Tag Archives: pay per click

Are You Testing Ad Copy Correctly?

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Author: Jeff Un, Co-Founder of Fish Tank Media

Ad copy testing is extremely important for the success of a Paid Search campaign. Ad copy testing allows a company to better understand what engages and compels its visitors the most. Before we run through the process of ad copy testing let’s discuss the Best Practices for ad copy creation.

  • Incorporate the ad group keyword theme
  • Highlight unique value propositions (UVPs)
  • Have a call to action

Ad copy testing should be conducted in four phases:

Phase 1 (Planning Phase): Define which metrics are the most important way to judge the success of the account. Is CTR, ROAS, conversion rate, top line revenue or a combination of these most important? Learning this will become your blueprint or roadmap for the rest of the campaign.

Before testing begins, set the campaign ad rotation setting to rotate ads evenly.  This will ensure that all ads in the adgroup receive an even share of impressions.  Beginning June 11th 2012, Google made a change to the way ads are rotated. Instead of rotating ads for an indefinite period of time, ads will only rotate evenly for a period of 90 days. After that, Google will show the ad which will generate more clicks. We recommend to opt out of the Google optimize for clicks.  The ad with the highest CTR may not be the best ad for your business if you have other success metrics such as conversion rates or ROI.

Phase 2 (Discovery Phase): Test different ad copy themes such as benefit driven ads compared to descriptive ads. For example, are visitors more interested in price or free shipping? Other examples include: customer service, fast delivery, wide selection, free download, and so. It’s important to not test ads that are too similar.

To determine a winner when comparing performance of ads in an adgroup, you should use a G-test calculator to get conclusive results.  The tool calculates the mathematical probability that one ad is statistically outperforming another ad in the adgroup.  Look for at least a 90% confidence level.

Phase 3 (Optimization Phase): After finding the “best” UVP, it’s time to make small changes and retest. For example, suppose cost and price is the best UVP – one test could be to place the UVP in the headline vs the second description line. Another example could be the use of semantics such as affordable, low cost, cheap, lowest price and so on.

Phase 4 (Repeat Phase): Go back to Phase 1 and start the process all over again. As time goes on customer expectations change, so you will need to retest ads that previously underperformed. Just because visitors preferred one UVP a year ago does not necessarily mean the same UVP will still resonate. It’s important to test ad copy without sacrificing current performance. This could be accomplished in two ways:

  1. Duplicate the current (control) ad. This will ensure the new ad is only showed 33% of the time.
  2. Create an experiment (AdWords only) and specify the percentage of impressions that should be allocated to the new ad.

We all have different goals with Paid Search. Getting the highest CTR, the most conversions, the largest ROAS, or anything in between could be the goal. Whatever the goals we‘re trying to attain, ad copy testing is at the forefront of achieving those goals.

Should We Bid on Branded Keywords with Paid Search?

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Author: Matt Commins, Co-Founder of Fish Tank Media

I’ll be honest, not to say I’m never honest, I didn’t know what to write about for my first blog post for Fish Tank Media. I’ve been in the Search Marketing industry for six years, which honestly (there’s that word again) is scary it has been that long. I’ve read a ton of articles, books, and blogs within the search marketing industry. Trying to find something new and fresh can be a daunting task before a pen ever hits the pad.

As I was working on a client’s account a chat box popped up on my screen. A friend asked, “Should we be bidding on branding keywords with paid search?” As I started to explain my thoughts I realized this would be a perfect blog post.

So, why should advertisers bid on their brand name?

  1. Ad Copy Testing
  2. Landing Page Testing
  3. Increased SERP Domination
  4. Reputation Management

1.       Ad Copy Testing

One of the biggest benefits of Paid Search is the ability to A/B test ad copy and more specifically, unique value propositions (UVPs). UVPs are competitive advantages (real and/or perceived) an advertiser has over its competitors. Examples of UVPs include: free shipping, customer service, wide selection, instant download, lowest prices, and so on. There are numerous ways to analyze what UVP is “better”: CTR, Conversion Rate, AOV, and Revenue p/Click. In a vacuum, I prefer to look at conversion rate because that is the most likely to have sustained performance over a long period of time. However, when evaluating performance it’s important to use the most important metrics for your business. Once you find the best UVP you can update the Meta Data on the home page with the “better” UVP, thereby giving potential customers information that is most important to them.

2.       Landing Page Testing

About six months ago I noticed Amazon started performing landing page A/B testing for their branded keywords (screen shots below). Perhaps my next blog post will provide in-depth analysis as to why the new Home Page is “better” than its predecessor. Either way, Amazon went with the new page about two months ago and I’m sure they’re making more money.

Paid Search provides the most ideal testing environment, allowing for traffic to be equally distributed without traffic bias. Traffic bias is when users with different preordained biases skew the amount of traffic to a web page. Users coming from email or coupon websites will have a higher propensity to convert than users from social media channels such as Pinterest.

Amazon’s Home Page 6 Months Ago

amazons home page 6 months ago

Amazon’s Current Home Page

Amazons Current Home Page

3.       Increased SERP Domination

Sometimes Google doesn’t like to play nice and allows competitors to bid on your branded keywords. If advertisers do not bid on their brand name their competitors could take the prime real estate (above organic rankings) and steal clicks from you.

Wine SERP in Google

4.       Reputation Management

The screenshot below provides an example of a company not bidding on Branded keywords with Paid Search. The screenshot shows what a typical user may see. Bidding on branded keywords provides an opportunity to push down negative content about your brand. The example below is what a user sees (above the fold) after performing a search. If this company was utilizing Paid Search, the negative content could have been pushed below the fold.

Lot18 SERP Google

Conclusion: Bidding on branded keywords with Paid Search is essential for any business. It provides better control of the content users see in the SERP and most importantly, provides a better user experience by allowing advertisers to perform A/B tests with landing pages and UVPs in ad copy.