1. CCT356: Online Advertising and Marketing
Class 3: Pay per Click Advertising

2. Admin
At least three guest lectures confirmed to come in – Julie Tyios, either/both of Michael Cayley/Christina Wiggings, either/both of Keith MacDonald and Vivian Ip.
We will move things about some to accommodate as required

3. The core of online ads PPC – pay per click
CPM still exists and is supported by many (including FB) and still is core of traditional media advertising (e.g., million-dollar spots in Super Bowl)
Limitations are clear though

4. Case: Google Adwords– buying based on contextual information
Right words = right placement
Auction-based system for placement and payment on clickthrough
Sponsored links – changes nature of search
But also democratized ads – you and I can easily advertise if we so choose
Obviously successful – Google and FB revenue models largely based on PPC

5. Initial controversy
Early days of search – concerns about placement – similar to issues of net neutrality
Do people who pay more deserve better/consistent placement?
How can search engines operate without a revenue stream?
What about situations like Wikispaces?

6. Basic structure of Adwords
Heading
Two lines of text
URL
Can be difficult to smash everything you need to say in such limited space
Various rules

7. Keywords and match types
Broad
Phrase
Exact
Negative
All based on standard search techniques/technologies
The more precise you are, the more likely you get what you want – and the less likely you get random but helpful connections

8. Broad
Allows for variations and synonymous terms (e.g., “sneaker” vs. “shoes” – obviously the same thing)
Allows for common misspellings (e.g., “did you mean X?” will show ads for X.)

9. Phrase
“tennis shoes” = only search phrases that include that specific phrase (but can include other words)
Advantages/drawbacks?

10. Exact [tennis shoes] = this and only this will trigger ad
Advantages/drawbacks?

11. Negatives
(-) X = if people are searching for something that has an imprecise meaning you can exclude common misinterpretations
Examples?

12. Ad placement – a delicate balance
A complex mechanism – unlike traditional ads
Bidding based on price points, min/max PPC
Placement based also on relevance (signal/noise) : relevance of keyword, search term, ad copy, landing page, previous CTR history
Advertisers want attention
Search engines want relevant attention

14. CTR, PPC, CPA, ROI
Click through rates (CTR) dependent highly on position
If you’re aiming to be result #1 on Google, great – why?
CPA = cost per acquisition.
What are you acquiring?
ROI should be based on that.

15. Long Tail
Internet has democratized access to content – everyone technically equal
Allows for niche products to stand out – at least more so that in standard practice
That noted, people are still pretty predictable and follow patterns – there’s just so many more patterns to follow

16. Steps to effective PPC Research Define Goals Define Budget, CPA
Keyword research
Write ads
Place bids
Optimization

17. An effective landing page
You only get one chance to make a first impression
Should represent value of product or service
Avoid annoying Flash intros – pointless, no value add, and inaccessible for most mobile devices

18. Keyword guessing Part art, part science
Many tools provided in text – when planning campaign, best to make an educated guess on words that will be inevitably used

19. A note on PPC fraud Not a new phenomenon – 1-800-USA-ARMY example
Mischievous behaviour continues
More control to combat this – if you pay attention
Monitoring is key – you have access to the best stats available, and it’s your problem if you choose to ignore them

20. Overall benefits
Very low cost barrier – again, we can all advertise online right now, if we’d like
Tracking of costs - micro level stats exist – use them
Filters allow for very precise targeting
Contextual ads = appreciative audience – they’re often quite interesting

21. SEO/SEM A very lucrative field
Not “hacking” as much as using the tools available to the best of your ability
Be wary to keep a certain moral compass around – people who violate basic rules poison the water for everyone

22. Next couple of weeks…
More on SEO/SEM and affiliate marketing – foundation of social media marketing