Welcome to Cultivative’s weekly roundup for all things PPC from around the web—everything you need to know right now about PPC!
At Cultivative, we’re all about making your life easier. We’ve gathered the top PPC news and innovations from around the web and getting it into your hands. Check out what we found this past week.
Marketing Metrics: Where Do Users Click After Searching Google?
By Kenshoo | Jul 15, 2019
Kenshoo references research done by Jumpshot that analyzes where searchers are going after they visit Google’s SERP. The results may surprise you–only 3.58% are paid clicks to non-Google sites. The majority of searchers, 48.96%, are going to zero-click searches. Zero-click searches are when Google displays the answer to a query that doesn’t lead to a click, like a definition, featured snippet, map, etc. Should this information change how you approach PPC?
How to Create Effective Advertising for Millennials
By Tom Whatley | Jul 17, 2019
Millennials make up a significant portion of the buying market, and you would be remiss not to understand how to market to them effectively. Tom Whatley explains that to reach them with your marketing and advertising, you first need to understand what drives their buying behavior and understand their values. He says that “Millennials (and Generation Z) have a polarizing set of priorities in comparison to baby boomers. They value altruism and a sense of belonging over status and ownership.” With that in mind, Whatley suggests keeping these five traits in mind to create advertising that attracts Millennials:
1. They educate themselves before making decisions
2. They’re focused on frugality
3. They love experiences
4. They value their health and the environment
5. They seek recommendations from their peers
What Advertisers Should Know About Impressions vs. Viewable Impressions
By Joey Scully | Jul 17, 2019
Joey Scully offers a great refresher on the differences between ad ‘impressions’ and ‘viewed impressions.’ An impression is the number of times users had the chance to view it somewhere on a webpage, not necessarily the number of times the ad was seen. A viewable impression must fit two criteria: greater than or equal to 50% of the pixels in the advertisement were on an in-focus browser tab on the viewable space of the browser page, and
the time the pixel requirement is met was greater than or equal to one continuous second, post ad render. He suggests using viewed impression data to:
- Prioritize platforms and exchanges where your ads are being seen
- Optimize your campaign with platform-specific tools made to increase the likelihood of your ads landing above the fold
- Testing different ad sizes to see which have a higher percent of viewable impressions
- Using vendors such as IAS, Moat, and DoubleVerify to ensure a certain level of viewability
RSAs vs. ETAs: Stop Comparing CTR
By Andrew Harder | Jul 17, 2019
Testing out new strategies in PPC is both exhilarating and daunting– and can cause some anxiety! Andrew Harder purposes that if you focus on explaining ‘how’ you plan to analyze your tests over the ‘why’ you want to test to your clients, they will be prepared to understand what you are doing better. He also explains that RSAs are meant to compliment ETAs and win auctions where ETAs don’t (and vice versa). He also recommends you stop comparing CTR between ETAs and RSAs because RSAs will show up for different queries, devices, etc., so it’s not an apples to apples test. He then shares a couple of cases where he applied these theories to his campaigns with the results.
Paid Search is Still the Dominant Digital Ad Channel in 2019
By Matt Southern | Jul 18, 2019
According to Marin Software’s State of Digital Advertising 2019 report, paid search accounted for 39% of advertisers’ total budgets. Here are some additional highlights from the report:
- 98% rated Google a 4 or 5 (out of 5) on the trust index.
- 84% of respondents who use paid search are currently using or planning to use Google’s new responsive search ads.
- 65% say their company’s use of shoppable images within search will increase in 2019.
- 32% say video is the most effective social ad format, followed by image ads (26%), Instagram Stories (23%), and carousel ads (19%).
What is Amazon Enhanced Brand Content?
By Danielle Waller | Jul 18, 2019
Enhanced Brand Content (EBC, also known as the A+ tool) is a feature that provides your brand story to customers. The tool allows you to use images, comparison charts, and product and brand information to help uniquely describe your product features. The EBC helps build your brand and trust with the customer, ultimately leading to higher conversions. Amazon offers different templates you can use to fit your business’ needs.
Heard from Google, the biggest trends impacting PPC are privacy and automation
By Frederick Vallaeys | Jul 18, 2019
Frederick Vallaeys capitalizes on his past experience working at Google to read between the lines with what was announced during the Google Marketing Live event. With what was announced and what is to be rolling out, Vallaeys concludes that Google is focusing on two trends: privacy and automation. Consumers want to seamlessly move across the web and across devices while having a personalized experience and, at the same time, have their privacy protected. Automation is going to disrupt your PPC process at some point, so you may as well get comfortable with it!
4 Loyalty Marketing Strategies to Keep Your Customers Happier, Longer
By Samuel Hum | Jul 18, 2019
Samuel Hum offers advice for e-commerce businesses: if you’re only focusing on acquiring new customers, you’re missing out on a more sustainable marketing strategy– you need to include your existing customers through loyalty marketing. He recommends using loyalty marketing to strengthen your brand by:
1. Soliciting customer feedback
2. Celebrating your most loyal customers on social media
3. Incentivizing repeat business with reward programs
4. Encouraging loyal customers to spread the love with referral programs
There Are No Universal Truths in Content Marketing (Sort Of)
By Kameron Jenkins | Jul 19, 2019
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to content. How you choose to approach content needs to differ depending on what you’re trying to accomplish. Kameron Jenkins examines five common marketing goals and what types of content are best suited to meet those needs:
1. Brand Awareness
2. Social Media Reach & Engagement
3. Increase Conversions/Sales
4. Decrease Customer Acquisition Costs
5. Improve Customer Retention
We hope you learned something new you can apply to your PPC business strategy. Let us know in the comments below what you want to start implementing. As always, we are happy to be a resource for your paid advertising needs. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
English