Search engine advertising is about moving your customer from search page to landing page. It’s about selling the click but selling it to the right person, the person likely to buy your product, service, subscription, or information. It’s about the customer, a fact that some advertisers seem to overlook.
I’m a fan of fly fishing; I’m just not any good at it. I once took a class and was unable to catch anything in a pond stocked with hungry trout! Still, I appreciate the artistry required, the intimate familiarity with the trout’s lifecycle and environment. Trout rise to different insects as they hatch at different times of the year, even different hours of the day. A fly offered at the wrong time or with the wrong presentation is likely to be ignored. There’s a lot of similarity between fly fishing and search engine advertising.
Present me with an ad that doesn’t acknowledge
where I’m at in my buying cycle and
I’m likely to ignore it. I’m a trout!
Your customers have a buying cycle. It begins with recognition of a need. It may be a vague, undefined need but it’s a need. Take my experience on Cougar Mountain.
Cougar Mountain has been described as Seattle’s backyard wilderness; 3,000 acres of wetlands, meadows and forest on a very old mountain. After walking a trail on Cougar Mountain, my ankles ache and I realize that my Converse tennis shoes, although fashionably retro, are probably not the best footwear for a mountain. I need something better.
Researching a solution to my need is the next step in the cycle. It’s likely an iterative step as I become more informed about alternatives. Maybe I begin searching on general keywords like “hiking boots,” then recognize what I really want are “hiking shoes,” and finally “light weight hiking shoes” as I define the features important to me. I begin comparing specific brands of hiking shoes. And finally, I begin shopping prices for specific models. Each iterative step has its own set of keywords different than the one before. Each step requires different ad copy to remain relevant.
Early in my buying cycle, an ad that prominently features “Hiking Boot Reviews” would likely appeal to my ignorance. I don’t yet know what I don’t know. When I realize there is something called a hiking shoe, an ad that includes “Hiking Shoes” and “Buyer’s Guide” might attract my attention. Once I’ve determined my short list of hiking shoes, then an ad that includes brand, model and a special offer might get me to rise to the fly. Present me with an ad that doesn’t acknowledge where I’m at in my buying cycle and I’m likely to ignore it. I’m a trout!
Your Customer As Organizing Principle
It’s common practice in search advertising to create large ad groups of loosely related keywords, write a few static ads, and finish with an ad that dynamically inserts the keyword phrase into the title or body copy. It’s easy. When your campaigns include thousands or hundreds of thousands or even millions of keywords, easy becomes very attractive. It’s the equivalent of fishing with dynamite.
“…speak to the dog,
in the language of the dog,
about what’s in the heart of the dog.”
Persuasive Online Copywriting
Bryan, Jeffrey Eisenberg
Dynamic keyword insertion increases click through rate, no question. The searcher sees their keywords reflected in the ad and perceives greater relevance. Searching is a goal-oriented activity driven by relevance. So dynamic keyword insertion increases click through but compared to what? Loosely organized ad groups with irrelevant ad copy? Not surprising.
Instead, organize your campaigns into smaller ad groups of closely related keywords focused upon your customers’ progression through the buying cycle. Pitch your ad copy to the questions and concerns of your customers as they move from acknowledgement of a need through fulfillment of that need. Quoting Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg’s Persuasive Online Copywriting, “…speak to the dog, in the language of the dog, about what’s in the heart of the dog.” (Somehow, paraphrasing with “speak to the fish, in the language of the fish” doesn’t seem as impactful.)
And yes, it’s more work than fishing with dynamite. It requires finesse, timing, a deep understanding of your customers, and probably far fewer keywords. Think there’s no cost to those millions of long tail keywords if no one clicks them? Think again.