Paid media professionals are no strangers to reporting. However, not all PPC reports should be treated the same.
Each report has key similarities and differences, so let’s dive in. Effective analysis overviewFirst, a quick refresher on how to effectively analyze PPC performance:
The result is a clear overview of what’s happening in the account, why it’s happening, and what you did to influence that (or how you plan to address it if action is needed).
This general approach is relevant for any report, regardless of audience or cadence. Dig deeper: PPC management checklist: Daily, weekly and monthly reviews Weekly reportsA weekly cadence is usually the shortest duration people are asked to report on. The audience for these reports might be your regular point of contact or a direct manager so that the analysis can be more in-depth. For accounts with a high volume of data (which may also coincide with higher budgets), it’s fairly common to see trends appear week over week.
For accounts with lower budgets or less data available (like if you target a niche industry), week-over-week shifts might not be as prevalent.
The biggest differentiator for weekly reports is that you can dig deeper into the account. Hone in on specific keywords and audiences that are seeing a shift. Note any recent changes you made or tasks you’re actively working on to improve short-term performance.
These same principles apply if you do biweekly or mid-month reporting instead of weekly reports, and the final product may look something like this: Monthly reportsMonthly reports should be a staple for any digital marketer. Your audience is likely the same as weekly reports, but they could also be sent to other stakeholders you don’t work with frequently. Start by comparing performance to the previous month and provide insights based on that month-over-month data. You don’t need to go as in-depth as a weekly report, though – broaden your focus to what had the most impact.
Once you’ve done a month-over-month comparison, compare your performance to the previous year. Are you beating last year’s benchmarks? If not, why? This is a great way to hold yourself accountable and identify opportunities for the future.
The key with monthly reports is to analyze performance with medium- and long-term goals in mind. People receiving the report don’t necessarily need to know the fine details – just the key points.
The final product may look something like this: Quarterly reportsAnother common reporting time is at the start of each quarter. Similar to the difference between weekly and monthly reports, these analyses should have a longer-term perspective. However, quarterly reports are also more likely to be viewed by higher-ups, like VPs, Directors, and C-level executives. It’s important to approach these like an executive summary because of this. In your analysis, focus more on the account's long-term strategy, profitability, etc. Executives likely aren’t as worried about efficiency and engagement metrics (like click-through rate and average cost per click) unless those were defined as core KPIs or had a major contribution to overall account growth. This is especially true for any charts, graphs, or other visualizations you include in the report. The comparison period should also be the previous quarter and the previous year.
The final product may look something like this: Annual reportsLastly, annual reports can be used to summarize major initiatives throughout the year. The people you deliver this to will likely be similar to your quarterly reports, so the approach should also be similar. The main emphasis should be whether or not company/department-wide goals were achieved.
This gives you a roadmap for the coming year while also highlighting success, and the final product may look something like this: Tailoring your PPC analysis: Insights for every reporting cycleEffective PPC reporting is a matter of timing and audience. Tailoring your analysis to the right timeframe is essential. The biggest difference between weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports is the amount of detail you should go into.
Clarity, relevance, and actionable insights are key to PPC reporting success. Connect data to real-world implications, speak your audience's language, and refine your reporting skills to make a difference in your paid media efforts. Dig deeper: How to improve PPC campaign performance: A checklist The post How to approach weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual PPC reporting appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/cwYIEoN
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PPC best practices come from a variety of places. Some of those sources are:
However, depending on those sources, you could end up with highly different answers. So, how do you know when to apply or be critical of a “best practice”? Many PPC professionals can relate: You see “Google” on your caller ID, and you momentarily feel a boost in ego. But reality sets in when you realize it’s often a junior Google representative or even a third-party service who needs to tick some boxes to meet quarterly goals, not necessarily tailored to your account’s context. This conflict of interest makes whatever “best practice” they recommend risky. In the end, you hang up and realize our role as advertisers is to make sure we deliver the highest results with the smallest budget possible. And Google Ads’ role (or any other ad network) is to get you to spend more. So naturally, our relationship with Google Ads’ best practices has to be balanced. Let’s explore the most common pitfalls and also recognize when Google Ads does a fantastic job. Leverage automated biddingThere are probably just a few people left who can still successfully run manual CPC campaigns – and that’s a good thing. Look, I know the PPC community is angry at Google for raising ad prices, and some even go as far as saying that automated bidding strategies are only meant for having advertisers spend more. But still, anyone who ran proper A/B tests back in the day knows that correctly set up automated bidding strategies outperform manual bidding 99% of the time. I’m happy Google Ads rolled them out and made a great tool almost 10 years ago. It’s a best practice you can apply almost every time. Why do I say “almost” though? If Google Ads could clarify optimal setups (conversion density, latency, frequency, etc.), it would be perfect. Right now, the only thing we have is:
So if you feel like your automated bid strategy doesn’t quite perform as you’d like to, review the above parameters, but otherwise, you most probably should move away from manual CPC. Grow with broad match keywordsJust like automated bidding, automated targeting (that’s pretty much what broad match is these days) is getting really good. As such, I believe Google Ads is right to push those broad match types harder. There are plenty of studies showing how broad match keywords outperform phrase match keywords. It certainly helps speed up PPC staff training and streamline campaign maintenance with lighter campaign structures. So what’s not to like? Similar to automated bidding, though, I would still caution against using such a match type blindly. For example, I strongly advise against turning on:
Why is that? Because just like automated bidding, Google Ads hasn’t shared details on optimal setups. By experience, you want to fuel your bid strategy with some initial down funnel data (purchases) before trusting Google’s AI. Otherwise, just like any AI, it will produce superficial results because it will not see past the top-of-funnel KPIs (pageviews, etc.). Another recurring theme is the progressive removal of information. As usual, these days, citing privacy allowed Google to limit search term reporting. While performance is definitely getting better with broad match keywords, visibility isn’t. A shame since search term reports helped better inform holistic marketing decisions. Growing with broad match keywords is an interesting best practice. But you should be aware of its limitations. Upgrade to data-driven attributionYou start to notice a theme right? Data-driven attribution (DDA) is yet another AI-driven innovation from Google. And just like the previous best practices, it sure has value. But also limitations. Perhaps most importantly, DDA shows marketers that cross-channel journeys actually happen. By nature, distributing conversions across several audiences improves overall performance since it’s more granular and less angular. However, I believe Google strongly lacks transparency on this one (I mean, even more than for auto bidding and broad match types). Indeed, you cannot see conversion paths per user cohort. You used to be able to compare DDA to other attribution models, but that’s now gone. The only other option we’re left with is last-click attribution which is notoriously simplistic (depending on your purchasing journey). In the end, it’s a great feature, but it shows the early signs of Google’s dark side: it doesn’t care about your context and thinks poorly of you, the advertiser. Don’t get me wrong, I love processing and automating stuff whenever possible. And AI is a fantastic tool. However, thinking that everything is measurable is a sin, even in data marketing. What if your purchasing journey isn’t correctly reflected in data available to Google Ads’ algorithms for whatever reason? What will DDA base its conversion distribution on? Your guess is as good as mine. So while I believe most advertisers should follow this best practice, I believe we should all be very much aware of its limitations – and cross-reference DDA results with other attribution or incrementality results. Adopt Performance Max campaignsThis best practice aligns with broad match keywords, DDA and automated bidding. But it goes even further: the promise is to identify the perfect media mix for you, thanks to Google’s AI. The shocking part is that it can totally deliver. So why am I ranking that best practice with an orange traffic light? Because:
Another hole in advertisers' toolkits often can be found in data pipelines:
Ultimately, Google Ads’ Performance Max algorithms will deliver impressions approximately. Remember: their output can only be as good as the input you feed it. Do you think your setup is strong enough to feed such a beast? So when your favorite Google Ads’ rep tells you to switch everything to Performance Max, think again. Do you tick all these boxes:
There are naturally a lot of other questions you could ask yourself, but those are the main ones to me. Adopting Performance Max is not a straightforward best practice, as you can see. Being critical: Best practices vs. contextBest practices work most of the time, but not all the time. Just like averaged metrics, they can hide crazy standard deviations. So remain critical with best practices depending on your account knowledge. More often than not, that context is challenging, if not impossible, for AI to grasp fully. And here lies your true value. Let me give a few examples. Let's say you run a gift card business. You probably know that it’s a very seasonal market, and the customer journey is crazy fast. People who are late buying Christmas gifts will Google “gift card” a couple of days before Christmas – and buy straight away. In that case, does it make sense to use DDA? Probably not. Does it make sense to use Performance Max? Probably not, either. Those prospects will use search mainly. That’s it. That’s the context driving your marketing strategy. It's not a one-size-fits-all best practice telling you to act blindly. Here's another example: say you run a subscription-based business. Would it make sense to retarget Website visitors and saturate branded keywords? Probably not. Those users will mostly be paying customers already. So, would it make sense to use Performance Max with a bottom-of-funnel goal (something like a subscription)? Probably not, because Performance Max would go crazy on branded and retargeting campaigns. And those would not have great incremental value. It's crucial for advertisers to critically assess PPC strategies. Running a data marketing agency, I emphasize that strategies shouldn't rely solely on data. Don't feel obligated to strictly follow Google Ads or other ad networks' best practices, especially if their main pitch is being "AI-infused." The post Google Ads best practices: The good, the bad and the balancing act appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/bpYlnEk Looking to take the next step in your search marketing career? Below, you’ll find the newest jobs at brands and agencies in SEO, PPC and digital marketing – as well as positions we’ve shared in previous weeks that are still open. Newest jobs in SEO, PPC and digital marketingDirector of Organic Marketing, Community Phone (Remote)
SEO Manager, Get It Recruit (Remote)
Director, SEO Marketing, Sears Home Services (Remote)
SEO Manager, Aprio (Remote)
Technical SEO Manager, ClickUp (Remote)
Associate SEO Specialist, Pella Corporation (Remote)
More SEO jobsGVP, Organic Growth, Gartner (Austin, TX)
Senior Director of SEO, Salesforce (San Francisco, CA)
Vice President, Search Engine Optimization, CBS Sports (New York, NY)
Director, Website & SEO, Dashlane (New York, NY)
SEO Director, Marketplace Partnership, Front Row (New York, NY)
Director Integrated SEO and SEM Manager, TIAA (New York, NY)
Associate Director, SEO, Assembly Global (Baltimore, MD)
SEO Manager, Vanta (Remote)
Sr. SEO Manager, Adobe.com (San Jose, CA)
Senior SEO Marketing Manager, Remitly (Seattle, WA)
Web SEO Content Manager, Xylem, Inc, (Remote or NC, NY, IL, MA, NJ)
SEO & Performance Marketing Manager, Amika (Brooklyn, NY)
Search Engine Optimization Manager, Restaurant 365, (Remote)
Senior Search Data Strategist, Botify (New York City, NY)
Senior SEO Copywriter, Marketplace Partnership, Fortress Brand (New York, NY)
Sr SEO Specialist, SurveyMonkey (Remote)
Senior SEO Content Strategist, North Star Inbound (Remote)
SEO Specialist, Wonderist Agency (San Diego, CA)
SEO Specialist, Wonderist Agency (San Diego, CA)
SEO Content Specialist, LandrumHR (Remote)
SEO Specialist, Perrill (Minnetonka, MN)
(SR) SEO Analyst, Terakeet (Remote)
SEO Specialist, Pure Visibility (Remote)
More PPC jobsDirector, Digital Media, Sega of America, Inc. (Irvine, CA)
Head of Growth Marketing, DICE (Brooklyn, NY)
Director, Performance Marketing, ResortPass (New York, NY)
Social Media Manager, Google Ads, YouTube Ads Marketing, Google (New York, NY)
Performance Marketing Manager, Good American (Los Angeles, CA)
Associate Director of Paid Media, Dotdash Meredith (Liberty, NY)
Senior Social Media Analyst, adQuadrant (Remote)
Paid Social Manager, Lionsgate (Santa Monica, CA)
Manager, Paid Media Branding, Dow Jones (New York, NY)
Paid Media Strategist, SmartBug Media (United States / Remote)
Media Manager, Paid Search, Hawke Media (Remote)
Other SEM and digital marketing jobsVice President, Creative & Strategic Marketing, NBCUniversal (San Francisco, CA_
Director, SEM, LegalZoom (Glendale, CA)
Director, Growth Marketing, Loop (Remote)
Senior Marketing Manager, Paid Social, Who Gives A Crap (Los Angeles, CA)
Digital Media Manager, Verizon (Basking Ridge, NJ)
Paid Media Manager, Fireblocks (New York City, NY)
Digital Marketing Manager, OpenX (New York, NY)
Senior Digital Director of Marketing, Apex Leaders (Boise, ID)
Associate Manager, Online Marketing, Match (West Hollywood, CA)
SEM/Performance Marketing Specialist, VisitorsCoverage Inc (Santa Clara, CA)
Are you looking to hire?You can submit your job listing details here for free. Please include:
Note: We update this post weekly. So make sure to bookmark this page and check back. The post The latest jobs in search marketing appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/0kLYxMr Amazon generated $12.06 billion from its advertising services in the third quarter of 2023. The figure marks a 26.3% increase from the same period in 2022 – a result significantly better than forecasts predicted by Wall Street. Why we care. Amazon’s exceptional performance serves as a powerful signal that the digital advertising industry is experiencing a robust resurgence following on from the economic downturn. This promising trend should instill confidence among cautious marketers, ultimately rekindling their trust in the sector. As trust is rebuilt, experts anticipate a surge in ad spend during the all important holiday season in Q4. Exceeding expectations. Financial analysts had predicted that ad revenue would generate $11.6 billion in Q3 – which would have marked a 21% year-on-year increase. However, Amazon’s ad sales surpassed this by $460 million. The segment includes:
Ad partners. In the third quarter of this year, Amazon teamed up with a number of publishers and brands to serve ads on their apps and websites for products that are sold via Amazon in the US, including:
The retail giant suggested these collaborations played an important role in its success in Q3. Leveraging AI. Amazon also attributed its successful third quarter to rolling out new AI capabilities for brands and advertisers. In India, Amazon introduced a generative AI digital assistant to assist small businesses in setting up an online store, offering support with registration, listing, and advertising. Other AI announcements included Amazon’s Supply Chain, a fully automated service for sellers to efficiently transport products from manufacturers to customers. What has Amazon said? Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO, described Q3 as another "strong quarter". He said:
Earnings report. You can read Amazon's full third quarter 2023 results report for more information The post Amazon’s ad services revenue rises 26%, bringing in more than $12 billion in Q3 appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/zg2rpfS
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Why marketers should care about customer journey orchestration by Digital Marketing Depot10/26/2023 In today’s omnichannel world, customers engage with brands across many different touchpoints both online and offline. This makes mapping the customer journey more complex for marketers. Customers expect seamless experiences across channels and devices. If the journey is disjointed, they will quickly become frustrated and take their business elsewhere. This is where customer journey orchestration (CJO) comes in. CJO platforms empower marketers to optimize the customer experience by:
With CJO, marketing is no longer limited to siloed campaigns. You can take an outside-in approach starting from the customer perspective. This results in increased satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy. According to a recent Forrester study, 65% of marketers plan to increase spend on CJO platforms in the next year. But with many solutions now available, how do you choose the right one? That’s where our MarTech guide comes in. This comprehensive report profiles leading platforms and provides actionable insights to guide your buying process including. Visit Digital Marketing Depot to download Customer Journey Orchestration Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide and learn how to connect journeys, increase loyalty, and drive growth. The post Why marketers should care about customer journey orchestration appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/kzM4sgd When it comes to programmatic advertising, consent isn’t just a requirement; it’s the key to unprecedented revenue potential. Programmatic advertising thrives on precision and relevance, but how can you achieve these without compromising user trust or regulatory compliance? Register and attend this digital advertising webinar to stay ahead, mastering consent-driven ad strategies so you can build trust and boost profits: “Why Consent and Compliance Matter With Programmatic Ads,” presented by OneTrust. Click here to view more Search Engine Land webinars. The post Build trust and boost profits with programmatic ads appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/0vusDW7 Meta’s third-quarter revenue jumped 23% to $34.15 billion, the latest indicator of a rebound in digital advertising. Meta, the parent company of Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads and Messenger, reported that:
The company reported $11.6 billion in profit, more than twice the $4.4 billion from a year earlier. Its operating income of $13.7 billion also more than doubled year-over-year.
Cost cutting. Earnings were also helped by its cost cuts, with expenses falling 7% from a year earlier to $20.4 billion. In the past year, Meta has reduced its workforce by roughly a third and flattened its organizational structure. User growth. This continued in some of Meta’s key markets, including the United States and Canada.
Prioritizing AI. AI has been and will continue to be a big part of Meta’s drive to increase efficiency and lower costs. The company has depended on AI-powered marketing planning and ad measurement in particular in recent years to drive growth. Customer use of chatbots is still in its infancy, said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Hiring to increase. Zuckerberg said Meta plans to start hiring more AI-focused technologists for that and that the will increase headcount overall as it works through its “sizable hiring backlog.” In the current quarter, the company expects to do well but warned of volatility because of events in the Middle East. Li said the company has “seen broader demand softness follow other regional conflicts in the past, such as in the Ukraine war” after Russia invaded in 2022.
The post Meta ad revenue fuels blowout Q3, $11.6 billion in profits appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/QU04H7I Google is currently having an issue serving or showing search results to some searchers. You may see error pages when you search on Google.com, keep in mind, Google is aware of the issue and working on a fix. What Google said. Google posted on its search status dashboard at 11:01 am ET saying, “There’s an ongoing issue with serving search results. Users may see an error page when doing a search. We’re working on fixing the issue. Next update will be within 12 hours.” What is next. Expect Google to work to fix this issue quickly because if Google is unable to fully serve search results, that can impact their ad revenue in a big way. Google Search is one of the most used features on the internet. I personally am not seeing any serving issues with Google Search, but I suspect some users are. Why we care. If you notice a drop in traffic from Google Search to your sites today, this may be one reason why there was a decline. Google is working on fixing the issue and it should be resolved soon. Now fixed. Less than an hour later, Google said the serving issue was fix. “We fixed the issue with serving search results. There will be no more updates,” Google posted at 11:51 am ET. The post Google Search is having issues serving search results to some searchers appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/eKiDwr5 Google today is adding search themes – a new, optional signal – to Performance Max. Search themes are a new way for advertisers to provide information about a business (e.g., what topics lead to conversions) or customers (e.g., search queries your customers are likely to use) to help improve performance. As Google explained:
Google also emphasized that for Search inventory, “exact match keywords that are identical to the search queries will continue to be prioritized over search themes and other keywords.” Filling in knowledge “gaps.” With search themes, Performance Max can go beyond using assets, feeds and landing pages to predict campaign-level performance. Google provided five examples of where it makes sense for advertisers to use search themes:
How it works. According to Google:
New help doc. You can find instructions from Google on how to add search themes to campaigns, as well as FAQs, here. The post Google adds search themes to Performance Max appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/lTJwZ26 |
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