Search Leeds 2018 Conference Recap – Part 3

Here is the final instalment of our recaps on today’s Search Leeds conference, complete with key points, top tips and actionable and tangible takeaways for you.

Here’s what you need to know:

 

What’s new in PPC

Holly Ellwood @Receptional – Receptional

Let’s get introduced to new search trends and the latest releases as Holly takes us through all the new and exciting things coming for PPC. She also highlights some areas that aren’t being used as much to let us see some new opportunities in paid.

• Ad copy – 30% have just one ad in an ad group. Ideal is around 3 in each ad group and this is rewarded with a better Quality Score and Click Through Rate (CTR). Dynamic Keyword Insertion is showing improved response rates. Countdown functionality also improves performance, particularly for e-commerce sites. Don’t rotate your ads indefinitely but trust Google to show your best performing ads.
• Responsive search ads – In beta at the moment. Can upload 15 unique headlines, higher character limit for descriptions and Google will optimise them for you. Can work better on some accounts so test, test, test!
• Audiences – Only 24% use audiences in their campaigns currently. This functionality is getting better and better and should be used so much more! Customer match, similar audiences and YouTube audiences are all quick wins to boot your engagement. Don’t forget about demographic data too, as this can be invaluable to get your ads to the right people. Life event targeting such as engagements, graduation and more are coming out later this year.
• Mobile – Still cheaper for now. Look at extensions that are perfect for mobile such as Message Extensions. Lots more extensions are coming out later for mobile as mobile first becomes more important. Keep your eyes out for these.
• New AdWords Interface – Get using it and get used to it as it will be forced upon us soon. Some new features exclusive to the new interface are Promotion Extensions and Showcase Shopping ads. So, get exploring the new interface and see what you can do.
• Voice Search – Optimising for voice search will require a new search strategy. Think about answering questions and keep an eye on search term reports to see what new searches are coming through.

 

The International Paid Search Playbook

Matt Holmes @MattHolmesXX – Distrelec

Here, Matt shows us his top 5 strategies for running great PPC campaigns. He combines his passion for the NFL with his passion for PPC to demonstrate winning ideas that really work.

Our key takeaways:

• Don’t lose sight of the fact that real people are searching to find something/get something done so match their needs and give them a great experience.
• Across international accounts, make sure you have a different account for each country you are targeting. Then split out your Exact and Broad Match Modifier keywords. Aim for a 70/30 split with 70% coming from exact match and the rest getting picked up by your Broad Match Modifiers.
• Google Shopping price benchmarks are coming out later this year. These will let you compare yourself with your competitors to see how competitive your prices are.
• Analysis can be the difference between winning and losing. Auction Insights is an underused tool that can show you how and why your campaigns are performing well (or not!). Google’s Consumer Barometer is a great tool to give you more insights and data to get your campaigns performing even better.
• Preparation is key but be able to make adjustments – don’t stick to a strategy just because. Make changes, keep testing, experiment and play around with new ideas. Have fun with your PPC accounts!

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