"5 thought provoking questions for your online marketing strategy"
Free webinar 8-December-2011

Recent research conducted by the digital marketing agency and Prospectvision partner Intergage has revealed that companies switching to online advertising to boost marketing efficiency are missing out on vital opportunities.

As a result, the Google AdWords experts at Intergage have launched a new drive to share knowledge to help companies grow returns from their Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising.

Detailed reviews of PPC campaigns by the digital marketing agency revealed several key PPC techniques that firms are failing to exploit:

• Negative keywords. Building a comprehensive negative keyword list cuts untargeted traffic - increasing Click Through Rates, keyword quality scores and lowering the average cost per click.
• AdScheduling. Running hourly reports at account level shows what time of day adverts receive best Click Through Rates. Using AdScheduling directs budget to these key times.
• Phrase match. Using "phrase match" rather than broad match helps show which keywords bring quality traffic. Firms should try raising bids or daily budget on these terms only.
• Conversion tracking. Essential to show which keywords drive leads and sales. Once these terms are known, companies should put more money into them and build granular ad groups with highly relevant copy.

• Geo-targeting. Firms can target specific regions or countries so only the most relevant audience will see adverts, saving vital budget.
• Competitor Research. Do competitors' adverts drop off at a certain time of day when their budget is all spent? If so, companies are urged to invest more budget at these times to exploit the gap.
• AdWords preview tool. This tool allows users to search for their own adverts without triggering unnecessary impressions.Split-test adverts. After around 60 clicks, work out which ad copy has worked best (conversion is usually the best metric) and re-write the losing advert.
• Granularity. Make ad groups as granular as possible, even if they contain only one or two keywords. Even separating singular and plural versions of a search term can dramatically improve CTR.

The driving force behind the PPC review is Intergage Search Marketing Manager Keira Long. She adds this final piece of advice: "Carry out regular keyword research to avoid missing out on long tail keywords which are cheap and highly convertible. Those low traffic, high intent keywords are the key to success. Find them before your competitors do!"

Intergage utilise Prospectvision as an integral part of their web marketing services.