Unfortunately, this has put us in a position as advertisers and agencies where we are left with only 2 real options. Based on the performance of the Google Search Partners, you are either in or you’re out. There is no middle ground….until now.

At Keyword Search Pros, we identified 3 steps to identify, target, and monitor/adjust specific placements in the search partners. Below are the slides that will give you the low down and exactly how we did and you can do this.

We hope you find great use of this Amazing Tactic. To give an example of how we used it here at KSP, take of one of our clients who sells high-end swing sets. This particular client’s ads were appearing on a Walmart web page with other swing sets that were at lower price points. So these people were going to Walmart, presumably for a swing set under $500. Our clients sets range between $1.5k to $5K.

At first we noticed the low performance from Walmart specifically but were hesitant to opt out since there were a significant amount of conversions still coming from this partner. What we decided to do was create a more targeted ad; something to the sound of,

Swing Set Not On Walmart?
Try Better Swing Sets than Walmart
Prices from $1,500. Free Shipping
www.MyClientsDomain.com

This allowed us to create a better targeted ad that prepared advertisers for our price points and qualified people better who were not prepared to spend in this range. This is only one area  of use. The aim of our presentation and tutorial here is to give control back to the advertisers.

In addition to our findings, we wanted to point you over to an Analytics resource created by a UK company, Periscopix. Here, in their blog piece they tell us how to set filters to segment Analytics data from in Search Partner network. One of the best things it does is gives advertisers a full perspective of who their entire partner network might consist of.

http://www.periscopix.co.uk/blog/index.php/underused-google-analytics-features-part-eight/

We did this filter test in Analytics for one of our smallest clients capturing data over 30 days. Or client got 2,800 clicks over 88 different partners; each partner being of a differnt nature and performance level. This it is why  it is important that we take control of the Partner Network starting with targeting or excluding  its members.

When attempting to lower high conversion cost, it is important that you take all the preceding steps to lower conversion cost before applying match settings. Match setting will likely result in lower traffic and consequently lower sales volume. If you race ahead and apply match settings prematurely, you might forgo the opportunity to lower conversion cost without lowering traffic and sales.

This is disastrous because once you apply the match settings, you won’t be able to receive as much feedback from search query reports that could help you better qualify visitors to start. Also, you will effectively be taking other underlying problems having to do with inefficiencies in the website and just shoving them under the carpet. In other words, if we apply match settings simply to lower conversion cost quickly, you might lower your conversion cost and not be motivated to fix the other lingering inefficiencies in the campaign or on your site.

So when is it a good time to apply match settings? I recommend applying match settings in 2 scenarios:

1) The Conversion Cost is way above your target CPA (cost per acquisition/conversion) AND there are alot of single occurrences of irrelevant variation appearing in the search query reports that is too difficult to control with negative keywords.

2) The budget is extremely limiting compared to available impressions and you want to make sure the clicks you do pay for go toward the exact or phrase match variation of the keyword.

Testing ad variations simultaneously should always be done in the first scenario since the objective is to lower conversion cost. You’ll want to make sure you know which match setting variations are going help you achieve your desired CPA before you rule out any of them.

To run you through a short example, let’s assume the Target CPA is $50 per conversion. Historically, you have been running this particular keyword at $120 per conversion which is totally unprofitable for this product. (You know it is unprofitable because the keyword describes a product that you could never make a profit on by paying $120 to advertise it.) You have tried optimizing your website for a higher conversion rate and also applied necessary keywords but the conversion cost is still too high for the keyword.

It’s time to test out some match settings. You might do this for several keywords with higher conversion costs so be prepared to test multiples.

Keyword Before Match Setting Variations

Keyword = $120 per conversion

Keyword After Match Setting Variations

Keyword (Broad Match) = $170 per conversion (Conversion cost is likely to go up because phrase and exact match settings will trigger most of the very relevant queries and their volume.)

“Keyword” (Phrase Match) = $60 per conversion

[Keyword]  (Exact Match) = $ 48 per conversion

I would advise everyone to let the data population add up before making any official assessment about the new conversion cost stats. The above example portrays the possible outcomes of three different match settings. After enough clicks have accrued and we see numbers like the ones above, I would either pause the broad match version or isolate it into another campaign with a smaller budget. I am always hesitant to simply pause out words because a huge lack in visitors could shock the system resulting in extremely low sales. If you isolate these words, you can lower its spend and try and work on its conversion cost later through other methods.

I would keep the phrase and exact match even though the phrase is still above the target conversion cost. It’s much closer now and you can continue to work on it. You might find you can get it down to the actual target with some more negatives and ad text qualifiers.

With broad match setting out of this campaign, you have effectively freed up some of this keyword’s wasted budget allocation which can now be spent on profitable keyword click costs. The result is more profitable sales and overall net returns.

DISCLAIMER: In my experience, advertisers claim to be focused on conversion cost but tend to be even more sensitive to total sales volume. The above techniques are designed to lower conversion cost but could and probably will result in lower but more profitable sales volumes.

Bounce rate doesn’t tell you why they did. Remember that each visitor is different and has a  different experience when they visit your site. Its reasonable to assume they leave for different reasons.

This is just a quick read to give advertisers some reasonable and possible conclusions regarding bounce rate. I’ll also give you some steps you can take to improve bounce rate or otherwise disregard it.

Suppose you get into your analytics and you notice the following bounce rates:

Adgroup 1                     67%                                    Homepage

Adgroup 2                     58%                                    Product Category Page

Adgroup 3                     89%                                    Product Description Page

How to Decipher: What is a Good Bounce Rate?

To make this example easier, I’ve provided 3 adgroup possibilities with varying landing page types. It is recommended that you read all the scenarios even if you only point your ads to 1-2 of the landing page types. It is possible the dissection could prove helpful in all situations.

Adgroup 1- Landing on the Homepage is 67%.  Unless the homepage contains no actionable links and no other form of navigation, I’d say that’s high. Since we’re reviewing analytics, I’m assuming the website has a conversion path we’re trying have vistors follow. If 67% of visitors come to the site but neglect deeper page views, I would begin to look at qualifying buyers through Search Query reporting. If all the queries seem relevant from there, I would turn my focus to how well my landing page facilitates my visitors needs. Here, I would notice if the page content is relevant to the visitors inquiry, the linkable navigation is clear, overall presentation is professional and well placed, and your initial price points are competitive. I could probably go on for hours about how advertisers could optimize their landing pages but this blog piece is on bounce rate.

If the homepage bounce rate for Adgroup 1 is still higher than 40% after considering the above, I would ask myself if I am qualifying visitors through the ad and if my keywords could possibly have duplicate meaning. These examinations could hold true for any bounce rate.

Adgroup 2- Landing on Category Page is 58%. Category pages are usually optimal places to send advertisers. Category pages serve has a buffet for advertiser inquiry when they come to your website. First they type the search query into Google. Then they land on a page that contains an identifiable link to what they are looking for. They may click there to look up more detailed information about their product of interest, but they have also taken a mental note that there are other similarly related products on your website. In this instance is likely that visitors will explore and have more pageviews in the single session.

Because of this, high bounce rate is less frequent when the product/product type/product brand options are nicely presented on the category page. If you have a less than optimal category page landing, I would try testing the same ad with a hompage landing to see if the bounce results differ greatly. If you have good presentation, I would move on to qualifying visitors through the ads, keywords, and search query reports.

Adgroup 3-Landing on Product Page is 89%. The reason why why I made this example the highest is because we often see high bounce rates when the ads are pointed to product specific pages. Product pages for landing is the most precise way you can deliver on someones query though its often not the most optimal. For instance, your product pages contain all the relevant information a visitors needs about that product when they land there. Buyers are shop savvy on the internet. They typically consume all the information they need including product price, description, images, product options, shipping info, and then they are off to one of your competitors. They have effectively been propositioned with a yes/no decision to make about that one product and your chances of converting have been diminished.

You won’t have a better choice of landing pages if your buyers would only have potential interest for that one product. But if you offer similar products/types/brands that the buyer might be interested in, it is best to land them on the category page. If you decide that the query holds the potential for one specific product to be purchased, lead them to the product specific page but know bounce rates typically are very high on these pages. 70-90% Bounce, 1-10% convert, and 2-29% will visit another page on your website. This is normal but still explore the above techniques to qualify the queries before they click on your web page.