Turbo Charge your Search Advertising Campaign this Holiday Season

Build Your Objectives-Investment Scorecard.

Why is this important? : You will have an overview of investment vs. return on a single sheet. Remember that what you can’t measure,you can’t control.

Reality check:
• What is the average CPC ($)?
• What is your website’s click to conversion rate (%)?
• Are the objectives achievable given the level of investment?
• What are the industry benchmarks?

Strategic Keyword Bidding during the Holidays.

Why is this important? : During the holiday season, the average cost per keyword click (CPC) jumps by 50-80% for categories like flowers and gifts, apparel, and consumer electronics.

5 essential things to remember in keyword bidding
• The bidding strategy should be product category-specific (know the categories on which not to aggressively bid).
• Day-parting tactics help in better utilization of advertising budget.
• The days of “vanity bidding” (aiming for the top listing position at any cost) are over.
• Value per click is the ultimate measure of bidding efficiency.
• A conversion is an outcome of multiple clicks on (often) multiple keywords (it is too simplistic to attribute
a conversion to the last keyword click).

Notes:
• Since bidding is a real-time process, manual bid management is often not sufficiently expedient, especially for campaigns with 5,000+ keywords. Bid optimization technologies, such as LXRRetail, use complex algorithms to optimally execute this process.
• The bidding strategy should be influenced by both short term as well as long term SEM objectives. The strategy adopted during the holiday season may not apply during other months.

Sync Your SEM Campaigns with Your Holiday Marketing Promotion Calendar

Why is this important? : Tailored, targeted keyword search advertising campaigns deliver superior results.

Key Shopping Dates, 2009
• Thanksgiving Day: November 26
• Black Friday: November 27
• Cyber Monday: November 30
• Heaviest Online Shopping Day: December 8

For SEVEN more such useful tips, Download the Fresh SEM Ideas  Workbook for free.