Google Optimizations vs. SEM Manager… No Contest
Oct 24, 2007 Google Adwords
There are seldom any sure things in life, but this one is for certain, Google Adwords Optimizations aren’t worth the e-mail bandwidth they are sent to customers on. One might say, Google has the insider advantage on your campaigns and ad groups, but practical experience says otherwise. For those itching to learn Adwords secrets, you may want to read on.
In true PPC-Advice.com style, we’re going to look at a head-to-head comparison pitting Adwords Optimization Specialists against the Search Engine Marketing Manager.
Keyword Selection:
- Any good SEM Manager will have a very intimate understanding of keywords that will convert for their clicks, plus they will have the advantage when it comes to finding long tail industry-specific keyword combinations.
- Google may have completed optimizations on sites that are in the same vertical as you, so they know where to find keywords that will get lots of traffic. However, this traffic may be unqualified due to lack of strong campaign negative keywords.
Advantage: SEM Manager
Ad Text Creation:
- SEM Managers may have industry experience needed to find their “true” competitors within any given ad placement space and write compelling copy to draw in more visitors.
- Google has the benefit of knowing which ads will give you a slight edge in click through rate, but how much of the traffic is targeted? For the majority of my Adwords clients, I try to run only one fantastic text ad, whereas Google always suggests three.
Advantage: DRAW. What constitutes “good” text ads is not clear cut.
Campaign Optimization Speed:
- It’s safe to say that most SEM Managers can effectively optimize a campaign within one week.
- Google Optimization Specialists are swamped with hundreds of projects per week, so most optimization jobs have to wait at least 2-3 weeks to complete. Then you have to either approve or reject line-item changes.
Advantage: SEM Manager
Best Interest:
- One might say the primary responsibility of the SEM Manager is to maximize the return on investment of your Adwords budget. It’s safe to say that within 2-3 business days, a SEM Manager will know what works and what doesn’t and can react accordingly.
- Adwords Optimization Specialists want one thing: for your Adwords account to generate more clicks, and more revenue for Google. You thought they were crazy with a $150 IPO? Crazy like a fox!
Advantage: SEM Manager, unless you’re a Google stockholder!
And the winner is…
…the SEM Manager, by far the best bet when it comes to optimizing your search campaigns. Google Optimization Specialists are great for marketing departments that are starting off with Google Adwords that have no idea where to begin, but those businesses that have any sizable investment in search marketing should really consider a good search engine marketing firm for their campaigns.
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