This week is the second installation of a two-part series, entitled “Effectively Managing Quality Score,” in which we will cover an in-depth look at how Quality Score works (Part One) and how to effectively manage SEM campaigns to improve Quality Score (Part Two).
Read last week’s installment here.
Managing Quality Score
Relevancy, Relevancy, Relevancy
As it has become abundantly clear, Quality Score (QS) measures the potential revenue a keyword and ad combination have on a query-by-query basis. The higher the potential, the more opportunity the keyword and ad combination have to be displayed.
Without having the actual components of the algorithm available, an advertiser must rely on the controls available to them to ensure their ads are displayed when most profitable. Essentially, these controls help advertisers improve their relevancy. Basic techniques to improve relevancy include landing page testing, ad copy testing, and negative keyword management. Search engines use the same technology to crawl paid advertisement landing pages as they use in crawling for natural listings. Ensuring the product or service in the paid advertisement is prominently displayed and described on the landing page improves the score of the landing page, and, in turn, has a direct positive effect on QS.
By testing ad copy, an advertiser can quickly learn what is compelling to a consumer. With further adjustments, the advertiser can run the most persuasive copy possible. However, bringing massive amounts of traffic to a website is one thing, but bringing relevant (read: profitable) traffic is a whole other thing. Advertisers should use as many controls as possible to ensure that their ad is displayed to the most relevant queries as possible.
One basic, yet effective technique to exclude non-profitable queries is to put in place an extensive negative keyword list. Depending on the search engine, an advertiser has the option to have negative keywords at the campaign level or at the adgroup level. Due to the increased control, negative keywords are most valuable when they are at the adgroup level.
After time, depending on the QS, an advertiser becomes less risky to the search engine. This allows the advertiser to add new keywords at a lower initial CPC since the search engine “trusts” this advertisers overall relevancy. This is another reason why managing QS is essential, as once an advertiser begins to increase their score, their overall performance is also lifted.
Advanced Techniques
With an advanced solution, like the eSearchVision platform, advertisers can take Quality Score (QS) management to an even higher level. To run the most efficient campaigns, an advertiser should attempt to increase the Click-Through-Rate (CTR) while simultaneously lowering the Cost-per-Click (CPC) per keyword. Our proprietary tracking, advanced reporting, and automated analysis tools provide the ability for sophisticated QS optimization techniques such as:
- Match Type Control
- Top Keyword Isolation
- Long Tail Management
Match Type Control: Controlling the traffic to bring it in at the most specific keyword/match type combination possible increases the CTR. Since each keyword/match type combination has its own QS, the increased CTR will improve the QS, thus lowering the CPCs paid. eSearchVision’s exclusive reporting allows unique match type analysis to ensure that traffic is brought in at the lowest Cost-per-Click (CPC) possible.
Top Keyword Isolation & Long Tail Management: Isolating “top keywords” (keywords that account for 50% of the total spend) into their own campaign allows an advertiser to enlist very specific controls to that campaign. As their number is limited, (Top Keywords very often account for 1 – 5% of the total number of keywords), it really makes sense to isolate them and monitor them closely. The time spent managing these keywords has to be aligned with the revenue they generate.
Changes in Top Keywords will have the largest effect on the overall campaign performance, therefore isolating them for close attention and tailor made optimizations is crucial. For instance, by placing these keywords each in their own adgroup, highly specific ad copy can run to increase CTR.
Additionally, adding long tail keywords in highly-specific match types (i.e. Exact match), improves the QS for those keywords, and moves the traffic away from less-specific, more expensive match types (i.e. Broad match). Grouping long tail keywords with similarly behaving keywords allows for mass updates.
eSearchVision’s automated analysis tool identifies known long tail opportunities that are not yet realized. Gathering information from our proprietary tracking, our analysis tool discovers queries that are bringing in traffic under non-exact match types. By sorting these queries by the clicks and conversions they each bring, an extensive long tail keyword list can be created using more specific match types.
Changes to campaign and/or adgroup level reporting due to moving keywords to a new campaign and/or adgroup might deter an advertiser from restructuring their campaigns as effectively as possible. eSearchVision’s catalog management feature adds additional layers to the search engines’ “Campaign-Adgroup-Keyword” structure, providing ultimate flexibility in organizing a campaign for maximized ease of use and efficiency. By providing a way to tag a campaign, adgroup, or keyword with user-defined values, this feature allows business-centric reporting to continue.
Managing Bids vs. Managing Quality Score
Achieving optimal results takes more than making the right bids; it also takes understanding the importance of managing Quality Score (QS). An advertiser can make optimizations that will increase their QS and decrease their Cost-per-Clicks (CPCs), while still finding the sweet spot on a Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Instead of increasing bids to achieve this spot, an increased effort in smart QS optimizations will ensure an advertiser runs the most cost-effective campaigns possible.
In the end, it is important to effectively manage bids with efficient processes to increase the time available for advanced optimizations that will increase QS. Whether working as a full-service agency or when building our campaign management solution, eSearchVision merges these two fundamental ideas together to provide the highest quality service and most innovative technology on the market.
