The Search Marketing Advisor Newsletter Article:
September 2009, Volume 7, Issue 9

Paid Search: 4 Tips to Manage a Campaign on a Small Budget

by Aarti Chellakere , Search Marketing Specialist, iProspect

Today, many companies are slashing their marketing budgets, both online and offline. The good news however, is that a paid search campaign with a small budget can still survive if planned and executed correctly. Below are a few tips on how to manage an effective paid search campaign on a small budget:

First things first

Specific ad groups with targeted keywords are vital to any paid search campaign. However, with small budgets, it's even more essential to have tighter ad groups with specific keyword phrases. Splitting ad groups between branded and non-branded terms is a great way to start. This will help prioritize your ad groups and also create structure for your campaign. Keywords should be picked based on their relevancy to the product or service being offered. This will allow the use of keywords in the ad copy, which should improve conversion rates since users will see ads for exactly what they are searching for.

Show me the money

Higher impressions are only good when they are reciprocated with higher clicks. One of the basic goals of paid search is to keep the click through rate (CTR) high while trying to maintain a low cost per acquisition (CPA). Given that, it's important to have a well planned bidding strategy. As a rule, increase bids gradually while closely monitoring the CTR on keywords in your highest priority campaigns, followed by the next priority campaign and so on. In addition, implementing conversion tracking will allow you to identify the most expensive and non-converting keywords so you can adjust your strategy as necessary.

Match types

Match types give the advertiser the option of ensuring that every click is as qualified as possible. Using the correct match type is especially important for campaigns with small budgets since every click might add to the conversion. For example, a client of mine saw an increase of approximately 20% in their conversion rate when the match type for their non-branded phrases was switched from broad to phrase. Regardless of the campaign priority, every keyword should have a match type that will maximize results.

Safe landing

When a user clicks on an ad, they hope to see the desired conversion opportunity on the landing page. However, if the landing page is not relevant to the ad, the user will quickly leave the site and cost the advertiser a click. Rather than using the homepage, choose specific landing pages that have a high probability of satisfying users who searched on the keyword phrases in that ad group. The user should be no more than two clicks away from the conversion.

Regardless of the size of your budget, you need a good strategy and time and money to monitor and optimize your paid search campaign in order to produce the best results. When properly executed, even a campaign with a small budget can be effective and profitable and deliver a strong return on investment.

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The Search Marketing Advisor Newsletter Article: September 2009, Volume 7, Issue 9

Paid Search: 4 Tips to Manage a Campaign on a Small Budget

The Search Marketing Advisor Newsletter Article:
September 2009, Volume 7, Issue 9