The latest in our marketers guides explores whether you need paid media campaign management software to increase your ROI…
A Snapshot of Paid Search
Paid search continues to be a cornerstone for digital marketers.
In fact, according to a report sponsored by Marin Software, paid search represents the largest investment in digital advertising, and the amount spent each year is continuing to grow.
In the first half of 2013, $8.7 billion was spent on paid search. In the first half of 2014, $9.1 billion was spent. While mobile paid search is growing rapidly, it still trails far behind desktop search. Marketers spent $5.3 billion on mobile paid search in the first half of 2014.
The stakes are rising. More money is being spent, and companies are demanding more accountability for what that money is getting them. At the same time, the landscape is constantly changing with algorithm updates and new user behavior.
How do you keep up with it all?
Paid media campaign management software may help.
How Paid Media Campaign Management Can Help
There are a number of ways that paid media campaign management can help you better perform in this constantly evolving niche.
We now have a lot more options for online ads than your standard display ads. We have local inventory ads, remarketing lists for search ads, dynamic search ads, call only ads, Google shopping PLAs and much, much more. Trying to keep up with all these options in a market that is always changing can be dizzying.
The right paid campaign management software can help you to monitor the performance each of these ads and compare them to find out which is giving you the best return on your investment. You can even compare the same type of ads across multiple formats, such as shopping ads on both Google and Bing or the same display ad on different search engines and on desktop vs. mobile.
With more information, you can make better decisions about where to spend your advertising dollars and you can quickly sort through the array of options that are constantly being presented. You’ll know at a glance where you are getting the most bang for your buck.
Predictive analytics are also becoming more important to digital marketing. Not only can analytics let you know how your campaigns are currently performing, but they can also use historical data to let you know how they are likely to perform going forward.
Paid campaign management software can help you use predictive analytics’ information to automatically create more successful campaigns. For example, you may be able to use the predictive analytics’ data to automatically optimize bids based on location, device used, or the time. That will save you time, and it will help you make better decisions for your campaigns that will save you money and net you better results.
By using predictive analytics to make these changes, you ensure that you don’t ever miss out on opportunities. The work can be done even while you are sleeping, ensuring that you never lose a minute to profitability.
What to Look for in Paid Campaign Management Software
Of course, not all paid campaign management software is created alike, just like any professional tool you use.
It is important that you find the right software to help you get the results you need. The wrong software will only waste your time and money, and it could actually cost you on paid search in the long run by steering you in the wrong direction.
To get the most of your paid campaign management software, you need to look for features such as multichannel media support, multichannel attribution, bid management and optimization, and predictive analytics.
Those features should just be the minimum. The more that the software can do, the better.
When you are shopping for software, you should learn what search engines the software supports, what social medial sites, and what display channels.
Ideally, you should either find or create your own comparison chart of the different software suites and the features they provide. You can then get a sense of which software offers the best features overall.
Also make sure you check out the reviews for each of the software packages you are considering. Everything may look great on paper, but it may not operate the way you expect. Only hearing from people who have actually used the software can let you know what to expect.
If you can, get a trial of the software. You may be able to get a limited version of it to try, or you may be able to get a short-term subscription that lets you try out all the features for a limited time.
Your paid search campaigns are too important to the success of your business. Make sure you get the right tools to manage these campaigns so that you are maximizing your ROI and streamlining your operations. The right software will help you do both.