Question

Topic: SEO/SEM

Best Tools For Managing Sem (and Seo?) In-house?

Posted by markp on 10/10/2013 at 8:39 PM ET 250 Points
Looking for feedback on Wordstream, Wordtracker, AdCore, or other similar PPC mgmt programs.

In an effort to trim costs I've been looking at bringing our SEM program management inhouse. For the last 5+ years it has been managed by an agency, but we are among their smaller accounts and with their employee turnover we seem to get less and less attention/service. Our products and spend is contracting somewhat and the minimum monthly management fee has begun to feel oversized in relation to our monthly spend. In all fairness our products are mature and are in very niche markets, so not a lot of excitement in managing our account.
We have had several thousand keywords active at various times but currently are under 200 with 80% of the conversions being driven by maybe 40-50 terms; most of them variations on product brand and company names.
None of the three available advertising/media staffers here have direct ppc account management experience, tho a couple have a good grasp on the fundamentals. Nor do they have lots of available time, would be adding this to their responsibilities.
What tool(s) would be most helpful in organizing, managing and decision-making for this small inhouse PPC program? Do any also help with SEO? We have just started looking at Wordstream, but are looking for recommendations on any that seem suited to our particular situation.


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RESPONSES

  • Posted by SteveByrneMarketing on 10/10/2013 at 10:28 PM Member
    Search marketing, and SEO in particular, is changing with Google's introduction of Hummingbird.
    Check these links for info:

    https://searchenginewatch.com/search?q=hummingbird

    https://mashable.com/2013/10/10/google-hummingbird-and-small-business/?utm_...
  • Posted by SteveByrneMarketing on 10/10/2013 at 11:19 PM Accepted
    Also, there are many good SEM consultants who work from home, offer fair rates and have more than enough knowledge to handle a client such as your company.

    Here is one example:
    https://www.semresource.com/
  • Posted by Moriarty on 10/11/2013 at 4:17 AM Accepted
    I have a question: what's the best CTR you've had?

    My point is that tools like Wordstream are fine in as far as tracking through the algorithm is concerned. Which to be fair, I'm not so good at. I know a few of its corners, the ones I use but in broad terms, not. That is not the issue: my point is that guys like Glenn Livingstone who have seen click through rates approaching 50% achieve this not by tweaking the system - but by pumping it up beforehand.

    Open any search page and you will be assailed with boredom. Big guys armed to the teeth are clumping around batting each other with their shields because they're so scared of the marketplace. You don't believe me? I'm no expert, my adwords campaigns in Maharashtra had an email signup rate of 3%. That's the further end of the funnel.

    Because Adwords isn't just about Adwords. Adwords is let's say step number two in a process of usually four or five as a minimum. The real power of adwords is its speed and flexibility. You can use the insights it brings you to improve step 1 as well as steps 3-5.

    Step 1: getting noticed on Googles' search page
    Step 2: the click and what happens in the Adwords algorithm
    Step 3: your landing page
    Step 4: your signup page
    Step 5: the purchase

    Improving the CTRs is relatively easy - and is why as a newbie consultant I stay in this area. You can implement the ideas to see tangible changes in the way everything else behaves. Be warned, being mauled by a seeming amateur is not for the faint hearted. I'm at the top of the moderator's hitlist for upsetting people who by rights should be filing paperwork, not driving companies. Okay?

    The point is that when you understand adwords as a process that starts before the click and can go on for as long as several days, weeks or even months - you'll see a very different situation. More to the point, tools like Larry Kim's Wordstream rarely deal with these other elements. At least that's my experience - he may have changed it since I looked at it last. Given that the sort of thing I'm talking about is still in the realms of astrophysics for most probably means that he doesn't.

    But then, he's serving a big market - and I'm not! People want to know how to make the adwords algorithm to squeeze that extra 0,2% from the system. Because when you say "most of them variations on product brand and company names." tells me that you're probably not exploiting adwords effectively. I'm glad that you realize that a few are driving big numbers - that realization alone puts you in the top 10% in and of itself.

    A well run adwords campaign shouldn't need much more than a couple of hours a week - once it settles down. My guess is that if one of your guys who has the fundamentals can take this on, his workload with adwords shouldn't be too onerous. My point is that most Adwords jockeys just plug the system, tweak it to its max - and never think about what they're tipping in the top of the mincing machine. Because as I've explained, that's where the real power lies. It's step number two in a system that is in some way built into your business already. A careful look will show you how this is and how you can use Adwords to change your business performance overall.

    I'll finish with a small example of what I mean.

    Step 1: your target audience - find more of them in the landscape of the marketplace: let's say you get a 20% improvement here usually it's more than that, 20% will do for now. It's something you can easily achieve. More to the point, it costs you NOTHING. This is finding new questions/answers for your adwords haiku (ad)

    Step 2: improve your CTR - this is more the issue of finding what works for each style of question. If you can grasp the subtle difference here. This isn't grabbing their attention now, this is getting them to act.

    Step 3: Use steps 1+2 to improve your landing page by say 30% - can you see that we're improving things all the way down your funnel?

    Step 4: Improve the call to action on your landing page - this is like step 2 but further down the line. You can improve this step by say 20%. The result of this is signing up to your newsletter, let's say, step 5 and beyond.

    Step 5 - the signup/sale again you can improve this.

    So let's have a look at what all these small incremental changes have wrought in your system. Because improving your market share by 20% feeds through to everything else. Each of the following steps will have 20% more leads. This is a multiplication effect, amplification - it's not something you should simply leave to look after itself.

    So we have a 20% improvement on 20% ... small but still significant. This kind of thinking is enough to turn most campaigns from poor to good. At the very least. More to the point, only 20% of the change has come from Adwords itself.

    Because the real power of adwords isn't adwords at all ...



  • Posted by markp on 10/11/2013 at 6:35 PM Author
    Thank you Steve Byrne, I will review that recommendation...I think I am still looking for tools to do more in-house, but perhaps an outsource with lower overhead would be more cost effective. Perhaps even a hybrid whereby said outsource is only on retainer for the "harder" parts? Will check them out. Thx!

    Thank you Moriarity, it sounds as though you have had some experience at one time with Wordstream and do point out some of the other important factors both before and after the click. Thank you for the time and explanation!

    I'm hoping there might be others out there who have current or recent experience with Wordstream or similar tools on an in-house basis? (Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?)

    Another twist, maybe, on the question. Since, essentially we are talking about cost effectively bringing interested, relevant traffic to a site, would be to use an ad platform like SiteScout? I know my breakeven cost per click in ppc, could I use that same number as a max bid on a platform like SiteScout and let them manage and optimize the ads to generate the interested relevant traffic for me?

    At the end of the day, I guess that's all I want, right? (he says, with furrowed brow)

    Can anyone comment as to the efficacy of a platform like that vs our running own ppc program?

    Thanks and Happy Friday!
  • Posted by mgoodman on 10/11/2013 at 6:50 PM Moderator
    This thread reminds me of an old adage: "Tools don't make the carpenter."

    It's not tools you need. It's a smart marketer who understands Adwords.

    A good outside expert will be worth more than any software could possibly save you. Would you perform surgery on a friend or relative yourself by buying the latest and greatest surgical equipment and reading the manual?
  • Posted by markp on 10/11/2013 at 8:00 PM Author
    Ha-ha, good point. And so apropos too as we actually sell tools TO carpenters. The smartest carpenters (and many DIYs) still seek out the best tools to help them be more efficient, more accurate, etc. Thanks and have a good week-end!
  • Posted by Moriarty on 10/12/2013 at 2:18 PM Member
    If you don't have one, you need a newsletter more than anything other software. It's extremely easy and craftsmen are the kind of people who have a high level of interest in the tools they use.

    Bear in mind when my ex considered his chisels blunt he could still shave with them ... it terrified me! He still got me to hone their edge though :-)
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