SEMNE: Van Wagner Ad Sets Optimization Model for Google Adwords

The Van Wagner Ad Sets
Optimization Modeltm
Matt Van Wagner
Search Engine Marketing New England (SEMNE)
Natick, MA May 18, 2010© Copyright 2010. Find Me Faster Nashua, NH. All Rights Reserved.

Best of Breed

Could too much A/B Testing be detrimental to the overall health of our PPC campaigns?

How A/B Testing Works
The idea is to find outwhich message resonates best with your target audience.

How A/B Testing Works
Run ads long enough to develop a performance profile.
Declare a champ. Kill the loser.
Bring in a new challenger.
Repeat until bored.

Setting Expectations
You declare Ad A the champ, and delete loser Ad B.What do you expect your Adgroup CTR to be going forward?
(a) 3.75% (b) 6.25% (c) 7.5% (d) 9.25%

Surprised?
Answer: It most cases, your new Ad Group CTR will range from 3.75% - 6.25%.

CTR: Adgroup vs. Ad

Worst Case: Ad Group CTR

Have you ever experienced this sort of surprise after a round of A/B Testing?

Pitfalls of A/B Testing
Why performance maydecline after an A/B Test:
- Keywords do not equal queries
match type influence
Ad Impressions does not equal searchers
Ad Rotation is not truly even
A/B Testing will result in a best ad. It does not know anything about your ad group.

Keywords ≠ Queries
Broad & Phrase Match bring in many variations
Keyword = gluten free cakes
Search Queries =
gluten free store bought cookies gluten free bakeries gluten free frozen cookie dough stoneham mass gluten free bakeries ritt's gluten free cake gluten free cheesecake glutenfree angel food cakegluten free m & m cookiesgluten free bakeries in stoneham gluten free wedding cakes gluten free desertsgluten free cheese cakegluten free bakeries mi del gluten free cookies
gluten free desserts gluten free cookies gluten free cupcakesgluten free gourmet desserts gluten free recopiesgluten free desserts easy where to buy gluten free brownies gluten free cheesecake ma gluten free cat treats gluten free store bought cookies
gluten free pie crust

Impressions ≠ Searchers
Searches are not randomly distributed - Searches for specific keywords happen in ’hotspots’ ”...as many as 50% of all searches are repeat searches...”*
* Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft Senior Vice President, March 2010

Even Ad Rotation is Not Truly Even
Even when Ad Rotation is set to Even, it is not truly even:
- Search engines attempt to achieve approximately even search volume
History of [ad + keyword] combination impacts Quality Score
Relevance of [ad+keyword] impacts Quality Score

Diversity of Sales Pitches
Selection: All Shades of Blue Widgets
Savings: Save 20% on Blue Widgets
Quality: Eco-Friendly Blue Widgets
Availability: Blue Widgets Shipped Overnight!
Brand: Official Site ACME® Blue Widgets
Will you sell more widgets if you are allowed to use 5 great sales pitches or if you are limited to just 1 of of those pitches?

Ad Set Optimization
How a few well-performing ads can outperform the single best ad in an ad group.

The Value of Ad Message Diversity
Selection: All Shades of Blue Widgets
Quality: Eco-Friendly Blue Widgets
Availability: Blue Widgets Shipped Overnight!
Brand: Official Site ACME® Blue Widgets
Savings: Save 20% on Blue WidgetsSavings: Save 20% on Blue Widgets
Savings: Save 20% on Blue WidgetsSavings: Save 20% on Blue Widgets
Wouldn’t it be a bit annoying for a salesperson to harp on the same thing 5 times in a row?

Beginning of a Testing Cycle

The Results Start Coming In

Cutting Poor Performing Ads

Down to the Finals
Without the other ads and repeat searches, you can expect that impressions, clicks and CTR performance changes in unexpected ways.

Should YouDeclare a Winner?
Yes? No? Don’t Know?

Assuming the Worst Case
You get the same # of visitors, clicks, but CTR declines.
Why? Perhaps people who like to save money assume ECO means more expensive, and don’t bother clicking.

What would happen if you kept both ads online?

Multiple Searches Changes Things
With two ads left online, it becomes highly likely that a person will encounter the ad they prefer.
1 search: 50% (either ad A or ad B)
2 searches: 75% (AA, AB, BA, BB)
3 searches: 87.5% (etc...)
4 searches: 93.75%
Since we know that people will search multiple times, anywhere from 2-20 times over the course of a search session, it becomes almost certain they will see both ads.

Implementing the Van Wagner Ad Sets Optimization Model
Use A/B Testing to narrow out to well-performing ads. Don’t try to reduce to one winning ad.
Instead of Reducing to a single ad, test more combinations.
Ad Sets can mask the performance of poorly performing ad groups. You still have to optimize your ad groups and watch your search queries.
Set Ad Rotation to even – at all times.

New (Old) Google Keyword Match Type
Broad Match Modifier
- More control than broad match
- More flexible than phrase match
- shuts down expanded broad match
Uses + sign in front of a broad match keyword
- Will match queries only when that it contains BMM
includes misspellings, singular/plural forms, abbreviations, acronyms, and stemming variations.
- Will not pick up close synonyms or related searches.
Available soon in US. Now in active beta in Canada & UK

Broad Match Modifier

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SEMNE: Van Wagner Ad Sets Optimization Model for Google Adwords

by mvanwagner on Jun 16, 2010

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SEMNE: Van Wagner Ad Sets Optimization Model for Google Adwords — Presentation Transcript