PropertyMinder Pay Per Click Management

Transcription

1 PropertyMinder Pay Per Click Management This white paper discusses the common PPC management questions and will focus on the steps involved in creating and managing effective Pay Per Click campaigns to get the most out of sponsored advertising on the major search engines. It also discusses what you should look for in the monthly PPC reports that you will receive from PropertyMinder. Objectives PropertyMinder PPC Management - Frequently Asked Questions Emerging importance of Search Engine Advertising Benefits of Pay Per Click Advertising Understanding the steps involved in Pay Per Click Management Other forms of Search Engine Marketing Frequently Asked Questions on PPC Management: UNDERSTANDING PPC 1. What is PPC? PPC stands for Pay Per Click. This is a form of Search Engine (like Yahoo, Google, MSN) advertising. To be able to advertise an account needs to be created with each search engine. For example: A searcher types in "find homes in San Jose" in the Google search engine. Then the searcher clicks on a sponsored result, and comes to Shelly Thompson's website. If the client clicks the ad and lands on the agent site, he/she can then request a search on Shelly's site and submit his/her . This is a lead capture and is listed on the website statistics page. In this case the click has converted into a lead capture so the conversion is 100%. If 10 people click the ad and only 1 person is captured, then the conversion is 10%. 1

2 As part of the PPC management program, first ads are created in search engines for each category of related keywords, then, when the searcher types out a specific keyword the ad relevant to the keyword will appear on the search results page (in the sponsored listings section at the top or the right side of the page). 2. What does PropertyMinder do to advertise your website in top search engines (like Yahoo, Google, MSN and AOL)? PropertyMinder will assist you in creating and setting up your accounts for each search engine. PropertyMinder will also perform the following steps as part of assisting you to manage your search engine advertising: Analysis of the amount of clicks we can deliver you based on your selected package and geographic locations. Building/Generating keywords specific for your location and service categories. Designing ads/ad copy for the keywords and ensuring that the ad links to the relevant page on your website. Determining the bid for each keyword based on the competition and your budget. Monitoring the keywords and ads constantly to make sure that there are no disapproved ads and inactive keywords in your accounts. Sending you monthly reports. The reports will show the summary of the clicks you received within the month. PPC CONSULTING SESSIONS 3. How can I get more information about PPC Management? To request a call from our PPC Management specialist, send an to ppc@propertyminder.com or call with the following information: The topic that you would like to discuss. The phone number at which one of our PPC specialists can contact you. 4. What if I want to manage my own PPC Advertising? PropertyMinder offers a special coaching program on PPC advertising "Master Yahoo and Google Advertising". This premier program aims to isolate your most pressing lead generation challenges. A superior presence on 2

3 search engines translates to more deals, high value transactions and a strong online projection. This program will help you get more exposure, more clicks, more captures and eventually more business from advertising on Google and Yahoo. Developed by certified search engine marketing specialists, these sessions are packed with practical, easy-to-use, time saving techniques that will help you get a higher return on your marketing dollars. Our expert coaches answer your questions, advice you on the best course of action, provide motivation and keep you on the path to success. This program delves into website conditioning, creating an account in Google Adwords and Yahoo! Search Marketing, Generating Keywords, Determining Landing Pages, Designing Ad Copy, Managing and Monitoring Ad Campaigns, SEO Basics and Inbound Linking, Submission to Directories, Special Lead Capture Forms and more. For more information on any of our coaching programs coaching@propertyminder.com or call I get many captures, but I want to know how to convert them into deals. Can you help? PropertyMinder Coaching also offers a special "Working with Internet Buyers" module. This one month program will show you how to convert over 30% of your website visitors into clients by offering special promotions, implementing lead capture forms, value added content, strong call for action, and unique value proposition. Multiply your capture rates and close more deals by applying differentiation, target marketing, site relevance and experimentation, and most importantly trust. Your coach will help you enhance all these to increase website conversion and unleash the true power of your site to generate real deals. For more information on the special one-month program "Working with Internet Buyers", coaching@propertyminder.com or call SUBSCRIBING TO PPC - WHAT DOES IT ENTAIL? 6. What are the pre-requisites for subscribing to PropertyMinder PPC management services? You should have an active PropertyMinder website with a Personal Domain Name (not the default domain name of ismyreagent.com or 3

4 neighborhood-advisor.com). to purchase or transfer to a personal domain name. A valid credit card (Visa, Mastercard or American Express are accepted by PropertyMinder) and the credit card ID (also called security ID) associated with the credit card we have on file. In addition to the above, PropertyMinder recommends that you prepare your website so that it is ready to receive visitors. This includes checking to make sure that: The About Me contains your most updated personal profile. The Auto Search feature in MLS searches tool is turned ON. The Auto Lead Capture layer on the home page is enabled (available to all PropertyMinder Platinum, Office and Silver website subscribers). All buttons/links on your website are linking correctly. 7. What do I need to do to start my service? Select a desired plan (PPC package) based on your monthly advertising budget List your area of operations/locations (cities, counties etc) where you offer your services. Fax a signed PPC Management subscription to (408) How long will it take before my ad appears on Yahoo, Google, MSN and other search engines? We anticipate that your ads will start appearing on search engines within 5 to 7 days of receiving all the information required to start your service. The 5 to 7 days cover the process of account set-up (by PropertyMinder) and keyword review by search engines. COST, BUDGET AND PACKAGE PLANS 9. What is the current bid (cost/price) per click in my area of operations? The bids per click depend on factors like: Number of competitors in the same location (your area of operations) Popularity of the keyword 4

5 The bids can change any number of times a day. This is also the reason why our PPC consultants give you the guaranteed number of clicks we can deliver per month based on your selected geographic locations and budget. 10. How many clicks can I expect to receive for a specific budget? Please refer to the package levels on the subscription/contract for more information on the different advertising budgets that you can use. The PPC agreement will give you a range of hits (for example, the Basic package guarantees anywhere from hits a month). Once again this is subject to the cost of clicks in your location and for your services based on competition and keyword popularity. After receiving your signed agreement, the PPC consultant will give you the guaranteed number of clicks out of the given range, based on the information you provided. This number of clicks per month must be mutually agreed upon before PropertyMinder can move forward with the account setup. 11. Is there a limit on the number of locations that I can advertise in? Please refer to the package levels on the subscription/contract for information about the number of locations you can advertise in for a specified budget. ADDING VALUE 12. Why should I use PropertyMinder for my PPC advertising? What value do you add? PropertyMinder specializes in Pay Per Click advertising services for Real Estate Agents. As providers of technology, website and marketing services for Real Estate Agents, we know which pages to lead visitors to ensure higher clicks and captured visitors. We have a large database of successful keywords for real estate agent services in different locations. Our copywriters will design your ad copy to attract more clicks with specific call for action on each ad. Our PPC support works to monitor your account regularly. We also look out for click fraud to make sure you are not being charged for manipulative clicks. We will also continuously enhance your keywords and ads based on their performance from month to month. 5

6 REPORTS 13. What should I look for in the monthly PPC Management reports that I receive from PropertyMinder? The monthly PPC management reports will give you an insight into the progress of your advertising campaign for selected locations and service categories. You will be able to analyze the number of clicks for each geographic location and lead capture page. Refer to the Hits Tracking and Website Statistics tools on your Toolkit to view the increase in the number of hits and to find the number of captured visitors for different categories. Why is Search Engine Advertising Important? Similar to other businesses, Real Estate has been deeply impacted by the Internet and the World Wide Web. Agents now have their own websites to provide information and services to online searchers. The number of online searchers is growing rapidly. According to the survey conducted by the California Association of Realtors, 2005 Internet Versus Traditional Buyers Survey, homebuyers who used the Internet as an integral part of the homebuying process increased to 62 percent in 2005 compared with 56 percent the previous year. Homebuyers using the Internet 6

7 surpassed the 50 percent mark for the first time in the six-year history of C.A.R. s survey in The total number of brokers and agents in the United States is estimated to be close to 500,000. How are your clients going to find you on the Internet? You can your SOI about your website. You can advertise your website on yard signs, brochures or business cards. However, your advertising is limited to people in your contact list, those you meet or those who drive by your yard signs. How can you target the growing number of buyers searching for agents or real estate services on the Internet? Search Engine marketing is all about niches. It is about being a few specific things to a few specific people. Clients are already searching smart, you just have to make it easy for them to find you. Here are some examples on the number of searches for real estate related keywords/key phrases on Yahoo for the month of December 2005 (Source: Yahoo! Search Marketing Keyword Selector Tool) Real estate agent Realtor Find realtor 5304 California real estate agent Southern California real estate agent 648 Chicago real estate agent 2907 Real estate agent Austin 2539 Real estate agent Sacramento 1493 Virginia homes for sale 2529 Maryland real estate There were searches for the keyword realtor, but only searches for California real estate agent and 1493 searches for Real Estate Agent Sacramento. If you are an agent in Sacramento, you do not want to bid on generic keywords like 'realtor' because although that will bring you a lot of traffic, a very small percentage of people are going to visit your site and use your services because they may not be interested in the Sacramento location. Why not focus your efforts on clients searching for Real estate agent Sacramento. You will have fewer clients searching for this keyword (1493), but these are the people who are more likely to use your services. The real estate business is location specific, so why not target Internet clients by location. 7

8 Below are some terms we need to define before we can continue: Impression: An impression is counted every time an ad is displayed to the searcher for a particular keyword. An impression can be thought of as an ad view. An ad impression is an advertisement that was shown to a qualified visitor. (Source: Audit Bureau of Verification Services) One deal starts with a thousand impressions. The greater the pool of leads the more deals you can expect. Click: When a client views your website as a result of clicking your ad, it is counted as a click. Click Through Rate (CTR): This is the Ad view to click ratio. It is the percentage of searchers who click on an ad, out of the total number of those who see the ad. For example, if 10 people search for a home. As a result of the search, they see your ad. Out of the 10 people, if only 3 click your ad and visit your website, the click through rate for the ad is 30 %. Pay Per Click Management Steps These are the steps PropertyMinder undertakes when you use PropertyMinder to assist you with Pay Per Click Advertising Services. 1. Research and build a list of keywords for all your locations, specific to your website and services offered. 2. Categorize the keywords and design effective ad text for each category. 3. Determine the best landing page for each category to get higher conversions. 4. Create an account in Pay Per Click services like Adwords, MSN adcenter, Yahoo! Search Marketing, and more. 5. Help you load the keywords and related ads by category and location into the Pay Per Click services accounts. 6. Thorough research and analysis of your geographic locations and budget to determine the guaranteed hits we can deliver you per month. 7. Determine the maximum bid per click for each keyword and each category. 8. Find out how many clicks and captured visitors you have received for monthly reporting. 8

9 Sponsored Vs. Natural (Organic Page) Rankings The natural search results are listings that the search engines do not sell (unlike paid or sponsored listings). These sites gain a certain page ranking because the search engine considers them to have content most relevant to the search. The process of understanding how to get higher natural search rankings is part of search engine optimization (SEO). This is a process of optimizing your website to make search engines give it a higher ranking in the natural or organic results. PropertyMinder provides PPC management services, which does not encompass the process of Search Engine Optimization leading to higher natural (organic) rankings. However, the clicks you receive through a PPC campaign will eventually boost your natural search engine rankings because one of the factors for ranking natural search results is the number of clicks. 9