Performance Marketing: Getting Results and Saving Money

Is Performance marketing burning holes in your pocket?
Then this blog is for you!! 🙌

But lets first understand how performance marketing works and how we can find ways to save our pennies.

• Performance marketing refers to a type of online advertising where advertisers only pay for specific actions or results, such as clicks, leads, or sales.
• This type of marketing is attractive to advertisers because it allows them to track and measure the success of their campaigns more precisely.
• By monitoring the specific actions that users take after seeing an ad, advertisers can optimize their campaigns to achieve better results.
• Common types of performance-based advertising include pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, affiliate marketing, and cost-per-acquisition (CPA) advertising.

• In PPC advertising, the advertiser pays each time a user clicks on their ad. • Performance marketing can be an effective way for advertisers to achieve their marketing goals while maximizing their return on investment (ROI).

There are multiple places that caters performance marketing:

1. Google ads
2. Bing ads
3. Twitter ads
4. Facebook ads
5. LinkedIn ads

Let’s try and understand performance marketing using Google ads as an example:

Google Ads-Start Here

• Google Ads, formerly known as Google AdWords, is an online advertising platform developed by Google.
• It allows businesses and individuals to create and display ads on Google search results pages, Google’s network of websites, and Google partner websites.
• Google Ads operates on a pay-per-click (PPC) model, which means that advertisers only pay when someone clicks on their ad.
• Advertisers bid on specific keywords related to their products or services, and their ads appear in the search results when users search for those keywords.
• Google Ads also offers a range of targeting options to help advertisers reach their desired audience. [The Ultimate Guide to Google Ads (Examples)].
• These include geographic targeting, demographic targeting, and even re-marketing, which allows advertisers to show ads to people who have previously visited their website.

Choosing the right keyword matters a lot!

As that is driving all the traffic to your website/product. This is how the process goes:

• Advertisers choose keywords: Advertisers choose the keywords that they want to target with their ads. These keywords are based on the products or services they offer and the search terms that users are likely to use to find those products or services. • Advertisers set bids: Advertisers set bids for each keyword that they want to target. The bid represents the maximum amount that the advertiser is willing to pay for a click on their ad.
• Google holds an auction: When a user enters a search query that matches the keywords an advertiser is targeting, Google holds an auction to determine which ads will be displayed and in what order. The auction takes into account the bids of all the advertisers targeting that keyword.
• Ad quality is assessed: In addition to bids, Google also considers the quality and relevance of each ad. Ads with higher quality scores are more likely to be displayed in a higher position on the search results page, even if their bid is lower than that of a competitor.
• Winning bids are determined: The winning bid for each ad is determined based on a combination of the advertiser’s bid and the ad’s quality score. The advertiser with the highest bid and the highest quality score wins the auction and their ad is displayed on the search results page.
• Advertisers pay for clicks: Advertisers only pay when a user clicks on their ad. The cost of each click is determined by the advertiser’s bid and the quality score of their ad.

Although Google ads use an auction system to choose the advertiser for a particular keyword, quality score is also considered! Which means the amount you bid is no the only criteria for your ad to be shown.

Google considers multiple factors such as:

• Click-through rate (CTR): The percentage of users who click on an ad after seeing it. A high CTR indicates that the ad is relevant to the user’s search query and is likely to generate clicks.
• Relevance of the ad: How closely the ad matches the user’s search query. An ad that closely matches the user’s search query is more likely to be relevant and generate clicks.
• Landing page experience: How relevant and useful the landing page is to the user’s search query and the ad they clicked on. A high-quality landing page is likely to result in a better user experience and generate more conversions.
• Ad format: The format of the ad, such as text, image, or video. The format should be appropriate for the user’s search query and the advertiser’s goals.
• Historical performance: The historical performance of the advertiser’s account, including CTR and Quality Score.

But what is the inherent flaw in this well planned structure of marketing?

You’re trying to play hide and seek with your possible lead!

• Auction amount and keyword must not be the major factors in your product’s success. It should be the product itself.
• You’ll be stuck paying for clicks and impressions that do not yield in any way and end up with a low conversion rate.
• In order to beat the trap, you can start target marketing where you have generated a list of possible leads who might potentially buy and directly advertise your ads to them and create a brand recall.
• Taking an informed decision would help your product and your wallet.
• These can be achieved by coupling performance marketing with a lead generation tool like Zintlr, Lusha, Apollo.io and Zoominfo.

Some Hacks for Google ads!

• Understand some of the google ads case studies before you start with it to understand what it can offer your business.
• Focus on high-intent keywords: Instead of targeting broad keywords, focus on high-intent keywords that are more likely to lead to conversions. These keywords may have lower search volume but will have a higher chance of converting.
• Use negative keywords: Use negative keywords to exclude irrelevant search queries from triggering your ads. This will help you avoid wasting your budget on clicks that are unlikely to lead to conversions. eg. An Optometrist (Spectacles specialist) must exclude keywords like wine glass.
• Set up conversion tracking: Set up conversion tracking to track the actions that users take on your website after clicking on your ads. This will help you understand which keywords and ads are driving the most conversions and optimize your campaign accordingly.
• Use ad extensions: Use ad extensions to provide additional information and increase the visibility of your ads. Ad extensions can include site links, call outs, and structured snippets.
• Test ad variations: Test different ad variations to see which ones perform best. You can test different headlines, descriptions, and call-to-actions to find the winning combination.
• Use re-marketing: Use re-marketing to target users who have already visited your website or engaged with your ads. Re-marketing campaigns can be highly effective in converting users who are already familiar with your brand.
• Set up automated rules: Set up automated rules to save time and optimize your campaigns. Automated rules can be used to adjust bids, pause under-performing keywords, and send alerts for important metrics.
• Once you are through with all the details required for the ads, you can use this link as a reference and sign up for Google ads.