It’s easy for a keywords program to get out of hand. As new keywords are added, campaigns and groups begin to lose focus and budgets climb, sometimes a lot. If this sounds like you, it may be time to take back control, but how do you do it without compromising current business levels? Follow the four steps below and safely reduce your spend by 20% to 30% or more.
Organize. The campaign-group structure is the foundation of your keyword programs. Document your existing structure and see that it makes sense. Campaigns represent broad search categories with groups doing the detailed targeting. Each group should be unique and distinguishable from other groups and provide a logical link to a particular search audience or strategy. Adjust the structure and apply it to all your keyword programs (Google, Bing/Yahoo).
Flatten. Campaigns and groups allow for different controls and reporting, which when used in the intended way actually limit your ability to manage your keyword programs at the group level. Make the most of group level management by flattening your structure so that every campaign has only one group, with the campaign and group sharing the same name. Using the example from the table above, the campaign “Product Types” becomes three campaigns, each with one group as follows: PT:OD, PT:SD, and PT:PD.
Cull. The final step of the realignment process is to address keywords. Adjust by the Pareto principle, which states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Check your own keyword programs. If less than 20% of your keywords are delivering 80% or more of your results, it’s time for culling. Identify the top performing 20% of keywords by the attributes that matter most to your organization. Clicks, click-through-rates and conversions are common examples. Place the top performing keywords in your new flattened structure and you’re ready to implement.
Manage. Manage your keyword programs at the group level. Target 5 to 10 keywords per group. If a group won’t deliver at least 1% of your total traffic, dump it and move on. Other tips to control costs include limiting visibility by geography and time of day, and targeting no more than 80% market share. Don’t compromise keyword bids as you want a first or second position to maximize ad effectiveness.
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About the Author. John Sherwood is the founder and Managing Director of CExOGroup, a professional services firm supporting the leaders and capital partners of privately-held companies in the mid-Atlantic region with assessment, advisory, management and recruiting services.