First time local PPC campaign

29 replies
  • PPC/SEM
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I have setup a local Adwords campaign for a business owner in my area. His items are primarily used by commercial clients so I set the ads to run 7am to 7 pm M - F. There are two similar ads that are being rotated evenly. After one week the numbers are 6 clicks, 0.99% CTR, $3.94 CPC, Cost $23.62 and AVG Pos 2.8.

I figured I need at least two week to get enough data to view any reports. Am I on the right track and any suggestions for optimization?
#campaign #local #ppc #time
  • Profile picture of the author solarwarrior
    Originally Posted by thefsboking View Post

    I have setup a local Adwords campaign for a business owner in my area. His items are primarily used by commercial clients so I set the ads to run 7am to 7 pm M - F. There are two similar ads that are being rotated evenly. After one week the numbers are 6 clicks, 0.99% CTR, $3.94 CPC, Cost $23.62 and AVG Pos 2.8.

    I figured I need at least two week to get enough data to view any reports. Am I on the right track and any suggestions for optimization?
    I will try to improve the CTR if I were you.
    Pm me your report so I can optimize for you.
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    • Profile picture of the author thefsboking
      Originally Posted by solarwarrior View Post

      I will try to improve the CTR if I were you.
      Pm me your report so I can optimize for you.
      I am unsure of what report you want. Please advise and you are welcome to pm me.
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      Mike Williams

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  • Not enough information to do anything. Six clicks total is not enough to gauge which of the two ads is the best. You need at least 20 for each ad.

    What is the Quality Score? Yes, improve to get CTR higher but saying you get 1% doesn't tell the whole picture. We know your average position but not the QS. It may be 10/10 for all we know which means you are doing better than most of your competitors. While not impossible, it's harder to do better when you already are at the top.

    Is the budget high enough to reach everyone? Check your Impression Share Percentage (campaign level metric) and if you are missing out because of budget or ranking (because of poor QS) or a bit of both.

    Also, even though the business may be open 7 to 7, why limit showing ads in those times? People search at all times of the day. You say the products are used mainly for other business owners. They may not have time to search during the day and do so in the evening. With your day-parting, you may miss a good chunk of them and missing potential sales. If the landing page convinces them it is what they need, they'll call in the morning. They may email. Even if they call at midnight, they can leave a message. Or buy right from the site. Even if they don't do any of those, you could remarket to them.
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  • Profile picture of the author CodySparrow
    Hey!

    First of all, congratulations on getting a client.

    I'd say that you're on the right track, but you don't have near enough data to measure what ad groups are performing effectively.

    It's good that you're rotating ads evenly; this allows you to manually split test. I find that if you let Google optimize it, especially with such a small campaign, the results get really skewed not in your favour.

    It's also really hard to tell how well your campaign is doing because there isn't a lot of information in your post. What are your quality scores? A low quality score can increase your CPC, and reduce your CTR, which does seem to be a bit on the low side. How much money does your client plan to make off of each prospective customer? Remember, a you have to keep in mind how much a customer is worth. A good way to figure this out is to calculate Conversion Rate x Lifetime Value = Starting Bid.

    For this calculation, a conversion would be somebody who actually makes a purchase, or does whatever the goal of the campaign is (calls the business, etc.), not just clicks on an ad. So, if your conversion rate is 0.08, and the lifetime value of a client is say $30, then a good bid would be $2.40. This, in my experience, is a really key method in calculating the success of a campaign.

    What's the niche? I ask this to try and understand why you're limiting the times. As LucidWebMarketing has said, people search at all times of the day.
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    • Profile picture of the author thefsboking
      I looked for the quality scores and it seems I have some key words with a 1 while most others are a 6. I sorted them by quality score so I can see better.

      So for starters I assume I should remove the ones that rarely show and allow the ads to run continuously.

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      Mike Williams

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  • Profile picture of the author bigmacman
    Try working on your quality score. In my opinion your site isn't relevant to the keywords your using which is resulting in the low score.
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  • Profile picture of the author randiv
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    • Profile picture of the author dburk
      HI Mike,

      Thanks for sharing your report, it reveals several problems that can be fixed quite easily.

      1. Using a single ad group for all your keywords.
      Placing all your keywords in a single ad group is generally a bad idea, and likely the main contributor to your poor quality scores. Your keywords need to be split into separate ad groups, each with nearly identical keywords within the same ad group. By using tightly focused ad groups you can write compelling ad text that generates superior CTR which tends to improve Quality Scores.
      2. Not using exact match keywords
      In addition to phrase match, use exact match keywords to get better quality scores and improve performance of your campaigns.
      3. Not choosing the most relevant keywords.
      In your post you indicated your intention to target commercial customers, yet your keywords exclude any terms that specifically target that audience. I see one keyword that specifically targets "residential security gates", but none that are specific to your target market. Consider adding terms like "commercial security gates", "industrial security gates", etc. Again, group your commercially targeted keywords into ad groups with nearly identical terms and write ad text for those specific terms within the each ad group, including the keywords within your ad text.
      If you make those 3 changes listed above you will have significant improvements in the quality scores and performance of your campaign.
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  • Profile picture of the author thefsboking
    dburk thanks for the pointers. I was looking at my keywords and noticed the low scored ones don't match the ads but could be used for a different ad. You are spot on with that recommendation.

    Does it help to mention keywords in the ad group on the landing page.http://doccsweldingandfab.com/barrier-gates/. For example should I list security gates for homes, security gates for driveways, etc. on the lander if that is an available option for the product. I certainly don't want the lander to look spammy or tacky but if adding relevant keywords on the lander would help let me know.
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    Mike Williams

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    • Profile picture of the author dburk
      Hi Mike,

      What is important is that your landing page message is consistent with the value that was promised in the ad. If there is a disconnect, between the ad text message and the message on the above-the-fold content of your landing page, you will likely see a high bounce rate on your landing page. Including your keyword in the landing page headline is a helpful in maintaining a consistent message, from ad to landing page, but isn't always necessary.

      If your ad is targeting "security gates for homes" make sure that you choose the most appropriate landing page for that keyword, i.e. if you have a page that features security gates for "homes" choose that as your landing page rather than a page that features security gates for "driveways".

      In some cases it might be necessary to create custom landing pages that match the specific product or service that your are targeting. Not all your clients will have a suitable landing page on their website, and using a custom landing page created just for your ad group is needed.

      In my opinion, it is more important that the value proposition be consistent on both landing page and ad text. If a user clicks an ad, they typically expect to easily find the value proposition that was promised in the ad clearly visible on the landing page. For example, if your ad promises "free shipping", make sure that the text "free shipping" is featured prominently on the landing page.

      Having said that, Landing page issues tend to have a very small effect on keyword quality scores. Quality scores are made up mostly of relative CTR, as compared with your ad and your competitors' ads. I have seen many examples of keywords with "below average landing page" warnings, yet still have a 10/10 quality score.
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    • Profile picture of the author thefsboking
      For those who asked about the niche. It is for a metal fabrication company looking to sell more barrier gates. The gates are used primarily in commercial venues but also are needed by residential or farm owners who have land where access and traffic needs to be controlled. The gate sales are restricted to their local area where they install the gates.

      I now have the ads running 24/7. I removed any keywords not related to barrier gates, added the word commercial to some keywords (Google said others had too low search volume so I removed them) and set the match types to phrase and exact. I then renamed the campaign to Gates and renamed the current ad group to Barrier Gates. That way I can later create an ad group for residential gates.

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      Mike Williams

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  • Hey Mike.

    You're mixing different kinds of keywords together. You have gate keywords - of different types such as parking and swing - and fence keywords along with other things. These are all different and unique types of products yet you have them all in one group which means you are not targeting your ads to what is being searched. That's why your QS are all over the place. When you have QS from 1 to 6, it's a sure indication you are mixing keywords of different topics. You need to create different groups for each type of product you have, test two ads in each group that relates to the group and then bring the click to the proper page on your site.

    At least you are using phrase matches and not just broad match keywords. But do use broad modified matches (ie: +iron +fence) to gather data on how people search (for all you know, a large percentage may search on "fences made of iron" and you need to know). Add exact matches too. As you get search term data, you may find out some negatives and other things to help improve your campaign.
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    • Profile picture of the author dburk
      Hi Mike,

      I see you chose to ignore my advice about splitting the keywords into smaller tightly focused ad groups as well as my advice about using exact match keywords. (see this post:http://www.warriorforum.com/pay-per-...l#post10303180)

      Those are the 2 things that are hindering your success more than anything else, and Lucid was right to call you out on it.

      Let me reemphasize my earlier assertion: your poorly structured account is costing your client dearly. At this point restructuring your account, by splitting your ad group up into many small ad groups is the one thing that will give the biggest lift in performance to your campaign. Adding exact match keywords is a close second best task for improving performance.

      I recommend that you immediately pause your one ad group, and start building the many tightly focused ad groups you need before wasting any more of your clients money.
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      • Profile picture of the author thefsboking
        Lucid and dburk apparently I am quite slow. Since it is evident I am a bit clueless here I would not deliberately ignore the advice of someone who understands PPC and Adwords.

        I have not charged my client anything yet because of the learning curve for me. he should not have to pay for my education. I spent 4.00 setting up the acct until he added his credit card and then he has used $21.00 of his money before a coupon I have kicked in. None the less I don't want to flush any money down the tubes. So lets see if I can comprehend what you guys are telling me

        What I thought I was doing was taking only keywords that are related to the barrier gates. I then chose to use phrase match and exact match for those keywords.So I think you guys are saying to make ad groups for specific types of gates, an ad group for barrier keywords, and separate as much as possible. Maybe the 38 keywords I have might break down into 4 ad groups with 7 or 8 relevant keywords for each ad group. And each one should link to an appropriate landing page that has details on what the ad displays.
        Is that what you mean? Also please explain what I screwed up on the match types.
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        Mike Williams

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        • Originally Posted by thefsboking View Post

          So I think you guys are saying to make ad groups for specific types of gates, an ad group for barrier keywords, and separate as much as possible.
          You got it.
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          • Profile picture of the author thefsboking
            Ok guys I went through the keywords and came up with a list for the barrier gates ad group. I will modify the landing page slightly to let visitors know all the available options and uses of the barrier gates to match the keywords. Let me know if I am on the right track.

            tubular barrier gates
            driveway barriers
            security barriers
            barrier gate
            security barriers and gates
            security barriers and gates
            barrier gates
            security barrier gate
            swing barrier gate
            steel barrier gate
            steel barrier gates
            driveway barriers
            security barriers
            tubular barrier gates
            barrier gate
            steel barrier gate
            swing barrier gate
            barrier gates
            security barrier gate
            steel barrier gates
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            Mike Williams

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  • Profile picture of the author winnermarketing
    your keywords are too much generic.

    change your words in this way: remove "" and put []

    I m sure your campign will increase!
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    • Profile picture of the author thefsboking
      The keywords shows are just copied form notepad and not from my report. I will enter them as exact match and phrase match.
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      Mike Williams

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      • Profile picture of the author dburk
        Hi Mike,

        While that is an improvement, personally I would suggest creating a campaign dedicated to "barrier gates" and then create a separate ad group for each distinct type of barrier gate.

        Here's why:

        If someone searches for "aluminum" barrier gates, you do not want to serve an ad about "steel" barrier gates, and you do not want to use a landing page that is about "steel" barrier gates for that user either.

        If someone searches for a "sliding barrier gates" you do not want to land them on a page about "swinging" barrier gates, or vice-versa.

        Therefore you really need to have a separate ad group for each gate type, especially if you have the distinct landing pages available. The more specific your ad is to the search term the higher the CTR will be and the better your Quality Scores, and conversion rates.

        You simply cannot make your ads as specific as they need to be if you have all of those different types of barrier gates within the same ad group. If you group all those different types of barrier gate keywords together then your competitors will be able to beat your ad every time simply by using more specific ad text. As a general rule, the more specific your ad text is to the search term that triggered the ad, the higher the CTR.

        Now as to exact match keywords, there is nothing tricky about that advice, just use them.

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        • Profile picture of the author thefsboking
          Originally Posted by dburk View Post


          Hi Mike,

          While that is an improvement, personally I would suggest creating a campaign dedicated to "barrier gates" and then create a separate ad group for each distinct type of barrier gate.

          Here's why:

          If someone searches for "aluminum" barrier gates, you do not want to serve an ad about "steel" barrier gates, and you do not want to use a landing page that is about "steel" barrier gates for that user either.
          Great advice Don I believe I understand things better. I want to check with my client and make sure I know every type of barrier gate he has for sale. Let's say he does not make aluminum barrier gates. Would that then be a negative keyword?
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          Mike Williams

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          • Profile picture of the author thefsboking
            Ok guys I am back after getting a little rest and letting your tips soak in my brain. Here is how I plan to restructure the campaign. I have at least two keywords I think should be negative keywords -pet barriers and aluminum barrier gates. Otherwise, all the keywords will be entered as exact and phrase match. There were some that I was unsure of the ad group such as steel tubular gates. Should it go with steel barrier gate keywords or tubular barrier gate keywords?

            Also I read that sitelink extensions, location extensions, keyword in description or url helps with CTR.

            I appreciate all who have taken time to share their PPC wisdom with me in this thread. In the end my client will be happy too.

            Campaign - Barrier gates

            Ad Group 1
            tubular barrier gates
            tubular steel gates
            tubular gates
            pipe barrier gates
            steel tubular gates
            tubular farm gates
            tubular livestock gates


            Ad Group 2
            driveway barrier gates
            landowner Barrier Gate
            landowner gate
            farm Barrier Gate
            horse friendly vehicle barrier gate


            Ad Group 3
            swing barrier gate
            swing tubular barrier gate
            swing arm barrier gate
            vehicle barrier swing gate
            barricade swing gate


            Ad Group 4
            steel barrier gate
            steel barrier gates
            steel tubular barrier gate
            custom steel barrier gates
            steel barrier gate round tubular
            galvanized steel barrier gates


            Ad Group 5
            manual barrier gate
            manual barrier arm gates
            manual swing arm barrier gate
            heavy duty manual swing arm gate
            manual swing gate
            manual swing arm car park barrier
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            Mike Williams

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            • Profile picture of the author dburk
              Hi Mike,

              That is better, however there is still room for improvement.

              The reason you need to split keywords into short, tightly focused keyword lists is so that you can write ads that are very specific to the keywords within the ad group, right? Please look at your 1st ad group and tell me if you think you have achieved that level of specificity.

              Let's take the specific keyword "tubular livestock gates" as an example. If I were to write an ad that is very specific to that particular keyword I would include the complete keyword term within the ad text. That way anyone searching for "tubular livestock gates" would instantly recognize that my website sells exactly what they are looking for.

              Now ask yourself this question "will that same ad now work as well for every other keyword within the ad group?" The answer is no, not every search term triggered by those other keywords will be relevant for the ad text that was written specifically for "tubular livestock gates". Do you agree?

              Do you see the point that I am making?

              Keep splitting the keywords up into smaller and smaller groups until the same, highly specific, ad text will work with every keyword within the same ad group.

              Many account managers might be tempted to leave all those different keywords within the same ad group. They might lazily opt to write more "general" ad text to make it work. After all it isn't their money, right? It's the client's money and maybe the client isn't paying him enough to do all that extra work, writing all those extra ads. It is at this point that you need to decide just what kind of account manager you will become.

              HTH
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              • Profile picture of the author thefsboking
                Don thanks for the guidance. I felt something wasn't right about some of the keywords in the ad groups and you help clear that up for me.

                I am having a difficult time taking some keywords and then finding other related keywords to create an ad group. I am trying to have no less than 5 to a group. Is there a minimum number of keywords for an ad group? Is 3 too few?
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                Mike Williams

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                • Profile picture of the author dburk
                  Originally Posted by thefsboking View Post

                  Don thanks for the guidance. I felt something wasn't right about some of the keywords in the ad groups and you help clear that up for me.

                  I am having a difficult time taking some keywords and then finding other related keywords to create an ad group. I am trying to have no less than 5 to a group. Is there a minimum number of keywords for an ad group? Is 3 too few?
                  Hi Mike, there is no minimum number of keywords, in fact there are some folks that build campaigns using nothing but single keyword ad groups.

                  Never try for a specific number of keywords, instead focus exclusively on the specific relevancy of the keywords selected for the ad group. If it is only one or two then so be it.

                  To get keyword ideas to expand your ad group keyword list try using the AdWords Keyword Planner with the Keyword Options set to "Only show ideas closely related to my search terms". If the tool doesn't bring back any additional "closely related keywords" then that is all the keywords that should go into that group.

                  HTH
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  • Profile picture of the author ppcmaestro
    Hi thefsboking,

    I thought to help you more on this.

    First of all with the keywords -
    1. If its a Local PPC Client. Why dont you have Local Keywords? You should have keywords which would include Keyword +City +State Name.
    2. It would make a lot of sense, since your Quality Score and your ads will appear at the top 3 positions if you try doing this.
    3. Add Extensions - They do impact the Quality Score. Use Location Extensions along with Call Extensions.

    Landing Page
    1. I didnt like the landing page design. You need to have a more better landing page. It doesnt talk about the legacy of the business which your client owns.
    2. It doesnt talk about delivery times
    3. It doesnt have a clear call to action. Setup a form and also give more details about it.
    4. Check the competitors landing pages, build something in that line.

    If you don't know how to build landing pages - Try Leadpages, Unbounce. They might be bit costly at the start for you, but in the long run it will help you get more business from a lot more clients.

    Add lots of negatives. Foley is a city which is present in a lot of states. Please try adding all other states other than MO as negatives. This will improve your relevancy.

    I am adding an Excel sheet which will have the local keywords. I have created from the keywords which you have added in the above posts. Thought not to do a lot of hard work on this, due to my tight schedule.

    Hope this would help you though.

    Thanks,
    Chetan.
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    • Profile picture of the author thefsboking
      Originally Posted by ppcmaestro View Post

      First of all with the keywords -
      1. If its a Local PPC Client. Why dont you have Local Keywords? You should have
      The ads are set to only display within a 60 mile radius of the nearest metro city. Wouldn't he ad show if someone searched for city+keyword in that area?

      Originally Posted by ppcmaestro View Post

      3. Add Extensions - They do impact the Quality Score. Use Location Extensions along with Call Extensions.
      Yes I read this advice elsewhere a few days ago and plan to implement it.
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      Mike Williams

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      • Profile picture of the author thefsboking
        Here is a report from the last two weeks. It seems that not only are my ads being shown now but have a top position for the one ad group Tubular Barrier Gates.
        I don't understand what happening with the other ad groups. I believe my client won't get much traffic for this particular item in this area. I want to make sure I have done all I can do to optimize this campaign before creating new ones for his other services.

        1. Should I add location and call extensions?
        2. Should I be overly concerned with the quality score if the score is 6/10 and avg ad position is 1?
        3. Once I have done all that I can to optimize this campaign I will create new campaigns for this client. At that point in time I will need to bill him for my services. Is there a standard fee for setting up and monitoring Adwords campaigns? Should I just agree upon some hourly rate?

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        Mike Williams

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  • Profile picture of the author Samfakroon
    Buddy on the Topic you need to do your Research and then Make the campaigns. Dont Randomise the keywords.See this video I had done on how to do a Keyword Research properly.

    Thank You

    Sameer
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    • Profile picture of the author thefsboking
      Originally Posted by Samfakroon View Post

      Buddy on the Topic you need to do your Research and then Make the campaigns. Dont Randomise the keywords.See this video I had done on how to do a Keyword Research properly.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpTnPX2mu3g

      Thank You

      Sameer
      Hi Sameer,

      Thanks for your help. When I use the url of the landing page I find that I already am using the keywords generated by the keyword planner that match the product my client has to sell. After that there are over 600 keywords that describe things he does not sale and are not on the landing page. There are just not many keywords for this product.

      Mike
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      Mike Williams

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  • Profile picture of the author henary21
    i think its good but please improve your keywords. please use local keywords according your locality
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