In a perfect world, a search advertiser has the ability to build out a keyword list, run some tests and estimates, and decide what budget makes the most sense to drive the most [valuable] traffic to his/her website.
In the real world - more often than not - the client has a marketing budget that is handed down until it reaches you, the search marketer, bare as a bone.
This is where the great "art" of paid search advertising comes into play. You must take that measly budget and mold it into the Michelangelo of search campaigns, driving high conversion rate, low cost per click/conversion, and valuable traffic. With a small fixed budget, this can often be challenging.
Some questions you may encounter when working with a limited budget:
- How do I know what keywords to focus on?
- When and where should I concentrate my budget so it is most effectively used?
- Should I sacrifice position for low cost per click and less visible position?
The tactics to respond to the questions above are numerous, so I'd like to focus today on an often overlooked method of driving timely, valuable traffic via paid search: The PPC Editorial Calendar.
If your paid search program isn't working in a proverbial "bubble", and your client has other offline messages, events, or promotions planned to take place throughout the year, the editorial calendar can be a powerful way to schedule and concentrate your PPC budget for the times it makes the most sense.
Here's what I suggest considering when running PPC on a limited budget:
1. Schedule your PPC budget for the entire year - Ask your client or take a look at your own calendar of every promotion, event, or campaign launch throughout the year. Studies have shown that offline messaging has a huge impact on search activity, so you want to make sure that your paid search campaign is present as much as possible when a new or unique event/message takes place. Use a simple event tracking calendar to keep track of your annual programs to stay on message with paid search advertising.
2. Match PPC ads with scheduled events or messages - Along the same lines as the budget schedule, make sure you refresh your PPC ads so that the messaging is in line with what is going on outside of search. For example, if you have a new campaign launching, make sure your ads stay on message, at least with brand searches, so the brand connection can be continued.
3. Create Promotional Campaigns and Keyword Lists - When a unique event or promotion takes place, your paid search campaign should be flexible enough to respond to new search queries specific to that event. A campaign built specifically for promotions can be useful in controlling short-time messages around events such as conferences, offers, specials, etc. Moreover, setting aside a promotional campaign will allow you to geotarget, budget, and control the schedule for any unique effort.
4. Review sales cycles or annual search trends - If more users are looking to buy your product around the holidays (meaning your conversion rate will be higher than usual), develop a budget flighting strategy that takes this into account so you can leverage the increased click value when it counts the most. If you are not privy to your business' sales cycle, try measuring search trends using Google Insights for Search.
5. Pause/activate certain ad groups and ads throughout the year - Your audience may be searching for different products or information depending on the time of year, or even the day of the week. Evaluate when certain search terms convert best and focus your materials there. This might include pausing ad groups to allow budget to flow elsewhere.
Developing a PPC Editorial Calendar could help your paid search program become more effective and meaningful throughout the year. With a limited budget, time is always on your side.
