Table of Contents
Section I: Paid Search Industry Overview
Section II: The Decision to Automate PPC Campaign Managementt
Section III: Choosing a PPC Campaign Management Vendor
Section IV: Leading Vendor Profiles
"PPC Campaign Management Tools" editorial team:
Consulting Editor:
David Rodnitzky, PPC Associates
Editor:
Karen Burka
Advisory Editors:
Chris Sherman, Search Engine Land
Christine Churchill, Key Relevance
Brad Geddes, bgTheory
Researcher/Writer:
LeeAnn Prescott
PPC Campaign Management Tools: A Buyer’s Guide
Introduction
Finding the appropriate campaign management tool for your paid search campaigns can be a challenge given the number of tools available and the variety of technologies built to optimize campaigns. This buyer’s guide provides a framework for deciding if you need a paid search campaign management solution, a list of considerations for evaluating Facebook Ads management capabilities, and compares key characteristics of leading vendors.
Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from "PPC Campaign Management Tools in the Facebook Era: Second Edition". You can download the report here free.
The Pros and Cons of Using a PPC Campaign Management Tool
Pros:
- Increased productivity and campaign performance
- Streamlined reporting
- Scalability
Cons:
- Overkill
- Cost
Does Your Company Need a PPC Campaign Management Solution?
If you’re not sure whether it’s time to automate, here are a few questions to consider about your campaign needs:
- Are you running large, complex campaigns – with many keywords that get clicks and conversions?
- Does offline data need to be integrated into SEM strategy?
- Should business rules be factored into decisions?
- Are reporting needs complex and/or ongoing?
- Are you spending more time ‘doing the math’ than running a campaign?
Which Campaign Management Solution is Right for Your Company?
Once the decision has been made to automate – and before choosing a PPC campaign management vendor – conduct a self-assessment of your internal marketing and engineering staff’s level of knowledge and competence about the company’s paid search strategy and tactics. Different platform vendors provide different levels of customer service and strategic consulting services.
Consider some of these questions:
- Am I — or is someone on my team — qualified to evaluate campaign management software?
- Do we need self-serve, full service, or something in between?
- What aspects of the campaign will we handle internally, and what will the campaign management company handle?
- Can our company absorb the cost of campaign management and still meet our business objectives?
- Do we have engineering resources available to integrate the software?
- How will we define success?
- How will we benchmark success?
Source: PPC Associates, Third Door Media
Facebook and Search Integration adds another set of considerations
According to the State of Search Marketing Report 2011, published jointly by Econsultancy and SEMPO, nearly three-quarters, or 74%, of agencies said their clients run PPC campaigns on Facebook. With the exception of DoubleClick Search, which was beta testing its Facebook capabilities at publication, all companies in this report offer Facebook Ads management capabilities, and most companies included have received the Preferred Marketing Developer (PMD) badge. (Adobe, Clickable, eSearchVision, IgnitionOne, Kenshoo, Marin, and SearchForce)
The capabilities that marketers should look for in a Facebook ads management tool are:
- bulk upload of creative
- automated rotation of images, ad titles and ad copy
- multivariate creative and target segmentation testing
- bid optimization
- customized reporting
- cross-channel click path attribution
Choosing a PPC Campaign Management Vendor
PPC campaign management vendors come in a variety of sizes, from small to very large. Marin Software, with more than $4.0 billion in annual ad spend under management and nearly 340 employees, is one of the largest; while SearchForce, with $500 million in ad spend under management and 50 employees, is one of the smallest.. The following table lists the companies covered in the report and their corresponding reported spend under management and employee headcount. (Public companies do not disclose division headcounts; of the public companies only Adobe discloses spend under management).
Whether or not to choose a large, medium or small vendor, independent or a division of a large organization can be an important factor for some marketers. If you have already invested in other tools offered by a large company, for example, users of Adobe’s SiteCatalyst or DoubleClick for Advertisers (DFA) may choose to use the respective company’s search tool for ease of integration. In contrast, others may prefer working with a smaller firm such as SearchForce or eSearchVision for the perceived intimacy of service.
Questions To Ask Potential Vendors
Just as you would for any business investment, ask others who may be in a similar situation for recommendations and suggestions. Involve those in your company who will be working day-to-day with the software. Interview and get demos from several vendors to get a feel for not only the tool but the company’s culture. Refine questions as you go along, and make sure all your questions are answered before signing a contract:
- How are you different from other vendors?
- How difficult is integration and dis-integration?
- What do you offer beyond bid management? What type of bid optimization does the tool use? Do I have full transparency into bid recommendations?
- Does your system support my specific business objectives? (branding, revenue, margin, profit, etc) Do you have other clients in my vertical?
- With which search engines, social platforms and display partners do you work?
Learn More!
Download "PPC Campaign Management Tools in the Facebook Era: Second Edition." The 35-page PDF includes additional valuable information including:
- Updates on the current trends and issues in search campaign management and automation, including mobile, Facebook, and cross-channel optimization
- Profiles of the top 10 leading vendors
- Analysis of the impact of recent acquisitions and funding activity at paid search firms
- …and much more
