To continue with our series of webinars, PushON’s Head of Marketing, Alex, discussed how to use paid media to achieve precise ROI.

The webinar covers users’ search and journey behaviour online, how to effectively manage budgets, ad campaign optimisation, Google Shopping, and multi-channel marketing.

What is ROI?

ROI stands for Return On Investment.

There are multiple definitions to describe what ROI is, but in summary, it’s the measurement and balance of what you invest with you what you achieve. For example, you want to see what your investment has generated for the money you’ve put in into a campaign, or at minimum, break even.

When it comes to PPC advertising, you must agree on a measurement of what is successfully delivered by the investment with your paid media team.

Various factors that can influence ROI include:

  • Revenue (ROAS)
  • Leads
  • Profit
  • New Users for Marketing
  • Awareness or Impressions
  • Likes or Follows (Paid Social Engagement)
  • Email Sign-Ups (Lead Generation)

Below are some examples of our recent effective ROI strategies.

Calculating ROI

Calculating ROI does seem confusing, but it can be as simple as you want it to be.

There are various ways to calculate ROI, which is why people get confused. Here at PushON, our paid media team understand that no client is the same, and they all have different expectations. There are multiple factors to take into consideration when calculating ROI, such as the amount of time spent on the campaign.

Our paid media team will agree to a measurement on the return on what is invested and provide a realistic and achievable KPI. For example, for every £1 spent, we expect to see £xxx in return. This takes into consideration the cost of bidding on keywords, audience reach, which paid media channel to use etc.

PPC ROI and ROAS

Approach to Search

For a marketing strategy to be successful, whether that’s a Google Shopping or an organic search campaign, marketers must have a strategic approach to users’ search behaviour and customer journey. This is fundamental, as you need to understand how your audience is behaving, what their needs are, where they are (i.e. social media) and what makes them react.

Once you have a baseline, you can begin structuring your paid media campaigns, how your budget should be split between the various channels and monitor the performance to gain a further understanding of user behaviour. This information will inform efficient spend tactics to maximise ROI and overall business KPIs.

Customer Journey

Understanding your customer journey helps define what keywords to target to complete a conversion.

  • Research keywords or generic terms.
  • Once you have gained a stronger understanding of their needs, search terms become more specific.
  • Users often begin their research using a mobile device, completing a conversion on a tablet or desktop.
  • Often final conversions occur following a Brand search.

Capitalise on Search

Search engines are you most powerful asset, so it is essential to capitalise on the search to squeeze out the best possible return for your campaign.

  • A successful paid media strategy needs to accommodate all phases of the customer journey targeting multiple search intentions and device types.
  • Pay close attention to the value of search along the way.
  • Move searchers down the funnel to keep with strategic objectives.

Customer Journey by Campaign

Here at PushON, our paid media team utilise various techniques and methods across paid search dependent on the stage of the funnel the audience is sitting. This ensures we’re pushing the most effective strategy to guide customers to conversions.

For example, not all users are situated in the same stage of their buyer journey. Some are at the early phases where they’re researching with broad searches, others know what they’re looking for but require some information and some consumers know precisely what they want to buy, so their searches become more refined.

The image below compares the different stages of the journey funnel and the style of paid media campaign you should be pushing to meet consumer demands. This methodology is devised from a simple ‘See Think Do Care’ approach.

Budget Allocation

Efficient use of the budget is a critical factor in reducing spend wastage and prioritising click-spend to the most receptive point in customers’ journey.

Below is an example of how our paid media would generally split the budget to maximise on return and avoid wastage.

Paid Media Campaign Optimisation

There are multiple steps that every paid media specialist will perform to optimise an ad campaign effectively. Ignoring these steps puts your business at risk of ignoring potential customers and channels, reducing your chances of securing a top campaign space on the search engines and attaining a positive ROI.

Product Listing Ads (PLA)

There are various opportunities to promote your products and how to gain maximum exposure and ROI.

Customer journey and campaign optimisation must be included as part of your strategic approach from where and when you want to advertise your products online to who you want to target.

Below is an example of the different Product Listing Ads (PLA) opportunities.

Shopping Ads

Google Shopping ads is undoubtedly the most influential paid media channel. Google has made Shopping ads more attractive and accessible to users, allowing them to browse through multiple products while making a price comparison.

As this feature is above organic search results, users are more inclined to begin their journey through Google Shopping, before reviewing the non-paid listings. However, the competition to secure a top listing can be high, depending on the product, which is why effective ad optimisation and understanding your customers’ buying journey is critical.

The example above is how shopping ads are placed on Google. As you can see, the first listings to appear for ‘baby bottles’ are featured at the top of the page before any organic listings. There is a visual element to Google Shopping that allows users to look at product images, cost, retailer, and reviews within seconds. This is powerful and prompts the user to click-through to find out more information, improving the chances of making a conversion.

Another feature, which can help with Shopping Ad campaigns, is Google allowing users to have more control of the search results, by refining what sponsored listings to feature that is most relevant, creating a bespoke experience.

The example below is for the same results as above but through Google’s Shopping tab.

As you can see, users can filter the Shopping ads by brand and price.

With consumers having more control over how they search and shop online, it’s essential to consider this key factor when creating ads if you are to benefit from an ROI.

PPC Ads Targeting and Modifiers

Targeting is key. You must ensure the right people are seeing your ads at the right time; otherwise, you’ll risk sending in low-quality traffic to the website, targeting users who aren’t interested in buying.

There are various targeting factors to consider for PPC ads such as geographical location, what device they predominately use, user behaviour and when you want the ads to go live. Getting these right will support campaign performance and achieving a positive ROI.

Bid Scheduling

Bid scheduling allows us to optimise our click spend for the highest converting day of the week and time of day. This is critical to success. Increasing the spend during for the highest converting point of the week, results in more purchases, leading to a revenue and increase and achieving your ROI target.

It’s a strategic part of any paid media campaign and avoids spend wastage too.

Below is an example of the cost-per-click vs conversion for time of day, and day of the week.

Multi-Channel ROI

Multi-channel ROI refers to combining various marketing channels to achieve a positive ROI. This includes creating a campaign to marry a PPC ad with paid social, SEO and email marketing. It goes back to understanding who your audience is, what makes them tick and where they are online.

Multi-channel marketing also offers the opportunity to reach out to a broader audience, improve conversion numbers and target various touchpoints within their buyer journey.

See Think Do Care

The See Think Do Care model has nailed multi-channel marketing on the head. It reflects the different stages of the users’ buyer journey and which marketing channel to focus on.

How to measure See Think Do Care for paid media campaigns?

ROI Takeaways

Here are the key takeaways to remember about ROI:

  • ROI is more than math.
  • ROI is more than revenue.
  • The journey is key for investment.
  • Account structure is CRITICAL.
  • Pay attention to the user and understand how they behave online.
  • Measure, refine, measure, refine.

For more information on how to achieve a positive return on investment, or to learn more about the benefits of paid media, get in touch with PushON today on 0161 820 7268 or send us an email to sales@pushon.co.uk.