Best Practices for Search Engine Marketing

 

In Pay Per Click Marketing, Little Things Add Up

One of the things that makes paid search a challenge is the degree to which minor changes in any given campaign element can add up to significant differences in the health of a given campaign. For example, positional changes (say, moving from #3 to #1 on a Search Engine Results Page (SERP) create enormous, sometimes exponential differences in click volume. Subtle changes in ad copy, keyword (positive and negative) selection, match type settings, landing page design, and call to action language can create large improvements (or declines) in campaign profitability. This is why obtaining optimum campaign performance requires an expert Pay Per Click (PPC) company that pays attention and follows a process of continual testing.

Search engines do the same thing, of course. They make subtle changes, test, revise, and test again in a continuous process of optimization. Subliminal changes made to SERPs that individual humans can barely notice can cause significant aggregate swings in financial performance. Moving elements a couple of pixels this way or that can improve or degrade revenue and profitability.

In early August 2009, Google revealed several tweaks of this type, the most notable being a reduction in space between the right-hand column (in which paid search listings appear) and the organic results. In the same time frame, Google shortened the blue horizontal bars residing at the top and bottom of its SERPs. Interestingly, at Advantix Marketing, we noticed a small but noticeable (between 0.7% and 0.96%) increase in click-through rates for paid listings immediately after these changes were made. Hardly a revolutionary change, but nothing to sneeze at either -- given how Quality Score rewards higher CTRs with reduced bid prices for the same position, and given that Google's paid clicks decreased approximately 2% in Q2 v. Q1 2009 (according to its quarterly earnings announcement). These facts are not exactly revelations, but it is a fairly big deal for business wanting to maximize their PPC and SEO investment.

Little things add up, and whether you're doing PPC in-house or with an agency, it's wise to ensure that testing is in place to maximize your PPC campaigns.  Advantix Marketing conducts A/B testing on all of its Campaigns.  If you are NOT using us for your PPC campaigns, just ask your marketing company what they are doing in this regard, or call us to learn how A/B testing improves the conversion of Visitors into Customers.    

The kind of extensive, never-ending testing that is required really produces results of higher SERP positions and more profits. Scientific testing of every campaign element and real-time (or at least near real-time) adjustments are what makes PPC different from prior forms of advertising and marketing. Unless you're testing continually, you'll eventually fall behind your competitors, and that's one thing you can't afford in today's lean and mean marketing economy.

Advantix Marketing is here to help.  Give us a call at 800-966-6511 for any questions regarding Pay Per Click Campaigns and Search Engine Optimization Programs.