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It’s a looming fear in various industries that artificial intelligence will one day take over jobs, making human input obsolete. It’s true that search advertising is one area where AI and automation have had the biggest impact. So many PPC tasks that weren’t automated 10 years ago are now run by AI.
But that doesn’t mean that artificial intelligence is on the way to replacing human PPC teams. People will always be necessary for paid search success, no matter how much is automated.
There are lots of ways that artificial intelligence can help improve PPC. Many capabilities expand beyond what normal people can accomplish, even if a whole team of data scientists works on a paid search account. Here are a few examples of the ways AI can outperform human PPC managers today:
Addressing Data Scarcity
Most advertisers don’t realize how much they rely on historical data to make bidding decisions. Add a new keyword to your campaign that doesn’t have a lot of search volume, and you have no idea how much to bid. A single low search volume keyword might not seem particularly important, but these keywords as a whole can make up a significant portion of your campaign targeting. With artificial intelligence, there’s no need to ignore low search volume keywords or simply guess at their value.
That’s because bidding technology can harness artificial intelligence to infer the value of data scarce keywords. Many automated bidding technologies use Natural Language Processing (NLP) to identify semantically similar keywords that have sufficient data. It can then estimate the value of long-tail keywords and bid accordingly.
The same technology can be used to improve location targeting, audience targeting, or other dimensions. Say an advertiser wants to target specific counties within a region, but only some of them have sufficient data to assign value for bid adjustments. Advanced bidding technologies can utilize audience demographics to supplement data from similar audiences in different locations around the country.
Strategy Optimization
Artificial intelligence that you see in PPC technology today relies heavily on statistical analysis to make decisions. Machine learning technology can look at past performance and the current competitive landscape to make accurate predictions of how ads will perform. This includes considerations of numerous dimensions like device, audiences, time of day, or location. Advertisers can then use these insights to make targeted decisions to improve targeting, bids, and ads.
Google’s Quality Score metric is a good example of this in action. It considers historical click data to estimate the quality of your ads, keywords, and landing pages. Quality Score can offer insights into how to improve your ads, and impacts ad rank in search results.
Forecasting technology is another valuable way advertisers can use AI for strategy optimization. In the past, advertisers needed to create their own statistical projections of potential performance. Now Google Ads and many third-party bid optimization tools can do this for you, using current bid landscape data.
Automated Ad Creation
Artificial intelligence helps with more than just targeting, but also ad creation. Google Ads regularly introduces new ways to automate the development and optimization of ad copy creation. A great example of this is responsive search ads. These use the power of machine learning to help advertisers deliver the best ad for a search query.
Responsive search ads allow you to create different combinations of headlines and descriptions, then automatically test them to see which are most effective:
This helps advertisers save time creating and optimizing the best ad copy, and allows Google to show the most relevant combinations for customers.
Improving Spend Efficiency
Advertisers today have potentially thousands of bidding decisions to make, even with small paid search accounts. There are keywords to bid on, as well as audiences and dimensions to target with bid adjustments. Even if PPC managers could analyze all the relevant data, calculate cost per click (CPC), and bid accordingly, the competitive landscape is constantly changing. Any optimizations made will quickly become out of date.
That’s why AI is so valuable for improving spend efficiency. Automated bidding technology can analyze relevant bid landscape data in real-time, then make quick changes to optimize bids. This ensures you only spend what you need on each keyword to reach target marketing goals.
It’s true that artificial intelligence is changing the way paid search advertising works. Automation has taken over many time-consuming tasks and can optimize campaign elements with more speed and precision than a human could. But that doesn’t mean AI is on the path to replacing human PPC teams.
People still have an important role to play in paid search management. This includes tasks that AI will never be equipped to take on, no matter how advanced it gets. Here are a few reasons humans will always be necessary for paid search success:
Creating a Strong Marketing Message
Artificial intelligence can help a lot with ad creation, especially when it comes to testing. While AI can determine the best possible ad copy, it can’t infer why an ad is effective with your target audience. That’s one major reason why advertising will always need people, no matter how advanced AI gets. Once you understand why a certain headline or description works so well with your audience, you can replicate that message across ads and campaigns.
Humans are still creatives. AI can test ads and ad components, but it’s people who need to come up with the most relevant ideas in the first place. No matter how intelligent a machine is, it can’t understand how or why an ad is effective. For example, one ad description could have a much better clickthrough rate than others not because the wording is better, but because it promotes a better deal. An advertising manager could evaluate an ad and infer this, while AI and machine learning never could.
Campaign Management
It’s a common misconception that AI and automation are designed to run your campaigns for you. Google Smart Campaigns are designed so inexperienced businesses can take advantage of Google Ads features without the knowledge of professional advertisers. But that doesn’t mean competitive advertisers should simply “set-and-forget” their campaigns.
If you want to stay ahead in a competitive market, making regular campaign adjustments is a necessity. Automating various processes just makes this a whole lot easier by freeing up your time to work on optimization and exploring new opportunities for growth.
Say, in the future, 100% of PPC advertising was automated. All people needed to do was select their goals, set a budget, launch their campaigns, then walk away. Since everyone is using the same technologies and strategies for optimization, there’d be no way to truly beat out the competition. Other than raising your budget, the only way you could stand out in a competitive market is by making manual changes to take advantage of different opportunities. This potential will always be there, no matter how much of your campaign is already automated.
Prioritizing the Right Business Goals
AI-powered bid optimization technologies are designed to help businesses work towards their most important marketing goals. Google’s Smart Bidding, for example, uses algorithms that optimize for different strategies, including:
Selecting the right automated goal is valuable, but it isn’t nuanced enough for most business objectives. Most companies want to target ROAS, but they may also care a lot about maximizing conversions, for example. How are they supposed to reconcile these needs with 100% automation?
That’s why human input is always necessary. You can use automated bidding to save time optimizing towards a main marketing goal. Then you can make manual keyword and bid adjustments to also prioritize secondary and tertiary goals.
Diagnosing Performance Issues
Another major application of AI is anomaly detection. Automation tools can predict future performance based on historical data. If actual performance ends up deviating from expectations, then it’s possible to automatically pause campaigns to address the issue. This can be done using Google Ads scripts or another bid automation technology.
It’s a very valuable feature because it can prevent wasted spending on ads when a data or performance issue could be causing problems in an account. But detecting anomalies is one thing, diagnosing them is another. A PPC manager still needs to go in and figure out what’s behind the performance issue and fix it. It could be something as simple as using the wrong campaign setting or targeting the wrong dimension. But AI doesn’t have the ability to reason and infer why performance might deviate from expectations. That will always need human intervention.
These cases are just a few of the many reasons humans will always be necessary for PPC. Even as artificial intelligence becomes more advanced and takes on new optimization tasks, it will always require people to manage it. AI is nothing more than an opportunity to streamline and optimize tasks that PPC managers have always been in charge of. Improving campaign accuracy with AI can free up more budget as well. This gives PPC managers more money and time to pursue new growth initiatives.
With this in mind, forward-thinking search advertisers can embrace what AI, machine learning, and automation have to offer for PPC. They also have peace of mind knowing the technology can never replace their critical role in the advertising business.
When I walked into Centro’s office on the first day of my internship, I was extremely nervous, but also filled with excitement! I felt ready to spend the summer in Centro’s amazing Chicago headquarters.
I was (and still am) excited about the unique opportunities that come with working at a growing company, such as meeting Centro’s CEO, Shawn Riegsecker and contributing articles to the blog. My nerves eased when I finally sat at my desk, met my amazing bosses, and got to work.
Being a Centern (or an intern at Centro) has been unlike any job experience I have had before. Even as an intern, I’ve been able to play a large role in Centro’s content marketing efforts. Most importantly, I have learned a lot about the ad tech industry and developed my skills as a content creator. Here are just a few things I have learned from my 11 weeks at Centro:
Going to Work Can Be Enjoyable
Before starting this internship, I thought people who had office jobs sat miserably at their desks, staring bleakly at their computer screens. Centro quickly proved my preconceived notion incorrect!
Whether it’s taking a break to get a fresh cup of cold brew, or having a quick chat at someone’s desk, Centrons (Centro employees) make the work day anything but boring. To reward all of the hard work, happy hour gatherings usually ensue on Fridays, where even the (21+) interns are able to mingle with full-time employees to enjoy a few laughs and beers on tap!
Centro Is Growing… Fast!
With every article I wrote, I learned more about Centro’s many areas of growth—from new partnerships to unique features in Basis, Centro is quickly expanding its offerings.
Throughout my internship, I always felt like I was in the midst of something new and exciting. Basis is still a relatively new product, but it has already been rated the #1 DSP by G2 Crowd for two years running! It was amazing to see exactly how this company is growing from the inside out.
Anyone Can Understand Ad Tech
I’ll admit, when I accepted the internship at Centro, I didn’t completely understand what their tech platform, Basis, was. Initially, it was intimidating to begin writing for Centro and about the ad tech industry!
Yet, with the help of my mentors and colleagues, I soon learned more about Basis and how vast and complex the ad tech industry truly is. I also learned about content creation specific to the ad tech industry—this type of writing was new to me, but I was able to meet with a variety of subject matter experts across the company to learn about emerging trends and relevant topics.
Snacks Are Vital to the Work Day
Centro definitely understands the importance of a mid-day snack. The snack closet is always stocked with the best treats like trail mix, popcorn—even Pop Tarts! There are always healthy options like fruit, yogurt, and oatmeal too!
Let’s not forget about drinks—there are so many types of tea it took me a couple weeks to finally try them all! The free coffee (and cold brew on tap) is always a plus too.
Making Friends at Work Is Easy
At the beginning, I was mostly nervous about meeting new people. Would anyone want to talk to the new intern? From day one on, it was clear that my co-workers were interested in talking to me. They didn’t treat me like an intern, but instead, as their equal. While I thought I would find my boss and mentors intimidating, they ended up being my biggest supporters! They wanted to get to know me as more than just an intern.
Of course, it was also a huge plus to have other interns in the office. Every single intern was friendly and helped make my experience even better.
Self-Care Is Important
One of the best qualities of Centro’s culture is their value for self-care. After all, there is a yoga studio and meditation room in the office! There’s even a sign in the kitchen with tips on how to breathe, relax, and stretch at your desk.
All of the employees (including the interns) get a free subscription to Headspace. I had never meditated before working at Centro, but quickly began to love it. At the end of every team meeting, the Content team and I would meditate for three minutes to refresh our minds before continuing our day.
Hard Work Goes a Long Way
At Centro, you get back what you put in. Centrons want you to walk away having learned something—there’s no coffee-fetching in this internship! It was different any other internship I had previously experienced, because I felt like a real employee! I wasn’t given busy work, and truly felt like I was able to make a difference!
Interns have the freedom to choose which skills they want to build on. If there was a project I was interested in, my boss always looped me in. The Centernship experience is far more than an internship—it’s a way of improving skills—such as team building, content writing/creation, and leadership in my case—and building new ones!
Centro is not only a unique place to work, but also a special place to intern. Interns are always busy learning and having fun! Learn more about other internships that Centro offers, or apply by visiting our Careers page today!
When I moved into my house, the kitchen’s crowning glory was the chef’s stove. This is not the kind of appliance you use to just boil eggs or cook a frozen pizza—it has more burners and settings than I know what to do with! I tried to step up my cooking game, but it just wasn’t the same as having a chef at a restaurant serve up my favorite dish.
I believe that social media has the same underrealized potential for marketers as the chef’s stove had for me when I moved into my new house. Here’s why:
We’ve all read about the impact social media can have on a campaign. Most marketers have translated those basic insights into a cadence of paid and organic content that is published in the hopes of achieving campaign success. But even after you’ve incorporated Facebook into your strategies, it can be hard to determine if it’s being used to its fullest capacity.
Enter the Managed Services team at Centro. They know their way around Facebook like a chef knows their way around a chef’s stove.
Centro’s team is a Facebook Preferred Partner, a level reached by performance thresholds set by Facebook itself. Partnering with Centro’s Managed Services team means you have full access to their expertise in terms of optimizing for KPIs, ensuring a perfect balance of media mix, and understanding your customer journey.
Their secret sauce? Our team utilizes Facebook’s Measurement Solution Tools and applies best practices to use them in service of your campaign goals. These tools include the following:
These tools are people-based and cross-channel. That means that the data provided spans individual customers across all digital marketing efforts—not just within the walled gardens of social media. The resulting information can be used to personalize for customers throughout your digital media campaigns to help move them down the funnel.
Our team has the tools and expertise to produce results comparable to a 5 star meal. Why waste any more time using your chef’s stove to make frozen pizzas? Learn more about Centro’s Managed Service Solutions!
Search and SEM are so synonymous with Google that it even permeates the language we use. Instead of searching for something, we 'Google' it, and SEM practitioners often reference making changes in 'AdWords' despite Google's rebranding. But although Google is the undisputed king, Bing's market share and reach continue to grow. According to data provided by Microsoft in September 2018, in the United States alone, Bing and Yahoo combined accounted for 5.5 billion searches from 137 million unique users and represented a 34.7% market share for desktop searches. With the transition of all Yahoo traffic to Bing in March 2019, adopting a Bing-specific strategy is more key than ever to a successful PPC program.
Most people's first instinct when launching on Bing would be to copy over their entire Google program and continue with strategies they had already seen success with on Google. While this is a good starting point, not refining your strategy to be Bing-specific and leverage additional functionality available on the Bing platform can lead to lost opportunities and efficiency. Continue reading for some specific areas to consider when defining your Bing strategy and program setup.
The difference most often cited between Google and Bing PPC programs is cost. With fewer searches and fewer advertisers than Google, Bing is definitely the less competitive of the two search engines. As a result, CPC is likely to be lower, although to what degree will vary from program to program. To account for this difference and avoid needless overspend, follow these steps when copying new campaigns from Google to Bing:
1. Set starting bids at ~20% of the current Google Max CPC. From there, refine up/down based on performance. This is where machine learning simplifies things as the algorithm can more quickly calibrate optimal bids based on performance and the bidding landscape.
2. Start with a low budget and scale-up. Pay attention if any of your campaigns are limited by budget or are losing impression share due to budget so you can adjust accordingly. Also, consider how costs are generally lower when defining your overall budget for Bing. For most businesses, the budget for a successful Bing program will be roughly 20-35% of their Google Ads budget.
3. Keep an eye on how conversion rates and your optimization metric (e.g. CPA, ROAS, Margin, etc.) differ for Bing versus Google. While conversions are also often cheaper in general on Bing, the difference in user profiles between Google and Bing, which we will cover next, may lead to some surprising insights.
In addition to a less competitive playing field, Bing also differs from Google in terms of user demographics. According to a March 2018 report published by comScore, Bing audiences tend to skew older than Google, with 38% of users aged between 35 and 54. They also tend to be better educated and more affluent, with 55% possessing at least a Bachelor's degree and 33% with a household income of $100,000. Google users, on the other hand, tend to be younger and education and income vary more widely.
Due to this demographic difference, you will often see different behavior on Bing versus Google. For example, as touched on above, cost per conversion tends to be lower on Bing for most advertisers. Although there are likely many factors at play, the fact that many Bing users are higher income may mean they are less likely to be bargain hunting and have a clearer purchase intent. Regardless of the cause, if you do find your Bing program benefiting from lower-cost conversions, bake this benefit into your strategy. Consider upping your target CPA for Google to reap more conversions on that platform while still hitting your overall CPA goal. It may also be worth re-evaluating your Bing budget to allocate more spend to that platform if you are not yet at the point of diminishing returns.
In addition, depending on the variety of products you sell and their target audience, you may find that some campaigns that perform very well on Google don't do as well on Bing and vice versa. Take advantage of any learnings like this and allocate spend accordingly. Increase budgets for higher-performing campaigns and, if the delta versus Google is that great, consider pausing them on Google entirely and allocating that spend to Bing instead. In short, take advantage of any performance differences to benefit your program as a whole.
As opposed to Google, Bing also offers more granular targeting options that you should consider leveraging to further drive efficiency for your program. The first area to consider is ad scheduling. Bing actually allows you to set different timezones per campaign (as opposed to the account as a whole), and apply ad schedules to your campaigns accordingly. Particularly if you run campaigns in multiple countries, the ability to localize ad schedules should lead to increased performance without the need to create multiple Bing accounts.
In addition, Bing also offers much more control over search partner targeting. As opposed to Google where you can only choose between targeting search only or search and search partners, Bing enables you to create search partner-specific campaigns and even exclude particular search partners. So, for example, if you are generally seeing good performance via Bing Search partners but aol.com specifically has a much higher CPA, you can simply exclude it from the list, ensuring search partners only benefit and do not hinder your program's performance.
Lastly, Bing enables you to specify whether or not you wish to target close variants, such as plurals and misspellings. Google, however, recently enabled close variants for all exact match keywords without the ability to opt-out, essentially turning them into phrase match keywords. Particularly if you are seeing search queries for close variants that are driving up spend without resulting in conversions, include this setting in your Bing setup.
Bing also offers several extension options not included in Google Ads that may help to increase click-through and conversion rates. Released in April 2019, action extensions consist of 70 pre-defined calls to action that can be applied at the account, campaign, or ad group level. For example, if you run a travel booking site, you can add a 'reserve' extension that includes a calendar icon and, upon clicking, takes the user directly to the reservation page. Or, for a quote comparison site for insurance, home repair services, etc., you could include a 'Get Quote' button that leads directly to your lead capture form. According to Microsoft's official blog, beta customers who tested various action extensions saw, on average, a 20% increase in CTRs. Consider what type of actions make the most sense for your products or services and incorporate them into your Bing strategy.
In short, Bing's differentiators versus Google both in terms of typical performance and demographics and unique features provide an opportunity to drive efficiency. While copying over what has been successful in Google is a great way to quickly get Bing up and running, refine your strategy as data begins to roll in. Look for areas where Bing's typically lower costs and different demographics benefit your program and adjust your budget allocation and goals accordingly. In addition, take advantage of Bing's more granular settings and value-added features to better optimize your program. By tailoring your setup to Bing's performance and features, you can make your overall SEM program more successful.
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To learn more about how you can drive improved performance on Bing, connect with our digital media experts today.
Mountain of debt have you feeling blue? Retirement savings not quite where you’d like them to be? Monthly expenses exceeding your monthly earnings?
You’re not alone! Financial worries are one of the main causes of stress. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to minimize financial stress, especially if your employer offers a total compensation package.
If your employer provides total compensation, make sure to explore all of their financial incentives! Otherwise, it’s easy to miss out on your full earning potential. Here are a few examples of financial incentives your company may offer, that you should definitely take advantage of:
401k
If your company provides a 401k match and you’re not participating—you could be leaving part of your compensation on the table! Reach out to a 401k plan administrator for additional information on how to earn the max for retirement.
Pre-Tax Deduction Programs
Does your company allow you to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for transit, parking, medical, or childcare expenses? If so, don't wait to take advantage! Reach out to your benefits or payroll administrator for more information about these programs.
Student Debt Assistance
Any assistance to pay down these debts faster could save you hundreds of dollars in interest. If your company offers payments against student loans or other incentives to help pay down student debt more quickly—sign up!
Non-Cash Incentives
Whether it’s yoga, meditation, or a sweet office space with a ping pong table, it’s likely these perks are being offered to you in an effort to improve wellbeing. While this may not add dollars to your paycheck, it will pay out in dividends to mental health.
Financial Advice
Check to see if your company offers financial counseling, or has any recommendations for financial advisors. A financial advisor can help better manage your money and achieve short- and long-term financial goals, such as saving for retirement and paying off debt.
The bottom line? Reducing financial stress is possible if you take inventory of all the incentives offered by your employer. Interested in how Centro compensates its employees? Check out our Culture Page for an overview of what's included in our total compensation package.
Ever get overwhelmed by all the new trends in the ad tech industry? You’re not alone! As an intern who is new to this space, I still have much to learn. Before coming to Centro, I was unfamiliar with the ad tech industry and its breadth of complexities.
The more I have learned, the more I have realized how exciting this industry truly is—and how it plays a role in my everyday life. From the shows I watch to the podcasts I listen to; the ad tech industry is all around me. While I’m still trying to comprehend all that ad tech encompasses, here are just a few trends that have caught my attention:
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is new and exciting to the world of advertising and creating revolutionary changes within the space. AI can improve efficiency in many capacities, such as expediting menial tasks and increasing speed. With so much assistance from AI, advertisers can focus on other more creative and strategic tasks. This technology is especially effective when it comes to programmatic advertising.
Another emerging form of AI is machine learning—a type of artificial intelligence where computer systems learn from data. In the advertising space, this data can then be used to organize, predict, and plan a variety of ad campaigns. It is also becoming a prominent tool in programmatic advertising. Read our blog, Ask the Expert: What is Machine Learning? to learn more!
Audio ads
Whether I’m commuting or sitting at my desk, I am always listening to a podcast. I am not the only one who is hooked on this growing format—according to eMarketer, there are 204 million digital audio listeners in the U.S.! This is a platform that advertisers cannot ignore.
Audio advertising allows companies to reach their customers when they are unreachable by visual media. Whether they are walking to work, on the treadmill, or just sitting at their desk—advertisers can engage with consumers on a deeper level by seamlessly integrating themselves into a consumer’s favorite podcast or playlist. Are you ready to tune in? Check out our webinar on Audio Ads to learn more!
Connected TV
Nowadays, streaming is the way to watch TV. In fact, I don’t even have cable in my apartment, I only watch television through Connected TV (CTV). This platform is growing rapidly, making it an exciting place for companies to advertise. In 2019, 57% of the general population will use Connected TV at least once a month.
CTV provides opportunities for advertisers to use more traditional forms of advertising across digital networks. It also offers things that traditional television advertising can’t, such as greater tracking opportunities. It’s important for advertisers to take advantage of this platform now, as it is growing rapidly. Read our Connected TV Guide to review best practices and utilize this platform most effectively!
Ultimately, I found the ad tech industry less intimidating and confusing once I saw how it integrates regularly into daily life. As media engagement continues to evolve, so will advertising.
Centro is prepared to meet the needs of the growing ad tech industry. Connect with us to learn more and start your journey today!
The rapid advancement and proliferation of voice assistant technology are introducing exciting opportunities for companies in consumer-facing industries. The SEM industry is no stranger to this phenomenon. The rise of voice assistants is changing how consumers interact with devices and search engines, so digital marketers need to re-strategize how they approach their SEM optimization efforts to account for this up-and-coming voice commerce. Until the very day AI completely takes over our world, you should proactively leverage current voice search trends to capture the full potential of your SEM program. Before we dive into some methods to optimize for audible search queries, it is important to understand how voice search works and why it is becoming so prevalent.
In our efficiency-obsessed, FOMO (“fear of missing out”) indulging society, these voice-activated smart devices satisfy our thirst for efficiency, instant responses, and multitasking. At its core, voice search machines such as Google Assistant, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Amazon Echo, Microsoft Cortana, and Apple Siri allow you to speak your search terms instead of typing them into your device. Then speech recognition transcribes those human words into text. Next, using natural language processing (NLP), the text is parsed out and analyzed for user intended commands. Once this determines which websites are most suitable for the voice query, it then uses text-to-speech technology to deliver search results verbally.
Given this sophisticated yet user-friendly process, it does not come as a surprise that ComScore forecasts that half of all searches will be voice searches by 2020. And thanks to trademarked algorithms developed by search engines such as Google’s PageRank, search almost always gives us the results pages we are looking for. Better yet, with improvements to machine learning and AI, search is becoming increasingly predictive.
Based on a study conducted by OC&C Strategy Consultants, last year’s $2 billion voice shopping market is expected to grow to $40 billion in 2022. At the rate at which consumers are adopting voice-activated technologies today, implications for retail businesses as well as local businesses are becoming more apparent.
Given this massive opportunity (or disruption, depending on how you look at your glass), how do you optimize your SEM program to account for this insurgence of voice search queries?
Voice search queries provide more information on consumer intent
Unlike text queries, voice search queries often contain question words, such as Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. For example, when you are searching for a pet store on your desktop or tablet, you might type in “Affordable Pet Store in Manhattan.” This text query does not reveal whether you need dog food, catnip, or a hamster wheel. However, when you use your voice to articulate using audible search, you might say, “Where can I buy cheap chew toys for dogs?” As such, voice queries tend to be more intent-driven searches that often result in a higher level of bottom-of-the-funnel conversions. Moreover, the type of question asked often reveals the degree of intent. For instance, Who, What, Why, and How can be identified as lower purchase intent question words, whereas, When and Where are indicative of higher purchase intent. Therefore, adjusting for natural language and specificity of audible searches, you may want to raise bids for more relevant, action-oriented keywords.
Focus on long-tail keywords
The above pet store example highlights another key distinction between text and voice search: length of the query. The average text search is only 1-3 words, whereas its voice counterpart typically consists of 3-7 words. Since long-tail keywords often lack data volume, try using broad match modifiers to capture more traffic on voice queries. Bear in mind that voice search is prone to user mispronunciations; therefore, it is important to add in negative keywords of common misspellings and similar-sounding words relevant to your product.
Give some love to top-of-the-funnel
Digital marketers can capitalize on the way we unconsciously modify our query behavior given an opportunity to say it out loud. Aside from the obvious impact on the lower funnel, you can influence the rest of the funnel (i.e. your best marketing leads!) with informational content to drive more traffic to your site and overall engagement with your brand. This can be achieved by optimizing for natural, conversational language query version of the content in your newsletter guide, community forum, or FAQ pages.
Website load speed matters
Often overlooked in search engine optimization is website load speed. As with traditional text search, voice search places a higher priority on websites that load faster. There are plenty of free tools online to help you measure your website’s current load time and provide suggestions to improve the speed.
Be mobile and local friendly
One-fifth of all mobile queries on Google are voice search. Ensure that your website is mobile-friendly. If your web page is not mobile optimized and/or does not load instantly (millennials can smell that delay from miles away!), you are most likely to lose out on leads and conversions. And since mobile voice search is 3 times more likely to be local compared to text search, try adding in mobile ad extensions such as Click to Call, Location, and Offer extensions. This will enable the user to take their desired action without having to conduct further searches.
You may think this change is just around the corner. However, it is here now! More and more users are adopting the new technology into their lives and voice search is becoming just another part of their daily routines. Think of this as a tremendous opportunity and put in the effort now to optimize for voice search queries, and you will find yourself ahead of the competition!
Advertisers have always prioritized position bidding over targeting impression share. Recently, though, Google Ads introduced a number of new metrics to help advertisers better understand the role of impressions and position in ad performance.
Forward-thinking advertisers can take advantage of this data to improve their bidding strategies and campaign performance. Here’s how to view and harness impression data for better search engine marketing.
Adwords provides a wealth of data about impression share performance, but most advertisers don’t look at it. To see if targeting impression share is an important performance goal for your account, you’ll want to get a clear picture of how many impressions your current ads are getting.
To view impression data in your Google Ads statistics table, you’ll need to modify columns in Adwords. Here’s how:
1. From the main page menu of Google ads, click Campaigns, Ad groups, Product groups or Keywords.
2. Select the column icon:
3. Then click "Modify columns".
4. Expand "Competitive metrics". Then you can check the boxes next to the different metrics you want to see.
5. Click Apply. Now the impression share data will appear in your statistics table.
Google offers a number of impression share metrics that can give you a deeper understanding of how your ads are performing. Here’s an overview of the different ways you can view impression share:
Search impression share: Search Network impressions divided by the number of impressions your ads were eligible for (campaign level).
Display impression share: Display Network impressions divided by the number of impressions your ads were eligible for (campaign level).
Search Lost IS (budget): Percentage of time your ads weren't shown on the Search Network due to insufficient budget (campaign level).
Display Lost IS (budget): Percentage of time your ads weren't shown on the Display Network due to insufficient budget (campaign level).
Search Lost IS (rank): The percentage of time your ads weren't shown on the Search Network due to poor Ad Rank in the auction.
Display Lost IS (rank): The percentage of time your ads weren't shown on the Display Network due to poor Ad Rank.
Search Exact match IS: The impressions you've received divided by the estimated number of impressions you were eligible for on the Search Network for search terms that matched your keywords exactly (or close variants of your keyword).
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In the past, advertisers would rely on average rank to understand ad position, but that metric isn’t truly meant to describe where an ad appears on a page. In 2018, Google Ads also rolled out four new metrics that can help you understand where your ads appear on the search engine results pages:
Impr. (Absolute Top) % - Percent of your ad impressions that are shown as the very first ad above the organic search results.
Impr. (Top) % - Percent of your ad impressions that are shown anywhere above the organic search results.
Search Absolute Top Impression Share - Impressions you’ve received in the absolute top location (the very first ad above organic search results) divided by the estimated number of impressions you were eligible to receive in the top location.
Search (Top) IS - Impressions you’ve received in the top location (anywhere above organic search results) compared to the estimated number of impressions you were eligible to receive in the top location.
Google provides this illustration to distinguish between absolute top and top impression share:
Having a clear understanding of ad positioning can help you diagnose campaign performance issues and make decisions to increase your bids and quality. For example, knowing what percentage of eligible top impressions your ads capture helps you determine if you should increase your bids. Search absolute top impression share and Search top impression share are valuable indicators of available opportunity to show your ads in more prominent positions.
Impression data can tell you why a keyword may be performing poorly. The granularity of impression share lost due to budget or rank explains exactly what changes you need to make in order to improve ad position.
Bidding too low on keywords can prevent your ads from appearing on the first page. In turn, this can lead to low impressions and conversions. Paying attention to impressions and position metrics can help you make sure your ads get enough visibility to meet your advertising goals.
Analyzing impression metrics and average position together can also tell you a lot about campaign performance issues.
There can be a number of reasons behind poor impression share. Key metrics provide insights into which factors are impacting performance. Then you can make the necessary changes to combat it. Here are the main areas you can focus on to improve targeting in Adwords:
Increase your budget
Your budget controls how often an ad is shown. If your daily budget is too low, it can reach its limit early in the day. This means missed opportunities for ad impressions. Experiment with increasing your budget to see if this fixes the problem.
Decrease regional targets
If you’re targeting a large regional area, it’s difficult to get your ads shown as much as possible. But, if you restrict your location settings to a smaller area, you have more control and potential to dominate impression share. Restricting your targeting to a smaller region will, of course, lead to fewer impressions overall, but it allows you to gain the impression share you need to drive clicks and conversions for your ads.
Improve ad quality
An important factor impacting rank and subsequent position is ad quality. If your ad is poorly optimized or irrelevant for your target keyword, this can negatively impact your Quality Score. Google details a number of strategies you can use to improve ad Quality Score.
Re-adjust your budget
If for some reason you decide to increase your regional targets, this can negatively impact impression share. To combat this issue, you can re-adjust your budget to cover the cost of targeting more potential impressions with your ads.
Increase bids
Probably the biggest opportunity to target impression share is through strategic bidding. Raising bids can improve the chances your ad will show in an auction. Advertisers can make these changes manually by increasing bids for keywords with poor impression share. Or they can use automated bidding strategies to target impression share overall.
Today there are lots of ways to target impression share as a bidding strategy in Adwords. Each has its unique features and benefits to automate account bidding optimization.
Scripts
Google AdWords scripts are a way of controlling changes in your AdWords account using JavaScript code. They can be used to automate all sorts of tasks, including controlling your bidding strategy.
Here’s an example of a script you can use to bid to impression share instead of ad position. It automatically finds keywords whose impression share is too low, then increases their bids. Next, it finds all keywords with a clickthrough rate better than 1% and impression share that’s too high and decreases those bids.
Scripts are a great way to operationalize a bidding strategy to target impression share. Just make sure the script you use has all the capabilities you need to control your account in the right way. For example, a script could completely disregard the budget constraints you need.
Automated Rules
Automated rules are another easy way to target impression share as a bidding strategy. Google’s automated rules can be used to automate all sorts of processes, such as ad scheduling, pausing low-performing keywords, controlling budgets and costs.
It’s also possible to use automated rules to target an average position with your bidding. But since Average Position doesn’t really reflect ad position on a page, you could instead target other impression share metrics, such as Search Absolute Top impression share or Search (Top) IS.
Here’s how to create automated rules targeting impression share metrics:
1. Click Keywords
2. Click the three-dot icon and select Create an automated rule
3. Under "Type of rule", select Change keyword bids
4. In the "Apply to keywords" section, choose All enabled keywords.
5. Under “Action”, select Increase bids.
6. In the "Condition" section, set an appropriate impression share metric.
7. Set a target percentage for your condition.
Here’s an example of what automated rules settings look like for Search lost abs. top IS:
Automated Bidding
Google Ads automated bidding offers a number of strategies to optimize toward specific business goals, such as maximize clicks, target ROAS, target CPA, and maximize conversions. In 2018 they introduced a new strategy: target impression share.
You can use Target Impression Share to automatically set bids to reach a specific visibility goal:
For example, if you set an Impression Share target of 70% on top of page, Google’s automated bidding technology will set CPC bids to ensure your ads appear on top of page 70% of the total possible amount of times they could show. You can use this automated bidding strategy at the campaign level, or apply it as a portfolio strategy across multiple campaigns.
Over the past year or so, Google has been making changes to depreciate the value of ad position metrics and encourage advertisers to focus on targeting impression share. Now that there’s a wealth of granular impression share metrics available, it’s easy for advertisers to use them to drive campaign goals.
At the very least, PPC managers should start paying attention to these metrics and how they’re impacted by campaign changes. Targeting impression share as an automated bidding strategy is the best way to maximize the value of this metric for PPC performance.
‘Ask the Expert’ is a series that breaks down the tools, tech, and trends you’ve been hearing about in the trade pubs and around the office. We ask our in-house experts the tough questions and write up the answers in bite-sized pieces for your reading pleasure.
This month’s topic? Amazon search. We brought in Centro’s national director of paid search, Lindsay Martin, to give us the breakdown.
How does Amazon search advertising work?
Amazon search advertising provides paid opportunities within the results that show up when a user searches a keyword on Amazon. Ads can be served on desktop and mobile browsers as well as on the Amazon mobile app. Unlike Amazon’s programmatic ad offerings, advertisers must sell products directly on Amazon if they want to use Amazon search ads. It is like paid search on Google, where campaigns are targeted through a combination of keywords and bids.
What ad formats are included as part of Amazon search?
Amazon search is inclusive of three different ad formats.
Should a brand create an Amazon store?
An Amazon store provides a more immersive experience for consumers to interact with your brand. Creating one is free and can be done based on templates within the Amazon search console. It’s like going to Target and looking at an entire display for a makeup brand.
What is ACOS?
ACOS is the advertising cost of sale. The goal of Amazon search campaigns is typically to drive the lowest ACOS. This is the inverse of return on ad spend (ROAS) and can be calculated as a percentage. ACOS = total ad spend / total ad sales x 100.
How much do Amazon search campaigns cost?
Ads are priced based on cost-per-click (CPC). Amazon search is a real-time bidding atmosphere. Demand is created by a combination of user interest (search volume) as well as the competitive auction. Sponsored product ads must also win the buy-box to be shown within the search results.
What’s imperative to success on Amazon search?
Advertisers need a strong handle on inventory to see success with Amazon search. If inventory is a challenge, it is easy to lose your spot in the buy box to a third-party seller. Ratings, reviews, and content are also important factors to consider. It is recommended that all advertisers have at least 3.5 stars and a minimum of 15 reviews before choosing to advertise an individual ASIN (product). High quality content integrates product descriptions, images, comparative charts, and copy to help customers make informed decisions. All of these impact ad campaign effectiveness on Amazon.
How would Amazon search ads synchronize with other advertising a marketer uses outside of the Amazon ecosystem?
Amazon search complements a full funnel digital strategy. Amazon campaigns focus on “in aisle” purchases. Users can filter for product features such as reviews, pricing, etc. Google is focused on exploration, where to buy, and perhaps pricing. There’s a strong case to be made that these platforms should complement each other, rather than be viewed as either/or.
While you can’t pixel an Amazon page, you can understand attribution of your other digital media by:
I’m sold. How does Centro help with Amazon search advertising?
Centro offers full-service management of Amazon search. This is inclusive of keyword research, copywriting, bid strategy, and campaign optimization, as well as reporting and insights around campaign performance.