PPC Checklist: From Zero to Profit Wielding Hero
When you hear people talk about Pay per Click (PPC) Management they typically mean Google AdWords.
That said, PPC now spans a whole spectrum of platforms from social media, content, display and of course ‘the daddy’ Google search itself.
This actionable ppc optimisation checklist is directly attributed to managing an AdWords ppc campaign, but it’s fair to say it can be applied to other paid search marketing too. It can also be used as the basis for a campaign review and audit check list.
The Purpose of a PPC Checklist?
You need a plan and structure (you need a checklist!), because your pay per click accounts won’t run themselves.
Simply put, keeping on top of your paid search campaign means:
You control and reduce any wasted budget
You improve your conversion rate over time
You maximise the return on investment from PPC
Where to start with optimisation?
Optimise for spend or conversions? A simple rule of thumb:
If conversions are high (and accurate), optimise your conversion metrics first
If your account is a low conversion account, look at your costs first
If you’ve high spend with high conversions, such as Ecommerce, focus on best sellers
Setting expectations
In order to understand performance you must always outline your targets and KPIs. Key elements of your projections such be:
Budget
Conversions
Conversion type (i.e. first-touch, lead, sale, return sale)
Cost per Click (CPC)
Click-through Rate (CTR)
Cost per Acquisition (CPA)
Historical performance
Frequency of measurement would be typically 30-days, month to month.
Bigger spending, faster moving AdWords accounts could be measure bi-weekly or even weekly.
Pay per click is forever changing
The below PPC checklist is a tried and tested formula – how do we know, because it’s based on our highly successful internal process:
PLANNING
House keeping – ensure Analytics is linked and accurately reporting
Conversions – tracking is configured and accurately reporting
Metrics – understand and outline your KPIs
Budget – set budget expectations
Project performance – what do we expect to happen when we make the changes
Reporting – define your frequency of measurement
Daily Tasks
BUDGET
Monitor and tend to spend vs conversions, split out campaigns that need more spend
Measure against historical averages and your campaign targets
FAST MOVERS
Look for daily issues in your Click-through Rates (CTR) and spend
ADJUST BIDS
Manual adjustment of top performers, bid up high converters with lower CPA
Bid down low or none converting keywords, remember to consider assisted conversions
Consider enhanced or automated bidding if >30 conversions per month
Look for imperfections and issues with automated bidding performance
KEYWORDS
Monitor poor performers, pause manually or create rules to pause based on spend/conversions
Look for duplicate and cross contamination keyword issues
Pause under performing keywords based on spend and/or CPA
Weekly Tasks
POSITION
How are top versus side positions effecting cost and conversions
REBALANCE
Refine any performance anomalies such as a drop in CTR
KEYWORDS
Use search term reports to find new keyword opportunities
Extract and add negative keywords
Split out and experiment with keyword match types
Look for duplicates and cross contamination issues
MOBILE
How is mobile performing versus desktop, adjust bids to suit
Optimise click to call vs website conversions
Bi-Weekly Tasks
IMPRESSIONS
Run impression share reports and look for gaps to fill
Are high converting Ad Groups and Keywords hitting >95% impression share
AD GROUPS
Split larger groups >10 keywords in to more targeted, smaller groups
Create highly targeted ads to suit keyword(s)
Ensure consistent structure of match type groupings
AD REVIEW
Make sure there are 2 adverts running per Ad Group
Analyse Ad performance – test headlines, CTAs and value propositions
Ensure Ad to landing page continuity
Ensure sufficient click/conversion data before declaring winners
DISPLAY NETWORK
Review placement performance, exclude where appropriate
Monthly Tasks
QUALITY SCORE
Impression weighted quality score assessment
Identify low quality keywords and work to improve
SITELINKS
Check performance of ad extensions, such as sitelinks, which impact Ad Rank
Remove poor performers and replace with new links
DISPLAY ADS
Review spend weighted against Search CPA/ROI
Review bids and conversions, identify targets and demographics that get results
Ensure display ads are being split tested
ANALYTICS
Look for best and worst performing landing pages and work to improve
Optimise based on visitor metrics vs conversions
AUTOMATION RULES
Can you improve efficiency by using rules for certain processes
HEALTH CHECK
Look for and investigate anomalies in spend, CTR, Impressions and Conversions
Do all broad and phrase match groups have negative keyword lists
Do all campaigns have sitelinks and relevant ad extensions
Quarterly
LANDING PAGES
Review effectiveness of landing pages
Where appropriate A/B test content changes
Use identical ads to test new landing pages, old vs new
Consider improved, more targeted landing pages for continuity
GEOTARGETING
Identify regions that don’t convert, consider splitting out best performers
DAY PARTING
Identify times of day and day of week that require bid adjustments up/down
Avoid over optimisation on thin data sets
TRACKING
Conversion tracking still relevant and tracking correctly
If values are set, are they still true – for example sales/lead LTV
Look for new macro and micro conversion opportunities
HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE
How has the account performed this month, quarter and year
Compare and contrast, address any top-level performance issues
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