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ClickSweeper Update for Latest Google & MSN API
- v13
- v200909
- v201003
- v201008
- v201101*
ClickSweeper has already been upgraded to the latest Google API (v201109). We have also completed an MSN API upgrade.
With these updates completed, we are now planning to add a number of new features to ClickSweeper PPC management software, next year to further enhance the power and usability of this tool.
ClickSweeper Managed Service
- Account performance review
- Campaign and keyword optimization
- Keyword bidding strategy tuning
- Google & MSN account synchronization
Our Managed Service subscription provides many of the same benefits you would receive from an ad agency, but at a lower price. Additionally, it provides added flexibility by allowing clients direct access to their account and the ability to make updates at anytime. If you are a corporate marketer or e- merchant with a decent budget, this is a perfect solution. If you are an ad agency with limited SEM in-house expertise, this is an affordable outsourcing PPC package.
Google’s Keyword Position and 1st Page Estimate
In an effort to assist advertisers, Google provides 1st page bid estimates as a guide on where to start bidding in order to maximize an ad’s potential. According to Google, while the 1st page bid estimate is not a guarantee of ad position, a bid that is lower may result in missed ad opportunities. For example, ads with bids below Google’s 1st page bid estimate may be displayed on the 2nd page of search results or only appear on the 1st page for limited time periods. In reality, since ad position is a function of many factors including Quality Score, bid amount, budget and user and advertiser behavior, bidding lower than the 1st page estimate can still result in a first page ad position and conversely, bidding above the 1st page estimate may not always result in a top ad position.
Analytics Based Keyword Bidding
How is Site Visit Time calculated?
ClickSweeper’s Analytics based bidding optimizes keyword bids through an analysis of Google Analytics keyword data; site visit time, bounce rate, and Analytics conversion data. When a visitor lands on a site and browses multiple pages, a time-stamp (arrival time) is recorded on each page. Site visit time is calculated by aggregating the durations across pages i.e., calculating the difference between the last and first time-stamp within a visitor session. One thing to note is that the time spent on the last page is not included in the calculation because there is no ‘next’ time-stamp available within the site. For example, if a site visitor viewed only one page and then exited the site, the visit time recorded would be zero regardless of the actual length of time he or she stayed on the page. This characteristic explains why you sometimes see 00:00:00 site visit time in the Analytics data. The same logic applies to bounce rate. A one page website’s bounce rate would theoretically be 100% because a PPC landing page is always an exit page.
PPC Mobile Campaigns
Knowing that mobile users are likely to see your search ads, what can be done to optimize for mobile performance?
Ad copy will display differently based on the size of screen of the viewing device. Think screen size of your desktop vs. your smartphone. What may display well on a desktop may look too busy on a smartphone screen. In many cases, smartphone users will use ‘click to call’ without even visiting the site.
Additionally, industry data suggests that people may not mind reading 5 lines of text on their desktop but will see it as a challenge from their smartphone. Most important, the typical 10 sponsored search ads per SERP (search engine results page) does not carry over to ads per SERP viewed on a smartphone. In reality, ads with a ranking below 3 have almost no chance of being seen by smartphone users.
Thus, if you are like many advertisers and see mobile traffic becoming a significant percentage of your overall site traffic, you’ll want to customize the campaign based on the type of device it will be viewed on. This approach will allow you to optimize ad copy, identify a dedicated landing page and assign a different bid price and bidding strategy for each campaign. If you use PPC management software, you can also assign specific bid management goals for each campaign.
To learn more about optimizing your campaign spending by bidding strategy, visit us at ClickSweeper!
Initial Keyword Bid Range of MSN using Google AdWords
If you are an experienced SEM consultant, you know this is not an optimal approach. If you are running campaigns in Google and MSN, the following tips should help you set MSN bid prices for optimal performance.
First of all, it is important to understand that there is a difference of minimum bid price between Google and MSN. Google’s minimum bid is $0.01 while MSN’s minimum bid is $0.05.
Of course, the most important factor in determining bid price is keyword competitiveness of the sponsored search. Imagine a scenario that is not all that uncommon, in which more than 10 advertisers are competing for the same keyword. This level of keyword competition will result in an escalation of the bid price quickly in only a few days.
Another important factor to consider when setting the MSN bid price is whether the campaign is Business to Business (B2B) or Business to Consumer (B2C). Google search has a lot more advertisers than that of MSN in the B2B market. MSN has a good search volume and quality audience, as well as Google’s, in the B2C market. In this case, MSN’s bid price is often as high as and sometimes higher than Google’s.
Considering these differences between Google and MSN, my recommendation is to set the MSN initial bid price range from 100% to 25% of Google’s. You can determine the optimal percentage by checking on the number of advertisers between search engine pay per click ads.
If you are managing multiple campaigns on both MSN and Google, a PPC management software tool such as ClickSweeper that allows you to copy campaigns from Google to MSN and set MSN bid price as a ratio, may also be helpful.
ClickSweeper 3.0 Release
ClickSweeper’s new campaign management features allow users to easily create new campaigns for both Google and MSN simultaneously. Once a campaign is created, users can edit campaigns directly from the ClickSweeper edit screen.
ClickSweeper 3.0 also provides users the ability to easily copy campaigns within and between accounts, providing significant time savings. With this feature, advertisers can copy Google campaign to MSN in a few minutes along with bid price adjustment. Since MSN’s bid price range is lower than that of Google in B2B market, you can copy Google keyword bid price to a ratio of 1:0.75 or 1:0.5 to MSN’s.
Another use of Copy campaign is copying Google campaign to another Google account. This feature is useful for agencies that manage many accounts in the same market.
If the reason for using the tool is to save time in managing multiple vendors, then this release adds a reason to use ClickSweeper. We offer a product training and demo for new features. Call us or email us to sign up for training.
Tools and Tips for Managing your Google Product Ads
If you are an e-merchant who utilizes AdWords but don’t yet have Google Merchant Center account, we think it is it is worth serious consideration. A Google Merchant Center account is essentially a shopping comparison site, with the important advantage that it can be a great resource for generating quality traffic for free. You can create a Google Merchant Center account at http://www.google.com/merchants/.
Entrepreneur Magazine highlights the benefits of ClickSweeper pay-per-click (PPC) tool in recent review article.
- Supports Google, Yahoo and Microsoft
- Four automated bidding strategies (prioritize keyword bids on cost, ad ranking, number of conversions, or return on investment)
- Analytics (manage bids, ad copy and create performance alerts)
- Reporting functionality (easily track keyword performance)
The author closes by saying ClickSweeper is a logical next step if you are outgrowing Google’s Adwords tools.
In addition to what the Entrepreneur Magazine article had to say, the team at ClickSweeper is constantly listening to their market and customers and responding with new features. Their latest release is due out next month and will include advanced campaign management features giving users the ability to easily set-up, manage and monitor multiple campaigns. To find out if ClickSweeper is right for your business, visit ClickSweeper.com
Google Ad Network Display Ads. When Do I Jump In?
Well, yes and no. Here are some questions to lead you to the right answer:
Is your search cost/conversion where you want it?
Oftentimes, when first starting a campaign, search cost/conversion is not in its target range. That’s okay and in many cases normal. However, believing that the display network is going to bring down the cost/conversion is a common mistake. Although oftentimes having lower CPCs and more clicks, display advertising (yes, even managed display) usually has much lower quality traffic who are not ready to convert. That means higher cost/conversion and sometimes a very fearful shriek from first time PPC managers.
Do you have a defined goal for the display network?
It is okay if you are a first time user trying out PPC bid management, but display is a different creature than search, which means the way you treat the bidding and the management may be somewhat different. Often times the best bet is to allocate a small budget at first to a campaign with automatic placements. See what happens and then react with optimization.
Are your ad copies ready?
Display means that people aren’t searching for you, so be ready to give away more. The perfect way to do that is with smart ad copy management. Whether that is bigger promotions or more intriguing copy, you have to be ready to lasso in the traffic.
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Display shouldn’t be scary, but beware of the greed shark. It can bite the best of us. So, hang out in search so you are ready to dive in to display when you do.