Top 5 SEM Management Mistakes Miles Olson VP, Customer Engagement SearchForce

THE COST OF MISTAKES Expected Performance Gain/Loss From. . . Weeks of Optimization Work Hopefully a 10% - 15% Gain Mistake That Occurred in 10 Seconds Potentially a 100% Loss! Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

TOP 5 MISTAKES Default Campaign Settings Conversion Tracking Issues Poor Keyword Matching Shortsighted Budget Management Conversion Path Neglect Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Default Campaign Settings Mistake #1 Default Campaign Settings

Default Campaign Settings Mistake #1 Default Campaign Settings Campaign Setting Default Value Networks: Search Network with Display Select Locations: United States and Canada Mobile Bid Adjustment: 0% Campaign Level Negatives: None Ad Scheduling: Budget Cap: User Defined – Required Tagging & Tracking: Is This What You Want? . . . probably not. Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Campaign Launch Checklist Solution Default Campaign Settings Campaign Launch Checklist Write it down. Get 3rd party to review. Then launch. Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Conversion Tracking Issues Mistake #2 Conversion Tracking Issues

Conversion Tracking Issues Mistake #2 Conversion Tracking Issues What do you want to achieve with your search advertising dollars? Lots of ad impressions Traffic to my website Car buyer leads Vehicle sales The vast majority of agency-managed dealer search campaigns are being optimized for TRAFFIC! Source: My personal experience Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Search Conversion Funnel Mistake #2 Conversion Tracking Issues Search Conversion Funnel Impressions Clicks Leads $ Optimization Goal Align Your Goals! Business Goal Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Conversion Tracking Issues Mistake #2 Conversion Tracking Issues You Only Get What You Optimize For. . . Optimizing to maximize traffic will likely result in less leads. The cheapest clicks are typically driving the lowest quality traffic. e.g. display network, general terms Optimizing to maximize leads will likely result in less sales. The cheapest conversions are typically the lowest quality leads. e.g. job seekers, business questions So, why are agencies and dealerships doing this? Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

The most crucial step to improving ROI! Solution Conversion Tracking Issues Dealers must support rapid installation of tracking scripts on websites. Make digital a priority Website lead forms – tracking script Call tracking – call tracking vendor Implement conversion tracking Target CPL * Conv. Rate = CPC Optimize bids to maximize leads CRM Integration Factor in lead quality The most crucial step to improving ROI! Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Mistake #3 Poor Keyword Matching

Mistake #3 Poor Keyword Matching Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Two Types of Keyword Matching Mistakes Poor Keyword Matching Two Types of Keyword Matching Mistakes Matching to the wrong searches Matching to the wrong places Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Mistake #3 Poor Keyword Matching Money Wasted Money Poorly Spent Inappropriate Match SEARCH TERM KEYWORD AD GROUP used semi truck for sale +used +truck +sale Used Trucks used truck bed liners for sale +used +truck +sale Used Trucks used mack mixer trucks for sale +used +truck +sale Used Trucks Money Wasted Misdirected Match SEARCH TERM KEYWORD AD GROUP used ford f250 trucks sale +used +truck +sale Used Trucks lexus GX460 suv lexus lx570 suv Lexus LX570 used bmw x5 “used bmw” Used BMW used 2014 acura suv +used +suv Used SUVs Money Poorly Spent Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Impact on Bid Management Mistake #3 Poor Keyword Matching Impact on Bid Management ROI-based bid management assumes a correlation between what users are searching for and conversion behavior (search query & conversion rate). Example: People searching for a Toyota Prius are more likely to purchase a Toyota Prius than those searching for a Ford F-150. Due to broad keyword/search term matching, a correlation between search terms and conversion rates may NOT lead to a correlation between keywords and conversion rates! Example: People searching for a Toyota Prius but matched to a Honda Accord keyword are less likely to purchase an Accord than those searching for an Accord. Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Mistake #3 Poor Keyword Matching Assume we pay exactly what we bid. . . Allowing different searches to match to the same keyword: Keyword Search Term Conv Rate Spend Clicks CPC Leads CPL Used Toyota Prius 5% $ 100.00 100 $ 1.00 5 $ 20.00 Used Car 1% 1 $ 100.00 Totals 3% $ 200.00 200 6 $ 33.33 Routing searches to match to the best keyword: Keyword Search Term Conv Rate Spend Clicks CPC Leads CPL Used Toyota Prius 5% $ 100.00 100 $ 1.00 5 $ 20.00 Used Car 1% 500 $ 0.20 Totals 2% $ 200.00 600 $ 0.33 10 In both scenarios, $100 was spent on each search term. But in the second scenario, more leads at a lower CPL resulted from directing search terms to match to the most appropriate keyword. ROI-based bid management does not work without correct keyword matching! Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Solution Poor Keyword Matching Review search term reports regularly. Use campaign negatives or shared libraries for inappropriate terms. Use ad group negatives to force correct search term/keyword matches. Leverage match types for more control. Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Shortsighted Budget Management Mistake #4 Shortsighted Budget Management

Limited by budget = Overbidding Mistake #4 Shortsighted Budget Management Limited by budget = Overbidding Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Shortsighted Budget Management Mistake #4 Shortsighted Budget Management Campaign targeting a $50 CPL and hitting budget cap. . . Same campaign after lowering bids. . . Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Shortsighted Budget Management Solution Shortsighted Budget Management Lower bids (or target CPL) until budget caps are not being hit. Use Target CPL and bidding to control spend. Develop process to make this easy to manage. Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Conversion Path Neglect Mistake #5 Conversion Path Neglect

Conversion Path Neglect Mistake #4 Conversion Path Neglect These problems might exist without your knowledge. . . Landing on home page Landing on 404 error page Landing on incorrect vehicle page Landing on “no results found” page Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Conversion Path Neglect Mistake #4 Conversion Path Neglect Searched for ‘used Toyota Prius’ in Austin, TX Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Conversion Path Neglect Mistake #4 Conversion Path Neglect Searched for ‘used Toyota Prius’ in Austin, TX Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Conversion Path Neglect Mistake #4 Conversion Path Neglect Searched for ‘used Toyota Prius’ in Austin, TX Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Conversion Path Neglect Solution Conversion Path Neglect Check to make sure your destination URLs are correct. . . Obviously. Use a software tool to automatically run landing page error reports on a regular basis Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

TOP 5 MISTAKES Things to check after the conference Default Campaign Settings Conversion Tracking Issues Poor Keyword Matching Shortsighted Budget Management Conversion Path Neglect Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com

Contact Info Full Name: Company: Job Title : Email: Miles Olson SearchForce VP, Customer Engagements miles@searchforce.com Share an important takeaway you received from this session using hashtag #DD17 for a chance to win an iPad.