Paid search has, for far too long, been a performance-marketing-first channel. Savvy brands are moving into a world where a more well-rounded approach, from brand awareness through bottom of funnel, can exist in a world of keywords and CPC’s.
Start a Holistic Search Strategy
A full-funnel search strategy introduces new opportunities to your paid search account and everything starts with budget. When thinking through budgeting in a holistic paid search account, it helps to segment the funnel –
- Bottom Funnel – where most paid search accounts focus their efforts, with intent heavy keywords like “buy widget” or “widget online.” Don’t allow your new top of funnel strategy to consume budget meant for high intent, low hanging fruit keywords. Treat your BOF funnel campaigns separately and maximize your budget to a CPA/CAC that fits your goals
- Brand – if done right, brand will be the biggest beneficiary of a holistic search strategy. You should see an increase in brand search volume over time. If you have competitors bidding on your TM’s, you need to decide if you want to own the top spot or hit a CPA/CAC that makes sense.
- Top and Mid Funnel – look at TOF/MOF keywords like “what is a widget” but don’t sleep on adjacent terms like activities or interests related to the widget. As with any TOF/MOF marketing channel, you need to have expectations that you won’t be able to measure the full success of the campaign. Set budgets the same way you might for upper-funnel channels (social, video, audio) where not all conversions can be tracked precisely.
How to Measure TOF/MOF Paid Search Success
There are several conversion points and ways to measure the success of a TOF/MOF paid search strategy. First, identify every conversion point that can help you back into a CPA/CAC that fits your TOF/MOF goals. These might include –
- Purchase
- Email/SMS sign up
- Mobile app download
- Important micro-conversions – clicked/tapped on phone number, maps lookup, watched a video, etc.
Make sure you define success beyond the conversion. Consider doing brand lift surveys and studies, monitor your brand keyword lift after starting the campaign, social listening for mentions and follows, and other activities that point to increased brand awareness and consideration.
Complement PPC with Long-Game Retargeting and Sequential Messaging
Don’t forget the long game – create a well-rounded campaign that continues to push users down the funnel after interacting with your paid search campaigns. Craft a multi-touch narrative with sequential copy, messaging, and CTA’s in remarketing campaigns in social, audio/video, and display channels.
If you didn’t get an email sign up from the paid search campaign, use your display campaigns to push them into something interesting that might get that critical micro-conversion. Every interaction deepens engagement with your brand and gets them one step closer to converting.
As paid search continues to get more expensive, a holistic paid search approach covering the full funnel is critical. It helps to drive down overall CPA/CAC by capturing and nurturing leads at every stage, while increasing sales through well-structured retargeting and brand-building efforts.