Managing PPC Campaigns Inhouse

Pay-per-click search engine advertising has generated ample interest in the online advertising community, primarily because of its measurability and specificity. However, running a profitable PPC Campaign is not as easy as it might seem.More people lose money through PPC advertising than those who are able to generate profits.

I have tried to capture some essential learnings that my team derived managing PPC Campaigns for advertisers in retail, professional services, travel, telecom and financial services industries.

The suggestions:

1. The entire PPC Campaign process can be broadly divided into three stages:

a. the keyword stage
b. the bid management stage
c. the performance measurement stage

Our experience has been a well managed campaign requires sufficient focus on all the three stages.

2. Keyword stage:

2a. Industry research: Competiton websites - PPC benchmarks - rough spends - offers by comeptition - industry trends (avg.CPC,comeptition intensity ,etc,)

2b. Analyzing your website: You need to chart out your focus areas - what is that you want from the PPC Campaign and which sections of your site(s) address the "NEEDS OF THE TRAFFIC/VISITOR" who come to your site from PPC ads. After this you should clearly draw up a list of strengths - the areas you would like to focus - and finally have some sort of an idea as to which are the keywords you would want to focus on for PPC campaign

2c. Keyword Research and Generation: Now that you have some idea "what you want to do" you can use tools like PrioritySubmit(arguably the best tool available currently),WordTracker,Overture Suggestion tool and Google SandBox. There are some tools like keyword tumbler that give you the combinations and misspelling tools like SearchSpell.

The idea is to generate a comprehensive list of keywords from which you can select the optimal list .

2d. Keyword Selection - Now you have a bunch of keywords...you need to select the most optimal set...can be tricky

The ideal way is to "quantify your objectives" and "assign a weight" to each objective....whoa! To make it look simple, suppose you have a campaign budget of $100, and have three objectives: achieve a CPA of $x, get y clicks, get a CTR(Click Through Rate) z. Now you need to decide how much money would you allocate to each of these objectives.Keywords can be divided into three objective oriented sets.Seems simple...not really, because there will be "overlapping kw's" that address multiple objectives.

After you have decided the above you have:

1. A clear "boundary condition" or a constraint : Budget - number of clicks - CPA

2. Using the tools mentioned(Overture is easiest) get the list of kw's that address each objective and select the "list that seems to fit most optimally".

3. Now you would have: Say,three sets of kw's each with a defined objective and bounadry condition. And in each set you would have say n number of kw's.

IF THE ABOVE PROCESS IS CARRIED OUT WELL - 50% OF YOUR CONCERNS ON PPC CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT ARE TAKEN CARE OF!!!

2e. Now comes a part that's difficult for most and easy for some

Writing ad copy:

This is one time consuming job and calls for expertise. You may have selected the best set of kw's,but if the copy is not effective, what's the use?? No one would click your ad...and a strict SE like Google would give you a poor score on relevancy (CTR) and push your site down in the listing

The other week my copy writing team went berserk writing ad copy for a client who had 10,000 keywords and wanted 3000 unique ad copies. :)

2f. You have written the ads - cheers!

Now you need to specify the "effective destination page URL's". Its of no use leading a visitor to a page that doesnot contain the stuff she wants. We have observed that 80% of the sites DONOT specify the appropriate landing URL and thereby lose out. Who has the patience to search your site for info? Its not for nothing that Amazon started and to great effect the "one click" concept.

3. The Keyword BidManagement Phase

3a. You have defined keyword sets/groups and for each group you have specified the objectives - CPA, clicks et al. Now you need to monitor your bids closely for all the keywords so that the objectives specified are attained. In a competitive category like travel the bids can change thereby affecting your site's position on the SERP, maybe even 300 times in a day!!! Your site might have been in top position at 10am CST but at 10.30am for the same CPC it might not be there in the top 10!!!! Gosh :eek: Keep a round the clock vigil especially for the competitive sectors.

3b. The menace of click frauds - I mentioned in a post in the same forum yesterday that 15% of the budget on an average goes down the drain because of fraudulent clicks. You must have sufficient capability to capture instances of fraud and bring them to SE's notice. Also, you must keep a very close watch over the logs and take immediate action.

Carrying out bid management in a rigorous manner is painful- in competitive industries you have to maintain a 24 hours vigil - no breaks - no off days(the visitor does not recognize off - days ).However, if this stage is carried out meticulously it can result in substantial savings and qualified clicks.

I read this somewhere: about 75-80% of marketers DONOT make a profit using PPC.

Take control over your campaign...its your business!

4. Performance monitoring - Do you know how effective your campaign is? Are u making money? How many additional conversions have you received? How many visitors are visiting your site? What pages on the site are they visiting? How much time they are spending per page? Which links are they clicking ? Whats the conversion ratio - click to sales? what's the cost per lead? Whats the CPA? Are you "in the range" compared to competition?

If you don't, either you are not serious about your marketing... or probably you just don't care...

Get one of the numerous analytics tools available in the market TODAY.

However, this is just the basics - the same process has to be repeated everyday - the campaign optimized based on performance data - set objectives - its trickier in Adwords with the importance given to CTR(relevance).I was discussing this with a Senior Personnel in Google Adwords the other day: one of my advertiser's sites suddenly got a flurry of impressions but no clicks - as a result the CTR went down and as Google listing depends on CTR*CPC , the site went down in listing!!! This was a case of impression fraud

PPC is arguably the most powerful advertising mode available to a marketer today (the average cost per lead is just 45 cents compared to 55cents for emails and $1.2 for yellow pages), however, with increasing competiton and entry of bigger players in the fray , it has become extremely important for the campaigns to be managed well.

Chief Executive at BidOptima (http://www.bidoptima.com), Texas based Search Engine Marketing Technology firm. BidOptima has been consistently able to deliver a minimum 20% higher ROI than any comparable service or software in existence today.

A patent pending process, proprietary technology and 24*7 performance optimization operations ensure the superior performance. BidOptima has been working towards making Paid Search a predictable and profitable online advertising option for the advertisers. Prior to founding BidOptima, Udayan was a Director and Business Unit Head at iGlobalMedia, arguably world's largest e-gaming firm.

personalized cleaning services Mundelein ..

In The News:

Here's how your daily brew is becoming the foundation for greener buildings.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, are transforming how we learn. But what does this mean for AI and learning retention?

Modern AI data centers use much more electricity than traditional cloud servers. In many cases, the existing power grid cannot keep up. One innovative solution is gaining traction: repurposed EV batteries for AI data centers.

Microsoft 365 and Outlook users are being targeted by a tactic that injects fake billing alerts directly into their calendars.

Researchers are now showing us that old smartphones as data centers could be the next big thing in sustainable tech.

Scientists have created micro-robots for sinus infection treatment that can enter the nasal cavity, eliminate bacteria directly at the source, and exit without harming surrounding tissue.

Let's examine how your data is collected in everyday life, who is buying and selling it, what happens to it afterward, and, most importantly, what you can do to protect yourself.

Researchers at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. developed small robots called "Pipebots" that can travel inside water pipes to find and potentially repair leaks, all without any excavation.

A groundbreaking new study has uncovered disturbing AI blackmail behavior that many people are unaware of yet.

Four teams of autonomous humanoid robots competed in China's first AI soccer tournament, demonstrating advanced capabilities in ball detection and independent decision-making.

The ID. Buzz autonomous van features self-driving technology with 13 cameras, nine LiDAR units and five radars after Volkswagen partnered with Hamburg and Uber for 2026 deployments.

Social Security phishing scams use urgency and impersonation to steal personal data. Learn how to spot fake SSA emails and implement 10 protective measures.

French startup Pazzi Robotics created an AI-powered pizza robot that made pies in under five minutes without human help, but it closed in 2022 despite patents and expert partnerships.

Reclaim your time from big tech with effective screen time reduction strategies for iPhone and Android, featuring steps to limit app usage and create phone-free zones.

Amazon Prime Day shoppers face threats from 120,000-plus scam websites as cybercriminals prepare phishing traps and malware ahead of the July sales event.

Fox News' AI Newsletter brings you the latest on this rapidly evolving technology.

The AEON humanoid robot tackles labor challenges with Nvidia AI, Microsoft Azure cloud and advanced spatial awareness, working alongside industry leaders Schaeffler and Pilatus.

Google's Ask Photos feature brings AI-powered searches to your photo library, letting you find memories with natural language queries while maintaining privacy controls.

The return of blue book exams emerges as universities fight widespread AI academic dishonesty and educators debate whether to ban AI tools or teach responsible usage.

Signs your phone might be hacked include strange behavior, unauthorized texts, battery drain and pop-ups, while protection involves updating software and avoiding public Wi-Fi.

Tokyo startup H2L has launched Capsule Interface technology enabling full-body robot control with muscle sensors, offering immersive remote operation.

The A.I. industry seems set for growing pains as Big Tech companies scramble for solutions to the medium's unprecedented strain on the power grid.

Fourth of July fireworks cause a 60% spike in lost pets, but GPS trackers and AI photo-matching services like Love Lost can help reunite missing dogs with their families.

Protect yourself from jugging, the rising crime by which thieves monitor ATM users and follow them to steal cash, with six practical safety tips to stay alert and secure.

U.S. airlines like Delta, American and United are selling your domestic flight records to government agencies through the little-known Travel Intelligence Program.

Managing PPC Campaigns Inhouse

Pay-Per-Click Advertising