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| Pros and Cons of Using Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) in Your Pay Per Click Ads |
| 05.21.08 (9:25 am) [edit] |
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If a Google user is searching on "dirt cheap digital camera" she'll see a number of Google AdSense ads with that same search term in the ad headline. How do they do that? Some Pay Per Click (PPC) advertisers will bid on every possible keyphrase and write a specific ad for each. But many take advantage of Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) tools that are built into the major search engine ad systems. DKI is designed to insert into the ad the exact term a searcher uses. The search term is most commonly inserted into the title, but the tool can be configured to insert the term into the body of the ad as well. If the search term is too long to fit in the space, then a default keyword is inserted instead.
DKI Advantages
DKI can have a real upside, especially for certain kinds of paid search campaigns.
Higher click-through rate. All other things being equal, a searcher is more likely to click on an ad that matches his exact search term, since he will perceive it to be more relevant than the other ads. This only works, of course, if competing ads aren't also using DKI.
Simplified administration. If you're employing a "long tail" strategy of bidding on hundreds of seldom used but relevant keywords, DKI can simplify administering the process and cut your set-up time.
Quality score doesn't automatically increase, but if through increased relevancy you get a higher click-through rate on your ads, your quality score is likely to improve.
DKI Disadvantages
On the other hand, DKI is not a magic bullet solution to all paid search campaigns.
Click-through rate using DKI may not, in fact, be higher. For higher-traffic keywords it's worth taking the time to test to see if DKI can't be outperformed by another title.
DKI titles won't stand out if most of your competitors are using them. If that's the case, you'll have to differentiate your ad from other competitors by not using DKI.
For long search terms DKI uses your default text. This isn't a major disadvantage. It just illustrates that DKI doesn't help in all situations.
DKI tends to be most effective:
When ad groups are primarily organized around products that have many ways to describe them, such as tennis shoes.
When phrase match, not broad match, is used.
When one main word varies only by part number, size, color, model, etc.
When you are conducting a conceptual or brand-centric campaign, however, DKI is less successful. For many campaigns with a clearly organized theme, DKI won't be necessary -- or helpful. But when your campaign requires a long tail strategy, then DKI may well save time and get a higher click-through rate on rarely-used keywords.
While it's out of the scope of this article, Dr. Wilson's soon-to-be-published How to Develop a Landing Page (third edition) will explain how to add dynamic keyword insertion to landing pages in a way that increases perceived relevancy, time on page, and thus sales conversions.
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| The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding |
| 05.21.08 (9:15 am) [edit] |
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The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding
by Al Ries and Laura Ries
HarperBusiness, 2000
Hardcover, 175 pages
Dear Friends,
Effective Web marketing is a well-thought-out comprehensive plan that encompasses many aspects of an online business, of which promotion is a small but important aspect. Here is an overview to stimulate your thinking on promotion methods you may not have explored yet.
Here's a book I'll be mulling over for some time. Though it's primarily focused on larger companies hoping to build national Internet brand recognition, some of the "immutable" laws apply to smaller businesses. But I'm not sure these laws really ARE immutable. In fact, I question many of them.
1. The Law of Either/Or asserts that the Internet should be viewed as an entirely new business, starting from scratch, not just a new medium through which an existing business will be communicating it's message. Well, maybe. Though some of the strongest Internet brands, such as Amazon.com and eBay.com are Web-only companies, I think there's a big place for brick-and-mortar businesses to go online and establish their brands there, too. We're still early in the game.
2. The Law of Interactivity contends that a website must be interactive in order to succeed. That interactivity is not just selecting from a menu, but typing in instructions and having the site deliver the information in the form you requested it. That's an ideal, but I'm not convinced it's essential for success.
3. The Law of the Common Name argues that common names such as Art.com or Advertising.com are poor brands. I'm not so sure I agree. After all, ArtUFrame.com doubled its sales the month after it acquired art.com.
4. The Law of the Proper Name asserts that proper names are to be preferred to generic names. This is the flip side of "immutable" law #3 that is unconvincing. But the authors give great advice on selecting a name. They suggest that the best names will follow most of these eight principles: (1) short, (2) simple, (3) suggestive of the category, (4) unique, (5) alliterative, (6) speakable, (7) shocking, and (8) personalized.
5. The Law of Singularity affirms that, whereas in the "real world" there is room for a number two brand, on the Internet there is room for only one. Smaller businesses must be niche players, but they too must be number one in their chosen niche. I'm not sure I agree with this one either; it's just too early to tell.
6. The Law of Advertising concludes that advertising off the Net will be a lot bigger than advertising on the Net. Maybe so, but I think this is oversimplified; its examples are primarily banner ads, while e-mail marketing is scarcely mentioned.
7. The Law of Globalism claims that the Internet will demolish all barriers, all boundaries, and all borders. Here's a law I agree with.
8. The Law of Time contends that the brand that is first into the prospect's mind has the advantage, not necessarily the first into the marketplace. I would agree with that one, too.
9. The Law of Vanity says that you shouldn't try to include more and more categories under a single brand. This is the same argument against "brand extension" that Ries and Trout put forth in The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing in 1994. Ries and Ries counsel the reader to keep the original brand focused, and instead, launch a new brand. Thus Amazon's move to be a department store while it is associated in the prospect's mind with books and CDs is risky. So is Yahoo's move to place every kind of service under its brand name. Perhaps so. I deliberately followed this advice when I launched my successful new Doctor EbizTM brand http://doctorebiz.com rather than trying to extend the Web Marketing Today® brand. I think the authors touch on an important point here.
10. The Law of Divergence goes against the current obsession with technologies such as the telephone, TV, and PC converging. Rather, say the authors, technologies diverge into PCs, PDAs, minicomputers, mainframes, laptops, etc. Therefore, they continue, Internet brands built on "you can get it all done here at this single site," all-in-one services, are going against the laws of nature. Maybe, but I doubt whether this observation should qualify as one of Internet branding's 11 immutable laws.
11. The Law of Transformation says that the Internet will transform all aspects of our lives. Examples are paper directories, paper catalogs, full color brochures, the telephone industry, classified ads in newspapers, post office mail volume, financial services, and parcel delivery. Agreed. Internet retailing will focus on price while "outernet" retailing will focus on service. Yes, but I'm not sure that theory qualifies as an immutable law either.
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