tax insights for digital marketers

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Making tax easy Insights for digital marketers

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There's plenty of upside this year for tax pros who want to compete for business, as well as some new twists. • The national unemployment rate is falling • E-filing continues to grow • Search behavior is changing • Competition is fiercer than ever Peruse the Bing Ads tax presentation for more digital marketing insights. For more Bing Ads digital marketing insights, visit bingads.com/industryinsights

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Page 1: Tax insights for digital marketers

Making tax easyInsights for digital marketers

Page 2: Tax insights for digital marketers

Individuals and businesses spend about 6.1 billion hours each year doing their taxes and complying with tax laws – that’s the equivalent of more than 3 million full-time workers annually.1

1Source: National Taxpayer Advocate Service 2012 Annual Report to Congress

Page 3: Tax insights for digital marketers

Over time, the federal government has taken steps to make it easier for individuals to file their own taxes.1

1Source: IBISWorld Industry Report 54121d, Tax Preparation Services in the US, Jeremy Edwards, March 2014.

Page 4: Tax insights for digital marketers

Factors affecting this tax season

National unemployment rate

Electronic filing

Regulation External competition

Source: IBISWorld Industry Report 54121d, Tax Preparation Services in the US, Jeremy Edwards, March 2014.

Page 5: Tax insights for digital marketers

The national unemployment rate continues to fall

Projected

Source: IBISWorld Business Environment Report, National unemployment rate, June 2014.

Page 6: Tax insights for digital marketers

With decreasing unemployment rates, filing volumes are increasing

Source: IRS Filing Season Statistics for week ending May 16 2014

136.9 Millionindividual tax returns were filed in 2014, an increase of 1.3% over 2013.

118 Million individuals filed their taxes electronically in 2014, an increase of 2.9% over 2013.

Page 7: Tax insights for digital marketers

Since 2001, electronic filing has nearly tripled

Source: efile.com, 2014 merged with IRS Filing Season Statistics for week ending May 16 2014.

86%of tax filers used e-filing in 2014, 2 percentage points more than in 2013.

Page 8: Tax insights for digital marketers

In 2014, tax professionals dominated electronic filing

Source: Data analysis on IRS Filing Season Statistics for week ending May 16 2014.

Page 9: Tax insights for digital marketers

After the initial spike, tax professional e-filing gained ground as individuals rushed to file by the deadline

Source: Data analysis on IRS Weekly Filing Season Statistics, 2014

Page 10: Tax insights for digital marketers

E-filing and manual filing peaked at different times

E-filing experienced two peaks – at the beginning and end of the tax deadline.

Manual filing, done without a tax professional, experienced only one peak at the end of the tax deadline.

Source: Data analysis on IRS Weekly Filing Season Statistics, 2014

Page 11: Tax insights for digital marketers

Searches on the Yahoo Bing Network aligned to e-filing trendsThere were two main search peaks – in late January/early February when W2s were delivered, and mid-April, as the filing deadline approached.

Source:  Microsoft internal data

Page 12: Tax insights for digital marketers

Clicks peaked heavily the week of the tax deadline

Source:  Microsoft internal data

Page 13: Tax insights for digital marketers

In 2014, the Yahoo Bing Network saw a substantial year-over-year increase in click-through rates and a decrease in cost-per-click (CPC), resulting in strong performance increases. Source:  Microsoft internal data

Page 14: Tax insights for digital marketers

Tax searches were heavily concentrated – the top 10 searches made up approximately 80% of the top 25 tax-related searches.

Tax-related searches were highly competitive

Source:  Microsoft internal data

Page 15: Tax insights for digital marketers

As individuals received their W2s, IRS tax information searches peaked in late-January.

After the initial IRS research spike, individuals started searching for Turbo Tax, H&R Block, and other tax service providers. After the 2nd spike, IRS-related searches continued.

Terms searched for in the final tax deadline spike were IRS- and Turbo Tax-related words.

IRS and tax professional-related searches peaked at different times

Source:  Microsoft internal data

Page 16: Tax insights for digital marketers

In line with Yahoo Bing Network searches, IRS website visits peaked at the beginning of the tax season

Source: Data analysis on IRS Weekly Filing Season Statistics, 2014

Page 17: Tax insights for digital marketers

Refund interest peaked during the first tax spike, illustrating that filers were incentivized to file early to get their refunds faster.

Source:  Microsoft internal data

Within IRS searches, individuals most often searched for tax refund information

Page 18: Tax insights for digital marketers

The IRS doesn’t advertise – this presents a unique search advertising bidding opportunity, as 38% of the top tax searches were IRS-related.

Source:  Microsoft internal data

Page 19: Tax insights for digital marketers

Brand name searches peaked at different times according to tax services offered

Source:  Microsoft internal data

Tax professional brands experienced a more pronounced search spike at the beginning of the tax season whereas self-service software brands tended to experience a higher spike the week of the tax deadline.

Page 20: Tax insights for digital marketers

Source: comScore Long Term Trend, 2014

The 2014 tax season saw a 4% increase in unique visitors to tax websites.

TurboTax, H&R Block and TaxAct are consistently the top 3 tax websites

Page 21: Tax insights for digital marketers

Pie Chart Source: Hitwise, Demo Report

Half of tax website visits come from those 45 years and older and the Yahoo Bing Network has a higher index than Google on individuals ranging from ages 45-64.1

1Source:  comScore Plan Metrix, US, April 2014, custom measure created using comScore indices and duplication

Page 22: Tax insights for digital marketers

Mobile phones are making gains at tax time

Page 23: Tax insights for digital marketers

Mobile phones have experienced 71% year-over-year growth on tax-related searches

Source:  Microsoft internal data

Page 24: Tax insights for digital marketers

Brick-and-mortar traffic surged on mobile phones

Source:  Microsoft internal data

Tax professionals should use Location Extensions and Call Extensions to help customers find their local business.

Page 25: Tax insights for digital marketers

Want to drive local leads to your store front?

Up to 7%higher click-through rate with Location Extensions than with standard text ads1

Location Extensions and Call Extensions, can help your customers find you quickly – putting your business address and phone number right at their fingertips. Drive in-store traffic with features like store locator, click-to-directions, and click-to-call for mobile searchers.

1Source:  Microsoft internal data

Page 26: Tax insights for digital marketers

Want to drive online tax filers to your website?

Up to 22%higher click-through rate with Sitelink Extensions than with standard text ads.1

Sitelink Extensions create richer, more relevant search ads by providing direct access to site content and purchase pages. By giving customers additional links in your ad that take them to the exact information they’re looking for, this increases conversion rates and your profits.

1Source:  Microsoft internal data

Page 27: Tax insights for digital marketers

Mobile phone searches on the Yahoo Bing Network peaked at the beginning of the tax season

Source:  Microsoft internal data

Page 28: Tax insights for digital marketers

Within mobile phone searches, individuals mostly searched for tax refund information

Source:  Microsoft internal data

Page 29: Tax insights for digital marketers

In line with mobile phone searches, mobile phone clicks peaked at the beginning of the tax season

Source:  Microsoft internal data

Page 30: Tax insights for digital marketers

In 2014, The Yahoo Bing Network saw substantial year-over-year increases in click-through rates and a decrease in cost-per-click (CPC) on mobile phones, resulting in strong performance increases. Source:  Microsoft internal data

Page 31: Tax insights for digital marketers

Effectively reach your tax audience with the Yahoo Bing Network

Page 32: Tax insights for digital marketers

The Yahoo Bing Network delivers value for tax

2.6M or29%

Source: comScore qSearch (custom), US, March 2014; industry categories based on comScore classifications.

Total tax searchers

Total tax searches

of all tax paid clicks

2.9M

7M

42%

Tax searchers not reached on Google

Page 33: Tax insights for digital marketers

Our audience has a higher propensity to access financial services through their mobile deviceCompared to Google, the Yahoo Bing Network Audience is:

9% more likely to have used a browser on their mobile device to access stock trading

More likely to have used SMS on their mobile device to access their bank accounts

More likely to have used their mobile device to access financial news almost every day

Source: comScore Plan Metrix, US, March 2014, custom measure created using comScore indices and duplication. March data was used to reflect the month before tax filings are due.

Page 34: Tax insights for digital marketers

Source: comScore Plan Metrix, US, March 2014, custom measure created using comScore indices and duplication. March data was used to reflect the month before tax filings are due.

Connect with your target audience Compared to Google, the Yahoo Bing Network audience is

20% more likely to have bought personal finance/tax software offline in the last 6 months.

Page 35: Tax insights for digital marketers

The key is to more effectively reach the tax audience

Source: comScore Media Metrix, US, March 2014. March data was used to reflect the month before tax filings are due.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012 (131st Edition) Washington, DC, 2011; http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

The Yahoo Bing Network over indexes on household incomes $40,000-$59,999 and $75,000+ compared to the overall Internet population.

31.6% of the population

Tax Advertiser Target Market

Page 36: Tax insights for digital marketers

Bing Ads can help you take your ad copy to the next level

Page 37: Tax insights for digital marketers

 

% Off

Advice/ Consultation

Call To Action

Debt eFile Fast/Easy

File Taxes

Forms Free

Income Taxes

IRS Official Site

Online

Relief

Returns

Tax Calculator

Tax Identification

Tax Preparation Services

Tax Refunds

Tax Software

Tax Type

Taxes (General)

Year

% Off

Advice/ Consultation

Call To Action

Debt

eFile

Fast/Easy

File Taxes

Forms

Free

Income Taxes

IRS

Official Site

Online

Relief

Returns

Tax Calculator Tax Identification Tax Preparation Services

Tax Refunds

Tax Software

Tax Type

Taxes (General)

Year

Great Good Insufficient dataPoor

Here’s how to read a heatmap

In this example, a tax ad with “tax refund” in the title and words in the tax identification bucket in the description, such as “EIN,” “Tax ID,” or “ID Number,” has high ad quality.

Ad description

Ad t

itle

Page 38: Tax insights for digital marketers

 

% Off

Advice/ Consultation

Call To Action

Debt eFile Fast/Easy

File Taxes

Forms Free

Income Taxes

IRS Official Site

Online

Relief

Returns

Tax Calculator

Tax Identification

Tax Preparation Services

Tax Refunds

Tax Software

Tax Type

Taxes (General)

Year

% Off

Advice/ Consultation

Call To Action

Debt

eFile

Fast/Easy

File Taxes

Forms

Free

Income Taxes

IRS

Official Site

Online

Relief

Returns

Tax Calculator Tax Identification Tax Preparation Services

Tax Refunds

Tax Software

Tax Type

Taxes (General)

Year

Ad description

Ad t

itle

Great Good Insufficient dataPoor

Tax heatmap

Page 39: Tax insights for digital marketers

Top 5 word combos in tax ad copy

All DevicesTitle Description

Tax refunds [Tax identification]

[Year] Income taxes

[Year] Tax calculator

Tax calculator Advice/consultation

Tax calculator Tax calculator

The words “tax calculator” appeared in three out of the five top performing ad copy combinations, whether in the title, description, or both. People are not just looking for general information, they are seeking tools to help them in the process.

Page 40: Tax insights for digital marketers

Top tax ad copy word combos by device

PC/Tablet

Title Description

Tax refunds [Tax identification]

Mobile

Title Description

Tax refunds % off

Page 41: Tax insights for digital marketers

2. Test ad copy early in January before the first peak and run with the best performing ads. Remember to use dynamic insertions in your ads and have a clear call-to-action.

3. Target mobile searchers at the beginning of the tax season with refund-related ad copy and appropriate keyword bids.

Some tips to consider for tax season

1. Align budgets and bids to search trends. Plan for the two search peaks.

4. Brand name searches spike early and late in the season, and vary by tax professional services and self-serve software. Align your search campaign timing to the service you’re offering.

Page 42: Tax insights for digital marketers

Already advertising online elsewhere?It’s quick and easy to import your Google AdWords campaigns directly into Bing Ads with just a few clicks.

Learn how to import your campaigns

Page 43: Tax insights for digital marketers

Connect with a Search Specialist who can help you get started today. Call 1-800-518-5689 or check out Getting started

@bingads

linkedIn.com/company/bing-ads

facebook.com/bingads

blog.bingads.com

instagram.com/bingads

slideshare.net/bingads

youtube.com/bingads

Page 44: Tax insights for digital marketers

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Page 45: Tax insights for digital marketers

© 2013 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.