Posted by: Rosemary Dempsey, Senior Storyteller

Quality Score. Everybody knows it’s an important part of paid search programs run through Google AdWords and the content network. But how does Google calculate these scores, and why are they so important to our pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns?

According to Google, “A Quality Score is calculated every time your keyword matches a search query – that is, every time your keyword has the potential to trigger an ad.” It’s important because it influences your keywords’ actual cost-per-clicks, determines if your keyword is a potential result for a user’s search query and even affects how high your ad ranks.

What’s the best way to improve your quality scores? Optimize your account! As Google recommends, your ad groups should have descriptive ad text relevant to each keyword in the group.

Visit Google’s AdWords Help section for more information about quality score and tips for optimizing your paid search programs.

Atlas Copco Construction Mining Technique USA was looking for a new channel to sell pre-owned water well drill rigs. They turned to us, 90octane, a Denver-based, conversion-driven marketing agency, for help.

90octane built a custom lead generation microsite to showcase the rigs, which typically carry six-figure price tags, and crafted an associated paid search marketing campaign to drive visitors to the site.

Joanna Canton, Atlas Copco marketing communications director, is pleased with the hundreds of highly qualified leads generated. For the paid search program, “The average cost-per-lead is $28, compared with hundreds of dollars apiece for leads from trade shows and print ads,” she noted.

Because the program has resulted in high-dollar sales, Atlas Copco CMT USA already has plans to expand it.

Read the full Atlas Copco paid search story from a February issue of BtoB Magazine.

Posted by: Gloria Dutton, Senior Marketing Coordinator

2009 brought a lot of changes and innovations in the wide world of the Web and its search engines. We witnessed the explosion of Twitter and Facebook and the introduction and advancement of Bing and smartphones. These innovations are forcing search engines to alter what is included in their search results, as well as how these results are displayed. The greatest changes to search that will alter search engine marketing (SEM) programs in 2010 include a new emphasis on personalized search, the inclusion of real-time results, and new methods of local and mobile advertising.

Personalized Search: Google’s personalized search is actually not a new development, but the changes to it at the end of 2009 are. Google uses personalized search to present different search results to users based on their search history and demographics. This alteration of search results used to only occur when users were signed into their Google accounts, but now it has been introduced to signed-out users worldwide. The reason this is important to take into account when optimizing is that your company’s listing may be a first page listing for one user while not even rank for another.

Posted by: Leslie Norgren, Project Manager

Yahoo’s Vice President and General Manager of search marketing, David Pann, recently discussed shifts that the company is making to lower costs for paid search campaigns.  Some companies may be seeing PPC clicks discounted as much as 15% depending on the industry.  Pann said that Yahoo has been evaluating cost-per-acquisition numbers for advertisers and that they are now working to change the marketplace so that CPCs are priced “accordingly with the value they deliver to the advertisers.”

Although Yahoo is making swift innovations in search marketing, it may be too soon to determine the importance of their changing pricing structure for paid search.  StatCounter reports that Yahoo’s market share continued to decline in October falling to 8.91%, down from 9.4% in September and 10.5% in August.  With falling market share shifting paid search campaign budgets to Yahoo, to save a few pennies on the dollar may not currently be a wise marketing decision.  Only time will show if Yahoo’s PPC advancements will make a lasting impression on the industry as well as impact the pricing structure for Bing paid search campaigns.

Posted by: Rosemary Riley, Senior Copywriter

The word is out. Yahoo and Microsoft – considered the #2 and #3 search players following Google – have reached a deal.[1] We wanted to send you an update to explain the relationship, as we here at 90octane will be following its effects on the search landscape in the months and years to come.

So, what exactly happened last week?
-    Yahoo and Microsoft have behind-the-scenes technology used to generate the listings you get when you perform a search. Yahoo is going to give up its technology and use Microsoft’s functionality on its popular websites as part of a 10-year license.[2]
-    The deal will be reviewed by regulators, primarily regarding antitrust and privacy issues, and will likely close in early 2010. The transition will take 3-6 months, so Microsoft’s organic results should be showing up on Yahoo between summer and fall 2010. Transitioning the advertising side will even take longer. Paid listings are expected to come from Microsoft to Yahoo by early 2011.

What does this all mean?
-    If you search on Yahoo, you won’t be taken to a Microsoft site. You’ll get results just like you do now, only at the bottom of the page, you’ll see “Powered by Bing.” Bing is Microsoft’s new engine, and it’s currently receiving favorable reviews.