On Internet Business

Why Paid Search Campaigns Matter

Posted by Michael under Paid Search

Microsoft undertook some research late in 2008 that revealed that nearly 60% of all small businesses that had a website didn’t also have a paid search campaign. Paid search frightens small businesses because they have to ‘bid’ on words with the biggest players in the market and that feels a bit like setting up your market stall outside Tescos – but there are good reasons for investing in paid search, especially if you have a marketing strategy that uses bursts such as spring collections of clothing or sportswear or Christmas or holiday related products – in those cases, as well as in creating brand awareness, paid search is an unparalleled tool.

To get value from a paid search campaign you need to measure you success by understanding the return on your investment – ROI. If you’re aim is to build brand awareness, then simply increasing traffic to your site may be all you care about, but if you want sales, you need to ensure that the increase in traffic is also an increase in conversions. Don’t just assume that the paid search is the bit that needs tweaking though – perhaps your website or your customer service is failing to pull through visitors and convert them to buyers/users.

Ensure you understand paid search

The mistake many small businesses make is to invest only in the most popular, and therefore most expensive, words. This puts you in direct competition with the biggest spenders for one thing, and for another, isn’t necessarily going to maximise your conversions. You might want to bid on chocolate, for example, but if you get fifty visitors who type in chocolate and miss out on three hundred who were searching for party favours, you’ve failed to understand your product and the marketplace.

Integrate paid search

Paid search alone won’t do the job – you also need good SEO, an excellent website that is easy for the customer (and not just Google) to navigate, and good customer service if people choose to pick up the phone or send you an email, because consumers are now wise to empty promises, and many test companies by exploring the whole structure of the organisation, not just the website. They’ll also check you out on social media. Integration allows you to present a seamless professional face in all these directions and it’s not as hard as it sounds.

Master Analytics

If you discover a percentage of your visitors come from Finland, or that many of them visit a specific page on your site, use that information, provided by analytics to increase your attractiveness to the consumer. If you ignore this kind of learning it’s like walking away from the till when a customer approaches to pay for something.

Don’t be cynical

Consumers expect a company to match up to the words it bids on. Don’t bid on cashmere if all you sell is viscose. Don’t lure people to your site with the claim that you have global travel insurance if you only cover Europe. They may land but they will soon fly away again, and they will spread the word about your cynical approach to customers across the internet.

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