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* Dayparting. Segment your audience and optimize your campaign based on the times of day when search customers are most responsive, based on conversion rate and AOV, Lee said. For B-to-B companies, the day of the week is very important. For example, might you consider turning off your campaigns on the weekends?
* Demographic targeting. Target your bidding to the demographics most likely to bring the best business. Factors to consider include age, gender, employment status and others.
And then there's what Lee refers to as the “power segment.” This “perfect storm” of customers indexes high on all of your key segments — AOV, LTV and conversion rate. You can predict the value of this click before you buy it, Lee said.
Engagement Techniques
Once you know what customers to go after, the next step is determining how to engage them. Here are some tips Lee and Wong recommended:
- use different offers for different segments, both in paid search and your landing page;
- test “quality” offers vs. “price” offers to see which ones perform best;
- track post-click behaviors — for B-to-B companies, this could be phone calls, visits to your lead form or "contact us" pages, or e-mail newsletter sign-ups;
- don't leave your campaigns at default so you're able to react when something changes in your ecosystem that affects your keywords (e.g., out of stock for a particular product); and
- use data-driven click modeling. Your campaign should be some combination of predictive and reactive, Lee said.
What Lies Ahead
Be ready for the future, Lee said. There are several variables to keep on your radar in the world of paid search. Consider the following:
- Retargeting. It's rare to have a conversion rate of 5 percent, Lee noted, meaning that 95-plus percent don't buy. Set up a cookie on those 95 percent; then buy keywords and display advertising to target those consumers, he said. “You have a window to resell these people.” For New York & Co., Wong notes this window is generally seven days.
- Mobile advancements. Look for ways to incorporate mobile into your campaigns.
- Keyword-targeted rich media, such as YouTube and other video ads.
- Real-time search.
- And what a possible merger of Microsoft and Yahoo would mean for search.
Companies Mentioned:
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