paid search and seo for startups
DESCRIPTION
2013 primer on pay per click and search engine marketing for startupsTRANSCRIPT
Making Paid Search Marketing and SEO Work for StartupsJanuary 29, 2013
Corey Quinn@coreyquinn
About Me• Born and raised in Los Angeles• VP of Business Development at The Search Agency• MBA from USC
• Also have a deep passion for startups
MyTherapistMatch.com Story• Frustrated with the ‘finding a therapist’ process• Has to be a better way…
Metcalfe's Law
Therapists Therapy Clients
Offline Online
Marketing Focus
My Fantasy:
My Fantasy:
What Actually Happened:
Meh…[Spike of not very qualified traffic]
[then nothing]
Enter Paid Search• Brought a paid search (ppc) consultant onto the team• Developed highly targeted set of keywords• Launched focused campaigns on a tight budget
• Immediately drove traffic• Feedback on our product, pricing and messaging• Within six months, was able to hit our target cost per
acquisition.
• Invested in high quality SEO content
Over Time, Reduced Dependence on Paid Traffic by 77.6%
Traffic Type
Organic 76.08%
Paid 4.27%
Other 19.65%
Traffic Type
Organic 46.20%
Paid 19.04%
Other 34.75%
December 2010
December 2012
While increasing traffic by 15 times
A Purple Cow Is Not Enough
“A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them”- Steve Jobs
(particularly when redefining or creating product categories)
Earned Media Alone Is Not Enough
Viral Media Alone Is Not Enough
Paid Search Alone Is Not Enough…
But It Can Help
• Immediately drive traffic • Near instant feedback on your product, site experience, &
pricing• Keywords target your audience based on intent• Brand visibility• Easy to test multiple variables
• Keywords, Ad copy, Landing pages
• Lower funnel traffic = higher propensity to buy
How Paid Media Helps:
Yay! Money!
Stimulus Purchase(1st moment of truth)
Experience(2nd moment of truth)
Source: ZMOT, Google 2011
Traditional Mental Model for Marketing
Stimulus Purchase(1st moment of truth)
Experience(2nd moment of truth)
Zero Moment Of Truth
Search Social Content/Reviews
Source: ZMOT, Google 2011
New Four Moments Mental Model
Consumer Decision Journey
Consideration Evaluation Buy Advocate
GROWTHto new audiences
CREATE Relationships &
Remarketing
CONVERTyour audience
NURTURERelationships
• TV• Radio• Print• Display• Social Media
• SEM• SEO• Display• Email• Social Media• Mobile
• Landing page optimization
• Shopping cart optimization
• Click to call• Mobile
• Social Media• Email
Source: The Search Agency, Inc.
Why Should I Care About Search?
There are over 17.5 billion searches conducted each month
Source: http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2012/6/comScore_Releases_May_2012_U.S._Search_Engine_Rankings
Search Is A “Lean Forward” Activity
We Are Hunting
Search Share
Bing
Yahoo
Others
7 out of 10 searches are on Google
Anatomy of a Search Page
Paid 30%
Organic 70%
Consumers Value Search• 91% of consumers say they found what they were looking
for• 86% learned something new or important• 73% believed information was accurate and trustworthy• 66% said that search engines are fair and unbiased• 50% found info they didn’t think they could
Source: http://www.pewinternet.org/Press-Releases/2012/Search-Engine-Use-2012.aspx
Search Engine Position Matters
75% Of searchers
never scroll past the first page of search results.
Source: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/24-eye-popping-seo-statistics/42665/
MY #1 TIP FOR SUCCESSFUL PAID SEARCH MARKETING
Hire Someone Who Knows Search To
Manage It For You.
While it’s tempting to jump in with both feet and run
pay per click on your own
Otherwise…
PAID SEARCH KEYWORDS
Keywords and The Conversion Funnel
30,400,000
165,000
250
50
Mother’s Day Flowers
Mother’s Day Red Roses
Mother’s Day Red Roses Same Day Delivery
Flowers
Use keywords that are very specific, even if there is low search volume
“Fitness” “Wearable Activity Tracker Under $200”
Specific keywords ensure targeted, high intent traffic
Start with small number of keywords
Test, iterate, test
Then, test some more
Source: http://phraseologyproject.com/phrase/keep-it-simple-stupid
Group keywords into small, narrowly themed ad groups
Account
Campaign Campaign
Ad Group
Ads
Keywords
Bids
Ad Group
Ads
Keywords
Bids
Ad Group
Ads
Keywords
Bids
Source: The Search Agency, Inc.
Campaign Structure
Campaign
Business Types
Ad Group
Start Up
Keywords• business start up
financing• loan for start up
business
Ad Copy
Campaign
Loan types
Ad Group
Unsecured Loan
Keywords• unsecured personal
loan• unsecured loan
companies
Ad CopyAd Copy
Campaign
Small Business Loans
Ad Group
Small Business Loans
Keywords• small business loans• apply for small
business loan
Source: The Search Agency, Inc.
PAID SEARCH AD CREATIVES
Test Targeted Phrases• “Buy ___”• “Start Download”• “Click Here”• “Shop Now”• “Get Started”• “Free Delivery”• “Buy 2, Get 1 Free”
What are my product's most important features and benefits? What is my competitive advantage?
Line up your paid search ad next your competitors’ ads
My Ad
Competitor Ad #1
Competitor Ad #2
Competitor Ad #3
• Which one would you choose?
• Ask your friends & colleagues to choose their favorite. Did they choose yours?
PAID SEARCH LANDING PAGES
Design Landing Pages to Convert
Align Visitor Intent with Page Purpose
Source: http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/tips-for-improving-high-bounce-low-conversion-web-pages/
Promise Made
Promise Delivered
(I am probably not going to even click this ad because it doesn’t meet my intent)
Promise Made:
Promise Delivered???
I am looking for Men’s Yoga Pants!!
Not a personal stylist.
I’m outta here!
Am I going to get black dress shoes? I am not sure.
(I am probably not going to click on this one)
Promise Made:
Promise Delivered???
Now I need to navigate to dress shoes even though I’ve already provided my
intent.
UGGGGG!
Promise Made:
Promise Delivered???
Pretty Good!!
Test Test TestControl (A) Test (B)
1650%Lift
Source: The Search Agency, Inc.
MOBILE & DISPLAY NETWORK
Source: marin software
Mobile Has Arrived
Source: Marin Software
• Mobile searches are expected to account for 25% of all Google searches by the end of 2012.
Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2219730/Paid-Search-Growth-Continues-to-Slip-CPCs-Down-But-ROI-Improves-in-Q3-2012
Lower Cost Per Clicks (“CPC”) and Higher Click Through Rate (“CTR”) on Mobile
Mobile-unique ad features: Ad Extensions
• Place your ads on websites that are relevant to what you’re selling.
• Show those ads to the people that are likely to be most interested.
• Manage and track your budget, campaigns and results through Google Adwords interface
Google Display Network
Source: http://www.google.com/ads/displaynetwork/
TRACKING PAID SEARCH
Conversion Funnel
Landing PageChoose A
PlanPayment Thank You
Measuring Performance of Your Paid Search Campaigns
Place Google’s Conversion Pixel on your “Thank You Page”
The Two Metrics That Matter• Cost Per Acquisition (“CPA”)
• What does it cost to acquire a customer?
Click costs / number of new customers from pay per click clicks• What is my conversion rate?
PPC clicks / number of new customers• How does my CPA relate to the (expected) revenue / life time value
per customer? Is there Return On Investment (“ROI”)?
• Conversion Volume• How many customers did I acquire and at what price?• Is there potential for scale?
Use Website Analytics to ID Areas for Optimization
1% 18% 0%
Use Website Analytics to ID Areas for Optimization
1% 18% 0%
Focus Here
Don’t Forget…• Remarketing
• Marketing to site visitors who haven’t converted
• Retention• Keeping your customers coming
back
• Referrals• Incentivizing your customers to
promote your brand
ORGANIC SEARCH MARKETING
Old SEO
#1? No problem!!
Google Launch
1997
FloridaUpdate
2003
UniversalSearch
2007
MayDayUpdate
2009
PandaUpdate
2011
Google Adwords
2000
NoFollow &Personalized
2005
Vince / BrandUpdate
2009
Social SignalsUpdate
2010
PenguinUpdate
2012
Google Effect on Old SEO
“a holistic approach to SEO”
Source: The Search Agency
“Demonstrate topic expertise”
• Onsite demonstration of vertical and industry knowledge
• Create content that connects
• Understanding of user intent
INTENT to CONTENT
Rand FishkinSEOMOZ.com
Source: The Search Agency
• Invested in creating a library of “therapy 101” content• Clear demonstration of topic expertise• Users and Google now reference our site on this and related topics
“Socially Confirmed Topic Expert”
• Off-site topic authority
• Who else thinks your content is ‘cool’?
• Social Sharing
• Content Marketing
• Social Indicators
• Linking
THINK BEYOND the LINK
Source: The Search Agency
FINAL THOUGHTS
Constraining Your Spend
Geo targeted campaignsLimit your budget with daily
capsTest Google Display network
following Google Search
Expand spend where you see positive results
Summary• Invest in paid search to drive targeted, lean forward traffic• Start small and grow with successes• “Fail fast” & test everything• Take advantage of the mobile cost per click arbitrage• Remember SEO
Corey Quinn
@coreyquinn