Negative keywords can help divert unwanted traffic, so you don’t appear for search terms that are not relevant to your product or service. This will help reduce costs and filter traffic which is unlikely to convert.

2. Be Relevant

Use the same keywords (in the same format) in your ad creative. Then make sure that keyword appears again on your landing page (again in the same format). This will mean your visitors will not lose the ’scent trail’ to finding what they want.

3. Organise your Keywords

When keywords are separated into the appropriate adgroups they can have a much more effective AdCopy. For Example: "Womens Denim" and "Womens Jeans" should be two different AdGroups. When keywords are grouped into appropriate adgroups the AdCopy will be more relevant to the keyword list and help you better track the results. This can also increase your quality score and ranking whilst keeping costs low.

4. Switch Off Content Match

When creating new campaigns on Adrowds or Adwords editor remember to switch off the content network. The content network can be deactivated from the campaigns level, click on the "settings" tab and under the Networks and devices column click through and un-tick the "content network".

5. Campaigns for Content

People that click on Content Ads are typically not searching for a specific product or service and are generally not in the mindset to convert. If you must be on the Content network, it is definitely best practice to create a separate campaign and dedicated adgroups. make sure to separate the AdGroups: One AdGroup for Search This way it is easier to track the performance from search and content of each campaign.When creating campaigns it is important to note that brand or competitor names, as keywords are ineffective and should not be used.

If you require any more information in regards to the Pay Per Click services we provide at 4Ps Marketing, contact us at marketing@4psmarketing.com

Businesses struggling to drive sales forward have slashed budgets and reduced employee numbers in order to "trim the fat". However, they are facing the challenge of how to increase customer awareness and avoid unprofitable marketing spends. Where better to do this than online? As more and more people turn towards the internet as their primary research tool it is absolutely vital to ensure that a company’s online presence is working for them. It is all very well having an impressive looking website but if your target audience cannot find it how much use will it actually be to your company? Step in those companies who specialise in Search Engine Marketing.

SEM (which includes Search Engine Optimisation and Pay Per Click) can lay claim to the following benefits, low spend but high return on investment, long term increased web traffic, as well as improving brand awareness. SEM is a measurable business tool which is receiving increased media coverage due to its impact to successful marketing campaigns. Brands who were one-step ahead of the game, such as Uniqlo, have invested time and money to ensure that their long term marketing strategies have SEM at the centre.

Uniqlo, established in 1984, now has over 760 stores worldwide. Uniqlo are among the top 10 speciality apparel retailers in the world and Winner of a 2008 Time Out London Award. A focus on quality and value has stood Uniqlo in good stead throughout the economic downturn. Clothes are designed as individual pieces so that customers can tailor their own look. Recent media coverage, including features on Gok Wan’s Fashion Fix, has proved that the High Street has just as much to offer as the high end stores. Such an image has been reinforced thanks to the likes of Peaches Geldof and Jessica Michibata (Jenson Button’s girlfriend) being frequently been associated with Uniqlo in the press.

4Ps Marketing was setup by two young entrepreneurial marketing graduates who saw just how much potential this field has to offer and were fed up working for companies that offered awful results. The duo went on to become Google AdWords Qualified Individuals before establishing the agency. The London based agency now stands out from its competition by taking a uniquely marketing led approach within a traditionally technical discipline.

Uniqlo have recently invested in a collaboration with SEM agency 4Ps Marketing placing emphasis on the search engine Google. Through tailored Search Engine Optimisation and Pay Per Click campaigns Uniqlo are ensuring they reach their target audience. Using the likes of Google Analytics the campaigns have been monitored and optimised to full advantage. With the results of the Uniqlo and 4Ps collaboration speaking for themselves as online revenue has recently increased by 30.76%.

4Ps Marketing and Uniqlo have both shown that if you innovate within a recession you can still grow and find profit even in the tougher times.

Search engine optimisation or SEO is a broad topic; there are many ways to gain high organic search engine rankings in Google and other major search engines. However, not all these tactics are the same; there are some differences in strategy, depending on the route a company chooses. SEO is a part of search engine marketing (or SEM) and is used by a variety of businesses throughout the world.
SEO Strategies

Transactional search engine strategies are ideal for selling directly from the search engines. An e-commerce website or sales based company, using this strategy, would aim to be listed in search engine results for keywords that are related to the products or services they sell.

Branding search engine optimisation is a strategy that involves targeting keywords in order to associate a brand with popular search terms. For example, the aim for a company in fashion – who might not necessarily be selling a product – would be to target keywords that related to the fashion industry in order to associate the company brand with those terms.
The Advantages of Transactional SEO Results

There are many advantages to transactional search engine strategies and the main focus is, of course, the ability to sell directly from the search engines. Transactional results are those that have been acquired by a user searching for a specific product or service.

An ecommerce website would greatly benefit from this type of SEO and it is usually the most common route taken by young ecommerce companies. The advantages of this form of SEO are numerous, but the overruling gain is that a user will be searching for exactly what the company is offering. Therefore the traffic from the search engines is extremely targeted, which we all know means more sales.
The Advantages of Branding SEO Results

Again, there are several advantages to brand search engine strategies and the one that usually takes precedence is that having your brand name listed in Google, or any other search engine’s results will achieve great exposure for your company.

This form of SEO is usually used by companies who are not selling a product or service directly and is likely to be popular with companies who want to be related with certain news topics or subject matters. For example, a company who is focusing on creating a greener environment won’t be selling product, but would want to be related to that search term in search engine results.
The reality

The reality is the strategy you use will be self selected by the services you offer. If you offer high end consultancy services to blue chip companies then you will take a branded approach. If you sell large numbers of small items through an e-commerce website you will use a transactional strategy. If you are a large retail brand selling online you are likely to use both.

The key is planning your SEO strategy within the wider SEM strategy and in turn within the wider marketing strategy. Understanding the differences between transactional and branding strategies is essential when assessing the ROI of any SEM strategy.

Author: 4Ps Marketing London

Hot on the heels of the "I am" Orange campaign we are now treated to a TV advertisement from Mercedes attempting to build an association between its customers and the Mercedes brand.

Mercedes have integrated their online advertising with their off line, meaning a Google search for the term "I am Mercedes" displays the I am campaign in 1st page search results. Mercedes are not pushing people to search for this campaign but they have integrated it. However Orange who are pushing people to search "I am" are not appearing in the 1st page results and have obviously not integrated their campaign.

Mercedes results / 19th August 2008.

1) YouTube options
2) Corporate site through organic listings
3) PPC listing

"I am" Orange campaign

If you search "I am Orange" the Orange campaign appears number one in Google search results but as the advertisements direct you to search "I Am" the campaign must be judged on that. It is still very surprising that Orange still do not rank within the 1st page of Google search results, for a term that they directly ask people to search on. This is a text book case of not integrating SEO with the rest of a media campaign, let alone with the rest of SEM.

The simple answer to this would be to direct people to search "I am Orange" instead of "I am", although as a marketing campaign it does not have the same impetus. The correct answer would be to go back in time and re-plan the campaign with SEO and SEM in mind. In reality the best thing Orange can do is learn from this and ensure it doesn’t happen again.