Here are just a few comparisons provided by SpyFu PPC Competitive Software

Organic Rank/Keywords: OUCH!!!
- Winner: Hotwheels

Related Organic Keywords: That’s It?
- Winner: Hotwheels

PPC Budgets: Geez, Nothing at all?
- Winner: HotWheels

Twitter Page: Matchbox has nothing to Tweet About?
- Winner: HotWheels

In Conclusion:

Mattel is obviously choosing the brand that they want to be visible online and using their ad dollars to prove it. In a recent article from Proactiveinvestors.com  entitled “Mattel posts Q4 profit helped by Hot Wheels and Barbie sales” the Chief Executive Bryan Stockton states “Sales for Mattel’s Wheels segment – which includes the Hot Wheels, Matchbox and Tyco R/Co brand – jumped five percent.” The significance of this statement is that he included Matchbox, even though we have seen is obviously not involved in any progressive online marketing strategies and/or PPC Ad Budgets. So the next time you are walking down the toy cars aisle, just think about this post.

In this post, I will discuss the benefits of Storytelling to both the client and the PPC Guru handling the account.

Educating Clients on which Metrics Matter

In a lot of cases, when boarding a new client who is new to PPC or had a horrible experience with a previous agency or a Google Self Optimization (hee) there is a false understanding of success metrics. Some may think Impressions or CTR% is what measures success. Other just care about clicks. So, it’s up to the PPC Guru to set the record straight and propose an “eye-opening” strategy which contains both “before the click” and “after the click” performance goals. Furthermore, it’s also imperative to set the right expectations in order to gauge trust with the client.

Leverage Web Analytics Data to Feed the Story

Just looking at PPC performance data is not enough to tell the story. PPC marketing has a strong effect on Brand Awareness and influencing Organic results. In my experience, I have had client’s Direct Traffic (Bookmark/Type-in) performance skyrocket when we were targeting “non-branded” keywords. Once we decided to pause that campaign, the Direct Traffic performance dropped. That’s a Story that needs to be explained to the client.

Utilize Google Adwords Dimensions

They are other important metrics within Google Adwords Dimensions which also contribute to telling the story, such as Hour of Day, Day of the Week and GEO by state, metro area, city and most specific locations. These are the metrics which combined with overall performance data is what makes up a holistic story that can be understood by the client and used as next level optimization strategy.

Presenting the PPC Performance Story

In my opinion, Acquisio has the best PPC Reporting Platforms available today. They simply SYNC all of the data from the Search Engines and populate amazing looking reports where a user can “slice & dice” any performance metrics of their choice. Acquisio also allows users to upload images and insert customized text fields for Storytelling. Here is an example Report.

• Influence opinions and swing voters
• Gives an edge on “time-sensitive” issues
• Assists in “damage control” regarding Reputation Management
• Increases online donations and volunteerism
• Assists in re-enforcing Social Conversions on other networks

However, in this particular case, Mitt Romney’s campaign is using PPC not to go after their own fellow Republican competitor, but the President of the United States. Mitt’s campaign staff wants their base to “assume” he will win the Republican Nomination and they are using PPC as a persuasion tactic.

Another interesting thing to note is that all of the text ads that are in rotation all focus on Obama and not Newt. See the following screenshot below for the different types of messaging.

Samples of Mitt Romney's PPC Marketing Strategy

Start-up Portfolio Clients
Today where new companies are spurting up all over the world and advertising budgets are usually at a minimum, PPC Marketing can make a difference. One of the biggest benefits for Startup is to have their Venture Capital Firm recommend a trusted PPC Marketer who can come in and “move the needle” by providing a just a few of the following:

• Evaluate the Business Model as it pertains to PPC Marketing Tactics and Strategy
• Help the Company Identify Online Audiences and Demographic capabilities
• Perform a current PPC and Organic Search Competitive Analysis
• Help put together an initial 3-6 month Strategy based on Goals/Objectives
• Setup the Core Infrastructure for Web Analytics and Conversion Tracking
• Develop Landing Page Design Strategy for optimal Conversion Rates

The Agency or “In-House” Fatigue Factor
In some cases, a VC’s portfolio company might be in need of some “new and fresh” ideas of an outside consultant in order to “kick start” revenue growth. Having a PPC Marketer available (of course with a solid reputation and a high level of past successes) can take the ease off of everyone, because it eliminates all of the pain of vetting out different vendors and references, etc… so they make a smart decision on who to hire.

One-time Audits
Perhaps, those companies who already have “in-house” staff that would not need to hire a Full-Time Consultant, but need an expert to come in and evaluate everything could be a very “cost effective” solution. For example, a PPC Marketer can provide an “in-depth” review of the following:

• Overall Strategy and Tactics
• Complete Quality Score Methodology
• Landing Page Evaluation and Recommendations
• Extensive Web Analytics and Conversion Analysis
• Other available platforms and networks not currently being used
• On-going optimization techniques and continued growth

In Conclusion:
For a Venture Capital Firm, whose main interest is to make sure their portfolio companies are profitable and continuously growing, having an experience PPC Marketer at their disposal is “no-brainer”. It all comes down to Reputation, Trust and Good work. If a VC’s portfolio company is looking to hire a PPC Marketing Firm, whom better else to recommend to them than their own VC.

When we follow the Quality Score methodology, it creates a visual outline of the individual tactics. And regardless of the “stuff” we put into the account, it’s how the tactics are used to push the “stuff” to the audiences. So in essence, as long as we know the Tactical Best Practices, it does not matter what language your campaigns are in.

Some Obvious Tactical Guidelines for any language

1. Keyword Matching for search terms (avoid too many Broad Matching terms)
2. Negative Keyword Matching (avoid broad match)
3. Search Query Mining: Find the “golden longtails”
4. Google Search Only vs. Network Partners (based on conversions)
5. Different Bidding Options (CPM, CPC, CPA)
6. Watch out for too many DKI instances in Text Ads

In conclusion:
Regardless of any language barriers at the Keyword, Text Ad and Landing Page levels, all you need to worry about is the Core Campaign Settings and Quality Score Best Practices. Furthermore, it’s not so much about the translation of the keyword and understanding what it means, rather it’s the all of the other settings and best practices surrounding the keywords. This is why PPC can be considered a universal language.

In a very interesting article in Adweek entitled “Google’s Ad Rank to Consider Phone Calls, Not Just Clicks
Bid-per-call coming to AdWords“, the author Ki Mae Heussner stresses th at Adwords will shortly factor in Phone Calls into Ad Rank calculations, which in the PPC world means Quality Score. Furthermore, according to article it also states “that the bids and call volume will factor into an advertiser’s Ad Rank and, therefore, influence the position of the online ads”

In essence, this is a very good problem to have because it allows for better management of ROAS%. Adgroup expansion is a sign of good Quality Score methodology. Overtime, there will be Winners, Losers and Others that need more attention. With that said, there are a few ways to alter the campaign structures to get the most out of the budgets. Here are a few ideas:

Keep them in their Family:
This approach, even though not optimal for conversions, is a good way to control the budgets across an entire group of related products or services. This can be applied to eCommerce as well as Lead Generation. If the client prefers to spend money on specific adgroups/terms, even though they do not generally drive a lot of conversions, this a good way to go.

Performance Classification:
Sometimes, you need to mix things up from the typical Quality Score structure. In this phase in the PPC Game, it’s all about Revenue’s and maximizing ROAS%. Bucketing the top performing adgroups will allow for increase Ad Serving exposure to those adgroups which need it the most. The difficult task in doing this is where the “cut off” line is with the adgroups, especially with Seasonality trends.

Intent Classification:
In this case, identifying the top keyword modifiers which drive the highest level of interaction from the searcher will generate this classification. In a past blog post on SemGeek entitled “Tips on How to Maximize Lead Quality in PPC Marketing”, I talk about the importance of measuring Keyword Intent and using that information along with conversions to create the different classification buckets.

In Conclusion:
As I mentioned before, this is a good problem to have because it’s a natural growing pain of a well structured campaign. The bottom line in all that we do in PPC is Optimal Performance. The more money we make for the advertiser/client, the better the relationship and that’s what we want. Personally, I think every PPC Marketer needs to be creative in how they approach Paid Search. Achieving good Quality Score is always a best practice, but I would take conversions and a respectable ROAS% over Quality Score any day.

Remember. Quality Score is just a metric. The only Metric that matters are Conversions!

In fact, for those who frequently follow the Inside Adwords Blog, we could see this coming from a mile away. Other than Google +1 phenomena, there has been an unusually higher amount of posts focusing on the Display Network and we should continue to see a lot more to come.

See a screenshot below:

So, if your a shareholder of Google and want to get some insider information. I would suggest making friends with a Search Marketing Geek to get the latest rumors in the pipeline.

Click here to Register Online (NOTE: Use discount code: GREG for 50% off registration.

The conference will run from 8 am to 5:30 pm and you will hear from some of the top names in social media in the Philadelphia area. Wil Reynolds, top SEO specialist from SEER Interactive will start our day talking about the value of good search engine optimization, followed by 24 different excellent seminars with nationally known speakers including myself from which you pick four throughout the afternoon. Karen Pryor of Pryor2 Marketing and head of SCORE speaker’s bureau will end our day with her talk on integrating social media with traditional media.

In addition, the Phoenixville Chamber of Commerce will be helping us put on a speed networking lunch to help participants meet other individuals, local businesses and non-profits wanting to learn about social media in an affordable and accessible way. If you can only make lunch, you can still register for only $25 and join us from 12 pm to 2 pm.

I am offering you my personal friends and family discount under the code: GREG which you are certainly welcome to pass on! And, we are still taking nominations for the awards for the best non-profit and/or small business using social media. Email info@bethereonline.org if you have any ideas!

In a recent Foxnews.com Opinion Article entitled “Google’s Hypocritical Anti-Bully Pulpit” author Penny Young Nance goes on a rant against Google and their Mistreatment of Presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s SERP Results. According to the article, she states “But when someone types his name into the Google search box, the very first result that appears is a website detailing a sex act “by-product” named after the senator.  In fact, the Senator’s own website is the fourth result” See screenshot below:

SOLUTION: If I were Rick Santorum’s Campaign Manager, I would use Campaign Contributions to start a PPC Reputation Management Strategy against this website or perhaps Google.

In addition to this SERP incident, it has fueled more controversy against Google. According to Nance, “While companies are free to give money to political candidates and parties as they please, Google has given millions to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and MoveOn.org.  The money flows so freely that earlier this year Eric Schmidt was rumored to be the administration’s next Secretary of Commerce.“

In an effort, to try and “calm down” Republicans, Google has decided to increase their political contributions to the other side of the aisle. In an article from The Huffington Post entitled “Spreading Freedom: Google, Microsoft And The War For The Web” the article states “Google, whose top executives have long been a bottomless cup of campaign coffee for Democrats, is finally entering its bipartisan phase, theatrically hiring Republican operatives and broadcasting the news through insider Washington publications, pumping air into a K Street tech bubble. The shift in political strategy comes as Google faces a serious antitrust threat, punctuated by a high-profile hearing on the company held Wednesday afternoon in the Senate. But Google’s investment in the infrastructure of the conservative movement goes much deeper than what’s been reported this summer.”

In conclusion:
In my opinion, Google is caught in the middle of a Political Firestorm because of it’s influence on the world. They have supported Democrats in the past, now they are supporting Republicans. They are creating uncertainty across Washington and getting negative attention from people of influence. Not to mention, they are under fire for SERPs of Presidential Candidates and now Antitrust violations.  Bottom line: STAY under the Radar!