Enterprise SEM is written by search marketers running massive search advertising campaigns. Running large budget campaigns with millions of keywords can be an entirely different animal than running less complex ad campaigns. Additional details, such as more complex ROI metrics, optimizing efficiently, managing creatives and automation become the focus of such campaigns. Experts share real-life experience and perspective to running search campaigns of such scale.

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How to Automate AdWords Ad Creation & Landing Page Checks

May 16, 2013 at 9:05am ET by Frederick Vallaeys

Automating AdWords as much as possible is every advertiser’s dream, especially when dealing with the massive accounts we see in enterprise-level SEM. This article provides a few examples of how we at Top Tier Marketing have automated some of the more laborious tasks of running AdWords. Hopefully, these examples will give you some ideas for your own accounts. There’s even a full script that should work by simply copying it into your own account toward the end of this post. Automate AdWords Ad Creation From Your Catalog [caption id="attachment_158965" align="alignright" width="212"] F [...]

Advanced Paid Search Bidding Solutions: 5 Must-Have Capabilities

May 9, 2013 at 9:36am ET by Jason Young

In the competitive paid search landscape, advertisers rely on sound bidding strategies to drive clicks and conversions, and ultimately acquire more revenue. However, business and bidding requirements that vary significantly across industries, publishers, devices, and geographies create a highly complex auction environment. To address this complexity and satisfy bidding requirements, search marketers lean on a wide variety of proprietary, publisher and third-party bidding solutions for calculating optimal bids. Unfortunately, of the solutions that are characterized by the six core attribute [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Enterprise SEM

Relax, The Search Industry Is Doing Just Fine

May 2, 2013 at 9:24am ET by Mark Ballard

For enterprise SEM practitioners looking to set budgets or otherwise anticipate their needs in the space for the months and years ahead, it's been a particularly difficult time to get a read on how the industry is really trending. Conflicting data and opinions abound; new threats to the hegemony of search, real or just perceived, continue to spring up; and, there are times when all of us may wonder just how much the numbers are actually changing and whether we should be concerned. Case in point: comScore recently showed U.S. core searches increasing 11% year-over-year to hit an all-time [...]

A Good Start For Paid Search In 2013

Apr 25, 2013 at 9:40am ET by Josh Dreller

It's April, which means that spring is here and the first quarter of 2013 is in the books! The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, and the ads are clicking. Aren't the landing pages pretty at this time of year? At Kenshoo, we sit on some massive data sets that we share each quarter in our Global Search Advertising Trends reports. You can download the full Q1 2013 report here; but, let's dive in and look at some of the highlights. Note: In the report, you can read about our methodology to see how we arrived at these numbers, so I won't go into that here. Just know that our [...]

4 Ways To Take Your AdWords Scripts To The Next Level

Apr 19, 2013 at 3:50pm ET by Frederick Vallaeys

Last week, I presented at HeroConf in Austin and shared some advanced tips for automating AdWords account management with an audience of PPC account managers. They seemed to like what I had to say; so, I’ll share a few of the more advanced scripting tips with you here. When you manage PPC accounts, you likely experience at least one of these two frustrations: You know exactly what you should be doing, but there aren’t enough hours in the day to get it done You’ve bought a tool that automates AdWords account management, but you find yourself locked into a cookie-cutter solution t [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Enterprise SEM | Google: AdWords | How To: PPC | How To: SEM

6 Requirements For A Sound Paid Search Bidding Strategy

Apr 11, 2013 at 10:15am ET by Jason Young

[caption id="attachment_154994" align="alignright" width="225"] Courtesy of Marin Software[/caption] Whether it’s to drive traffic, increase conversions, or maximize revenue, bid optimization is the cornerstone of any effective paid search program. Across industries, publishers, devices, and geographies, bidding strategies vary tremendously as search marketers leverage a wide variety of proprietary, publisher, and third-party bidding tools and solutions. However, the success of these tools and solutions is tied to their ability to not only address the needs of the advertisers, but also [...]

3 Location Requests For Enhanced Campaigns

Apr 4, 2013 at 11:48am ET by George Michie

The shift to Enhanced Campaigns is important to every advertiser, but critically important to Enterprise programs, particularly those with meaningful brick and mortar footprints. The reality of Enhanced Campaigns today doesn't create much urgency to switch over. We don't get any more controls, and in fact, we lose some. However, the near-term future of EC is very exciting, particularly with respect to improved location targeting. Chain business operations from retailers, to package delivery firms, to insurance companies with local agents will see the true benefits of the new structure; h [...]

Do You Really Need An Agency To Help Manage Large Campaigns?

Mar 28, 2013 at 3:20pm ET by David Rodnitzky

[caption id="attachment_83846" align="alignright" width="240"] Image via Shutterstock[/caption] The in-house versus agency debate is largely over because for 90% of businesses, it is no longer possible to run a significant (large budget/large volume) online marketing program without agency help. Since I'm an online marketing agency CEO, it'd be fair of you to accuse me of bias and self-interest in making this statement, but please put away the rotten tomatoes until you have at least heard my argument. For what it's worth, it's an informed one; I spent eight years as an in-house SEM and [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Enterprise SEM

Workarounds To Make Enhanced Campaigns More Flexible

Mar 21, 2013 at 12:46pm ET by Frederick Vallaeys

Last week at SMX West, I was on the "SEM Best Practices Debate" panel. Several of the topics we debated were related to Enhanced Campaigns, clearly something on the minds of search marketers these days. This month, I’ll recap a few take-aways from the event and share some ideas for workarounds and automation that may make your transition to Enhanced Campaigns a bit easier. Does It Make Sense To Target Tablets & Desktops In The Same Campaign? This debate topic was a tongue-in-cheek jab at Enhanced Campaigns which make the answer largely irrelevant since splitting out desktops and tablet [...]

Do Tablet Trends Support Google’s Shift To Combine Desktop & Tablet Targeting?

Mar 14, 2013 at 12:37pm ET by Matt Lawson

In the last three years, on the heels of Apple’s debut iPad in 2010, the rapid proliferation of tablet devices has changed the way consumers and advertisers interact across the paid search landscape. Consumers now rely on their tablets more than ever before to gain instant access to local business information, product details and reviews, coupons, and competitors. The way tablets are used by consumers has resulted in a seismic shift in thinking from Google. [caption id="attachment_150904" align="alignright" width="320"] Image from Google Enhanced Campaigns microsite[/caption] In an ef [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Enterprise SEM

Enhanced Campaigns: The Future Is Now

Mar 7, 2013 at 10:57am ET by George Michie

Enhanced Campaigns are the most important architectural change to Google AdWords since it moved from the right rail to take the place of "premium placements" in 2004. Much of the early commentary has focused on the version 1.0 implementation. It is important for Enterprise SEM program managers to start thinking hard and deep about the implications of Enhanced Campaigns in the long term, as well as understanding what it is likely to become. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TdDYHtnSTI[/youtube] Better Architecture To Handle More Complexity Is Not Simplification Google has mistake [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Enterprise SEM

The Real Reason Why Google Is Dropping The Tablet vs. Desktop Distinction? It’s The User Context, Stupid!

Feb 28, 2013 at 1:32pm ET by Larry Kim

There’s been some grumbling among PPC marketers over the last few weeks about a few specific changes in Enhanced Campaigns – in particular, the loss of tablet vs. desktop segmentation, which was previously a best practice for mobile advertising strategy. One of my well-respected colleagues put it bluntly: Now, if you’ll forgive my attention-grabbing headline (based on 'It's the Economy, Stupid'), I’m definitely not actually calling anyone stupid – and, you can certainly see by the volume of re-tweets and favorites, it’s clearly a widely-shared view. However, I recently had th [...]

How Account Quality Score Can Guide AdWords Optimization

Feb 21, 2013 at 12:41pm ET by Frederick Vallaeys

Last month, I covered four ways to use AdWords Scripts to improve AdWords account management. I didn't share any actual code for fear of geeking out too much, but people seemed interested enough in how to use Scripts to track historical Quality Score (QS), so this month, I'll share step-by-step instructions and give you the code needed to track your own account-level Quality Score. But first, let me explain what account-level Quality Score is all about… Why You Should Track Account-Level Quality Score The Quality Score of your AdWords account is a useful gauge to monitor how good Google [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Enterprise SEM | Google: AdWords

6 Advanced Strategies For Optimizing PLA Campaigns

Feb 14, 2013 at 12:10pm ET by Matt Lawson

In January, Marin Software released a study on Google’s 2012 transition from Google Product Search to the commercial, “pay-to-play” model built on Product Listing Ads. When this enhanced shopping experience was first announced in May of 2012, online retailers reacted with both praise and criticism. However, since the transition, PLA campaigns have performed with a great deal of success. In fact, by the end of December 2012, the share of spend on PLA campaigns had increased 600% compared to January. More importantly, during the fourth quarter of 2012, as holiday shoppers searched and p [...]

Why Enhanced Campaigns Aren’t Really An Upgrade Or Improvement

Feb 7, 2013 at 10:43am ET by Neil Sorenson

I am absolutely fascinated by the automotive industry and am admittedly a car guy. The newest cars continually impress me because every new model seems like a significant upgrade over the previous model. And, they really are. New cars are lighter, stronger, more spacious, safer, more fuel efficient, and quicker than ever. A 2013 Mazda hatchback that costs a mere $30,000 is quicker than the (then) $180,000 Supercars from Italy I grew up idolizing. Astonishing, really. The term “upgrade” often seems like an understatement. So, what happens if the new models are not better? Thankfully, [...]

Will Facebook’s Graph Search Be Big For Bing Advertisers?

Jan 31, 2013 at 2:56pm ET by Mark Ballard

Following Facebook's announcement of Graph Search a few weeks back, there's been no shortage of analysis and speculation on what the move will mean for Facebook, its users, marketers and possible Facebook competitors, including the traditional search engines. At least in one arena, we can try to put some specific numbers together to shed some light on the potential here. A Brief History Of Bing & Facebook First, some background: Since 2008, Microsoft has been providing Web search results for Facebook along with search ads to monetize them. That seems to be news to a lot of people, [...]

Four Ways You Can Benefit By Using AdWords Scripts

Jan 24, 2013 at 9:23am ET by Frederick Vallaeys

The best kept secret for saving time and improving results in AdWords may very well be AdWords Scripts, a lightweight automation tool that is easier to use than the API but more powerful than the standard interface and the AdWords Editor. As highly as I think of the AdWords UI (I helped build it for 10 years, after all), when I recently started working with accounts of big advertisers, I found myself frustrated at how manual, repetitive, and slow it was to generate custom reports and act on my findings. The API could let me automate to my heart’s content, but getting started meant wait [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Enterprise SEM | Google: AdWords

4 Trends That May Surprise Online Marketers In 2013

Jan 17, 2013 at 12:36pm ET by Matt Lawson

Over the last year, like every year prior, online marketers have witnessed an incremental growth in digital advertising spend and a rapid adoption of new technology. In 2012, we saw the introduction of Product Listing Ads as Google shifted to a pay-to-play model for shopping. Facebook began testing every ad format under the sun, with Sponsored Stories and mobile placement targeting gaining immediate traction. And who can ignore the advancements made across the Google Display Network (GDN), as more granular targeting options are paving the way for remarketing? With 2012 behind us, it’s [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Enterprise SEM

28 Revealing Questions To Ask When Reviewing Last Year’s SEM Performance

Jan 10, 2013 at 12:31pm ET by George Michie

[caption id="attachment_113087" align="alignright" width="300"] Image via Shutterstock[/caption] The smartest way to begin 2013 might well be to make a careful review of paid search performance and practices in 2012. If your company spends closer to 8 figures than 6 on paid search annually it is well worth the time of the CMO to take a deep dive here. Evaluating an enterprise paid-search program can seem a daunting task. Complexity and scale can lead senior marketing leadership to make one of four mistakes: Allow paid search managers to evaluate themselves Allow a vendor se [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Enterprise SEM

January Survival Tips For Search Marketers: Revisit Your Budget, Rest Up – The Superbowl Is Coming

Jan 3, 2013 at 11:43am ET by Siddharth Shah

The beginning of the new year is usually a very busy time for marketers. Not only do they have to execute on their new goals and budgets, but they also have to deal with seasonal factors that affect many verticals. While search marketers in particular have to overcome several tactical and strategic issues in January to ensure success; this January, I see three key areas where search marketers would be well advised to focus their energies. Adjusting To Rapid Changes In Traffic Patterns For most businesses, the period between December 25 and January 1 is a quiet period when traffic dies dow [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Enterprise SEM

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