Paid search also requires ongoing management that includes determining a strategy, managing it daily (adjusting bids, ad copy, targeting, timing and keywords), waiting to attract enough visitors and conversions, and then measuring results. The presenters recommended steps to beginning this process involve:
- Site conversion analysis. Determine if your Web site is conversion-friendly by asking if it's easy on the eye, follows a simple visual flow, resonates with the potential donor and features a compelling call to action.
- Do A/B and multivariate testing using Google Optimizer, which is free and easy to set up.
- Geo targeting. Figure out who you're targeting: a particular ZIP code, city, state, etc.?
- Research keywords, picking all relevant keywords initially. Later in the process you can delete and bid down some keywords.
- Make sure your ad copy is accurate, compelling, informative, matches keywords, qualifies visitors and doesn't use excessive punctuation. McNally and Gonzalez recommended writing multiple ads and testing them against one another.
- Set a daily budget for the maximum amount you are willing to spend on paid search and keep in mind you can change this budget at any time. "The amount you spend each day will vary on the number of people searching, and the number of clicks you get," they noted.
- Set initial bids and bid strategy. Make sure your bids are high enough to show up on the first page of search results. Increase or decrease budget during different times of the day depending on what you know about your target audience.
- Track conversions. For example, add a code to your "thank you" page that's generated when an action has occurred that tracks which keyword led to the action.
- Measure results. Some results to measure include total clicks, average cost/conversion, average cost/click, etc.
To learn more about the upcoming webinar How to Leverage Social Media to Raise Funds, click here.
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