My 15 Minutes of Fame: Essential Paid Search Power Tools

SEM professionals have an expansive variety of tools at their disposal. There are many methods that can help create more diverse and successful PPC campaigns. We examine a variety of supplementary PPC tools, their functions, and their advantages.

Research Tools

In basic terms, research tools serve to apprise you of what you don’t know, and additionally what your primary tool can’t tell you. In this case, we are going to utilize the examples of AdGooroo and SEMrush (disclosure: I work for SEMrush).

AdGooroo provides more detailed information regarding factors that you are already aware of. In order to obtain information from AdGooroo, it is required that the requested keywords be presented prior to tracking them.

This tool is more beneficial for companies who are current leaders in their market and strive to successfully maintain that lead. Essentially with AdGooroo, all of the keywords that are presented are tracked and monitored for any bidding activity.

In comparison, SEMrush provides you with information that you were previously unaware of, and dissimilar to AdGooroo, keywords do not need to be presented in order for SEMrush to obtain data. SEMrush can simply reveal information on competitors such as:

Keywords bid on
Ads being run
Advertising budget for campaigns
Organic and paid traffic
Backlinks

This vital data can then be examined and moreover used to adjust marketing campaigns accordingly.

If we scrutinize further, we can observe that there is only one sole likeness between SEMrush and AdGooroo, which is the ability to examine positions.

SEMrush doesn’t require keywords in order to begin gathering valuable and up-to-date data. A competitor’s domain can simply be searched in order to discover which ads they are running with specific keywords. This can then be manipulated to determine how those campaigns translated into increased or decreased traffic to their site.

So what exactly are we able to unearth from this data? The answer is simple: which of your competitors’ campaigns are successful versus which are not. The graphic below is a visual representation of what AdGooroo and SEMrush services provide:

As the illustration indicates, it is as if AdGooroo places a theoretical “fence” around the keywords that require protection, this being comparable to a perimeter around a military base camp. These keywords are monitored for any attempted breach of the perimeter, but you would never know if your competitors were to use new keywords.

Therefore, if AdGooroo represents the perimeter of the base camp, SEMrush symbolizes the cunning soldiers attempting to breach it. So in essence, SEMrush embodies both the perimeter of the fence in addition to the soldiers infiltrating its defenses. Thus, it doesn’t matter if you are the industry leader or a recent business owner because regardless of your standing, you can utilize the data that is discovered to make informed, data-driven decisions regarding your marketing campaigns.

Reporting Tools

To continue, let’s ask ourselves an extremely important question: is there really such a thing as easy-to-read reports? Not likely, as this is one of the largest fabrications in the industry. A quick Google search for [SEM tool] and [SEM tool easy-to-read report] yield approximately the same amount of results.

Let’s think about it. How “easy-to-read” is a report if everyone offers equivalent services? There must be somedifference in the scope and readability of the reports. Clearly a report that is “easy-to-read” must be lacking some information in order to make it more comprehensible.

Let’s delve further into discovering what is actually “easy-to-read.” The visual below is jam-packed with data, such as percentages, CPC values, numerous results for different keywords, and so on.

The second illustration is simple and understandable with a graph and pie charts. While it looks nice and is aesthetically pleasing, there are no details.

So which one is more constructive? In actuality, both graphs are representative of the same information. The graph and pie chart represent specific figures from the first slide, but the information is already aggregated.

The second slide is ultimately impractical if you need comprehensive and precise statistics on CPC, bidding information for a specific keyword, or any other information exclusive to a competitor’s online conduct. Similar to the above, we are going to compare and contrast two graphics and determine which is easier to comprehend.

A fighter plane cockpit includes esoteric dials, readouts, panels, buttons, switches, and an overall complicated operation.

A Volkswagen dashboard encompasses minimal information, has basics that are necessary for operation, but is lacking specific details.

If we were to employ the use of a reporting tool such as one that is generated by Raven.com, detailed information would be obtained such as that of SEMrush, and it would initially resemble a hypothetical fighter plane cockpit. From there, specifics would be minimalized and the final report would be easy-to-comprehend and hence comparable to the Volkswagen dashboard, in turn shifting from possessing extensive artillery to sheer minimalism.

Therefore, most of the data is eliminated to achieve an understandable report, and informed decisions cannot be made with only a fraction of the information that is necessary. Detailed information such as that in the cockpit is essential, and simplistic details such as those of a dashboard in a Volkswagen are not going to be of comparable support.

Control Tools

Now let’s take a look at control tools, of which there are two types: external and internal. External tools such as AdGooroo and SEMrush consist of research devices that assist in the management and verification of information from internal tools such as Google and Yahoo which are based on weblogs and can occasionally fail. Therefore, the logs of these sites can pinpoint the cause of the mistake.

Why would we need to authenticate and monitor Google or Yahoo? Don’t we trust their information? The real fact is that there can always be mistakes.

An Apache weblog namely consists of data tracking for a website. When a user clicks on a link within a website, a great deal of information is recorded within the Weblog such as IP address, date/time, URL, proper request, proper response, originating URL, et cetera.

Unless you're the system administrator, Weblog data is basically meaningless. That is, unless there is a setback with the control tools. As an example, we're going to take a look at a case of an internal mistake. What the user searched for was completely dissimilar from the resulting ads.

These results verify that even a multibillion dollar company such as Google can make mistakes. Due to the fact that Google is such a significant piece of the market, a single mistake can act as a ripple effect that inadvertently influences many users in a negative manner.

Therefore, the use of an external control tool such as SEMrush could assist in uncovering massive errors such as this one. But is it necessary to be a large, powerful corporation in order to create functional software or a “little handy tool” to benefit your business? No, absolutely not.

Solving a problem or researching a potential market can be made much more straightforward via the development of a simple piece of software. Do you believe that you don’t have the capability to create software? If so, you are incorrect. When determining whether there is a potential market for something, a “little handy tool” can aid in the decision-making process.

Problem-Solving Tools

To illustrate these tools, we are going to use an example of Susani-style embroidery. The Mission is to determine if the U.S. market would purchase a product such as the one displayed. Our problem is that a vast majority of the U.S. market has never seen Susani-style embroidering and hence is not searching for such a product.

So what could we do? Basically, a “dummy” site could be created that contains all of the relative product information. From there, an AdWords campaign could begin and traffic directed to the site in order to distinguish if there is a market for the product, but there is still a hitch because people aren’t searching for Susani boots, the ads would never be viewed. So in order to ensure that the ads are viewed, it was necessary to locate a venue where the ads could appear in order to gauge the public’s reaction to the boots without spending a considerable amount of money.

We are aware that there are an excess amount of small fashion blogs who only receive a few thousand visits per month, and most of these sites carry AdSense tags within their pages. If these blogs could be identified, a test market is born. This is where a “little handy tool” called the Blog Collector comes into play and is generated in order to identify a large group of small blogs.

So what were the steps in creating the Blog Collector?

A task name was created.
Fashion-related queries were inserted such as dresses, pants, blouses, fashion, couture, etc.
The program proceeded to find blog search engines such as Networkedblogs, Google Blog Search, Technorati, etc.
The Blog Collector generated a text file of resulting blogs, which was subsequently evaluated to identify which were more regularly discussing the terms within the query.
A couple of hours later, The Blog Collector located approximately 5,000 qualified blogs.
The program was operated a second time to decipher which blogs were individual vs. company-run with an AdSense campaign. Our goal was to discover bloggers’ judgment of the boots.
A couple of days passed, and when the blog sites were checked a couple of bloggers posted opinions about the boots. The verdict was in, and they did not like them.

So can this “little handy tool” do? Plain and simple, it contributed to an informed business decision regarding a new product.

How can you create such a useful, simplistic, and functional tool on your own? Our Blog Collector was designed by Weblancernet, but because this is a Russian company, preference may be to utilize an American company such as Elance.com or Rent-A-Coder.com.

The price for a Developer to create a program such as the Blog Collector is approximately $300. However, not every business owner is acquainted with the technical aspects such as a Developer.

If you're able to identify all of the information that you would like the program to collect and are able to explain your intentions, the going market rate is approximately $1,000, but this is still a feasible amount for a small to mid-sized business to test overall market response to an item. Consider all of the advantages!

Management/Tracking Tools

Now let’s investigate campaign management tools such as Kenshoo.com. Since Kenshoo.com is similar to reporting tools such as Raven.com, what is the difference?

Ultimately, Kenshoo allows for broad alterations to be made to an entire campaign. We are going to suppose that you are an online seller of high-end dress shoes, and the price that you normally pay for the majority of your stock decreases significantly. This alteration has released some extra funds that can now be allotted to advertising.

So, you have decided that you would now like to increase your bidding to encompass a series of advertising platforms such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. This is where the time-saving management tools come in. Take note: Dissimilar to Raven, whose primary focus is reporting, Kenshoo is typically utilized for the management feature. However, this requires the purchase of the preliminary reports in order to enter the decision-making process.

Primary Tool

Finally, we are going to take a glimpse into our primary tool: AdWords. How well do you know AdWords? Most of us are well-versed in AdWords and consequently know how it works and when it is best to make modifications to a campaign. But how well do you REALLY know it?

The following consists of a brief quiz meant to assess your knowledge of the Google AdWords’ default screen. This is the central screen that is most likely used every day to manage your campaign. Therefore, we might assume that you would know it by heart. Wouldn’t we?

The QUESTION: Which columns are hidden?

The HINT: There are three columns omitted. Two are extremely important, and one is quite possibly of the greatest magnitude. Don’t cheat!

If you weren’t able to designate the three missing columns immediately, some additional review should be done! Two out of the three columns obscured are, arguably, the most important aspect of the campaign. THE MONEY! Or to be more specific, average CPC and cost.

So ask yourself: how can a campaign meant to help you outshine the competition be administered properly if you don’t know your primary tool inside and out?

The ANSWER:

Conclusion

If we were to create a comparison, our tools basically resemble weapons. An AK-47 is comparable to Google AdWords, as the business world is similar to a battlefield in that there is no mercy.

The weak and unprepared become casualties of war, or in this case, their market. A soldier’s objective is to eradicate the enemy using the primary weapon, the AK-47, whereas your business objective is to surpass your competitors using your primary tool of AdWords.

Maintaining your tool is extremely important to your marketing campaign. A soldier has been trained to operate his primary weapon and to know it thoroughly. If he cannot operate that weapon, any add-ons such as a scope or laser sight are futile.

Similarly, a business campaign manager can obtain fancy reports and a costly management company, but if they are lacking the expertise and intelligence of their primary tool, business decisions won’t be as effective as they could be.

In business and in war, there is no compassion for unwise decisions. For instance, a soldier wouldn’t discontinue his attack if his enemy’s weapon jammed and just as a soldier has access to an assortment of weapons with various functions, SEM professionals have many tools at their disposal. As long as they are aware of which tool is appropriate for what they want to accomplish, success is imminent.

So let us reflect on the facts: weapons don’t win wars, well-trained soldiers with the right tools do. All in all, it is essential that you know your primary tool thoroughly.

These supplementary tools can have a great many practical applications in SEM, but only if and when you have mastered your primary tool. If you don’t know AdWords in the same respect that a soldier knows his rifle, supplementary tools are equivalent to flashy gimmicks that are just as useless as a gun deprived of bullets or a fighter jet that is lacking a trained pilot.

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