In my previous life, I was a social worker who helped mentally ill and chemically addicted adults on their road to recovery. I see many of the same symptoms of addictive behavior in too many pay-per-click (PPC) advertisers today. After all, there’s something terribly seductive about the simplicity of creating a PPC (define) ad; within moments your ad shows up and gets you clicks. As the high continues, you crave more, adding more keywords and new campaigns to keep increasing your dosage. However, sooner or later you realize that you have to put more and more into it to keep getting the same effects. Like every other addiction, it eventually catches up with you. The return becomes more limited; you need lots more to keep up your addiction, often times at the risk of pain.

As in all addictions, the first step to recovery is recognizing you have a problem. I often find most advertisers I speak with have a feeling something isn’t right, but they aren’t really sure what the issue is. Since the beginning of the year, we’ve performed PPC audits for clients to show them where things were failing. Nevertheless, to help people get over this addiction required us to find some simpler and faster ways to give advertisers the intervention they need to get help and recover. So, next week I’ll be offering a new workshop, PPC Addiction: The Road to Recovery, in Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City.

To make sure the content would jolt attendees into recovery mode, I’ve been testing it on some former clients and friends. Let me share with you the letter one of my friends and former clients sent his agency (I changed the names to protect the guilty) after our 30 minute conversation:

I just had a long conversation with Bryan Eisenberg about some PPC audits they’ve been doing for clients. He said that a few months ago, Google really changed the game, and it’s all about Quality score, and it’s no longer just about bids. [Author note: If you don't understand this relationship, you should watch Google Chief Economist Hal Varian explain it.] And clients are contacting him to look at their accounts because they find themselves paying MUCH more for MUCH less.

So we pulled a few reports to see how our account is doing. The results are a bit frightening. Yet, they give some validation to a question that has been nagging me, “Why does PPC seem to be getting worse?”

1.) Conversion Per Month – As you recall, we stopped bidding on brand related keywords in Feb 2010 as an experiment. The PPC conversions went way down. No surprise there. Thankfully, my thesis has been proven correct as overall revenues have stayed the same. Unfortunately, PPC spending has increased without a jump in non-branded conversions!

2.) Impression Share – This shows how many impressions we’re getting for each campaign. Except in our case, our ads are hardly ever showing up. According to Bryan, this is a huge part of what changed in PPC and is directly related to Quality Score.

3.) Quality Score Distribution – We exported all the keywords and their corresponding quality scores, then totaled up the number of occurrences for each number. 7 and above is good. 6 and below is bad. 65% of our keywords are 6 and below. Ouch!

I believe Bryan has uncovered and demonstrated the reason for the numbers going down. In general, the problem – as best as I understand it and am able verbalize it – is that we’re going for “long-tail reach” with broad terms without using enough (any?) negative keywords, and this radically lowers Quality Score over time. Instead, we should be aiming for super-strong relevance using exact matches in small ad groups going to very relevant landing pages.

In addition, we looked at the ad copy, which frankly, has also been nagging at me. Our ads seem to lack keyword relevance and strong value statements. Plus, from what I can tell, very few (if any?) new variations have been tested in the past 12 months.

Joe Smith, you and I have a long history. And I like you very much. But I think I’ve let my personal feelings and faith in you get in the way from drilling deeper into this nagging PPC issue. I’ve sent several emails to you looking for your help to try and figure this out – and MAKE PPC WORK BETTER. Yet nothing your team has done has moved the needle in a positive direction.

This brings us to a fork in the road. Is your agency interested in keeping my company as a client? If yes, I need to know that you’re interested in doing everything it takes to improve Quality Score; starting with changing from broad to exact match on keywords, adding negative keywords, and re-arranging Ad Groups.

If not, then I’m afraid I’ll have to discontinue service with your agency immediately.

The first step to recovery is recognizing and admitting you have a problem. I think my friend has certainly done that. If you recognize you have a problem, you’ll be on your path to focus on improving relevance and quality and focused less on reach. Over $10 billion dollars were spent on PPC advertising last year. A portion of that came out of your pocket.

Are you satisfied you’re getting the maximum return on investment from it? Do you find it more and more challenging to continually increase your PPC effectiveness?

P.S. I have 1 Free ticket to give away in each city. If you are interested and can make it to the Boston, Philadelphia or New York event next week let me know in the comments below.

Actually the answer is pretty simple. You haven’t given me sufficient reason to choose you over your competitors. Today’s customer has more choice, more knowledge, and even tabbed browsing to evaluate you and distinguish you from all of your competitors. In the few seconds they’ll invest in your website, if they can’t decide why you might be the solution to their want or need, they’ll close that tab faster than your Flash promotion can ever engage them.

I just returned from SES Toronto. One of the sessions I moderated was the PPC (define) ad and landing page clinic. A common mistake we saw: companies failing to position their value relative to their competitors.

So how do you avoid this mistake?

First, position yourself in your ads. The typical searcher is evaluating your ad compared to three to five others. Then, of course, position yourself on your landing page, but don’t forget every other page on your website. Buyers rarely see only your landing page. Give people a reason why they should choose you.

Don’t use flaccid, sugar-coated copy. If I could have a nickel for every unsubstantiated superlative I see in PPC ads and on websites, my great-great grandchildren would never have to work a day in their lives. No you aren’t amazing, the best, most innovative, number one, etc. At least not until other people say it and you can document it with facts. Two examples from the clinic come to mind. I won’t give the specifics to protect the guilty, but enough that you will get the idea.

The first example was from someone who sells used cars. Their ads sounded exactly like everyone else’s – “search from our extensive collection.” Extensive, according to whom? Is that an extensive three cars or 30,000? So, the first thing we asked the person from this website was – why should anyone buy from you? He replied that they were the biggest. The biggest what? According to? He said they had the largest inventory. That’s a great benefit for someone searching for a used car, but superlatives and hyperbole don’t help your visitors choose. Use specifics. Say something like “search from over 36,000 used vehicles in our collection.” If you could say “search from over 300 Acura TL no older than 2006″ that would be even better. Get it?

Another example was a company that sold leadership training. Their ad sounded just like Charlie Brown’s teacher: Wa wa wa wa wa wa. Every ad on the page sounded exactly the same. When I asked what they do differently and what was their goal, they responded that they were rated number one by a major publication and that their goal was to get people to come and get evaluated. I recommended they change their ad to suggest they were top ranked and that they should register to see if they qualify. They had to be sure that on the landing page they documented their number one ranking. And by telling people they may not qualify, being a bit exclusive could help their positioning.

People are bombarded with sales messages all the time. If you can’t cut through the clutter immediately to offer them something that has obvious value, they’ll be long gone to someone who can.

Nowadays, a lot of prospective customers have very short attention spans and even shorter memories, and they’re jaded.

You must make your value proposition or campaign proposition – strong, simple, quick, and clear – immediately, when prospects first hit your site. If you don’t have a strong value or campaign proposition and don’t state it clearly right upfront, you’re sending your traffic elsewhere instead of drawing them deeper into your own sales funnel.

Need help figuring out how to do that? Write down every possible reason you can find why someone should want to do business with your firm. If you want real results, involve your entire company in a high-energy brainstorming session. If you don’t find at least a few dozen reasons, either you aren’t trying very hard or you have a very boring company. Don’t be afraid to get professional help. Your survival can depend on it. Afterward, review the list and eliminate everything that is also true of your competitors. Nothing should be allowed to remain on the list that can also be claimed by a competitor. Here are some quick guidelines:

1. What is unique about your business or brand vs. your direct competitors?
2. Which of these factors are most important to your prospects?
3. Which of these factors are most difficult for your competitors to imitate?
4. Which of these factors can be most easily understood by your prospects?

Now create a memorable message out of these unique, meaningful qualities about your business or brand. And make sure it’s a message that speaks to the need your prospective customer feels, not some self-centered stuff about you.

You should also watch this video.

When we audit clients’ PPC (define) accounts, we look at their work from two aspects: the technical and the creative. While a 95-character ad shouldn’t be so challenging, common flaws appear in almost every account.

Let’s start out by examining the creative aspect.

Creating the PPC Searcher’s Journey

For visitors to convert, the five steps of the PPC searcher’s journey must be in alignment along the conversion path. I describe that five-part journey below. The model is simple, the execution challenging, and the businesses that effectively align these five parts are rare.

Intent: Behind every search is a person. That person has a want, a need, or an itch to scratch. If only we could tap directly into his mind, then we might be more relevant to his search. Imagine, if you knew the true intent of a search inquiry (query) and you could respond to that intent perfectly, then you’d convert most of the time.

Query: The searcher’s desire isn’t a keyword. The intent gets translated by a searcher into a keyword or key phrase that he hopes best expresses the need he has in their mind. Of course this process is complicated by the level of skills, intelligence, domain knowledge, language skills, and patience of the searcher. We, as marketers, must select those keyword we believe are most relevant to our business and choose the appropriate match types, negatives, and bids to maximize return on investment from these queries. Keywords are the bridge between the prospective buyer’s intent (want, desire, and/or need) and the experience you provide. Divining the searcher’s intent and responding appropriately should be the holy grail of all search marketing.

Google algorithm: Your keywords and key phrases are only the triggers for the actual search queries. Google uses a complex formula based on your campaign settings, budget, Quality Scores (define), Ad Rank (define), etc., to choose which advertisers ads will appear and in what position. It is your job to ensure all the technical settings are done properly and to continue to routinely optimize these settings. Many settings can be regulated by a rules-based system and can likely be automated or semi-automated based on criteria that you set.

Advertisement: The most important fundamental mistake we watch companies make is thinking of their Ad Groups as keyword groups. Bunching seemingly related keywords into one group and assuming that one advertisement can be relevant for the intent behind each of those keywords. Remember they are called “Ad Groups” not “keyword” groups. What does that means for you, as an advertiser? You must create ads that are truly relevant for the queries that your “keywords” will trigger the most relevant ad based on the actual query.

It helps to think of every hyperlink (PPC ads, SERPS (define), your navigation, banners, etc.) as a contract between you and your reader or prospective customer. Every time someone clicks on a hyperlink, he’s asking a question either implicitly or explicitly that he expects you to answer with precisely relevant information. Understanding and planning relevant hyperlinks and the content that corresponds to that hyperlink (UX people call this concept “scent”) is how we teach companies to maintain persuasive momentum. It is rarely good enough to use “dynamic keyword insertion” to ensure pseudo-relevance.

Relevance is always relative to buying mode. Lots of factors affect buying mode (economics, demographics, psychographics, stage of buying process, etc.). You must plan your ads to match buying mode and still optimize those ads for click-through rates and conversion. All too often advertisers limit themselves to only having one advertisement and not testing multiple versions of their ads.

Landing page: We often say, “Keywords don’t fail to convert, we do!” Why? If you believe the keyword query that you selected in your PPC settings is relevant to your business, your ad and landing page must deliver a relevant and persuasive experience that explains to your visitor how you can scratch their itch and offer him greater value than your competitors. Keep in mind: the searcher’s experience doesn’t often end on the landing page on your site, but rather continues several pages deeper toward your conversion goal. All of these pages must be in sync with the searcher’s journey in order for them to convert.

The Three-Step Paid Search Management Process

To successfully align your business goals to the PPC searcher’s journey, you must also have an effective and nimble PPC management process.

Step 1: Targeting. This step involves choosing keywords and organizing campaigns. This is where you deal with understanding the searcher’s intent and query steps in their journey. This is an ongoing process that continuously needs refinement and adjustments.

Step 2: Valuing. In this step, you leverage your understanding of the pay-per-click engine’s algorithm and set match types and bids. Most of this work can be automated or semi-automated. Every keyword has a different value for each match type. Typically an exact match (define) will converts at the highest rate but will have the smallest reach. Phrase match (define) comes next in terms of conversion but will expand the reach of your ads. Broad match (define) will have the greatest reach but lowest conversion rate. Broad match should be used as a way for you to continue to find relevant queries in the search engine and use those to create new Ad Groups, ads, and landing pages that can deliver relevant experiences.

Step 3: Satisfying. Here is where you focus on creating compelling ad copy and landing pages to match the searcher’s actual queries. Most companies spend too few of their resources on this step. When you focus your resources on satisfying a searcher’s query, you will tend to be rewarded with higher click-though rates on your ads, higher Quality Scores on your keywords, and higher conversion rates. All of this will act as multipliers on the rest of your efforts. Many companies overlook this step because they don’t take the time to understand the economics of having poor Quality Scores or haven’t come up with an effective process to scale testing and targeting effectively on their landing pages. Unfortunately, this part of the process can’t be completely done by a machine and needs human intelligence and creativity to get the best results.

Where in the search management process are you devoting most of your resources? How effectively have you aligned your PPC management process to the search visitor’s journey?

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you might even kiss your money good bye. Google AdWords is one of the most remarkable advertising vehicles in the history of marketing. No matter how simple 95 characters seems to be, there is no denying the complexity of executing well. Of course, the fact that not all the rules or all the data are presented well doesn’t make it any easier. What amazes me is how most people don’t take full control over what they do control.

My associates and I have been doing several Pay Per Click (PPC) audits for clients the last few weeks and consistently we find companies have many of the same core issues:

1. Account structure – remember that they are called ad groups not keyword groups. Too many companies groups keywords together that don’t belong together; they don’t realize you can’t create an ad that is relevant for each of the keywords in the group and this can become a bigger issue if the right match types aren’t properly used.

2. Keyword, Ad and Landing Page Quality & Relevance – because the structure is off, and companies don’t maintain their campaigns well enough, the ads become irrelevant for the search queries that trigger the ads based on the keywords that were chosen. If the ads are off, I can guarantee that the landing pages are off.

3. Looking at the wrong data – It surprises me how reports are distributed and used. If all members of your team aren’t all looking at the right data you can’t make the right decisions to get the most out of your campaigns.  You can’t be making business optimization decisions if you don’t have the right data and innumeracy leads many ‘data-driven’ executives to bad decisions. They forget that statistics lie and liars use statistics.

Please don’t forget to control what you can.

The first step is understanding the PPC searcher’s buying journey and managing and optimizing the parts you can. Why aren’t you regularly optimizing your PPC campaigns from keyword management, to account structuring, to improved ads to testing and improving your landing pages? Is it lack of knowledge? Lack of resources? Lack of direction?

Why would you want to continue the drama and not enjoy lots of happy endings?

I hear one big question over and over again when I speak: where do I trim the fat from my online budget?

If you aren’t being asked to do more with less, then just wait. You will.

Online marketers that have well-monitored stews of traffic on their site are hesitant to do anything other than add to the traffic pot. The thought of shifting or slashing online budgets and risking traffic is surely keeping many marketers up way past their bedtimes. They feel like their marketing/traffic mix is some house of cards and the most delicate of movements will send traffic and conversions into the ether.

However, when I talk a little deeper to many of these marketers, I find their conversion rates are pathetic. Truth is, many are justified in being afraid. But often many fear the wrong problem.

Most sites I analyze don’t have traffic problems. Only very small startups or small businesses that barely crack 1,000 uniques a month should be concerned about traffic. What happens to the traffic once it hits a landing page or clicks deeper is more troubling.

No online budget doesn’t have some fat to trim. Recently, a prospect assured me that their spend was efficient and they doubted I would find anything they could afford to cut. I should have made a bet with them.

After a little digging, I learned they spend a fair amount on secondary search engines and obtaining a small return. I convinced them to cut the spend on the secondaries and allocate a portion of the budget for landing page optimization. Many of the visitors were bouncing despite coming to the landing pages after searching for keywords revealing some intent.

If you have traffic that wants to buy, why not shift efforts or budget into to ensuring they do exactly that on your site?

This may seem elementary, but often even the smartest online marketer can get into a comfort zone and miss seeing fat that has been right under their nose the whole time. Many just have never had to dig deep enough.

What If…

If you believe you can’t afford to cut any of your budget, then think differently about the traffic that comes to your site. To think differently, you often have to put yourself in a less comfortable place.

What if you had to cut your marketing budget in half immediately?

Ponder that question. Look at your budget through this lens. Look at your metrics. No matter how wise you think your spending is, you’ll find some things that you can do without.

Perhaps you buy some terms for little more than comfort. Perhaps you should have given up on or modified campaigns a long time ago. Maybe a resource is overcharging and underperforming.

Now that you see it’s indeed possible to cut some things, you’re likely starting to see some things that are “untouchable.” Some marketing efforts are your big performers and can’t be cut under any circumstance. What could you do to improve the results from those efforts? Or is it all about getting more traffic?

Now that you’ve pondered a painful cut, let me give you another 10 percent to spend. Now you have 60 percent of your original budget in hand. Maybe you can put something from your old budget back in? Or now that the slate is clean, is there something else you suspect would give you a greater return than a tired old line item?

A budget cut is one way to shake up the status quo. Just because you have always bought something doesn’t mean you have to buy it again.

Consider cutting terms that are expensive and ineffective in terms of conversion. Mostly, these broad terms don’t reveal customer intent. You can use Steve Jackson’s spreadsheet to determine how well your terms are doing.

Looking for Little Opportunities

Are you hunting for whales and missing smaller fish? Sometimes, a minimal effort can pull several small fish in the boat at pennies on the dollar.

Maybe a few real-time searches on social media would help you find active buyers today. Maybe doing PPC (define) for long-tail terms might pay more than buying the pricey but easier broader terms. For example, if you sell exclusive models and aren’t doing well organically, maybe a little budget spent on SEO (define) would help.

Looking at the Long Term

One of the biggest opportunities is finding customers early in their buying process. Build a relationship with customers before they’re ready to buy. Look for opportunities to market to these types of customers; it’s usually cheaper because your competitors are only looking for those customers with their wallets out now.

Shifting on Dime

Be smart and nimble. Successful online marketers can shift tactics on a dime and are never territorial or idealogical. Do what works. They know that something that worked today may not work tomorrow. Or vice versa.

Cutting budget or making changes is never fun. But it doesn’t mean you can’t get better results.

How did you handle a recent budget cut? Let us know.