Many brands want to see their ads rank at the top of Google and have a great conversion rate. But this can be a challenge for brands.

Understanding the impact of these two metrics, and how to think about these metrics when optimizing, can improve the overall health of your paid search campaigns.

Vanity vs. performance: I want it all

Are you someone who likes to run search queries periodically to see if your brand or clients’ ads are at the top? It feels good to know that you are number one. I get it. There is no denying the feeling that all is right with the world when your brand’s ad takes pole position.

However, being number one may come with a higher cost per conversion. There is that ongoing struggle to deliver both efficiency and volume. This case study looks at this specific problem. 

I pulled in various account data for this article and looked at the relationship of cost-per-conversion between different metrics like absolute top impression share and click-through rate (CTR). The findings probably won’t surprise you, but seeing the data often forces you to think about your account differently.

At the very least, I hope to arm you with some data to finally discuss with the brand manager who insists on seeing their brand be number one. 

Cost per conversion vs. absolute top impression share

When Google decided to remove the average position in 2019, it was a solid move toward focusing on results versus vanity. The metric they provided to take its place was absolute top impression share and top impression share. Giving advertisers what they needed to answer, “Are we number one?” and “Are we above organic rankings?” 

The data in the chart below compares the cost per conversion across our accounts (I normalized/indexed them so they could be viewed on a similar scale) versus absolute top impression share over the past year.

The hypothesis was the more frequently brands were in the true number one position, the more expensive those conversions would cost them. Effectively a tradeoff between efficiency and volume.

The data shows a 60% increase in cost per conversion from ads that were <10% absolute top impression share to those that were >80%. There are certainly outliers. But the trendline tells the story. 

Cost per conversion vs. click-through rate

I took the same data and wanted to compare CTR vs. cost-per-conversion. This is a little starker of a story.

The cost per conversion is down as the CTR increases by a larger margin (I removed the CTR data scale from high to low, left to right). So having a better CTR provides a better cost per conversion. 

Why?

• Keywords that have a higher CTR are most likely resonating better with consumers and therefore flow through to having a higher conversion rate/lower cost per conversion.
• Branded terms typically have the highest conversion rates and CTRs. This is a debate for another time and article.

The key to this data set is to focus on relevance. If you focus on relevance, branded or otherwise, you will see better conversion rates.  

3 ways to use this data to improve your paid search campaigns

Focus on relevance

Google rewards relevance. This comes in the form of higher quality scores by keywords matching ad copy, which also matches landing pages. The more you can create tighter keywords groups based on themes, the better.

The best lens to view this through is the customer experience. Think about what the customer is searching for. What would they expect to experience when reading that ad copy or clicking through to the site? The answer to this question is your true north. It will lead you to a relevant experience and reward you with better performance.

Understand efficiency and volume

This is a constant tradeoff that is made in business all the time. Brands do it with the pricing of products, but we often don’t see it as frequently in marketing.

Take a group of keywords that are performing well and see how far you can push them. Run a test to increase bids by 25-50%, raise the budgets and see what happens.

• Do you get any incremental lift?
• What was the cost per incremental conversion?
• Is that tradeoff better than any other opportunity you to spend on either other keywords or marketing tactics?

The best part about paid search is the real-time feedback you get with data to help make informed decisions. Use that to your advantage.

ABT: Always be testing

This is a combination of the two prior recommendations but keep testing. The algorithms, your competitors, your customers – they are constantly changing.

Ongoing ad copy testing is just one element, but that shouldn’t get you off the hook more broadly.

Create a test and learn strategy. Work through it methodically. Have a hypothesis and prove or disprove it through your testing. Rinse, repeat.

The post How your ad position and CTR impact conversion rate appeared first on Search Engine Land.

If you’re just getting started with Google Data Studio, you’ve probably experienced blank-page syndrome.

You get your data source connected, open up a new file, and you have no idea what to do next.

There are no instructions. No guide rails. Just you and an empty page to fill.

And while you can start with a template (Google Data Studio Report Gallery has several), it’s still tough to know how to customize it to perfectly fit your needs.

Here are some tried-and-true elements to include in PPC dashboards and reports that will banish blank-page syndrome and give your stakeholders the insights they crave.

1. Titles, subheads and context

When you add a chart in Google Data Studio, you select the data source, dimensions, metrics and date range from the Data Panel to populate your visualization.

But your reader doesn’t see the Data Panel and won’t know what your chart is about unless you take an extra step to include it in your dashboard.

The two graphs below show identical data visualizations. Figure A includes only the chart, while Figure B includes written titles and context.

Figure A leaves questions in your reader’s mind that Figure B answers.

You can make your graphs and tables easier to understand at a glance with these tips:

• Give your data visualizations a title.
• Use subheadings and microcopy for additional context.
• Use legends.
• State the date range if it’s not included in the chart. (Note: “auto” date range defaults to last 28 days.)
• If multiple data sources are used throughout your dashboard, clarify which is used in specific charts.

How to do it:

1. Add a text box and write out your titles and descriptions.
2. This will open up a “Text Properties” panel to edit fonts, text size, and styling elements.

It’s worth the small manual effort it takes to add a text box and include context!

2. KPI scorecards

You don’t need an article to tell you that your dashboard should include your key performance indicators (KPIs).

But while you’re planning out your dashboard, pay special attention to where to include them.

Your KPIs matter most in your report and deserve top billing.

That means showcasing your KPIs with scorecards like so:

Not as afterthoughts at the end of a table:

Not only do tables make it hard to identify KPIs, for languages that are read left to right, tucking KPIs on the far right of the table tells your reader these metrics are low priority.

Keep your reader focused on your key growth metrics like lead volume, revenue, or return on ad spend (ROAS), rather than vanity and traffic metrics like impressions and clicks.

How to do it:

1. Use Chart > Scorecard.
2. In the “metric” section of the Data Panel, add your KPI. Repeat as needed.
3. Control format and size in the Style Panel.

Having KPIs appear in tables and other charts isn’t a problem, but give them added attention by using scorecards.

3. Goal pacing

Some advertisers use fixed monthly or annual marketing budgets with no room for adjustments.

Others have sales or efficiency goals they need to hit with flexible budgets.

No matter what the approach, your dashboard should answer the question:

Are we meeting our objectives, and how do we know?

Account objectives aren’t standardized, and neither is the approach for including goal pacing in your dashboard.

Fortunately, Data Studio gives you many options for adding objectives and pacing, from literally charting against a goal to adding a written description of the target.

Here are some examples of how you might anchor performance to a goal:

How to do it:

1. Option: Add a header that states the objective
2. Option: Use a pacing chart such as bullet or gauge
3. Option: Add a calculated field with progress to goal (metric/target)

Including goal pacing gives your reader confidence in how to interpret performance data.

4. Trends and historical comparisons

Trends and historical comparisons let your reader know if things are improving – or need improvement – over time.

Maybe you fell short of the goal, but you always miss it because it’s unrealistic.

Maybe you hit your goal, but you’re down compared to last year, and you need to take corrective action.

Don’t make your reader wonder whether current performance is average, down or “best month ever.”

Snapshot (single-metric) comparisons

Tables and scorecards give you an easy way to show your reader how performance for this period compares to another, using color-coded arrows to indicate the direction of the change (delta).

How to do it:

• Under “Date range,” select your comparison date range:
  • Fixed
  • Previous period
  • Previous year
  • Advanced
• In the Style Panel:
  • Control the color of positive or negative change arrows
  • For Scorecards only, you can select whether to show absolute or percentage change and whether to include a description of the previous time period (comparison label).
  • You can also format Scorecards to show both YoY and MoM comparisons.

Line charts

You can get a complete picture of performance trends using time series charts. 

Rather than just comparing this period to the last period, you’ve got an entire history revealing trends in seasonality, market impact and more.

You can use a continuous Time series chart (shown above) or designate a comparison time period.

Here’s how that same data looks as a Year over Year (YoY) Time series chart. Note that the comparison year will show as a lighter shade of this period’s line:

Another way to show historical performance is with a line chart that uses a time period as a breakdown dimension.

This Line chart is from a report comparing CPCs before and during the Covid-19 pandemic:

How to do it:

• To compare two time periods: Use a Time series chart and select a comparison date range.
• To compare three or more time periods (shown here for years):
  • Select a Line chart
  • Set the “Dimension” to Month
  • Set the “Breakdown Dimension” to Year
  • Set the “Sort” to Month
  • Set the “Secondary sort” to Year

A few important notes for trends and historical comparisons – 

• Only use these for your KPIs or metrics that directly contribute to your KPIs. Don’t add a CTR trend chart just for the sake of including a trend chart.
• There’s almost never a reason to show daily granularity in these charts. Zoomed in that closely, you’ll miss the signal for the day-to-day noise. Look for trends at a monthly level.

5. Categorical tables

Okay, so tables aren’t that glamorous. 

But if your Data Studio dashboard doesn’t have a table, something’s probably missing.

Why? Because there are times when your audience needs to compare multiple categories across multiple metrics. And nothing does that more efficiently than a table.

Tables are great for comparing default categories like:

• Campaigns
• Ad groups
• Keywords
• Search terms
• Final URLs

And depending on the complexity of your PPC dashboard, you can create tables for:

• Engines and platforms
• Channels and networks
• Funnels / intent / stages of awareness
• Brand vs. nonbrand
• Pivots of time segments, conversion types, and other categories

How to do it:

• Chart > Table (or Pivot table)
• Dimension(s): the category or categories you want to compare
• Metrics: your KPIs and supporting metrics
• From the Style Panel, you can format your table to include heatmaps, bars and targets

It’s easy to build tables and add metrics, and it’s easy to get carried away. Exercise some restraint and limit the number of metrics in your table, so it remains useful to your reader.

Bonus: Shiny charts

Our list constrained us to five categories, but here’s one bonus for making it to the end:

Shiny charts.

What are shiny charts?

Shiny charts are visualizations that your audience loves and gets excited about, even if they’re not super actionable.

Your readers may not learn anything new, but they’ll feel like they learned something new.

Maps are a great example. 

Many dataviz experts say not to use map charts; there are better ways to communicate location data. 

But try to find a client or stakeholder who doesn’t love to see performance data on a map. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

Sure it’s a bit counterintuitive when you’re trying to build out an actionable dashboard. Maybe even a bit controversial. And you don’t have to do it. But a chart that makes your audience feel good just for seeing it has its own merit.

Putting it all together

While your Data Studio dashboard can technically include whatever you want, it should at a minimum include:

• Title and context
• KPI scorecards
• Goal pacing
• Historical comparisons
• Categorical tables

These don’t need to (and can’t) all be discrete sections. One scorecard can include a title, KPI, pacing, and time comparison.

There are many other charts and visualizations that can take your PPC dashboard from good to great. Getting started with this list will set you up for success and give you a dashboard worth the time it took to build.

The post 5 things your Google Data Studio PPC Dashboard must have appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Want to understand your paid search results? Geography is one of the most significant factors to analyze.

DIfferent words and brands mean other things based on location. For example, are you “soda” or “pop”? The same is true for brand names.

Read on to learn about geolocation results in paid search, how they vary and what to do with the variances.

Data: How PPC results vary across regions

For years I’ve had discussions with various brands about their performance by region. Should they be geotargeting? How does it impact bidding? Does it matter at all? 

I pulled a data set to see how performance varied by geographies over the past year. Let’s start by looking at how results vary across regions. To understand the variances, I indexed each metric against the campaign totals or averages. 

How much do the metrics vary? The first thing that jumps out is how wide the variance is, especially for CTR. We saw variance for all metrics of at least 2x and in the case of CTR as high as 15x. The minimums also vary much more than the maximums, except for CTR.

There was a significant difference by geographic region (in this case, “geographic region” means “states”). Why the big swings? Among the reasons;

• Brand awareness: Brands signify different things to different people based on locations. For example, a brand may be available nationally, but they were founded on the East or West Coast. 
• Market competition: Regional players might only advertise in a given region that will influence the metrics.
• Keyword/bid strategy: The paid search managers of these accounts on a daily basis have something to say about the performance. They shift bids and keyword lists based on performance as a regular part of maintenance. This can have a natural influence on the metrics.

The next thing I looked at was what would happen if I stopped spending in the lowest-performing 20 states. What would be the impact on my metrics? 

A simple first step could be to stop spending the lowest-performing states. Using my data set, I viewed “lowest performing” by four categories:

1) Lowest conversion rates
2) Highest CPC
3) Highest Cost per Conversion
4) Lowest conversion rates

These categories all impacted the results pretty differently. Removing the lowest conversion kept the most revenue but didn’t improve the ROI.

Removing the highest cost per conversion improved the ROI the most but removed more than 30% of the total revenue. The impact on the ROI was pretty small, and the volume of results was reduced by up to 35%, based on this data. 

So what if you took the lowest-performing states and poured that spend back into the top 20 performing states? The hypothesis showed improvement with all four scenarios increasing revenue vs. the baseline results.

The best scenario was removing the 20 states with the lowest costs-per-conversion and investing more in the states with the lowest cost-per-conversion. However, even in that scenario, the ROI and revenue didn’t increase more than 4% versus the baseline index.

Many companies would be ecstatic about the opportunity to increase revenue by 4% without any incremental costs. But for others, the juice wouldn’t be worth the squeeze. 

What could alter this analysis?

• Assumptions on assumptions: A big assumption is that spending at higher levels and assuming the same throughput rates. The CPCs, conversion rates, or any of the metrics would be altered, impacting the results.
• Keywords within states: Viewing any of this data through the lens of only the geography doesn’t take into account all the other factors that weigh into performance. For example, even in a great performing state, there are specific keywords that are not performing well just as there are keywords in poor-performing states that are crushing it.
• Landing page and ad copy experiences.
• Brand type: Our data set has a mix of DTC online pure-plays and online/offline. I think local store mix and conversion types can all alter this analysis.

PPC actions to take?

Ultimately, the beauty of paid search is nothing operates in a vacuum. You have to consider the implications between the keyword, ad copy, bid, and landing page.

The correct answer isn’t just altering geotargeting. It takes the combination of these with audiences, time of day, device type and so many factors to truly drive results.

What I’m suggesting is that geotargeting can be yet another knob that can be dialed up and down and should be considered a critical optimization tactic. For example, if you want the ad copy and landing page to match the geography, geotargeting becomes more important from a user experience standpoint.

In some cases, it will complicate things to a level that doesn’t make the difference for your organization, and maybe a simple bid-modifier will do. In other cases, it could be the key to unlocking your results.

You can start simply with bid multipliers. My recommendation: dig into the data at this level, create a few tests and see if you can impact results in a meaningful way. Then you can determine if the test should be scaled up or back. 

The post Geotargeting optimization: How region impacts your PPC results appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Google and Bing have expanded ad sales suspensions imposed on Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine. Google has temporarily halted ads from serving to Russia-based users, the company announced Thursday. Similarly, Microsoft announced that it will suspend all new sales of its products and services in Russia.

Why we care. The two leading search engines now prohibit ads targeting users located in Russia, cutting off the main channels western search marketers use to reach audiences there. This will affect brands advertising to Russian users, but Yandex (Russia’s second-biggest search engine by market share) remains an option.

These ad suspensions serve to protest Russia’s actions in Ukraine, but they also help search engines avoid brand safety debacles like misinformation campaigns making it through their automated systems and showing to users.

Escalating restrictions on Russian state-funded media. Last week, both search engines stopped running ads from Russian state-funded media outlets. In addition, Microsoft is “further de-ranking these sites’ search results on Bing so that it will only return RT and Sputnik links when a user clearly intends to navigate to those pages,” Brad Smith, president and vice chair of Microsoft, said in an announcement on February 28.

Perhaps this is what Russia wanted. Roskomnadzor, Russia’s communications regulator, has accused YouTube of running “advertising campaigns to misinform the Russian audience,” according to the Wall Street Journal. The Russian agency demanded that Google change its ad moderation policies and discontinue such ads.

The new ad suspensions are likely to primarily affect Russia-based businesses, but they may also put a temporary end to the ads Russia is complaining about.

Social media platforms halted ad sales in Russia, too. Snap Inc. and Twitter have both paused ads in Ukraine and Russia, with the former halting them in Belarus as well. Facebook has stopped serving ads from Russian state media, but (at the time of publication) is still showing ads to Russian users.

The post Google and Bing halt all ad sales in Russia appeared first on Search Engine Land.

SMX Advanced, the premier conference for experienced senior-level search marketers, returns virtually this year on June 14-15.

As always, the educational event program will cover the most advanced and timely search topics in both PPC and SEO.

For the SEO track, we’re looking for session pitches on several different topics, including:

• How UX, SEO and content must work in harmony.
• The importance of technical SEO.
• Ways to optimize content for rich results.
• Case studies of scaling content with AI.
• Frameworks for measuring ROI.

In the PPC track, we’re looking for sessions that address the loss of control marketers are feeling and the shift to fully automated campaigns, as well as measuring and reporting at a time when less data is available.

Even if you haven’t spoken before, consider submitting a session topic idea now. We are always looking for new speakers with diverse points of view. The deadline for SMX Advanced pitches is April 15!

Here are a few tips for submitting a compelling session proposal:

• Present an original idea and/or unique session format.
• Include details about what an attendee will be able to do better or different as a result of attending your session.
• Include a case study or specific examples and explain how they can be applied in different types of organizations.
• Be realistic about what you can present in 30 minutes. You can’t cover everything about your topic. Going more in-depth on a narrow topic is often more valuable to the attendee.
• Provide tangible takeaways and a plan of action.

Jump over to this page for more details on how to submit a session idea, or directly to this page to create your profile and submit a session pitch.

If you have questions, feel free to reach out to me directly at kbushman@thirddoormedia.com. I’m looking forward to reading your proposals!

The post Want to speak at SMX Advanced? We want to hear your ideas appeared first on Search Engine Land.