Continued from Part 5…
So now, as of May 19, Enquisite Campaign, a monetization platform for organic search, is available. The application is a huge leap forward for the entire industry, and while some will seek to attack or ridicule the unknown, the unfamiliar, the big, or the challenging, we’re incredibly proud of it, the potential it represents, and the power it brings to SEOs, agencies, and to their clients.
Campaign is a platform to help SEOs, interactive agencies, and advertisers accurately calculate the performance and economic potential of any campaign opportunity, build more effective quotes, and run search campaigns more efficiently effectively. It provides visibility and understanding on where opportunities lie, identifies where uncharted and unearthed opportunities can be mined, discovers what’s been was missed or ignored, and calculates whether or not the opportunity is worth pursuing. It also provides detailed value reporting for organic search, just like the detail that already is available for paid search. In short, it changes the discussion relating to the value of an organic referral. Search agencies and their clients no longer need to debate the value of services. The discussion now center on performance, ROI, and incremental value generated.
There are a lot of features in Campaign that go beyond the original vision. These came from internal feedback from all members of our organization. Further, some additional features coming out within the month reflect early user request. Interestingly, skeptics of the model (who were also friends) whom we persuaded to try the system, despite their arguments that it couldn’t work, discovered that once they actually used Campaign, not only did it perform, but the business models ingrained into the system provided them incredible power and flexibility to evaluate opportunities, bid more effectively, and manage campaigns more efficiently. Every one of them is now an advocate! Some look at campaign as a new way to bid for, and win business; others look to it as a means to audit existing efforts, improve internal processes and efficiencies and to prove the value of the services they are delivering to their clients. Imagine, when a contract comes up for renewal, it’s possible to eliminate the discussion around “what was the value delivered?” With Enquisite Campaign, you know the value delivered, and by using it you will find new and better ways to deliver even more.
I am very proud that everyone at Enquisite has contributed to making Campaign possible and a reality. Some directly by coding the application, and others by providing feedback and suggestions. But, meaningfully, everyone has contributed to what we really think can be a “game changer.”
Together, we are proud to bring Enquisite Campaign to you. We look forward to your continuous feedback to make it perform even better for you and your clients.
Richard
Posted under Enquisite Search Metrics
As you probably remember, we released the first full version of Enquisite back in August. After our initial release, we didn’t miss a beat–we got right to work on tweaking existing features and adding new ones. I’m happy to tell you today about the first of a series of new features, all centered around the concept of turning data into action.
The first new feature we’re going to discuss is the Potential Analysis. I’d like to thank Andrew Shotland for providing an original version of the formula upon which we ended up basing the math behind this analysis feature on.
The Potential Analysis is found within the Longtail report in Enquisite. It looks at search phrases and calculates a value based on the following variables;
- Referral rates - The number of referrals for a given term
- Conversion rates - The number of conversions a particular term generates
- Page views - Average page views/visits for the phrase
- Time - In seconds, the average time/visit for the phrase
- Bounce ratio for the phrase - The number of sessions driven by the phrase where the visitor left a page or site without visiting any other pages before a session timeout occurred or the total number of sessions driven by the phrase during an interval.
- Activity - in relation to the other terms, and outcomes
Two things worth pointing out:
- A bounce occurs when a website visitor leaves a page or a site without visiting any other pages before a session timeout occurs (we set this to 15 minutes).
- There’s a known issue when it comes to sample size. The larger the sample size, the higher the accuracy of the analysis. In other words, the more referrals, the more accurate the analysis.
Potential Analysis runs automatically and is displayed next to the appropriate column in your Longtail reports. By default, it’s turned on to show you the potential of your keywords. The way it works is simple. There are four levels of potential: High; Medium; Low; and None. A keyword with high potential has a good chance of keeping visitors on your site longer, looking at more pages. Keywords with no potential have virtually no chance of keeping a visitor’s interest.
But why does this matter? Well, for one thing, it helps you make better choices. If you’re interested in selling advertising on a page and are wanting to optimize that page to gain visitors, isn’t it good to know which terms are worth optimizing for? Think about it from a longtail perspective: If you have multiple variations of a phrase driving all traffic, the Potential Analysis will show you the phrase that will have the best ROI for you–in one simple box.
Now think of potential in relation to actions or conversions. Using Potential Analysis, you’ll be able to decide which phrases to optimize (or ignore) even if you have multiple converting phrases arriving on a particular web page from search referrals. This kind of analysis will help you take the guesswork out of the process and make quicker, more effective decisions.
Posted under Google, Search Analytics, Search Metrics
Welcome to 2009… where, like last year, I’m tempted to use the first line of this space to repeat my refrain of “I’m sorry for not writing more often.” I really am. And while I won’t go so far as to swear that I’ll write more blog posts in 2009, I do think that my schedule will make it a bit easier to get some blogging done.
I think that this year will be different, for a variety of reasons–the most interesting of which I should be able to share with you sometime after mid-January. Keep your eyes on this space, as a lot of last year’s hard work is soon to be unveiled.
Exciting things are happening around Enquisite, not the least of which is the recent addition of several new major features being added to Enquisite Pro. Over the past several months, we’ve completed 3 updates: first came the Opportunities Report, followed by the Potential Analysis functionality, and just last week, Map Overlays. Rather than describe all three right here, I’m going to let the suspense build a bit–I’ll give you the scoop on each feature individually in upcoming blog posts. ;-)
But first, a sneak peek at the next major update we’re tackling: our new Links report. Rand Fishkin has been eagerly (and somewhat patiently) waiting a seemingly infinite amount of time for this one–and it’s almost here. Though it’s still in production, we’ve shown it to a few folks and the general reaction to it is that they’re blown away. The Links Report will be delivered over the course of several iterations, with additional functionality being added as programming on it is completed. The first piece you’ll receive will be reporting, and the second starts into analysis. Right now, everything is on track for this to start coming out during January.
Anyhow, Happy New Year to everyone. You’d better strap on your seatbelts–we’re all in for one heck of a ride in 2009!
Posted under Analytics, Search Engines
The pay-per-click environment is changing rapidly. Microsoft’s attempted acquisition bid has forced Yahoo! in to an ad-distribution deal that will see Google AdWords appearing in place of Yahoo Search Marketing ads across much of the Yahoo! network. Yahoo! was using PPC advertising delivered by Google to bolster revenues in order to push Microsoft’s bid price higher while exploring the viability of giving Google its PPC ad-space should Yahoo! wiggle away from Microsoft’s control.
Yahoo! ran a test last month in which it displayed Google-driven results beside approximately 3% of US search results. Since Google has a much larger inventory of PPC advertisers to draw from than Yahoo! does, it has a better chance of finding the right ads against keyword queries. The experiment showed that ads injected from Google’s AdWords network converted better and drove higher revenues.
The experiment has led to a short-term deal between Yahoo! and Google, one that served to derail Microsoft’s attempt to acquire Yahoo!.
The HooGoo deal, while driving up Yahoo!’s projected and real bottom line and giving it a lucrative lifeline, has attracted attention from the FTC and SEC as it potentially gives Google over 90% of the PPC market. It’s attracting our attention too.
PPC Assurance is in a unique position as one of the only independent PPC click-stream analysis providers. PPC Assurance was designed to monitor and improve PPC driven traffic and detect invalid click activity. We’ve found an enormous number of invalid clicks caused by explainable mistakes made by the search networks or within the campaign settings of PPC advertisers. We expect to see more very, very soon.
Integration of AdWords into Yahoo!’s content stream is bound to lead to a greater number of campaign placement errors, those that show your ads in areas or at times outside campaign parameters set by the advertiser. While PPC advertisers can expect to see greater traffic as the contextual relevance of pay per click ads in the Yahoo! network improves, we anticipate they will also see a larger number of misplaced ad placements leading to a greater number of invalid clicks.
How long this situation will stay in place or the depth of ad integration with Google is anybody’s guess. Though the maneuvering between Microsoft and Yahoo! appears to be over, industry watchers anticipate Ballmer might take another stab if Yahoo!’s share prices plummet as expected.
As it stands today, the acquisition attempt was unsuccessful and Yahoo! will likely pursue deepening its relationship with Google Ads; so long as the FTC and/or the SEC allow them to. A rejection from the FTC or SEC could reopen the door for a second Microsoft takeover attempt.
Whichever way the networks move in the coming months, the PPC marketing environment is going to undergo a radical makeover. Enquisite’s PPC Assurance will be measuring and monitoring traffic as it does, generating as many invalid click refund reports as necessary. Make sure your PPC campaigns are monitored, especially during this time of network integration.
Posted under PPC Assurance
