PPC

ppc

What is paid search (PPC) and why do you need it?

Paid search marketing is known in the marketing and advertising industry by many different names (and abbreviations). Search engine marketing (SEM, which can include SEO), pay-per-click (PPC), search engine advertising, sponsored listings… the list goes on. And that’s before you start to involve the names of specific advertising programmes and ad types, such as Google […]

Tackling branded paid search in complex APAC markets

Local technology and expertise is the key to biddable media success in the APAC region.

I recently spoke to Hannes Ben, Chief International Officer at independent agency Forward3D, about the skills needed in APAC and the idiosyncracies of branded paid search.

What do inventory ads in local search mean for retail?

Google’s local inventory ads have been available since 2015.

They are essentially Google Shopping Ads, in the search carousel, that show products stocked in nearby stores.

Clicking on an ad, users can view the product then visit the store website and, from mid 2016, have also been alerted to a click-and-collect option within the ad format.

PPC for beginners – the seven levels of campaign tracking

Getting to grips with PPC measurement?

Search campaign tracking can often be unsophisticated, working on a last click model, measuring revenue, transactions, ROI etc.

However, some more advanced marketers measure a bigger variety of variables, including profit margin, lifetime value and phone contacts.

Let’s look at the different levels of PPC campaign tracking.

PPC: a beginners’ guide to KPIs, budgets & agencies

There’s a lot to know about paid search advertising.

To mark the release of Econsultancy’s newly updated PPC Best Practice Guide, I’ve pulled together a brief intro to KPIs, budgets and resourcing for paid search.

The full guide is more than 350-pages long and includes the basics of setting up a campaign, to more involved cross-channel strategy.

How charities are suffering since Google removed right-hand PPC ads

We recently ran a piece around Google killing right hand side ads in SERPs, and the impact that might have on PPC activity. 

But the discussion so far has predominantly been around companies and agencies that are likely to have some level of flexibility within their display budgets. 

One group that will be impacted in a very different way is the charity sector, particularly those who rely on Google’s Ad Grants programme, which limits bids to just $2.

How O2 achieves creativity through data

Some people seem slightly alarmed by the rise of automation in marketing.

Is it the first step towards all of us being replaced by robots that will eventually enslave humankind and force us to oil their joints until the end of time?

While that might have been a lame attempt at a joke, it is actually very relevant to the Creative Programmatic event I attended yesterday, which was all about how this largely automated channel needn’t spell the end of human creativity in marketing. 

Google kills right-hand PPC ads: How should marketers respond?

No doubt you’re all aware by now that Google is removing ads from the right-hand side of its search results pages (SERPs). 

Ads will now only appear at the top and bottom of SERPs.  

To give some context around what this means for search marketers, we asked several experts for their take on why Google made this decision, and also how marketers need to adjust their PPC campaigns as a result. 

How Argos models PPC on TV, weather & seasonality

When PPC is as important as it is for Argos, understanding how external factors impact on conversion and spend is vital.

Argos’ paid search agency Summit won a Masters of Marketing award in 2015 for doing just that, optimising bidding for the retailer in reaction to competitor TV ads, weather and seasonality.

Let’s look at the what made this a winning campaign…