How To Set Up A Paid Search Campaign (#1)
I have yet to come across a business whose bottom line could not be improved courtesy an intelligent paid search campaign. Oftentimes I’ll chat with someone who declares, “I tried it! It didn’t work!” Unfortunately, they’re conflating the it of paid search marketing with the it of their jacked-up version of a marketing campaign.
Now, maybe there’s a company out there that won’t benefit from paid search. I’d love to hear about it! But for the googol of other businesses whose growth strategy necessarily includes some Hot SEM action, here’s my first in a series of blog posts regarding intelligent paid search marketing. I’ll try to keep the cranky dialed down to a dull roar.
Five questions to answer before setting up your paid search campaign:
- How do you make money? Make a grid right now with three columns: product/service, revenue, and cost. Examples of products/services that my company offers would be: “affiliate marketing services”, “website design”, “social media consulting”. Thus, I make money by signing clients who need help (a) setting up or optimizing affiliate marketing and/or lead generation programs (b) redesigning, launching, or maintaining a website or (c) promoting themselves via social media.
- How much are these revenue streams worth? This is the part where having a crush on algebra will help. When I say “worth” I’m not talking about top-line gross revenues; I’m talking about bottom-line net margin. So, say you have a big client that brings you $300K a year, but they’re such a pain in the kdzh that you spend about $299K in man hours and wallet-lubrication meals. In comparison to your $60K client that only costs about $40K to manage, big poppa isn’t exactly bursting with ROI. Similarly, whatever you sell, be it products or services, usually has different margins, distribution methods, sales cycles, operational back ends, whatever. Figure. This. Out. And add the revenue and cost info to your grid.
- What’s your close rate? This is the percentage of “people who raise their hands as potential clients” that turn into “actual signed clients”. If you have ten people who roll through your office claiming they want to hire you and of those, one actually has the cojones to do so, then you’re closing 10% of your leads. This rate often depends on client type. For example, my little brother is a used car salesman (no joke). It’s a lot easier to sell a used car than it is to sell a new one; similarly, it’s a lot easier to sell website redesign than social media strategy. Add a fourth column to your grid and call it “close rate”. Populate.
- What are your potential clients worth? Algebra again! You’ll want to multiply your close rate by your profit; profit = revenue - cost.
- How do the products align with your website? In a smart paid search marketing campaign, there is a one to one relationship between different lead values and different landing pages. For example, as part of a comprehensive marketing re-fresh for one of my clients (a criminal defense law firm), we’re creating unique landing pages for federal crimes, parole violations, sex crimes, murders, etc: not only do you need to speak to each of those potential clients in a different way, but the lead value of each of those clients is very different. (Of course, each client, no matter what, is very different — but in general, you should have a grip on the average value of your clients.) Similarly, another client of mine is an architecture firm. Obviously there are different costs and revenues associated with an interior decoration engagement versus a build-out of a retail boutique; so too should there be different landing pages.
If your website does not offer a one to one relationship between lead value and URL, then don’t make another move in your paid search marketing until you do. Otherwise, you’ll be the person saying, “I tried it! It didn’t work!”
This concludes the first five steps of how to set up a paid search campaign. You’ll note that none of these steps have anything to do with building keyword lists or noodling on max bids. Duh. Anyone who advises you that those are your first steps in setting up a paid search campaign is an amateur; don’t listen to them.
xoxo
