The paid-search industry faces many challenges so it’s crucial that agencies can angle their tactics to make the very best of this lucrative market and make themselves top of the paid-search tree.
There are currently two major challenges facing the paid search industry in the current climate: how to handle international and multi-lingual campaigns, and call-tracking related to pay-per-click.
Both challenge the efficiency, success and profitability of PPC, yet equally, with a tailored approach, both can be overcome. Finding the code to crack these enigmas can provide a multitude of benefits for agencies and clients alike, placing them firmly at the top of the paid search tree.
Take, in the first instance, the challenges faced by paid search agencies in their approach to call tracking. The majority of existing call tracking services suffer from the perennial problem of not being able to track all keywords. While a client may see that a large percentage of their leads come through phone calls, it has previously been incredibly difficult to link those calls back to the keywords that generated them.
Most call tracking services work by mapping one phone number to one keyword or ad group. For many clients, this has made call tracking an expensive proposition; with this approach, it may not be cost effective for clients to have more than 100 phone numbers. In such a landscape, it has proved difficult for clients to receive a comprehensive approach to call tracking; many companies wish to track thousands of keywords, as opposed to a select few.
In not being able to see how such a large proportion of leads are generated, companies face the difficult task of maximising productivity without this valuable information. But by establishing a comprehensive approach to call tracking that factors in an infinite number of keywords, companies can reap huge benefits. In a straightforward context, clients would immediately have access to a far greater pool of information around which keywords generate phone leads, and which are less likely to.
The benefits for clients are obvious. Being 100 per cent sure what keywords have generated leads enables an agency to bid higher for specific keywords, and in turn increase lead volume considerably. The information provided by accurate call tracking allows clients to truly measure and increase their return on investment in paid search.
Bidding higher for keywords doesn’t necessarily mean clients face increased costs, however. In having far easier analysis of keyword success, clients are therefore able to reduce their spend on keywords that aren’t performing as well as expected, and reallocate that budget to the better performing ones. Put simply, this more advanced approach - granular-level call tracking - enables a paid search supplier to be a lot more efficient with a client’s campaign budget.
Another thing to consider in call tracking is the quality of results. It’s important that any call tracking service distinguishes between ‘wasted’ calls and real leads; the best way to do this is to only track calls over a specified time period - say, 1 minute. This allows a client to get rid of the people selling to them or even redirect an existing client ringing the wrong number for support. This will result in an increase in accurate leads which in turn helps provide a better understanding of search spend and the lifetime value of these leads.
A successful approach to call tracking requires an agency to be innovative and forward thinking. The answer is certainly complex and will take time to perfect – but the right approach will deliver far superior results for both the agency and client, maximising budgets, time and effectiveness.
The issues of call tracking for paid search agencies echo those posed by the challenge of delivering an effective multilingual paid search campaign. Like call tracking, a successful multilingual campaign can be hugely beneficial to a company, offering a highly tailored and targeted service across international borders. Yet very often, the opportunity to deliver a successful international campaign is scuppered by logistical problems and inefficient processes.
Most search agencies provide some form of multilingual service through translation services and satellite offices and this may work to a point. However, there are better ways to work where global results can be massively increased.
Centralisation, for example, should be a key approach for any agency hoping to achieve success on an international scale. A single base for a multilingual account team in one office can allow each account manager to manage their specific market PPC campaigns from one central location, and can greatly improve efficiency and effectiveness.
Having a multilingual account team under one roof allows central management and encourages greater control of global campaigns. Campaign adjustments can be applied with speed and ease, while analysis and reporting of accounts can be efficiently conducted as part of ongoing management. All of these facets help to maximise budgets, improve efficiency and, ultimately, deliver superior results.
Similarly, this approach eliminates the need for satellite offices and translator services to amend copy, while shared learnings can also benefit the agency as a whole. Success factors learnt in one country can easily and quickly be shared within the team and tested in other countries. Multiple agencies in different countries will never cooperate in this way with each other.
Not only is the centralised approach to multilingual campaigns more effective, but it could also prove to be financially beneficial for clients. Centralisation of global budgets, for example, allows agencies to allocate and control the budget more efficiently and target countries that are delivering the best ROI. For example, if PPC spend in Germany may deliver a greater return than PPC spend in China, then a centralised agency could easily divert budgets accordingly, if the client desired.
Optimal targeting of keywords requires a deep understanding of a product or service while, at the same time, matching search terms which are used within a target country. Translation does not provide this level of detail; a bespoke native speaking marketing team, working on multilingual search campaigns can provide a greater market understanding with mother tongue search specialists.
A native-speaking account manager understands the colloquialisms of their market, so each campaign can be built specifically with these detailed learnings, thus maximising results.
The close physical proximity of an international account management team could allow for regular and more frequent briefings, which would in turn lead to a better understanding of a client’s global business. Again, multiple agencies in different countries will never be able to work this way.
In terms of financial impacts, a centrally controlled international team enjoys vastly reduced overheads, which allows agencies to pass on cost-effective campaigns to the client. Ultimately, this means an agency can offer the best value for money and efficient multilingual campaigns to a client. A single agency will ensure that best practice is employed consistently across all campaigns, resulting in greater campaign efficiencies.
While it’s obvious that conquering both call tracking and multilingual campaigns takes a great deal of time and effort for agencies to perfect, the benefits of a successful approach to both of these huge industry issues will be massive.
Not only will agencies be able to offer a market-leading product to clients, but they will do so maximising budgets and efficiency.
Rob Pierre
Managing Director
Jellyfish
www.jellyfish.co.uk
http://twitter.com/jellyfishPPC