We were recently hired to do a search marketing audit for a client. After reviewing the account we came up with 10 questions we asked in order to gauge the effectiveness of the current search marketing strategy.
- How often do you do a search query audit for negative keywords? Do you check to see what people are actually typing in that trigger your keywords? Is the traffic qualified? Does it make sense for your business, or are they keywords that were possibly just made on the fly?
- How often are keywords added? Are you researching current trends in your market? Are you building out additional campaigns to target more customers? Are you focusing on long or short tailed keywords? Are monthly searches for keywords being confirmed on a usual basis.
- How often do you adjust bidding? Are you overpaying for a keyword that’s not converting. Is a high converting keyword not being shown? Are there any rules in places for auto-adjusting bids?
- How often is ad copy rotated or adjusted? Are you A/B testing landing pages and ads to improve quality score? Is CTR stagnant and does it meet or exceed an industry standard?
- What kind of sitelinks are enabled? Are you utilizing all the latest sitelinks? click to call, location extensions, google +, ect. There are even Seller Ratings and Call Outs that can be taken advantage of.
- We see you are bidding on the same keyword in multiple campaigns, have you implemented negative fencing? Be careful not to compete against yourself in your own campaigns.
- Can you explain in detail the location targeting of each campaign? Are campaigns set up to target customers nationally or in specific areas? If it is specific, is it specific cities/counties or is it a radius?
- How long is the remarketing cookie window? Consider your customers decision purchase period. If the average customer converts in 1-2 days shortening the window may be beneficial.
- How many audiences do you re-market to? Do you market to your entire site or people who visit a particular page,?
- Have you done any dayparting analysis or implementation? What time of day or day of the week do ads covert best? What part of the day has the lowest CPC?
Need an audit for your own business? Market My Market is a full-service digital marketing agency that can conduct an audit and outline the necessary next steps for your business. We have worked with a variety of clients to optimize their marketing strategy and digital presence. Let us help you see marketing success. Contact our team at (800) 954-9441 for a free marketing consultation.
