KEYWORD MATCHING OPTIONS
(Offered by Google AdWords, Overture and MSN )

Overture and Google AdWords both offer options that allow you to fine-tune the way your keyword is matched to the phrases people type into their engines.

Their options differ slightly, but here’s a rough breakdown:

- EXACT MATCH: A listing is triggered by the exact keyword
phrase and nothing else. Example: “fishing rods” will match
“fishing rods” but not “fancy fishing rods.”

- PHRASE MATCH: A listing is triggered by the keyword phrase
as it is written, though it might be included with other
terms as well. Example: “fishing rods” will match “antique
fishing rods and reels” but not “rods fishing.”

- BROAD MATCH: A listing is triggered by the keyword phrase
or slight variations of it, even if the words are out of
order or separated by other words. Example: “fishing rods”
will match “Rod’s Alaskan Fishing Adventure” and possibly
even “Rod’s Fish & Chips.”

[WARNING: The Broad Match option can work well for highly
specific queries, such as brand names or serial numbers,
but can result in a lot of poorly targeted click-throughs
for general terms -- especially terms that have more than
one meaning, such as "dolly," "tackle," or "nails."]

- NEGATIVE MATCH: When words identified as “negatives” are
typed into the search engine along with the keyword phrase,
the listing will not appear. Example: “fishing rods  cheap”
will match “fishing rods and tackle” but not “cheap fishing
rods.”

2. CONTEXTUAL TARGETING

Contextual targeting places your PPC listing on web sites where the content somehow relates to your ad. Obviously, this can be a great way to increase the exposure of your ad.

However, if you decide to try contextual targeting, be sure to monitor where your ads are being placed, because the effectiveness of contextual targeting can vary widely. Your ads may end up featured on web sites that have little to do with your advertisement — and therefore attract unqualified click-throughs.

For example, a recent USnews.com article about starting a business had a series of “Hermosa Beach Vacation” Google Ads listed beside it — because the first person interviewed in the story happened to live in Hermosa Beach!

These wasted clicks can quickly drain your bank account if you aren’t careful.

3. GEOTARGETING
(Offered by Overture and Google AdWords)

“Geotargeting” allows you to choose which countries or
geographic regions your ads appear in. This feature is best
suited for businesses that offer local services or products
that are useful only in specific regions.

For example, if you’re a landscaper who lives in Washington
state, you probably don’t want to pay for click-throughs from
out-of-area visitors. After all, Texas-area residents aren’t
likely to request your services!

4. DAY PARTING
(Offered by Kanoodle)

Right now, Kanoodle is the only search engine we know that
offers this option. “Day parting” allows you to choose the
time of day your ads will appear in different regions, so
they’re only available during “prime viewing times.”

For example, if your market testing shows that most people
click on your ads to make a purchase in the early evening,
you can make sure that your ads only appear at that time in
the different regions where your potential customers live.

5. KEYWORD RESEARCH TOOLS
(Offered by Overture, Google AdWords, FindWhat,Kanoodle,
LookSmart, Enhance Interactive)

The most popular keyword phrases are always the most expensive.
Keyword research tools help you find common variations and
misspellings of the more popular keywords so you can keep
costs down while still generating traffic.

More sophisticated keyword research tools let you see how much
you need to bid to achieve a particular ranking (i.e. the
#1 spot, the #7 spot, etc.) prior to finalizing your bid.
They may also provide you with traffic estimates for the
different keywords and phrases you bid on.

6. MULTIPLE ADS FOR THE SAME KEYWORD
(Offered by Google AdWords)

Google AdWords allows you to “split-test” different ads for
the same keyword so you can see which ad attracts the most
paying customers.

This can save you a lot of time, and enables you to make sure
your ads will yield the highest possible return on your
investment.

7. “AUTOBID” SOFTWARE
(Offered by Overture, Google AdWords, FindWhat, Kanoodle,
LookSmart, and Enhance Interactive)

“Autobid” software is a bid management program that tracks
the bidding activity on your different keywords and
automatically adjusts your bidding amount so that you can
maintain your ranking.

The more sophisticated bid management programs allow you to
“cap” your bids so that you never spend more than you want.

They also eliminate “bid gaps” that occur when the bidder
below your listing drops their bid — your bid is
automatically reduced so that you maintain your position
without spending more per click than necessary.

——————

Final Thoughts

——————

If you haven’t tried a PPC search engine campaign yet, I’d
recommend doing it soon. There are still tons of cheap,
targeted keywords waiting for your bids — but they may not
be around much longer.

More and more online businesses are realizing that — done
right — a PPC campaign can be a fabulous source of cheap,
instant, highly qualified traffic.

The best advice I can give you is this:

- Bid on lots of cheap, targeted keywords and phrases,
including misspellings — and avoid the expensive general
words that everyone is bidding on.

- Never bid more per click than what a single visitor is worth
to your site — it’s the best way to make sure your ads
remain profitable.

- Get listed in the “other” PPC search engines — you may be
able to bid on popular terms you can’t afford in Overture
and Google AdWords.

- Whenever possible, get ranked in the top 3 listings in
Overture and Google AdWords — these ads appear on an
extensive network of sites (including Yahoo!, MSN,
AltaVista, Excite, and more!) and can reach up to 80% of
all active Internet users, so you get more bang for your
buck!

- Target your ads as much as possible. Write “custom” ads for
each keyword and use the various bid management and
targeting tools offered by the different PPC search engines
to reduce your costs and increase your clicks.

- Design your landing pages so they convert qualified visitors
to buyers. If your ads promise “cat toys with bells,” make
sure they actually direct visitors to a page where it’s easy
for them to buy these items!

[ Ed Keay-Smith
AdWords Marketing]