Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Management | It’s About Time

January 20, 2008 |

pay-per-click-management In an earlier post I mentioned that not only am I getting lean this year, but so is my approach to Search Engine Marketing and the work I do in Pay-Per-Click management. At last weeks company meeting lean was briefly introduced to the entire staff and all I can say is… it’s about time. I don’t mean this in the way you might suspect though. Lean is directly aligned with the reduction of waste resulting in lower costs and, presumably, better quality for the customer. Waste, as it relates to quality and the customer, can take the form of many things such as over production, excess inventory and time. And for all intents and purposes, time is money so really, it’s about time.

Not Just A Play On Words

“Quality is the answer to What. Customer is the answer to Why. Time is the answer to How.” These wise words, and the inspiration for this post, come from John Guaspari’s aptly titled book, ‘It’s About Time‘, the sequel to ‘I Know It When I See It‘. When you break it down, regardless of what industry you work in, the customer is why we have jobs and quality is what they want. And the amount of time it takes to get the right quality products to the customer in the right amount at the right… time, is the key. After the employee, the only other resource that matters is time. And in this sense, “success does hinge on Quality - the quality of the way we use time.”

When put in the context of managing PPC it’s critical to focus on the components of a campaign that add value to the customer. Mass producing tens of thousands of keywords to bid on in an automated way is wasteful in both time and production. Instead, starting with smaller sets of keywords and later reviewing search query reports to identify areas for keyword expansion is more valuable and a better use of time.

Sorting through a set of keywords analyzing each one from 10 different view points is also a waste of time. Instead, using one or two KPI’s to make decisions is more useful and helps to identify trends or problems faster.

Even though web analytics reports are never accurate, not implementing analytics properly before reporting and analysis is a waste of time. Even earlier in the process of a taking on a new client, not clearly understanding what the state of a clients existing PPC account is in or not having clearly defined goals for PPC in the first place is, you guessed it, a waste of time. Instead, knowing what it is your dealing with upfront in analytics, campaign organization and goals is a more effective use of time and eliminates guess-work.

The reality is that managing PPC accounts is not overly difficult, but it’s the little things, usually overlooked in the planning process, that make PPC account management seem like a drain on resources. Yes, you need to have the experience to know what red flags to look for and how to set-up and manage efficient and effective PPC campaigns from the start, but PPC management supported by automated software like ClickEquations will lend itself to using the time it takes to manage more effective. Now, instead of waiting weeks to see results of bid changes or ad creative testing, it will take days. The time to set-up these tests will also be significantly be reduced opening up resources for more upfront planning or or even to manage more clients without increasing headcount. Freeing up time by taking this preventative approach also increases the value of services for the customer by being able to work on innovative Search Engine Marketing ideas based on customer needs.

So, when I say it’s about time we got lean I mean this both literally and figuratively. Lean methodologies are a time-tested and proven way to increase quality for the customer through efficient use of time and resources.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!