BENCHMARK REPORT

2012 Search Marketing PPC Edition

Research and Insights on Extending the Capabilities of Paid Search

EXCERPT

MarketingSherpa 2012 Search Marketing Benchmark Report PPC Edition

2012 Search Marketing PPC Edition

Benchmark Report
Research and Insights on Extending the Capabilities of Paid Search
Authors Kaci Bower, Research Analyst Contributors Meghan Lockwood, Research Analyst Sergio Balegno, Director of Research Jen Doyle, Senior Research Manager Boris Grinkot, Associate Director of Product Development Adam T. Sutton, Reporter David Kirkpatrick, Reporter Amie Bolton, Research Analyst Production Editor Brad Bortone, Senior Copy Editor

2012 Search Marketing Benchmark Report PPC Edition

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MarketingSherpa 2012 Search Marketing Benchmark Report PPC Edition

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................... ii Executive Summary ................................................................................................................ 1
Key finding: Increasing traffic viewed as solution to lead and ROI challenges ..................................... 2 Chart: Ranking of PPC challenges against PPC objectives ........................................................... 2 Key finding: Difficulty in execution of PPC tactics is not a barrier to usage .......................................... 3 Chart: Three-dimensional view of PPC tactics ............................................................................... 3 Key finding: Paid search drives one third of inbound web traffic on average ....................................... 4 Chart: Percentage of inbound traffic from paid search................................................................... 4 Key Finding: PPC and SEO work together to bring in leads ................................................................ 5 Chart: Percentage of total lead volume from paid search versus SEO .......................................... 5 Key finding: Organizations with local presence are underutilizing local PPC .................................... 6 Chart: Local search tactics used by the 37 percent of organizations with a local business listing . 6 Key finding: Mobile-enabled and optimized PPC campaigns are uncommon ...................................... 7 Chart: Mobile search tactics for PPC are not widely exercised ...................................................... 7

Chapter 1: PPC Objectives and Challenges ........................................................................ 9

Informal processes still define PPC marketing maturity ........................................................................ 9 Chart: Organizations with a process for planning, executing and measuring PPC programs ........ 9 Chart: Organizations in each phase of PPC marketing maturity, by primary channel .................. 10 Chart: Organizations in each phase of PPC marketing maturity, by organization size ................ 11 Chart: Organizations in each phase of PPC marketing maturity, by industry ............................... 12 Challenges hampering PPC effectiveness over last 12 months .......................................................... 13 Chart: Increasing leads and ROI tie for top-two PPC challenges ................................................ 13 Chart: Most frustrating PPC challenges, by PPC maturity phase ................................................ 14 Chart: Most frustrating PPC challenges, by primary channel ....................................................... 15 Chart: Most frustrating PPC challenges, by organization size ..................................................... 16 Chart: Most frustrating PPC challenges, by industry.................................................................... 17 Objectives for PPC programs in next 12 months ................................................................................ 18 Chart: Increasing Web traffic and lead generation top the list for PPC objectives ....................... 18 Chart: Most important PPC objectives, by PPC maturity phase .................................................. 19 Chart: Most important PPC objectives, by primary channel ......................................................... 20 Chart: Most important PPC objectives, by organization size ....................................................... 21 Chart: Most important PPC objectives, by industry ...................................................................... 22 Marketer insights on developing PPC marketing strategies ................................................................ 23 Trial Phase Marketers.................................................................................................................. 23 Transition Phase Marketers ......................................................................................................... 23 Strategic Phase Marketers .......................................................................................................... 25

Chapter 2: PPC Tactics ........................................................................................................ 27

Majority of organizations run PPC campaigns in-house ...................................................................... 27 ii Copyright 20002011 MarketingSherpa LLC, a MECLABS Group Company. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions, contact [email protected].

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Chart: Popularity of in-house versus outsourced PPC campaign management .......................... 27 Chart: PPC campaign management, by PPC maturity phase ...................................................... 28 Chart: PPC campaign management, by primary channel ............................................................ 29 Chart: PPC campaign management, by organization size ........................................................... 30 Chart: PPC campaign management, by industry ......................................................................... 31 Creating highly-targeted ad groups is the most popular tactic ............................................................ 32 Chart: PPC tactics used by organizations .................................................................................... 32 Chart: PPC tactics, by PPC maturity phase ................................................................................. 33 Chart: PPC tactics, by primary channel ....................................................................................... 34 Chart: PPC tactics, by organization size ...................................................................................... 35 Chart: PPC tactics, by industry .................................................................................................... 36 Split testing landing pages considered to be the most difficult ............................................................ 37 Chart: PPC tactics vary widely in their degree of difficulty to execute.......................................... 37 Chart: PPC tactics deemed very or somewhat difficult, by PPC maturity phase.......................... 38 Chart: PPC tactics deemed very or somewhat difficult, by primary channel ................................ 39 Chart: PPC tactics deemed very or somewhat difficult, by organization size ............................... 40 Split testing landing pages may be difficult, but it is very effective ...................................................... 41 Chart: Creating highly-targeted ad groups is the most effective PPC tactic................................. 41 Chart: PPC tactics deemed very effective, by PPC maturity phase ............................................. 42 Chart: PPC tactics deemed very effective, by primary channel ................................................... 43 Chart: PPC tactics deemed very effective, by organization size .................................................. 44 Marketer insights on success with PPC tactics ................................................................................... 45 Trial Phase Marketers.................................................................................................................. 45 Transition Phase Marketers ......................................................................................................... 45 Strategic Phase Marketers .......................................................................................................... 47

Chapter 3: Monitoring and Tracking Metrics ..................................................................... 49

Web conversion often defined as multiple-field form completion ........................................................ 49 Chart: How organizations define a website conversion ............................................................... 49 Chart: Forty percent of organizations attain PPC clickthrough rates of just 1% ........................... 50 Many marketers have no read on how many bad clicks they get ........................................................ 51 Chart: Percentage of bad, unwanted or irrelevant clicks.............................................................. 51 Small percentage of organizations have better than average quality scores ...................................... 52 Chart: Organic ranking for targeted key terms, by PPC maturity phase ...................................... 52 Nearly 40% of organizations bid on less than 100 key terms .............................................................. 53 Chart: Number of key terms organizations bid on ........................................................................ 53 Exact match is the most popular match type....................................................................................... 54 Chart: Keyword match types used ............................................................................................... 54 Paid search plays average role in total traffic volumes ....................................................................... 55 Chart: Percentage of inbound traffic from paid search................................................................. 55 Median web conversion rate on paid search traffic is nearly 4%......................................................... 56 Chart: Organizations experience wide variability in conversion rates on paid search traffic ........ 56 Paid search accounts for nearly one third of total leads on average ................................................... 57 iii Copyright 20002011 MarketingSherpa LLC, a MECLABS Group Company. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions, contact [email protected].

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Chart: Percentage of total lead volume from paid search ............................................................ 57 Paid search yields mixed results for lead quality, with some standouts .............................................. 58 Chart: Quality of leads from paid search ...................................................................................... 58 Chart: Quality of leads from paid search, by PPC maturity phase ............................................... 59 Chart: Quality of leads from paid search, by primary channel ..................................................... 60 Chart: Quality of leads from paid search, by organization size .................................................... 61 Chart: Quality of leads from paid search, by industry .................................................................. 62 Free analytics solutions are the most widely used .............................................................................. 63 Chart: Analytics and monitoring solutions for tracking PPC metrics ............................................ 63 Chart: PPC analytics and monitoring solutions, by PPC maturity phase ..................................... 64 Chart: PPC analytics and monitoring solutions, by primary channel ............................................ 65 Chart: PPC analytics and monitoring solutions, by organization size .......................................... 66 Chart: PPC analytics and monitoring solutions, by industry ......................................................... 67 Marketer insights on using analytics to optimize PPC performance .................................................... 68

Chapter 4: Planning and Tracking Budgets ...................................................................... 71

Biggest budget increases expected in inbound marketing .................................................................. 71 Chart: Expected marketing budget changes over 12 months ...................................................... 71 Chart: Percentage of organizations increasing budgets over 12 months, by PPC maturity phase72 Chart: Percentage of organizations increasing budgets over 12 months, by primary channel ..... 73 Chart: Percentage of organizations increasing budgets over 12 months, by organization size ... 74 Chart: Percentage of organizations increasing budgets over 12 months, by industry ................. 75 Half of marketing budgets go to online marketing, on average ........................................................... 76 Chart: Percentage of total marketing budget allocated to online marketing varies widely ........... 76 Chart: Percentage of total marketing budget allocated to online marketing, by PPC maturity phase ..................................................................................................................................................... 77 Chart: Percentage of total marketing budget allocated to online marketing, by primary channel . 78 Chart: Percentage of total marketing budget allocated to online marketing, by organization size 79 Chart: Percentage of total marketing budget allocated to online marketing, by industry.............. 80 PPC and website take biggest shares of online marketing budget ..................................................... 81 Chart: Allocation of online marketing dollars ................................................................................ 81 Chart: Percentage allocation of online marketing dollars, by PPC maturity phase ...................... 82 Chart: Percentage allocation of online marketing dollars, by primary channel ............................. 83 Chart: Percentage allocation of online marketing dollars, by organization size ........................... 84 Chart: Percentage allocation of online marketing dollars, by industry.......................................... 85 Majority of PPC budget goes towards clicks ....................................................................................... 86 Chart: Allocation of PPC budget per line item .............................................................................. 86 Chart: Allocation of PPC budget, by PPC maturity ...................................................................... 87 Chart: Allocation of PPC budget, by primary channel .................................................................. 88 Chart: Allocation of PPC budget, by organization size................................................................. 89 Chart: Allocation of PPC budget, by industry ............................................................................... 90 Similarly-sized organizations display wide variability in PPC operating budgets................................. 91 Chart: Current PPC budgets, by organization size ...................................................................... 91 PPC budgets expected to stay the same or grow ............................................................................... 92 iv Copyright 20002011 MarketingSherpa LLC, a MECLABS Group Company. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions, contact [email protected].

MarketingSherpa 2012 Search Marketing Benchmark Report PPC Edition

Chart: Expected 12-month PPC budget change .......................................................................... 92 Chart: Expected 12-month PPC budget change, by PPC maturity .............................................. 93 Chart: Expected 12-month PPC budget change, by primary channel .......................................... 94 Chart: Expected 12-month PPC budget change, by organization size ........................................ 95 Marketer insights on the value returned from PPC budget invested ................................................... 96 Trial Phase Marketers.................................................................................................................. 96 Transition Phase Marketers ......................................................................................................... 97 Strategic Phase Marketers .......................................................................................................... 98

Chapter 5: Inbound Marketing Leads ............................................................................... 101

Inbound marketing lead sources are growing in importance ............................................................. 101 Chart: Lead sources increasing and decreasing in importance over last 12 months ................. 101 Chart: Lead sources growing in importance over last 12 months, by PPC maturity phase ........ 102 Chart: Lead sources growing in importance over last 12 months, by primary channel .............. 103 Chart: Lead sources growing in importance over last 12 months, by organization size ............. 104 Chart: Lead sources growing in importance over last 12 months, by industry ........................... 105 Inbound leads cost 66% less than outbound leads, on average ....................................................... 106 Chart: Cost of inbound versus outbound lead ............................................................................ 106

Chapter 6: Using PPC in Local Search ............................................................................ 107

Local search viewed as having positive impact on objectives ........................................................... 107 Chart: Degree of importance local search plays in achieving search marketing objectives ....... 107 Many still have no local business listing on search engines.............................................................. 108 Chart: Organizations claiming local business listing on search engines .................................... 108 Chart: Organizations claiming local business listing, by PPC maturity phase ............................ 109 Chart: Organizations claiming local business listing, by primary channel .................................. 110 Chart: Organizations claiming local business listing, by organization size ................................. 111 Chart: Organizations claiming local business listing, by industry ............................................... 112 Google Boost lags in usage .............................................................................................................. 113 Chart: Local search tactics used by those with a local business listing ..................................... 113 Chart: Tactics used by those with local business listing, by PPC maturity phase ...................... 114 Chart: Tactics used by those with local business listing, by primary channel ............................ 115 Chart: Tactics used by those with local business listing, by organization size ........................... 116 Chart: Tactics used by those with local business listing, by industry ......................................... 117 Marketer insights on the challenges of optimizing for local search ................................................... 118 Marketer insights on successfully optimizing for local search ........................................................... 121

Chapter 7: When Paid Search Goes Mobile .................................................................... 123

Mobile search viewed as having positive impact on objectives ......................................................... 123 Chart: Degree of importance mobile search plays in achieving search marketing objectives .... 123 Less than half of organizations enable ads to show on mobile devices ............................................ 124 Chart: Mobile search tactics for PPC are not widely exercised .................................................. 124 Chart: Usage of mobile search tactics for PPC, by PPC maturity phase ................................... 125 Chart: Usage of mobile search tactics for PPC, by primary channel ......................................... 126 Chart: Usage of mobile search tactics for PPC, by organization size ........................................ 127 v Copyright 20002011 MarketingSherpa LLC, a MECLABS Group Company. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions, contact [email protected].

MarketingSherpa 2012 Search Marketing Benchmark Report PPC Edition

Chart: Usage of mobile search tactics for PPC, by industry ...................................................... 128 Marketer insights on their challenges with mobile search ................................................................. 129 Marketer insights on their successes with mobile search ................................................................. 131

Chapter 8: Search Marketing Success Stories ............................................................... 133

Case Briefing: Learning from an unsuccessful PPC campaign ......................................................... 133 Case Briefing: Using PPC analytics to capitalize on daily performance trends ................................. 134 Case Briefing: Outsourcing PPC Campaigns increases conversions 400% ..................................... 135 Case Briefing: Designing custom landing pages increases leads by 88% ........................................ 136 Case Briefing: Improving conversions with landing page tests ......................................................... 137 Case Briefing: Using sitelinks to lift clickthrough rates 14% .............................................................. 138 Case Briefing: Redesigning PPC ads and landing page increases CTR 54% .................................. 139

Chapter 9: Agency Perspectives ...................................................................................... 141

Client investment in PPC is driven by measurable ROI .................................................................... 141 Chart: Client perception of PPC's ability to produce ROI ........................................................... 141 Agencies are more optimistic when it comes to PPC budget increases ............................................ 142 Chart: Expected PPC budget increases, as rated by agencies and clients ............................... 142 Relevant ad copy and highly targeted keywords considered most effective ..................................... 143 Chart: Effectiveness of PPC tactics, as rated by agencies ........................................................ 143 30 % of client campaigns have quality scores greater than 7 ........................................................... 144 Chart: Quality Scores for a typical client organization ................................................................ 144 Agency insights on improving quality scores..................................................................................... 145 Text ads outperform other ad formats by a factor of 3 ...................................................................... 148 Chart: Level of effectiveness per ad format, as rated by agencies ............................................ 148 Ads on social media sites growing in their effectiveness .................................................................. 149 Chart: Level of effectiveness per advertising network, as rated by agencies ............................. 149 Agency insights on their successes with PPC campaigns ................................................................ 150

Appendix 1: LPO Benchmark Report Charts................................................................... 153

Headline and call to action are the most impactful page elements ................................................... 153 Chart: Top 5 of 17 page elements most consistently having very significant impact in 2010 .. 153 Marketers managing online tests dont validate results ..................................................................... 155 Chart: Marketers awareness and use of various methodologies to validate test results ........... 155 In-house expertise challenges to landing page optimization in 2010 ................................................ 156 Chart: Key in-house expertise gaps that challenged LPO in 2010 ............................................. 156 Chart: Top challenges to implementing testing as part of LPO in 2010 ..................................... 157 Outsourcing LPO operations and expertise ...................................................................................... 158 Chart: Most popular LPO-related services in 2010, according to agency consultants ............... 158 Staffing is a key budget component related to LPO .......................................................................... 159 Chart: In-house staff associated with LPO functions grows steadily from 2009 to 2011 ............ 159 Chart: Plans to start performing LPO, and to add testing to existing LPO in 2011 .................... 160 Web analytics and key performance indicators ................................................................................. 161 Chart: Top LPO metrics tracked in 2010.................................................................................... 161 vi Copyright 20002011 MarketingSherpa LLC, a MECLABS Group Company. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions, contact [email protected].

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Dedicated landing pages vs. default website .................................................................................... 162 Chart: Usage of customized or dedicated landing pages for each source of traffic in 2010 ....... 162 Chart: Usage of dedicated landing pages for each source of traffic, by sales channel .............. 163 Chart: Usage of dedicated landing pages for selected sources of traffic, by industry ................ 164 Chart: Effectiveness of using dedicated landing pages, by source of traffic .............................. 165 Seventeen page elements optimized in 2010 ................................................................................... 166 Chart: Key page element categories that marketers optimized in 2010 ..................................... 166 Chart: Page elements that marketers optimized in 2010 ........................................................... 167 Chart: Aggregate incidence of very significant impact of page elements by key category ...... 168 Chart: Optimized website features and tactics marketers applied in 2010 ................................. 169 Testing methodologies and operations ............................................................................................. 170 Chart: A/B split or sequential testing performed by marketers in 2010 ...................................... 170

Appendix 2: Benchmark Survey Demographics ............................................................. 171

Chart: In which geographic region is your organization based? ................................................ 171 Chart: Which best describes the type of organization you work for? ......................................... 172 Chart: Which best describes your organization's primary sales channel? ................................. 173 Chart: Please select the approximate number of employees in your organization. ................... 174 Chart: Which best describes your role and decision-making authority in the organization? ...... 175

Appendix 3: Search Engine Marketing Glossary ............................................................ 177

An A-to-Z glossary of common search marketing terms ........................................................... 177

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MarketingSherpa 2012 Search Marketing Benchmark Report PPC Edition

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
NEW RESEARCH AND INSIGHTS ON EXTENDING THE CAPABILITIES OF PAID SEARCH
The 2012 Search Marketing Benchmark Report PPC Edition looks at the state of the PPC market, and also explores how marketers are using social, local and mobile marketing to extend their PPC marketing tactics. PPC has historically been about traffic, conversions and leads. But now, thanks to social media, it is also being effectively employed as a branding tactic. Social PPC is starting to take off, as marketers realize how it can be used to reach significantly different audiences and a very specific type of user than can be Benchmark Report reached with search engine PPC. Local search is the buzz in search engine optimization, and it is also making a stir in the PPC arena. From Google Boost, to location and phone ad extensions, marketers are giving users richer experiences in their PPC ads, as well. Local search is also helping mobile PPC gain traction. Mobile searchers tend to access the Web on-the-go. Despite the lower CPCs, mobile PPC is not for every business. For those that do engage, businesses that find success keep the mobile user in mind with respect to keywords, copy and the site itself, and do not simply replicate traditional PPC campaigns. Organized for fast and easy reference The 2012 Search Marketing Benchmark Report PPC Edition is a comprehensive reference guide containing more than 125 charts with analytical commentary, hundreds of informative insights from your peers, several case studies of real-life paid search marketing campaigns, and more. This report also features a special section on landing page optimization. To help you quickly locate the information most relevant to your marketing situation, we have segmented data throughout this report by: Average of all respondents Phases of PPC marketing maturity Primary marketing channels Organization size Key industry sectors MarketingSherpa Benchmark Reports provide marketing executives and practitioners the comprehensive research data and insights needed to compare an organizations practices and performance against industry benchmarks in order to guide strategic decisions and tactical planning.

Highlights of this years study The alignment of paid search marketing objectives against the most difficult challenges The usage, effectiveness and level of effort required for PPC tactics How organizations are allocating marketing dollars and where they are shifting their efforts What marketers are doing to prosper in local and mobile PPC Most effective advertising networks and ad formats How agencies contribute to their clients PPC marketing efforts
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MarketingSherpa 2012 Search Marketing Benchmark Report PPC Edition

KEY FINDING: INCREASING TRAFFIC VIEWED AS SOLUTION TO LEAD AND ROI CHALLENGES
Chart: Ranking of PPC challenges against PPC objectives 56% 62% 56% 50% 39% 63% 38% 23% 31% 57% 29% 46% 25% 15% 19% 18% 18% 24% 8% 6% Challenges from last 12 months Objectives for next 12 months

Increasing lead generation

Achieving or increasing measurable ROI

Increasing website traffic Developing an effective and methodical strategy Increasing online sales revenue Improving brand/product awareness or reputation Integrating search marketing data with CRM and other marketing systems Integrating search marketing analytics into a single dashboard Increasing offline sales revenue

Improving public relations

Source: 2011 MarketingSherpa Search Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded April 2011, N=1,530

Organizations struggled over the last 12 months with generating leads at an acceptable and growing ROI; as such, more than half of marketers named these areas as their top two challenges. The answer to these challenges from their perspective is to increase website traffic. Nearly two-thirds of marketers named this initiative as their top objective for their PPC campaigns over the next 12 months. Increasing a measurable ROI may be fourth on the list for objectives, but ROI shows up as a running theme in the more prominent objectives of increasing leads and online sales revenue. Sixty-two percent of organizations are focusing on generating more leads, with 57 percent pushing for more online sales. Once again, as with SEO, developing an effective and methodical strategy was the third biggest challenge; however, addressing this fell to the fifth spot in terms of PPC objectives for the upcoming 12 months.
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MarketingSherpa 2012 Search Marketing Benchmark Report PPC Edition

KEY FINDING: DIFFICULTY IN EXECUTION OF PPC TACTICS IS NOT A BARRIER TO USAGE

Chart: Three-dimensional view of PPC tactics

Sphere size indicates level of usage

60%
Highly targeted ad groups Split testing landing pages Relevant ad copy for each ad group

50%
Experimenting with matching options

Level of Effectiveness

40%

Split testing ad copy

30%
Rotating Rotating ads ads evenly to optimize for clicks Automatic bidding for clicks

Rotating ads to optimize for conversions Manual bidding for clicks

Bidding for target Cost per Action

20%

10%

Ad scheduling

0% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Degree of Difficulty
Source: 2011 MarketingSherpa Search Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded April 2011, N=1,530

Taking the easy way out is not the modus operandi for PPC marketers. Given their focus on achieving and increasing measurable ROI, marketers are willing to execute difficult PPC tactics because they are effective. For example, 82 percent of marketers are creating highly targeted ad groups. This high degree of execution comes despite 63 percent of them stating that dividing keywords into small, highly relevant ad groups requires fair to significant amounts of time, effort or expense. In close relation to this tactic, 74 percent are writing relevant ad copy for each ad group, despite 67 percent finding this tactic somewhat or very difficult. More marketers perform split testing of their ad copy than split testing of their landing pages. Split testing landing pages is a tactic employed by just 33 percent of organizations, despite nearly 50 percent finding this to be very effective in achieving marketing objectives. This tactic was viewed as the most difficult, with 31 percent finding it very difficult and an additional 41 percent finding it somewhat difficult. Experimenting with matching options poses an opportunity for marketers, given its higher levels of effectiveness, but lower usage. Only 22 percent of organizations currently try this, yet twice that amount deems this to be a very effective tactic.

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MarketingSherpa 2012 Search Marketing Benchmark Report PPC Edition

KEY FINDING: PAID SEARCH DRIVES ONE THIRD OF INBOUND WEB TRAFFIC ON AVERAGE
Chart: Percentage of inbound traffic from paid search

40%

Median - 20% Average - 29%

24%

18% 13%

4%

10% or less

11% - 25%

26% - 50%

51% - 75%

76% or more

Source: 2011 MarketingSherpa Search Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded April 2011, N=1,530

Increasing Web traffic is the number one objective for PPC marketers. On average, paid search campaigns account for nearly 30 percent of inbound Web traffic. However, 40 percent of organizations receive less than 10 percent of their Web traffic through paid search. If an organizations goal for its site is traffic perhaps publishers selling CPM ad space lower levels of traffic may not spell success. PPC traffic can convert at a higher rate, particularly when a campaign has been tested and well optimized to discover which keywords convert to sales. PPC is also a great choice for regulating traffic volumes. For example, if an organization has empty sales pipelines, a limited sales season, or time-sensitive promotions, PPC can be used to push traffic or strike while demand is high. Unlike SEO, which takes time to build rankings, sponsored ads immediately establish an online presence, require no real ramp-up time, and more quickly generate ROI. PPC also offers numerous targeting advantages, such as the opportunity to display for keywords that are difficult or even impossible to rank for in natural search results.

Our primary objective for PPC is traffic generation, and we focus as closely as possible on maintaining a low CPC. We live and die for the long tail. Marketer insight
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MarketingSherpa 2012 Search Marketing Benchmark Report PPC Edition

KEY FINDING: PPC AND SEO WORK TOGETHER TO BRING IN LEADS

Chart: Percentage of total lead volume from paid search versus SEO % Total Leads from PPC 40% % Total Leads from SEO

23% 18%

23%

24% 21%

13%

14%

4%

10% or less

11% - 25%

26% - 50%

51% - 75%

76% or more

Source: 2011 MarketingSherpa Search Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded April 2011, N=1,530

While most online marketers agree that SEO and PPC are both essential in search engine marketing, many favor one over the other. However, PPC and SEO do complement one another, and the combination of the two can produce results. In this chart, we see that 45 percent of marketers obtain between 25-50% of their total leads from PPC and We use PPC to analyze traffic SEO. The more real estate a company commands on a search engine potential for SEO. We don't use results page (SERP), the better the recognition, trust and ultimately PPC as a marketing tool in clicks it will receive. In fact, users will typically click an organic listing itself. Marketer insight up to three times as often as a sponsored ad. As such, using both SEO and PPC covers all angles. SEO takes time to develop. Getting and staying in coveted top spots can bring about extended flows of traffic, leads and revenue for the long term. In the meantime, PPC is a quick traffic generator. But its contribution doesnt end there. PPC enhances SEO in a number of ways. For instance, marketers can use PPC to find out which keywords actually drive traffic and convert including valuable long-tail keywords before pouring time and resources into search engine optimization. Using PPC, marketers can also split test landing pages, calls-to-action, and ad copy for eventual use in meta descriptions.
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MarketingSherpa 2012 Search Marketing Benchmark Report PPC Edition

KEY FINDING: ORGANIZATIONS WITH LOCAL PRESENCE ARE UNDERUTILIZING LOCAL PPC
Chart: Local search tactics used by the 37 percent of organizations with a local business listing Q. Which of the following local business listing tactics has your organization used for local search?

Google Tags Google Boost 11%

47%

Phone number included with listing Listing description optimized with target keywords Images added to listing Listing enhanced with custom details Listing associated with a range of related business categories Videos added to listing Coupons added to listing Mobile coupons added to listing 5% 20% 16% 48% 48% 43% 60%

81%

Source: 2011 MarketingSherpa Search Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded April 2011, N=1,530

Thirty-seven percent of organizations have claimed a local business listing. Of these, most are not taking full advantage of the available options for local business listings, particularly when it comes to how local business listings can be used in PPC advertising. One indication of this underutilization is Google Tags and Google Boost usage. Although Google Tags has recently been retired (replaced for all practical purposes by Google Boost), less than half of surveyed organizations that had a local business listing were making use of the local paid search option. Programs such as Google Boost typically drive a searcher back to the local business listing (e.g. Google Places Page), so optimizing the local business listing is equally important. The vast majority, namely 81 percent, do include a phone number. Stopping there, however, is about as effective as a phone book listing. Only 48 percent of organizations enhance their basic listings with images or custom details great opportunities to personalize a listing. In a similar vein, only 20 percent of organizations have added videos to their listings. Offering coupons lags the most in usage. Only 16 percent of organizations with a local business listing offer coupons, with just five percent featuring mobile coupons.
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MarketingSherpa 2012 Search Marketing Benchmark Report PPC Edition

KEY FINDING: MOBILE-ENABLED AND OPTIMIZED PPC CAMPAIGNS ARE UNCOMMON

Chart: Mobile search tactics for PPC are not widely exercised Q. Which of the following mobile search tactics is your organization currently employing?

Mobile version of your website

48%

Paid Search campaigns enabled to show ads on mobile devices

42%

Landing pages for mobile users

32%

Separate Paid Search mobile campaigns and ad groups

19%

Mobile-specific messaging, keywords and bids

17%

Click-to-call phone extension in Paid Search ads

16%

Location extension in Paid Search ads

11%

Source: 2011 MarketingSherpa Search Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded April 2011, N=1,530

Mobile search operates, in large part, on the premise that on-the-go users may be looking for immediate information upon which to act. Only 48 percent of organizations have created a mobile version of their website a critical component for a positive search user experience. When it comes to mobile PPC specifically, less than half of organizations have enabled PPC campaigns to show on mobile devices. An even smaller percentage have taken the complementary steps involved in optimizing a mobile campaign. For example, only 32 percent of organizations have created landing pages for mobile users, opting instead to use their regular landing pages. Even if these were to work, not everything about a PPC campaign designed for desktop browsers can be used for mobile. Mobile users behave differently than computer users; therefore, the process for reaching them through search should be different, as well. Nevertheless, just 19 percent have established separate PPC mobile campaigns and ad groups, and only 17 percent are using mobile-specific messaging, keywords and bids.
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Email Summit 2012

- February 8-10, 2011 - Las Vegas, NV

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