netelixir's sem fresh ideas 2012
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Take a look at NetElixir's book of Fresh SEM Ideas for 2012! Learn more during our first webinar on October 24th at 2pm EST! Register here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/473741656 For more information, call 609.356.5112 or email [email protected]TRANSCRIPT
Fresh Online Marketing Ideas
Fresh Ideas... in Search Engine Marketing
I have great pleasure in presenting to you the 2012 edition of our Fresh Ideas Workbook. The first Fresh Ideas workbook was published in June 2009. Since then we have published 2 more annual workbooks (2010 and 2011) and 12 white papers under our Fresh Ideas series. The 2012 edition is a compilation of ten ideas that were rated “very useful” by online retailers (the workbooks have been read by over 5000 retailers in US, UK and Germany).
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) has evolved over the last 3 years. Searcher sophistication has increased (longer queries) and the post-recession shopper’s search to purchase path has become longer. Social media plays a bigger role in influencing buyer choices today (than in 2009) and mobile search has garnered sizeable share of all searches. However, the ideas presented in this workbook are still as applicable today as they were in 2009.
We hope you are able to apply these ideas to boost your search advertising results.
Happy Selling!
UDAYAN BOSE Founder & CEO
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Successful keyword search advertising is “75% execution” and “25% strategy”.
We have tested the concepts presented here for more than 200 retailer campaigns.
Though this is not an exhaustive list, it is adequate for getting you off to a good start.
The beauty of the concepts presented lies in the fact that they can be used on an “as is” basis.
The ability to conduct “smart, objective focused tests” is key for optimal search advertising.
Some control sheets presented here need to be filled by you on a weekly basis. You can therefore capture essential trends.
We place a lot of emphasis on regular data analysis and extracting usable insights. This workbook will serve that purpose for you.
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Why do you need a Practical Workbook?
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The model was first introduced by us in our 2010 Fresh Ideas Workbook (June 2010).
NetElixir’s GOST- (Goals/Objectives – Strategic Initiatives – Tactics) model
is a simple yet powerful model for effective paid search advertising that connects the strategic and operational
aspects of search advertising.
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Create an integrated, multi-channel online customer acquisition strategy for the holidays
• $10,000,000 revenue from
new online customers
• ROAS = 400%
• PPC Share of Voice > 80%
Business Goals/ Objec9ves
Promote STAR and ASPIRANT
categories through PPC, CSE and SMM
Out‐flank compe9tors in
categories X,Y and Z through strategic
promo9ons
5‐10% PPC SOV gain for categories
X,Y,Z
Strategic Ini9a9ves
• Category level channel efficiency
analysis and budget
re‐alloca9on
• Use Compe9tor
Offering, Promo9on
and Messaging Grid
to iden9fy
opportunity gaps
• Track PPC SOV on a monthly basis at
category level
Tac9cs
Create an integrated, multi-channel online customer acquisition strategy for the holidays
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The concept was recommended by us in our 2011 Fresh Online Marketing Ideas Workbook (June 2011).
NetElixir recommends a holistic approach towards search advertising. Our LXRRetailTM dashboard enables us to
compare and manage SEO and SEM keywords side-by-side from a unified dashboard.
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Using the dual power of SEO+SEM to drive resultsUsing the dual power of SEO+SEM to drive results
Idea Checklist Why is it important? Example
Create a list of keywords for which you want to op9mize
search adver9sing (SEO+SEM)
ROAS (Total Search Revenue/
Total SEM Spend). Track the
ROAS for different combina9ons of search lis9ng posi9ons.
Improved SEM spend efficiency. It is possible to gain an idea of
op9mal organic and PPC lis9ng
posi9ons.
6
SEO+SEM ROAS
SEM Spend
Optimal Listing position for organic and paid ads
SEO/SEM Dashboard
Using the dual power of SEO+SEM to drive results
Idea Checklist Why is it important? Example
Create a list of keywords for which you want to op9mize
search adver9sing (SEO+SEM)
ROAS (Total Search Revenue/
Total SEM Spend). Track the
ROAS for different combina9ons of search lis9ng posi9ons.
Improved SEM spend efficiency. It is possible to gain an idea of
op9mal organic and PPC lis9ng
posi9ons.
6
SEO+SEM ROAS
SEM Spend
Optimal Listing position for organic and paid ads
SEO/SEM Dashboard
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We first presented this concept in June 2009 at IRCE Boston.
Should you be promoting all your products through paid search? We asked this question to IRCE 2009 attendees during our
workshop in Boston. Many retailers said that this grid (Margin x Velocity = ROI) helped them run more focused
and profitable search advertising programs.
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• Scrub your keyword list regularly • Time Bound promo8ons to boost
sales
• Experiment with ad copies and
landing pages
• Focus on efficiency and growth • Controlled Keyword list expansion
• Iden8fy new sources for keywords
Is Keyword Search Adver1sing
right for you?
• What’s your average order value?
What is the order margin?
• Number of inventory turns?
Velocity
Margin
Keyword Strategy and “Return on Investment” Keyword Strategy and “Return on Investment”
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We proposed the Competitor Surveillance Grid in our 2009 Fresh Ideas workbook.
Competitor paid search surveillance helps in gainingvaluable insights into competitor strategies, focus areas
and even product promotions. Very few advertisers conduct this process diligently.
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Know thy CompetitorsKnow thy Compe9tors Why is this important?
You are not adver9sing in vacuum . The searcher always likes to compare before making a purchase.
You Compe?tor 1 Compe?tor 2
Product
Price
Promo9ons
Brand Strength
Es9mated SEM Spend
Number of keywords
Unique Selling Point (ad copy and landing page)
Average Ad Lis9ng Posi9on
Specific SEM Tac9cs employed (ex. day‐par9ng)
Why is this important?You are not advertising in “vacuum”. The “searcher” always likes to compare before making a purchase.
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NetElixir highlighted the importance of multi-channel marketing through a table that captured the impact of search and social media during various stages of consumer buying
cycle. This was published in our white paper, 8 Questions Every Search Marketer Should Ask (March 2010).
The importance of multi-channel marketing can not beover-emphasized. Click path analysis helps us derive
valuable insights into use engagement patterns.
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Is your paid search adver?sing program in sync with other online customer acquisi?on campaigns?
NetElixir Suggests: • A Paid search adver9sing campaign delivers superior returns when coupled with other
channels like social media. • Search is a cri9cal element within the Shopper Engagement Cycle . However, it is
not the only element. As the table below shows, it is important to understand the role that search plays in the consumer buying process.
Stage in Consumer
Buying Process
Influence of Search Influence of Social Media
Problem Recogni9on Low High
Informa9on Search High High
Evalua9on of Alterna9ves High Moderate
Purchase Decision High High
Purchase High Low
Post Purchase Evalua9on Low to Moderate Low
Note: Very ooen, the role played by search in post purchase evalua9on gets neglected. NetElixir has been able to conduct successful tests that supports the importance of search
during the post purchase evalua9on process. You can read more on this here: h)p://www.internetretailer.com/ar9cle.asp?id=33005
Is your paid search advertising program in sync with other online customer acquisition campaigns?
NetElixir Suggests: • A paid search advertising campaign delivers superior returns when coupled with other
channels like social media. • Search is a critical element within the “Shopper Engagement Cycle”, however, it is not the only
element. As the table below shows, it is important to understand the role that search plays in the consumer buying process.
Note: Very often, the role played by search in post purchase evaluation gets neglected. NetElixir has been able to conduct successful tests that supports the importance of search during the post purchase evaluation process. You can read more on this here: http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=33005
5 tips on strategic bidding best practices were presented in our2009 Fresh Ideas workbook (June 2009).
Strategic keyword bidding practices can have big impact on paid search campaign profitability,especially during the hyper-competitive holidays.
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Why is this important?During the holiday season, the average cost per keyword click (CPC) jumps by 50-80% for categories like flowers and gifts, apparel and consumer electronics.
Strategic Keyword Bidding During Holidays
5 Essential Things to Remember in Keyword Bidding • Bidding strategy should be product category-specific
(know the categories “Not” to aggressively bid on) • Day-parting tactics help in better utilization of advertising budget • Days of “vanity bidding” (get the top listing position at any cost) are over • Value per click is the ultimate measure of bidding efficiency • A conversion is an outcome of multiple clicks on (often) multiple keywords
(it is too simplistic to attribute a conversion to the last keyword click).
Note: • Since bidding is a real-time process, manual bid management is not adequately efficient especially for campaigns with 5000+ keywords.
Bid Optimization technologies like LXRRetailTM use complex algorithms to execute this process optimally. • Bidding strategy is influenced by both short term as well as long SEM objectives. The strategy adopted during Holiday Season may not
apply during other months.
At the Internet Retailing Show in London (in 2009) our CEO, Udayan Bose presented ten tips for boosting ad copy performance.
A well written ad copy can boost Click-through-rate as well as conversion rate. At NetElixir, we have conducted extensive research
on each and every character (quite literally) of an ad copy.
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Creating ad copies that work: Practical Tips
1. Geo targeted ad copies always have higher CTR that national ad Copies
2. Free shipping always boosts CTR
3. Mentioning Official site (in display URL or ad copy) increases CTR
4. Mentioning keyword in display URL increases CTR
5. Free S/H + official site + call to action = BEST ad
6. Brand name + retailer name = better than just retailer name
7. High CTR ad copy need not be best converting
8. Mentioning the brand name in ad copy improves CTR and also conversion
9. Final Clearance or Clearance Sale ads have high CTR but may not have high conversion rate
10. Adding an exclamation mark post a call to purchase ad copy line increases CTR
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This concept was presented in 2010 Fresh Ideas workbook. Till date this idea has received maximum questions from retailers.
Search Never Sleeps, why should your SEM Manager?We have always been big proponent of 24/7/365
campaign management. A smart search marketer always finds out a way to maximize any opportunity.
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Severe snowstorm – East Coast will prevent
Shoppers from stepping out of their homes Be Prepared for u?lizing sudden
situa?onal opportuni?es through SEM
12.19.2009 9 am EDT
Short Term Search
Advertising Campaign
Be prepared for utilizing sudden situational opportunities through SEM
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We introduced these 3 KPI’s in our 2010 Fresh Ideas workbook (June 2010).
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) help us measure progress and also take necessary actions. We believe every business should build a custom set of KPIs. Having worked exclusively in the retail industry
since 2005, we have had an opportunity to test various KPIs especially for measuring customer acquisition.
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3 Online Customer Acquisition KPI’s Every Retail Marketer Should MasterOnline Customer Acquisi9on KPI s Every Retail
Marketer Should Master
KPI How to Calculate Significance
New Customer Contribu9on
(Sales Revenue from New Customers)/Total
Website Sales Revenue
Effec9veness of your acquisi9on program
Return on Adver9sing Spend (at the category
and channel levels)
Revenue Generated/ Channel Adver9sing
Spend (category‐level)
Category‐level, channel specific adver9sing
efficiency
Average Order Value (New Customer) vis‐a‐vis
Average Order Value for all customers
AOV (new Customer)/ AOV (Overall Website)
Rela9ve New Customer Value
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We introduced the Channel Efficiency Dashboard in our 2011 Fresh Ideas workbook (June 2011).
We built the Channel Efficiency Dashboard for one ofour very large retail clients. It was extremely effective
in helping us assess multi-channel advertising efficiency.
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The Channel Efficiency DashboardThe Channel Efficiency Dashboard
22
Channels Unique
visitors
Orders Revenue Cost Revenue/Cost
(ROAS)
Revenue/
Orders
(AOV)
Orders/
Unique
Visitors
(Conversion
Rate)
% Revenue
(new
visitors)/
Total
Revenue
SEM
SEO
CSE
SMM
Affiliate
Key Metrics Key Performance Indicators
How to Use the channel efficiency dashboard? • Set baseline numbers for KPI s and key metrics
• Daily Performance Alerts:
‐ 10%+ baseline: Star (Green)
‐ (‐10%) – (9.99%) baseline: Aspirant (Yellow)
‐ greater than ‐10% devia9on from baseline: Laggard (Red)
How to use the channel efficiency dashboard? • Set baseline numbers for KPI’s and key metrics • Daily Performance Alerts: - 10%+ baseline: Star (Green) - (-10%) – (9.99%) baseline: Aspirant (Yellow) - greater than -10% deviation from baseline: Laggard (Red)
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NetElixir, Inc., is a Princeton, NJ, based online customer acquisition management firm with offices in New York, London, India, Germany, and Denmark.
The company advises clients worldwide on online customer acquisition strategies and, using its proprietary technology - the LXR core platform, helps them achieve online advertising performance maximization.
About NetElixir NetElixir Global OfficesGlobal Headquarters 475 Wall StreetPrinceton, NJ 08540USAPhone: 609.356.5112
Europe Offices NetElixir LimitedCentral House1 Ballards LaneLondon, EnglandN3 1LQPhone: 020 8349 040
NetElixir Scandinavia Bernhard bangs Alle 292000 FrederiksbergDenmarkPhone: +45 40 867 827
Asia Pacific Office NetElixir (P) LimitedJyothi Bhopal Chambers,#7-1-19/5, Begumpet,Hyderabad 500016Andhra Pradesh.IndiaPhone: +91 40 4003 8996
Website: www.NetElixir.comPhone: 609.356.5112Email: [email protected]: http://netelixir.typepad.comTwitter: http://twitter.com/udayanboseTwitter: http://twitter.com/netelixir
© 2012 NetElixir, Inc. All rights reserved.