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

2. 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

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

4. Default Campaign Settings
Mistake #1
Default Campaign Settings

5. 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

6. 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

7. Conversion Tracking Issues
Mistake #2
Conversion Tracking Issues

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. Mistake #3
Poor Keyword Matching

13. Mistake #3 Poor Keyword Matching
Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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 $ 5 $
Used Car 1% 1 $
Totals 3% $
200 6 $
Routing searches to match to the best keyword:
Keyword
Search Term
Conv Rate
Spend
Clicks
CPC
Leads
CPL
Used Toyota Prius 5% $
100 $ 5 $
Used Car 1%
500 $
Totals 2% $
600 $ 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

18. 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

19. Shortsighted Budget Management
Mistake #4
Shortsighted Budget Management

20. Limited by budget = Overbidding
Mistake #4
Shortsighted Budget Management
Limited by budget = Overbidding
Miles Olson | VP, Customer Engagements

21. 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

22. 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

23. Conversion Path Neglect
Mistake #5
Conversion Path Neglect

24. 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

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

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

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

28. 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

29. 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

30. Contact Info
Full Name:
Company:
Job Title :
Miles Olson
SearchForce
VP, Customer Engagements
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