Double Edged Sword of PPC Measurability

From Marta Turek’s Presentation at the Vancouver SEM Meetup

The Challenge

“Measuring ROI is the biggest challenge for those managing paid search campaigns in the eyes of both companies and agencies”

State of Search Engine Marketing Report 2010in association with SEMPO

The Attribution Dilemma• How does your B2B client measure ROAS?• Which ‘trackable’ channel gets credit for the sale?

Email

Banner adPaid Search

Outdoor Advertising Direct Visit

B2B Purchase Behaviour• Forcing rationality on a largely irrational process

• Model makes sense from a marketer’s perspective

• B2B purchase decision is non-linear process involving multiple interactions

Source: The BuyerSphere Project

Search ConvertVideo Mobile

OfflineSocialMedia

Customers interact with multiple channels…both online & offline and with different media across channels

Marketing Attribution is Essential

Marketing Attribution is Essential• Roughly 60% of Sales Attributed to Last Touch

had at least one other campaign interaction– Online retailer: buyers interacted with average

3.9 campaigns– High value customers: interaction increased to

7.4 campaigns• Consumption + impact of online media is

interrelated with other media • Long sales cycles mask the impact of first clicks

Source: Coremetrics 2009

Consequences of NOTGetting it Right

• Marketing overspends/under spends• Unhealthy tension among marketing managers• Misguided investment (people & dollars)

for budgeting/forecasting• Impacts credibility of PPC

Not Convinced by SEM:YouSendIt Case Study

• Perceived as an ineffective channel• Significant marketing investment with no

measurable yield• Branded is the only traffic that converts• Lack of proper metrics

SEM Funnel with Branded Traffic• 92% reduction in impressions• 60% decline in clicks• 58% decline in conversion• Units sold down 33%• Bookings down 57%

WHY?• Branded terms reduce

reach• Branded terms are

FINITE• Branded conversions are

impacted by non-branded terms

From 4.5M to 372,000 impressions

22,000 to 14,000 RAW clicks

3500 to 1500

52 to 36 sales

Conversion rate dropped from 15% to 10% Conversion

to order increased to 2.3 from 1.8

Opportunity Cost of PPC

• Reduced new visitors to site organically by 3%• YouSendIt lost a significant amount of overall

share of voice (5-20%) for top 6 keywords when pausing SEM

• Lost BRANDED traffic to competitors

Road Blocks to Attribution

• Politics Trumps Data-Driven Insights• Limited Expertise• Limited Technology & Data• Disjointed Marketing Efforts• Difficulty or Failure to Measure

Marketing Channels• Can’t Afford It• No Time

The Google Panacea?• Introducing Search Funnels • Collection of 7 Reports

– Top Paths– Path Length & Lag Time– First Click & Last Click Analysis– Assist Analysis & Assist Conversions

• Encompasses only Paid Search activity• Look back 30 days from conversion event

NEW

THANK YOU!Discussion/Questions?

Enquiro Hiring• Experienced PPC Search Marketing Strategist

– Minimum 2 years Experience:• Developing, Implementing and Maintaining

Paid Strategies & Recommendations

– Analyzing & Applying Response Data– Proficiency Navigating Search Analytics Tools

Come Speak to Me to Discuss Furtherhttp://www.enquiro.com/about/careers.php