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By Mary Wagner
F
rye boots were a hot
item among fans
of footwear fashion
last fall and winter-one
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good reason for savvy
Internet shoe retailers
to bid on that brand
name during the season
in paid search keyword
campaigns. In fact, so
many bid on Frye boots
that competition was stiff to get shoppers'
for a higher keyword position on search
attention and stand out from a crowd of
engines. In fact, the campaign, newly
search listings.
managed for the season by search
Yet for SimplySoles.com, a small online
marketing firm MoreVisibility. com Inc.,
retailer of designer women's shoes, a paid
actually cost SimplySoles less per click
search campaign for "Frye boots" was
than when it had managed its own search
a winner, generating a 50% increase in
campaigns, while producing better results.
conversions after the company made a
critical change to its campaign.
�
That change? It wasn't more money
Internet Retailer. March 2006
.Instead, SimplySoles and MoreVisibility
looked to a side of search that some online
www.internetretailer.com
marketers underestimate: the ad
technology to reduce the labor in
Other basic best practices
copy. Between what can become a
managing pay-per-click spending,
include loading into the listing as
bidding frenzy to secure top position
those automated agents tackle only
early as possible a brand name and
under coveted keywords on Google
part of what makes an effective
information on pricing, promotions
or Yahoo and complaints over the
search campaign, says Danielle
or anything that underscores a
rising cost of keywords, search
Leitch, executive vice president of
competitive position, says Diane
marketing companies say it bears
client strategy at MoreVisibility. "It's
Rinaldo, director of the retail cat­
remembering that success is not all
a small piece of the pie," she says. "In
egory for Yahoo Search Marketing.
about the bid. The language in a
reality, the creativity behind the cam­
paid ad listing also critically affects
paign can be much more influential."
click-through and ROJ.
Simple and bold
Paid listings operate in a con­
Finding a copywriter
With the ever-increasing popularity
strained format: Yahoo in January
and competitiveness of search
trimmed the 190 characters it
marketing, writing for search has
MoreVisibility altered the copy in
formerly allowed for paid search
evolved into a specialty among
SimplySoles' paid listing to something
listings to 70 characters, or two
copywriters-although there aren't
shorter, punchier and more directly
lines of 35 characters each including
many practitioners yet. "Do a search
relevant to the targeted audience.
spaces and punctuation (though that
for copywriters on the Internet, and
"Rather than include a lot of details,
doesn't apply to ads it distributes to
you'll probably find people who have
they made a simple and bold state­
partner sites). Google's paid listings,
a lot of experience in doing ad copy
ment that caught customers' atten­
AdWords, allow 25 characters in the
for print," says Cliff Koraska, COO
tion," says Rebeccah Sensenbrenner,
headline and 35 in the second line.
of online exercise equipment retailer
SimplySoles general manager.
"When you are limited to a
Under that rationale, the earlier
very short amount of space,
ad copy became "Boots Shoe of the
you have to be very concise
Season-The 'Must Have' Boots of
in describing what you are
the Season From Pucci, Frye, Miss
providing, then also offer them
Sixty & More."
something compelling to make
Another product from
SimplySoles, the CozyChic robe,
Smoothfitness.com. "You probably
them want to go to your site
and learn more about it," says
experienced similar improvements in
Charles Chin, senior associate
search results when MoreVisibility
of Google's vertical operations
pumped up its ad copy to
for retail. For a retailer, for
"CozyChic Robe-Pamper Yourself
example, that could take the form
won't find 50 that do ad copywriting
W ith the Luxurious CozyChic
of an ad that says, "Limited-time
specifically for the Internet."
15% off offer." Says Chin, "That's a
Karon Thackston, whose
promotional offer that conveys time
company, Marketing Words, has
the campaigns by rotating different
sensitivity and therefore the idea that
a sub-specialty in copywriting for
versions of the new ad listings on
you want to act now."
search engines, uses best practices
Robe By Barefoot Dreams."
MoreVisbility further optimized
the engines for several weeks, and
But getting a call to action into
then building information on their
the listing is only half the battle; it had
comparative performance into the
better be specific, too. A listing for a
She starts creating pay-per-click list­
campaigns going forward.
flower retailer that says "Worldwide
ings by trying out the searched term
delivery service guaranteed to get
in the headline of the listing, a proven
to the fact that fewer words often
there in time for your event," simply
technique for pulling the searcher's
have more impact and that I should
describes some features of the service.
eye into the ad, though sometimes,
not be afraid to use bold adjectives in
"A more specific message would be,
she says, "forcing that in will take up
our campaigns," Sensenbrenner says.
'New York flowers, delivered to you
more space than you have."
"MoreVisibility has educated me
from the search engines and has
developed insights of her own as well.
within 24 hours.' It's a specific geog­
Thackston says she's also
companies and their clients have
raphy and a specific time frrune," says
learned to look at what a client's
focused on automated bidding
John McAteer, head of Google Retail.
competitors are doing in paid
W hile many search marketing
www.internetretailer.com
March 2006 • Internet Retailer
€I)
search. If there's a trend, she weighs
that would entice the right visitors
the desired outcome and offered
an example of how that works:
going in the other direction. "If the
and helps prevent people who were
entire column of Coogle AdvVords
just looking from clicking your ad
A hypothetical online bookstore
advertisers is using the search
and running up your tab," she says.
creates a paid search ad that says,
phrase in their headline, then you
"Free books, click here" to support
balancing act
want to do the opposite because you
A
want to stand out," she says.
Beyond basic best practices to
who buy 10 books receive one book
shorten and clarifY search ad copy,
free. W hile that copy will likely
writing for paid search is ads that
the choice of language used in
increase the overall click-through
are too broadly written in an effort
the creative should depend on
rate, once visitors discover they must
to snare more clicks. They can end
what the objective is, according to
buy 10 books to get the free one, the
up backfiring because they attract
search marketing experts. "Creative
conversion rate is likely to go down.
too many clicks that won't convert,
can impact click-through and
unnecessarily burning through the
conversion rate, and many times,
trum, the online bookstore that wants
marketing budget. A better strategy,
the two act in opposition to each
to pre-qualifY visitors who click
says Thackston, is to qualifY clicks
other," says Harrison Magun, vice
through so as to minimize ineffective
with "deal breaker" copy in the
president and managing director of
paid search spending, limiting them,
listing. "If you say, 'Luxury Mexico
Avenue NRazorf1sh AR Search.
say, to those who are willing to wait
A frequent error she sees in
Cruise, 2/6,' people not available to
a promotion in which consumers
On the other end of the spec­
Magun recommends clients
to get their books, could create an ad
leave on that date won't click your ad.
balance click-throughs and conver­
that says, "More than 1 million titles,
You're giving detailed information
sions in their search ad copy against
30% available to ship now."
'You say bamboo, I say woven wood,
but let's not call the whole thing off'
C
opywriting is one way that wordsmiths ply their craft online;
writing keywords for search engine marketing is another.
And while keywords are usually only one, two or three words,
benchmarking
they are important to the success of a web site.
exercise, the
Take the term "bamboo shade." Pretty simple, huh? How
agency looked
else would you describe it? Well, to the shade-manufacturing
at the number
industry, bamboo shades are "woven wood shades."
of searches on
"It's a copywriting challenge," says Sarah Cook Perkinson,
major engines over
vice president of marketing at Blindsgalore.com, which uses both
the previous 120
"bamboo shades" and "woven wood shades" as search engine
days for about 50
keywords. "You try to improve your rankings and be relevant to
words relevant
consumers based on the search terms they use-you don't want
to Blindsgalore's
to fall prey to the fact that those aren't the correct terms."
business. It found
The search engines themselves offer a lot of specific guidance
o
As part
of an initial
that the industry
Sarah Cook Perkinson, vice president of
marketing, Blindsgalore.com
to paying search advertisers and those seeking to optimize
and consumers
natural search, including which keywords get the most searches.
in some cases used different language-like "woven wood
Marketers work with the engines on creating an ad strategy from
shades" and "bamboo shades"-to describe the same
data compiled by the engines, create campaigns on their own, or
products, leading to missed connections that affected search
look to a third party such as an interactive agency. That's what
rankings, click-through and sales. Other examples included
Blindsgalore.com did in turning to Avenue AlRazorfish's AR Search
"cordless" shades, which some shoppers called "cord-free,"
unit for help with boosting natural search rankings.
and "tQP down bottom up," which is the industry term for
Internet Retailer. March 2006
wvvw.internetretailer.co m
"That may improve the conver­
categorizing them and coming up
believes that automatically opti­
sion rate, because people who don't
with regimented tests." Magun also
mizing the ads as soon as a trend
want to wait won't click through,
believes ad testing should be of
appears doesn't produce test results
but the click-through rate is going
statistical significance. "You can't
as valid as an equal comparison. "If
to go way down," says Magun.
just say after 300 or 400 clicks, 'This
there are a lot of marketing points
But that can also be an effective
works or this doesn't,'" he says.
we can use, we may end up using
approach, as in the case of one AR
Search client whose paid search ad
Rotating ads
all the ads," she says.
Nevertheless, Chin says most
creative- "Win an iPod. Free trial.
To speed up the testing and
advertisers choose to leave the
Credit Card required"-was effec­
optimize campaigns based on test
creative optimizing feature in Google
tive in discouraging click-through
results sooner, Google uses a creative
campaigns. "Most people tend to use
from unqualified prospects.
optimizer that will automatically
the feature because it does the extra
rotate multiple versions of an ad
legwork for them," he says.
W hile marketers and search
engine marketing companies are
and automatically serve the one that
compiling a growing body of data
initially received the highest click­
is a challenge, as typing in a few
on what works for search and what
through more often. The rationale
keywords and looking at some of
doesn't, testing is a critical part
is that's the version more people
the ads that come up will show.
of maximizing ROI for search
will choose to click on in the future.
"There are a couple of things that
campaigns, Magun says. "People are
Yahoo also allows advertisers to test
should be focused on," says Leitch.
always looking for the silver bullet,
multiple versions of an ad over time,
"Make it short and sweet and
but there is no silver bullet. It's
but it is a more manual process.
compelling. Brand yourself, define
Google advertisers can opt
silver buckshot," says Magun. "We
yourself, qualifY the click, explain
never say we know how something
out of the optimizing feature,
who you are, what you do, and any
is going to work. We say, here are
meaning that different versions of
special offers you might have-in
the possibilities, here are the things
the ad will be served up equally, a
70 characters or less. Writing good
we test for and here is how we
strategy typically recommended by
copy is not easy." •
focus on testing creative elements,
More Visibility, says Leitch, who
1i'tblindsgalore
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shades that can open from the top or the bottom, but which are
who are more qualified coming in from organic
search because of this effort," says Perkinson.
"Though the sheer volume isn't higher, the average
Blindsgalore.com explains to shoppers that "natural shades," "bamboo shades" and
"matchstick shades" all refer to the same thing.
order is higher."
Once the retailer has chosen the keyword,
best practices in search marketing call for including the search
described six different ways by the six major manufacturers
keyword in the title or first line of the listing and if possible, in the
that fabricate them.
description. "Eye-tracking studies show the title is the most-read
AR Search and Blindsgalore addressed the issue by creating
. page content that delivers a natural search listing that shows
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Creating effective search copy
Internet Retailer. March 2006
part of the creative listing," says Diane Rinaldo, director of the
retail category for Yahoo Search Marketing.
www.internetretailer.com