Latest SEL Column: How To Bid Profitably On Non-converting Keywords
There are many studies that show that using both organic and paid together creates increases in CTR and conversions, even if the ad is not clicked.
However, many of these types of words are early in the buying cycle. It is very hard to monetize keywords early in the buying cycle as often someone is still conducting research before buying. However, that does not mean these keywords are useless. Often consumers will ‘lock-in’ to a site, or find enough information on your site to finishing going through the buying cycle and create a conversion.
However, how do you set bids for keywords that often do not lead to direct conversions; but for ones that you still wish to find some visibility?
You can use a combination of the new goals in Google Analytics (page views per visit and time on site) and the budget optimizer, which tries to maximize the clicks that any one campaign receives.
The two of these in combination with each other allow you to set ‘branding awareness’ or ‘informational campaigns’ to take advantage of these words.
My latest Search Engine Land column walks through the procedure for setting up these campaigns and how to measure them for effectiveness:
How To Bid Profitably On Non-converting Keywords
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Latest SEL Column: How To Bid Profitably On Non-converting Keywords
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Video Friday for 11/6/09. All Google’s New Videos In One Place.
In an attempt to showcase all of the new videos that Google is creating to help you learn more about Google and their innovations, ere are the newest videos from Google.
The best videos for advertisers this week are:
- Web Analytics Q & A With Avinash Kaushik & Nick Mihailovski Part 2 (All who use analytics)
- Mobile [Ad]itude 8 with Meredith: A case study on Google Analytics for mobile apps (Good if you’re building mobile apps)
- Can a a few non-safe words prevent my site from appearing in SafeSearch results? (For SEOs)
- New AdWords Interface Overview (For AdWords users)
- Google Commerce Search (for eCommerce Sites)
- Local Business Center – Verify Your Listing (for Local Businesses)
New Videos from GoogleBusiness
New Videos from AtGoogleTalks
New Videos from GoogleMobileBlog
New Videos from Google
- Local Business Center – Verify Your Listing
- Google Mobile App – search by voice on Nokia S60 smartphones
New Videos from GoogleWebmasterHelp
- Should I expect increased traffic if I optimize my images?
- Can I use "nofollow" in JavaScript?
- Gmail Labs
- Can a a few non-safe words prevent my site from appearing in SafeSearch results?
New Videos from GoogleDevelopers
New Videos from googleprivacy
New Videos from googleanalytics
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Video Friday for 11/6/09. All Google’s New Videos In One Place.
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Bid for Profitability, not Pride
Every company wants to be at the front of the pack, leaving their competitors in the dust.
To beat the competition in PPC advertising, your first instinct might be to outbid competitors and get your ad into the top few positions, often located directly above the organic results.
With your ad gloriously perched atop the search results, surely you're at a competitive advantage compared to all those lowly ads on the right side of the page...right?
Well, not necessarily.
With PPC, you don't always get the gold for being in first place. While having your ad in higher positions tends to yield more clicks and therefore more conversions than lower spots, it doesn't always ensure the best return on investment.
If you have to pay twice as much per click to get your ad to the top position but find that it only gets you a few more sales and ultimately cuts into your profits, then you probably wouldn't want to continue that strategy.
And if you're thinking that you might be able to boost your conversion rate by getting your ads to the premium positions, Google's Chief Economist, Hal Varian, shared on the Inside AdWords blog that conversion rates don't vary much by position. He explained that for the same ad, conversion rate only differs by less than 5% on average across all positions.
This is not to say that you should shoot for 4th position necessarily, or any other specific position for that matter. The important thing is that you test how profitable you are in different ad positions and then bid for the ones that work the best for your unique business.
Love, Money, and Despair
Can how much you love yourself really impact how much you earn?
If you know me, you know I’m a left-brained skeptic who likes to play in the deep end of the numbers pool. Everything I’ve ever accomplished has been through intellect and fortitude. I require logical proof for practically everything, especially incredible “touchy feely” claims.
So why would I risk sounding like a New Age nut case by writing a post suggesting you need to love yourself more if you want to earn more?
Because its true. Or at least partially true. Here’s what I mean.
Just the other day I spoke with someone who had listened to an audio I produced 3 years ago. I heard enthusiasm and a kind of quiet admiration in his voice, specific not only to what I had said in the interview, but how I had said it.
I realized, just for that moment, he loved me. Not just the message, but the messenger. In fact, the message in the audio itself was a rather unremarkable and basic, though quite important. (It was about managing your advertising by “visitor value”)
What WAS remarkable, however, was how the feelings I had the day I recorded the interview came flooding back.
I remembered the room where we did the recording. (For the first time, Sharon and I had decided to record upstairs in the loft where things felt rather novel and there was a nicer view out the window)
I remembered Sharon looking genuinely interested in what I was saying.
I remembered feeling particularly settled, happy, and inspired.
I remembered feeling loved.
Now, here it was 3 years later, in the middle of what I considered to be a rather crappy day, and this caller instantly brought back all those feelings.
It then occurred to me to review my audios and their corresponding sales numbers, in comparison to what I recalled about having recorded them. And then do the same thing with blog posts, emails, articles, etc.
Although I didn’t keep meticulous track of everything, and though it wasn’t the only factor, a very consistent and clear pattern emerged.
When I did the recording, writing, etc. in a state of ”loveability”, people sent more money my way.
Seriously.
I don’t think this means that you can just “love yourself” before you write your salesletters, record your audios and videos, etc., and expect the money to flow in.
No, you’ve gotta have a “point of difference”, something people really want and have trouble finding elsewhere in the market, talk to them in language which resonates with their needs and concerns, a well constructed irresistible offer, and consistent, repeated communication.
But all other things being equal, making the prospect feel loved will bring you more money than if the love isn’t there.
Which makes sense, because how can you make your prospect feel loved if you don’t love yourself?
One very important clarification.
Loving yourself doesn’t mean you have to be all smiles, content with the world, or completely absent of anxiety, depression, and despair.
Loving yourself means deeply accepting ALL your feelings as a part of being human, and communicating what you need to communicate to your prospects and customers from that state of being.
In fact, when you can really accept the negative, stressful feelings inside you, the ones everyone else runs from, and SHOW people you have the courage to remain passionately dedicated to life (and helping them with your marketing), people become more bonded to you than ever.
Because the one thing I can tell you from my days practicing clinical psychology is that everyone feels alone with at least some degree of anxiety and depression… it’s just part of being alive which we don’t talk about in polite society.
I’m actually starting to think I can open up a blog post and just cry my heart out, and as long as I can make it relevant to people’s marketing needs, I’ll get response.
And the strange thing is, when I do this, the money which results seems so unimportant. The post becomes an end in itself, which is how I know I’ve gotten it right.
Writing this today makes me think of perhaps the ultimate example of “The Loveability Factor in Marketing”
In the late 1700s a man in Germany fell desperately in love with a beautiful but engaged woman. She returned his feelings, but remained faithful to her fiancée and therefore rejected the man who, in turn, became deeply despondent and suicidal.
But instead of killing himself, he decided to write his story with passion. And it wasn’t a book filled with joy and happiness, it was filled with suffering and despair.
But in doing so, he expressed his belief he was entitled to pursue worthwhile despite the intense rejection and horrendous feelings. And you could feel that spark of life grow throughout the whole story… the more he poured out the stronger it became.
His book, “The Sufferings of the Young Werther” became a best seller, distributed far and wide, and gained him the attention of universities, rulers, and dignitaries.
The man’s name was Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe.
So for God’s sake, if you’re a marketer and find yourself happy, sad, exuberant, despondent, anxious, depressed, giddy, or exhausted… don’t keep it to yourself! (You’ll help your list, and you might find your bank account growing too)
What do you think? Have you had similar experiences with your list? Have you had the guts to try? Please let me know in your comments below, I’m really curious.
Dr. G 
www.HyperResponsiveMarketingSecrets.com
PS – I AM feeling rather sad today because Sharon’s traveling all week and I miss her desperately. I actually thought about getting on a plane myself to surprise her, but I can’t work it out. (Anyone who feels like sending her a “we’re thinking about you” message to help her get through the week can reach her on her Twitter account and I guarantee it’ll make her smile. Much appreciated if you do)
Should you use Google’s new translation tool for AdWords?
Google announced that your can use their translator service to automatically translate an .aes (AdWords Editor File) into various languages.
Sounds nice?
I’m not so sure. The same words have different meanings in different languages and this scares me a little bit.
Andy Atkins-Krüger wrote a good piece at Search Engine Watch about translation a while ago that is worth reading again before you use the tool without a language specialist to edit the file before your keywords and ads go live.
I spoke on the same panel as Andy at SES San Jose and he definitely knows his linguists. Here’s a good comment from the piece for just English (and it gets crazier past English):
Why doesn’t translating keywords work? Because keywords are the fruit of a language, hanging on the branches of trees that grew and were nurtured in the local climate and are rooted in the local culture. As markers of someone’s intent when they search — they spring from local habits and behaviors that will vary from country to country — or even region to region.
Compare the U.S. and U.K. use of English — the same language. In the U.K., we’re in the habit of saying "holiday" when folks in the U.S. would say "vacation." For "football boots" Americans would say "soccer cleats" (Can someone please tell me what a "cleat" is? Because, as a sailor, I think that’s somewhere you fix a rope to stop it slipping). And as for baseball, well that’s just not cricket.
Here’s the full article on translation.
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Should you use Google’s new translation tool for AdWords?
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