Competitive advertising.

Experience with clients consistently confirms that competitor names make great keywords. People searching with the name of the company are usually very close to making a purchase decision. Across categories we have seen these keywords to have excellent conversion rates. Though they start with high CPL's, over time the CPL values are also very good. One should not use competitor name keywords in the ad for 2 reasons:

1. That would = branding effect for your competitors
2. Search Engines do not allow trademarked words or use of competitive advertising in ads.

EXAMPLE

We have a client who has path-breaking technology in an established industry. The biggest player in this industry with a huge market share is “B”. I saw an ad by another competitor advertising on the keyword B using the ad message 'Less expensive than B' .

When I called Google on this, they said B was not a trademarked term and as such could be used in the ads. Further, they said competitive statements like 'less expensive' may be used so long as proof for the same is depicted on the landing page. This is very interesting news. So potentially, we may now advertise on competitor keywords and use their names in ads if the product/service is demonstrably and legitimately better than them.

So that’s what we plan to do…

Some caveats:
1. If you are a market leader, don't do this. You might be acknowledging the existence of a competitor your TG is unaware of.
2. This is only possible if your competitor has not trademarked his name.
3. It can be used very well if your competitor has a generic name like 'American Homes' or 'The California company' or something like that.
4. As a courtesy, if the competitor complains, pull the ad. It is a very small world. Relationships are important.
5. Don't use the competitors name on the headline. That is still prime real estate that should be used for your own branding.

Please add to this post and comment. Let me know your thoughts.

Myths of PPC advertising

I started this post 10 days back - original title: 10 big myths surrounding PPC. Even as I was consolidating my thoughts, Rajiv posted his PPC myths article and stole my thunder. well almost.... . I just changed my title (so there is no pressure to discover 10), racked my brains and here are the realities as I see them.

Myth 1: X, Y and Z are important keywords. They will generate a lot of clicks/sales.

This myth is a throwback to offline. Underlying this myth is the belief that we have near perfect understanding of our brand/product, our target group, kw's for every stage of the buying cycle.

Reality -
a. Keywords rarely stand alone in determining their success. Clicks happen to the kw+ad combinations. Sales happen to the product +landing page combination.

b. Searches happen on one kw, but sales rarely happen just on the basis of 1 search or 1 kw.
There are at least 3 steps from search to sale:
Step 1: general keyword,
Step2: specific phrases - price related or sales related or kw, and
Step 3: product/brand or company name - the sale concludes.
The kw's in step 1 and 2 do not get the sale but are the catalysts to the sale.

Myth 2: Nobody reads beyond the headline of an ad.

Reality -

The headline is the most 'eye catching' statement on the ad. But if visitors only read the headline, then adding a dunamic kw insertion to the ad should ensure a click. It does not. For every kw there are at least 5 to 7 ads. 90% of ads carry dynamic insertion kw's in their headline. The customer has to read beyond the headline to make a choice.

Dare I say, with dynamic insewrtion, headline may soon be the one line that leaps to the eye, but nobody reads?

Myth 3: Leads and sales through PPC increase exponentially forever.

Reality -

All campaigns, irrespective of search engine, have a maximum cap. This is especially true for campaigns where cost per lead has to be maintained at a fixed number. Long tail keywords help maximize the potential of an account, but there is a cap on the number of leads/sales you can generate tough 'a' campaign.

Myth 4: Daily budget is one of the critical factors in the relevance factor. Increase your ad spend budget, and your CTR's will increase while CPC's decrease.

Reality-
If Daily budget is a factor at all, it is a very small factor. Daily budget determines the number of impressions the kw gets. nothing more.

Myth 5: There is only 1 way to optimize an account. And you optimize forever using the same formulae or set of rules.

Reality -

PPC optimization is a series of changes puntuated by regular overhauls. It is not a 1 step processs or a set of definite rules. At every stage, we need human judgement. The process for each step is dependent on the outcome of the previous step. outcome of a step is dependent on timing, intensity (of the change) and value of the change.

Myth 6: Knowing the product is the most important part of PPC or For PPC, you dont need any knowledge of the product/brand or its marketing.

Reality -

Both these statements are incorrect. Best performing accounts are created when a thorough knowledge of the product is married to extensive experience in PPC. Both form critical pieces of setup and management of a PPC account.

I will add to this post when something strikes me. leave your thoughts.