Each Thursday at 11am EDT, marketers from around the world join the ExactTarget Nexus partner ecosystem on Twitter for a conversation about trends and campaign ideas across the interactive marketing industry. We call the virtual coffee chat the Nexus Café.
Our guest for a recent #NexusCafe chat was Jeremy Mayes, account executive at PPC Associates. Jeremy has over 15 years of direct marketing experience with a passion for search engine marketing. We discussed fundamentals and insights for maximizing your pay-per-click campaigns. Here's a summary of our discussion:
@ETNexus Q1: What are some fundamentals to structuring your search terms?
@jeremymayesppca: Make sure you have complete control over which queries trigger which ads. Don't count on Google for this.
@briandshelton: Make sure you address branded terms, then begin targeting relevant long tail keywords.
@ETNexus Q2: With PPC strategy, you have keywords, match types, and queries. How do you make sure you have a winning combination?
@jeremymayesppca: Use keywords to identify converting queries. Isolate queries in single keyword ad groups as exact match.
@DevelopingZack: One consideration has to be #BangForYourBuck i.e how relevant are the least expensive keywords @Jeremymayesppca thoughts?
@jeremymayesppca: @DevelopingZack I try and maximize the volume (sales/leads, etc) of all relevant keywords within program constraints.
@jeremymayesppca: @DevelopingZack Sometimes the most expensive keywords can provide best ROI (think intent)
@ETNexus Q3: How do you prioritize geo-targeting with your PPC campaigns when you serve a variety of regions and audiences?
@jeremymayesppca: Geographic targeting is done at the campaign level so use campaigns to isolate certain geos.
@jeremymayesppca: You can also target using physical location or search intent. Very powerful for capturing out location queries.
@DevelopingZack: #Klout does a really good job of Geo-Perks.
@ETNexus Q4: Interactive marketing budgets have to be properly calibrated across channels. How do allocate correctly for PPC, compared to other messaging channels (email, social, mobile, print, etc).
@jeremymayesppca: Consider total contribution by the channel. Proper attribution is key, don't just rely on "last click" conversion data.
@kkestler: I think, to a certain extent, that would depend on your audience's preferences, behaviors, consumption habits, etc.
@ETNexus Q5: How can persona development help you refine your PPC campaigns?
@jeremymayesppca: Clearly understanding the person you are targeting will help you speak directly to them vs. pushing a generic message
@caleb616: How doesn't a persona help your #PPC, #SEO, #keywords? Its essential!
@ETNexus Q6: PPC campaigns reach 3 internet search platforms: smartphone, tablet, and desktop. What are some best practices for each?
@jeremymayesppca: As deep as possible with the data they have available. The more granular the better!
@jeremymayesppca: Most important is separate campaigns targeting each device. Understand the platform and when/where/how it is used.
@jeremymayesppca: For example, don't target tablet users with video heavy landing pages unless you specify "wifi only"
@ETNexus Q7: How do you see mobile-specific landing pages playing a role with mobile PPC campaigns?
@jeremymayesppca: A mobile specific landing page is a must have for a mobile campaign. Don't target mobile devices without it!
@kkestler: If your PPC is targeting mobile, it damn well better link to a mobile-optimized landing page. #pardonmyfrench
@LukeAtSteelcase: Not an expert on the PPC side, but I'd rather see adaptive web site designs than separate mobile landing pages.
@DevelopingZack: #DotNetNuke Provides built in #DeviceDetection. Gives you control for complete #optimization.
@ETNexus Q8: What are some valuable resources for PPC and search marketing?
@jeremymayesppca: #PPC (Twitter hashtag), Search Engine Land, PPC Hero Blog, PPC Associates Blog to name a few.
@DevelopingZack: Top 5 @GoogleAnalytics Tools You Can Implement in Less Than 30 Minutes via @mynameisarden
@LukeAtSteelcase: Interesting flowchart tools. also 42M+ results in Google for "PPC Strategy" - sheesh.
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