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Questions about PPC

How do you prevent Pay Per Click fraud?
Major PPC engines already have effective Click Fraud preventative measures in place. If click fraud is found, credits will be given. Click fraud software is available, but we don’t recommend paying for this software unless it’s clear that the PPC organizations aren’t catching the fraud.

How much would we pay per click/keyword?
There are many factors that dictate what you will pay per click or per keyword. Keyword position in the Search network is dependent on the maximum you’re willing to pay per click, your click-through rate and quality score plus the competition (the more competition there is, the more it will cost you to get on the first place of listings). Another factor to consider is your conversion rate. Keywords with higher conversion rates mean that your investment could be higher. Sometimes a higher cost per click yields a higher ROI, which is a key performance indicator. Starting bids should be high enough to place keywords into the top 3 positions.

How often should we optimize keywords for PPC ads?
Daily monitoring allows optimization based on number of click-thrus, conversion rates and cost per conversion. All have to be taken into consideration when making the decision to pause keywords, increase, or decrease bids. Decisions to “ramp up” campaigns need to be made with consideration to allowable budget and sales goals.

What is your strategy for purchasing keywords?
Keyword selection
Target a broad, keyword list of 40-60 keywords. Enough to get a good picture of keywords that will generate conversions or sales. The focus on will be on the “long tail” terms that will qualify visitors before they even get to your site.

Bidding strategy
Keyword bids should fluctuate according to their ROI. This strategy requires daily analysis as it is determined which keywords convert and in which position each keyword generates the most conversions.

Business objective
Generate as many conversions as possible by increasing bids on keywords that generate the best ROI, while lowering bids or pausing bids on underperforming keywords.

What analytical tools do you use to manage the program?
Google Analytics (tracking, conversion, and marketing analysis), WordTracker , Google keyword tool, Keyword Elite (Keyword Research Tools), Speed PPC, Adwords Editor, MSN AdCenter (Campaign management tools), Split Test Accelerator (Split Test Software / implemented after $2,000 /day in revenues)

Please explain the three different fees associated with PPC

Certainly.

1. First there is the set-up fee, which includes:

Keyword research (if we’ve already done keyword research prior to this, the fee will be adjusted accordingly)
Campaign creation on Google, Yahoo, Bing, Facebook
Ad group creation
Writing text ads and selecting landing pages
Configuring max Cost Per Click (CPC)
Configuring advanced aspects such as position preference and limiting ad display times
Configuration of Google Analytics for conversion data

2. Once the campaign is set up with the search engine(s), there is a monthly management fee, which includes 2+ hours per day of tweaking your ads plus:

Making adjustments to landing pages (sometimes adding new landing pages) to improve quality scores
Split testing ad text to improve click through rates, ROI, and again, quality scores
Manually setting and adjusting bids to ensure profitability
Ongoing keyword research (both positive and negative)
Competitive research
Building out targeted campaigns and ad groups
Cutting wasteful spend

3. In addition, there is a cost per click that you pay directly to the search engine(s). Remember you can set your daily budgets (as low as $10/day) so things don’t get out of hand. Your accounts are set up under your name and with your payment information.

These are actual questions asked by our clients. We will continue to add new subjects and questions to this list. If you have any queries that are niggling at you, bring ‘em on! Send us an email with your questions.