Creating Compelling Ads

August 8, 2006

Case Studies

Table of Contents

• Testing Methodology• Study 1: Title and Description Testing• Study 2: Display URL Testing• Study 3: Content Match Testing• Study 4: Automated Testing

Select Ad Group(s) to test within Google:• Start with Ad Groups containing a strong ROI and low CTR

• Find out the industry average CTR from the engines• Make sure keywords are related to one another• Keywords and ads should link to the same URL/landing page• At a minimum, each creative should get at least 50,000

impressions or 500 clicks during the test period

Duration• The duration of the test depends on the amount of time it

takes each creative to attain the minimum number of clicks or impressions mentioned above

• For high volume sites, the test period should run for at least 2 weeks to account for sales cycles and weekly and daily trends

Creative Testing Methodology

Test Phase• Create 4-6 new creatives with different message types (e.g.

product guarantees, price points, free shipping, etc.)• Place unique tracking on each creative so both conversion and

CTR can be tracked• Disable “Google optimizer” (Google will no longer give more

impressions to the creative that has the higher CTR)• Continue test for at least 2 weeks or until each creative receives

the minimum number of clicks or impressions required

Creative Testing Methodology (continued)

Analysis Phase• Did one creative outperform the rest?

• If so, begin running only the winning creative on Google and extend the findings to other engines

• No clear winners?• Create new iterations on the tested themes or develop new

themes altogether• Begin another round of testing

Creative Testing Methodology (continued)

Ad success is not determined solely by CTR, but a combination of CTR and conversion

Remember:

Study 1: Title and Description Testing

• While AD1 does not have the best CTR, it is considered the winner as its conversion is significantly higher than the other ads

• While AD3 has the highest CTR, it did not bring in any sales during the test period. This could suggest the landing page is not what customers were expecting

Key Findings

Sample keywords: home décor, garden décor, home accents

original ad ad1 ad2Home & Garden Accents Home & Garden Accents Garden Decor & Accents High Quality exotic home & garden Unique Decorative Items for your Unique Decorative Items for yourdecorations. Unique selection. Home & Garden. Exotic Selection Home & Garden. Exotic Selection

ad3 ad4 ad5{KeyWord: Home & Garden Accents} Home & Garden Accents Home & Garden Accents Unique Decorative Items for your High Quality exotic home & garden {KeyWord: Decorative Items for your home}Home & Garden. Exotic Selection decorations. Unique selection. High Quality, unique selection.

Test Cell Impressions Visitors Orders CTR Conv. %Original Ad 120,589 1,124 4 0.9% 0.36%

Test Cell Impressions Visitors Orders CTR Conv. %AD1 62,368 692 7 1.0% 1.01%AD2 68,638 762 3 1.1% 0.39%AD3 80,847 897 - 1.3% 0.00%AD4/original 56,098 623 3 0.9% 0.48%AD5 62,368 692 5 1.0% 0.72%

Control Period

Test Results (3 weeks)

• Using a sub-directory name in the URL outperformed Ad1 in both CTR and Conversion

• Users were drawn more to the additional use of the term “irons”

Key Findings

Study 2: Display URL Testing

Ad1Custom Golf Iron ClonesHigh-Quality Iron Clones. PurchaseComponents or Fully Assembled ClubsMyDomainName.com

Ad2Custom Golf Iron ClonesHigh-Quality Iron Clones. PurchaseComponents or Fully Assembled ClubsMyDomainName.com/Irons

Sample keywords: golf irons, golf club irons

Test Cell Impressions Visitors Orders CTR Conv. %AD1 89,523 1,611 18 1.8% 1.1%AD2 90,117 1,892 25 2.1% 1.3%

Test Results (3 week test)

Key Findings

Study 2: Display URL Testing (continued)

• Again, using a sub-directory name in the display URL outperformed Ad1 in both CTR and Conversion

• Users were drawn more to the additional use of the term “components”

Sample keywords: golf components, golf club components

Ad1Clone Golf ComponentsHigh-Quality Golf Clones. PurchaseComponents or Fully Assembled Clubs.MyDomainName.com

Ad2Clone Golf ComponentsHigh-Quality Golf Clones. PurchaseComponents or Fully Assembled Clubs.MyDomainName.com/Components

Test Cell Impressions Visitors Orders CTR Conv. %AD1 57,768 2,310 44 4.0% 1.9%AD2 58,002 2,958 65 5.1% 2.2%

Test Results (3 week test)

Study 3: Content Match Testing

Sample keywords: wheels, rims, car wheels

Ad1Brand* - Official SiteShop for Wheels & Tires by Vehicle.Large Selection of Quality Brands.

Ad2Find {Keyword: Top Wheel Brands}Customizing is Easy - See Wheels onYour Vehicle with our Fitment Guide

Key Findings

• Ad2 significantly outpaced Ad1 in terms of CTR and displayed a very similar conversion

• Given that the ads are showing up in content match, users were much more attracted to ads that showed the keywords they were reading about in the articles

• Utilizing the brand name did not register with clients

Test Results (6 week test)Test Cell CTR Conv. %AD1 0.8% 0.29%AD2 1.5% 0.24%

*The actual brand name was used as opposed to the word “brand”

Study 4: Automated Testing (Better PPC)

Original{KeyWord:Brand* Cordless Drills}View all Brand* Cordless Drills. GetProduct Specs & Find Where To Buy.

Final{KeyWord: Brand* Drills}Large Selection of Cordless DrillsProduct Details & Find where to buy

Title Test Cells{KeyWord: Brand* Drills}Cordless Drills by Brand*Cordless Drills & Drivers

Line 1 Test CellsLarge Selection of Cordless DrillsQuality Cordless Drill from Brand*Brand* Cordless - Big Selection

Line 2 Test CellsProduct Details & Find where to buyFind Brand* Retailers & where to buyMfg. Site- Find where to Buy Drills

Key Findings

Original CTR Final CTR2.8% 3.7%

• Easily able to test 54 different sets of creative simultaneously

• A ‘Large/Big Selection’ was important to searchers as it showed up in 2 of the most effective ads

Not able to optimize based on conversion. However, once the top 4-6 highest CTR ads are determined, they can be tested using the methodology outlined throughout this presentation

*The actual brand name was used as opposed to the word “brand”

Thank You!

Darren KuhnGroup Account Director

Resolution Media312.337.6450 ext. 17

DKuhn@ResolutionMedia.com