Chapter 8- Paid search and social advertising

SERP

search engine results page

CPC (cost-per-click)

this is how much you pay when someone clicks on your ad

CPM (cost-per-mille)

this is how much you pay per 1000 ad impressions (cost per thousand)

CPE (Cost Per Engagement)

this is how much you pay when someone responds to your call-to-action (CTA) such as signing up for a list, watching a video, etc

why is paid search useful to marketers?

- It puts the brand in front of a viewer who is actively searching for the product or service

- The advertiser pays only when the ad is clicked

- The budget can be controlled by the advertiser

as digital advertising evolves...

platforms begin to monetize what the content of their platform is

text ads don't work as well as responsive ads because

the text doesn't "draw people in" as well as pictures

ads on the desktop are more

picture-oriented

text ads are more likely to show

for mobile ads to optimize space

how does AI optimize CTR?

by choosing different headlines, and different words for best ad

CTR

click through rate

the advertising company can create up to how many separate headlines and unique descriptions?

15 separate headlines

4 unique descriptions

each responsive search ad may display

- 3 headlines

- two 90-character descriptions

- google will rotate through the various combinations of the headlines and descriptions using AI to help determine the best combination

the bid for each keyword is

CPC (cost per click)

quality score

how relevant an ad and website links are to the person who will see the ad

ad rank threshold

a dynamic assessment that calculates the ad quality, ad position, what type of device the user is searching from and where they're located, the search terms used, and related auctions

quality score depends on:

Expected click-through rate

Ad relevance

Ad extension relevance

Landing page experience, for example, how long the viewer dwells on the page and website, or "bounces" out quickly

available google certificates

Google Ads Search Certification

Google Ads Display Certification

Google Ads Measurement Certification

Google Ads Video Certification

Shopping Ads Certification

Google Ads Creative Certification

paid search process

Stage 1: keyword research

Stage 2: ad copy writing

Stage 3: landing page development

Stage 4: campaign setup

Stage 5: tracking and testing

keyword research

develop the campaign by selecting appropriate keywords and match criteria and designing ads

ad copywriting

create several key phrases that work best with your target market as well as your call-to-action

landing page development

Ensure that the landing page is prepared to handle people finding the information that you advertised on your site. Also, ensure that it loads quickly

campaign setup

Create several ad groups to test which ones work best for your target market(s)

tracking and testing

Watch results as the campaigns are running and then monitor the results and refine. Use A/B testing to test one ad against another. Use available reporting tools to understand which ads and campaigns were the most successful and try to determine why. Make a note of any changes for the next campaign.

types of keyword matches in google

broad match

phrase match

exact match

negative match

broad match

reaches widest audience and not in same sequence

phrase match

must be in exact sequence, enclosed in quotes

exact match

most precise method, enclosed in brackets

negative match

uses a minus sign and prevents ads from appearing

other types of ad formats in google ads

- text ads

-responsive ads that fit the space available

-image ads

-app promotions

-video ads

- shopping ads

- call-only ads that offer click-to-call functionality

target and monitor performance

Local search targets ads to small geographic areas

Other ways to improve (optimize) performance

Monitor budgets on a daily basis

what to measure on the google ads platform

amount spent

number of clicks

impressions

CTR (click through rate)

CPC (cost per click)

conversion tracking and measurement

how much should you pay per click?

it depends on your industry, profit levels per customer and competition

weak social ads create negative emotional response in

less than a second

social ad spending is forecast to increase

12%, to $79 billion USD in 2024

advantages of social media paid ads

- free to use

- highly targeted demographics

- easier to calculate metrics (CTR and ROI)

- broad audience

social media ad formats

Photo carousel

Video

Stories Ad

Messaging Ad

ways to advertise on social media platforms

Promoted posts are specific to each platform

Ad formats

Steps for paid social

Specify the audience

Placements shows sites other than facebook that can carry the ad

Set the budget

Set the schedule

Create ad using text, images and video as specified by format

Preview the ad

Testing is highly recommended

Track and analyze results

promoted posts: YouTube

any video can be a promoted post, most platforms have a similar feature

promoted posts: Instagram

accounts with a business profile get access of insights about the performance of their posts and the ability to promote posts

what are the most expensive keywords

legal (lawyer, attourney, etc)

education

insurance

addiction and rehab

loans

promoted posts: Twitter/X

on twitter ordinary tweets can be promoted by any user, the tool to create them is quick promote

promoted posts: LinkedIn

sponsored content is represented by sponsored posts with targeting and tracking options

promoted posts: Pinterest

business accounts can promote pins for objectives of awareness, engagement, or website traffic

promoted posts: Snapchat

Snap Ads that appear between user stories and snap filters that are overlays on snaps

promoted posts: TikTok

videos that appear as an ad in users' feeds

linkedin reaches...

business professional audience

snapchat is very popular among...

millennials, genz

reddit reached...

well-educated young men who do not frequent other platforms