Category: SEM

The competition for visibility in the search results is fierce, which is all the more reason that big brands should stake their claim as a presence to be reckoned with online. Alongside search engine optimization, pay-per-click (PPC) can garner more real estate for your brand on the results page — and if you’re not there, your competition surely […] The competition for visibility in the search results is fierce, which is all the more reason that big brands should stake their claim as a presence to be reckoned with online. Alongside search engine…

Read More

That recent adjustment to your paid search campaign seemed like a good idea at the time, but now you’re seeing a drop in performance. How could this happen? Columnist Andy Taylor notes some common issues that arise from well-intended optimization choices. I only recently learned of a Wikipedia page dedicated to inventors who were killed by their own inventions. That page is amazing, and if you end up leaving this article and just reading that list for the next half hour, I totally understand. But it got me thinking: what are…

Read More

Microsoft Advertising says eCPC increases conversions while lowering CPA, but some advertisers worry about loss of control. Microsoft will transition all search, shopping, and Dynamic Search Ads campaigns that do not have automated bidding strategies to Enhanced CPC (eCPC) beginning in March. “Starting in March 2021 and continuing through April 2021, all existing search, shopping, and Dynamic Search Ads campaigns without any automated bidding strategies in place will be automatically migrated to Enhanced CPC. All ad groups and keywords will also be set to inherit bidding from their parent Campaign,”…

Read More

With the right tools, PPC pros can set the strategy for automations to follow when unexpected shifts happen. The past 10 months or so have given PPC pros a crash course in adaptability, ingenuity and nimble marketing. Those who thrived in pandemic-era PPC deserve some sort of advanced honorary degree in “PPC’ology.” In many instances, smart, effective PPC has literally saved brands from the brink of devastation. But let’s face it, PPC pros have been in a near-constant state of reinvention since PPC first became a thing. Compared to other…

Read More

Meet some of the marketing experts who will guide you on your learning journey this February. Next month, the Search Engine Land experts are teaming up with senior marketers from global brands — like Microsoft and Adobe — and cutting-edge agencies — including Page Zero Media and RankHammer — to guide you through search marketing analytics at SMX Report, online February 23. Secure your spot now — Early Bird rates expire Saturday, February 6! Your $99 All Access pass unlocks all-new SEO and PPC learning journeys that tackle critical analytics issues… everything from configuring measurement tools to identifying and…

Read More

This year we’re offering topic-specific events that offer attendees guided learning paths for becoming sharper marketers. Let’s face it; conferences delivered predictable content experiences long before the COVID-19 pandemic caused the industry to wind down overnight. Don’t get me wrong, we miss the expo halls, networking parties and intimate dinners with colleagues, new connections and prospects too. But you always knew what you were in for with the content experience. Big-name keynotes delivering big-picture inspiration, and a menu of sessions that kept you bouncing from one corner of the convention…

Read More

Though universities are targeting individual consumers rather than businesses, columnist Pauline Jakober shows paid search efforts for these institutions often more closely resemble B2B than B2C. Pick up any “introduction to marketing” textbook, and it will describe the difference between business-to-business (B2B) marketing and business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing. It will note that, generally, the B2C sales process is simpler. Conversion paths are short. Fewer people are involved in the purchase decision. And once the sale process is complete, the connection between purchaser and seller is minimal. In contrast, the B2B sales…

Read More

Sometimes half the battle of conversion optimization is coming up with ideas for things to test. That’s where this post from columnist Amy Bishop comes in! About a month ago, I published an article that provided a few areas of consideration when diving into conversion rate optimization, with ideas to help kick off brainstorming discussions. I love conversion rate optimization (CRO) because it is one of the few things that you can do that will have an impact on the performance of all of your digital channels at once. In other words,…

Read More

Label visibility within AdWords can sometimes be a little confusing, and the ability to copy labels between levels — from the campaign level to the ad level — can be extremely helpful. Luckily, columnist Daniel Gilbert has a script for that. If you’ve ever run an AdWords account before, you’ll know why being able to copy labels between levels is such a godsend. In a typical account, you generally deal with hundreds, or even thousands of campaigns, within which there can be thousands more ad groups and keywords. Without proper…

Read More

Which search channel is better: paid or organic? Columnist Andy Taylor argues that there is no simple answer to this question, despite what some practitioners may want to believe. Last week, I had the misfortune of encountering perhaps the most misguided thread on digital marketing I’ve ever seen on Twitter (which is saying something), in which an SEO declared unequivocally that “organic search traffic beats paid traffic for every single metric.” To me, these statements seemed outrageous and even inflammatory. But much to my surprise, many SEOs caught onto this thread and were all about…

Read More