Earning a living from CPA marketing

[Rvfamily]

Bing Campaign 2

I decided to try something new this time. I wanted to try a different type of offer, so I went in to my clickbank account and found the offer for Teds Woodworking. It had a good payout, high gravity and lots of creatives available. It also had lots of ideas and information I could glean from Follow.net, to make and test my own ads. So here are the campaign specifics.

Target: Tier 1 English speaking countries
Payout: $59.60 plus chance for upsells
Budget: $10 per day
All search from Bing and related network, but not content network.
Keyword set: 1546 total (taken from the Google keyword tool for "woodcraft projects")
Keyword Type: All broad match
Direct linking in this campaign
Ads and statistics as follows:

So, as you can see, I tried testing the dynamic keyword tool pretty heavily in this ad set. The CTR% were not nearly as good as the first campaign. We can glean that there are times when the dynamic keyword works well and other times it does not.

Clearly the the ad with the most clicks was the dynamic keyword ad at the top, with 104 clicks (just under half for the entire set of ads). It also had the highest CTR% at .28%. This is down significantly from the previous campaign, but our cost per click is still very low at just $0.11 per click.

We can see that in certain niches, there is an opportunity to get pretty cheap clicks to our ad using Bing traffic. We also see that different headlines are going to draw from different types of keywords and have different CTR% and different Avg. CPC's. Perhaps the most important reason to test; to optimize and find the sweet spot.

In this example, all four dynamic keyword ads outperformed the other ads I created. In addition, the "Woodworking Plans Galore" ad had the highest CPC's of any ad. Low CTR and highest CPC for the ad set means that ad gets axed!

I paused the campaign after a spend of $20.78 with total clicks at 231. I am considering reinstating the campaign with some changes, as I didn't even reach a point of 1x the payout in ad spend. Remember, a good general rule of thumb for you spend is 3x the payout.

This is why it is suggested that you test lower payout offers when you are getting started. You can get to the point of statistical significance and 3x your payout with a much lower spend per campaign.

Takeaways from Bing Campaign 2

1. In optimizing the ad sets, when you find some that are working, use them to create variants to have a faster chance of optimizing the ads. If you are creating totally new ads, you will have to let them run for approximately the same number of impressions to compare apples to apples with other ads.
2. Another lesson I have already learned that had to be reinforced; if you want to conserve your money when funds are tight, TEST LOWER PAYOUT OFFERS!
3. In this test, I am finally beginning to understand optimizing rather than simply cutting. I dug into the suggestions icon data from Bing (light bulb next to your campaign (in page) or at the top of the page) to see the bid map for the top converting keywords. This allows you to see the graphical representation of how your bid effects clicks (potential- see below). I then went into to the top keywords and optimized the bids based on the bid maps. I.E., if I increase the bid from .15 to .22 (increase of just under 50%) I will generate a potential additional 22 clicks (increase of 225%)- just as an example.

Above we can see in the bid map the bid increases (1) along with estimated changes in clicks, as well as the bid map (2) for a graphical representation. As you begin to collect some data, you need to go in and look at what keywords are getting clicks and look at optimizing them through this process.

I am still pondering whether/how to proceed in this campaign, but I have another campaign already up and running (several days already), and I will provide the details for it, in the next couple of days.

I had zero conversions in this campaign. I would love any constructive feedback on how to be better.

Remember: You've only lost, when you quit trying.

As always,
Here's to your success!

 

[azgold]

Love the detailed posts you bring to the thread, @Rvfamily !

I'm still wondering why, when you're using Bing, that you don't use the Bing kw search tool and Ad Intelligence tool instead of Google? I wonder simply because Bing's shows the search volumes and keywords for their own search engine...which you are using to advertise on. I'm not saying it's wrong, just trying to understand.

This is just my personal preference but much of the time, I set kws to exact match to ensure I get good targeting and my ad budget goes to people genuinely interested in what I'm offering. Mind you, it typically means a slower flow of traffic and there are no guarantees that it will net the conversions you hope for but it feels more controlled and better targeted to me. Like I said, just my personal preference.

I like the bid map, haven't checked it out yet. Thanks for mentioning it.

Love how you keep forging ahead!

 

[Rvfamily]

Love the detailed posts you bring to the thread, @Rvfamily !

I'm still wondering why, when you're using Bing, that you don't use the Bing kw search tool and Ad Intelligence tool instead of Google? I wonder simply because Bing's shows the search volumes and keywords for their own search engine...which you are using to advertise on. I'm not saying it's wrong, just trying to understand.

This is just my personal preference but much of the time, I set kws to exact match to ensure I get good targeting and my ad budget goes to people genuinely interested in what I'm offering. Mind you, it typically means a slower flow of traffic and there are no guarantees that it will net the conversions you hope for but it feels more controlled and better targeted to me. Like I said, just my personal preference.

I like the bid map, haven't checked it out yet. Thanks for mentioning it.

Love how you keep forging ahead!

@azgold,

As always, thanks for following along, for your input and help. So, as to why use Google planner as opposed to Bing. Well, I must admit that I'm a little ashamed but, in two courses I have taken that deal with Bing advertising, they both utilize the Google planner over the Bing. This is why I was using it. What you say makes sense, so on the next campaign, I'll be using the Bing planner instead.

As to match type, I found an interesting article on PPC Hero that really gets down into the weeds on this. It gets into the relevant stats about what works in PPC, when it comes to how to use match types in your creatives.

If does state that even though the spend on Exact match is lower across the board when it comes to Marketing Officers and how they allocate advertising dollars, that Exact match and Modified Broad Match perform better, all things considered (please see article). I will be re-instating the current campaign (to be revealed in the next day or two), and trying exact match on my keyword sets to see how things perform.

In addition, please look for another set of posts that deals with how to optimize your Bing campaign. I have learned some new things that I would like to share. See you then.

As always,
Here's to your success!

 

[azgold]

Thanks for the additional info, @Rvfamily ! I will be checking it out.

Good luck on the relaunch of your campaign.

 

[Judecd23]

Hey @Rvfamily any updates about your campaign?

 

[Rvfamily]

Bing Campaign 3

I decided to try promoting a physical product this time, as my AM said that it was an offer that was converting well. The offer allowed international traffic, which would allow for great scalability if you find an offer that works. The item was called the Trackr and was offered in a variety of sizes depending on whether or not you wanted to use it for tracking keys, phones, wallets or other items.

The one thing I noticed about this campaign as I was doing my research was that the CPC's for the brand and related terms was pretty high. This combined with the fact that the payout was $35.00 per sale, meant that this promoting this offer was going to cost some money to test.

I purchased the entry level subscription to Follow.net (my link)(they have a free side that allows you to see partial data and a paid side for viewing all of the data), which for the money, I think is one of the best spy tools. It allows you to see the top data items from some of the more expensive tools. You can see top keywords, top ads, top banners, etc. You'll still need to do some additional research with alexa, compete and similar web to get more demographic data. To see what the Follow.net page looks like, see below:

I'm not sure if there are some restrictions on what I might show, so I blurred out the top performing ad from each tool, but you can get an idea of what is possible with Follow.net. You'll still need to do some demographic research with alexa or similarweb to get an idea of how to create your ads and angles.

So, now that I had some ideas for what the top performing text ads were on several different platforms, I created a set of ads to run on Bing to test.

I created multiple ads. You can see the entire set I created below as well as the CTR% for each ad.

The best ad had a click through rate of .65%. But, we can also see that in this campaign, the dynamic keyword in the ad title didn't work as well. The top ad using a dynamic keyword only had a CTR of .18%.

I generated a total of 91 clicks at a avg cost of $0.65 per click. The keywords for this campaign had a higher CPC (product name and similar keywords), with some having CPC's of several dollars. Since I was testing, I was trying to minimize my CPC's so that I could generate more clicks.

I failed to generate a single conversion with 90 clicks and total spend of $59.11 testing. But didn't test it to the usually recommended 3-5x payout. I did learn one thing about testing. I have been conducting my campaigns such that I would create my ads, keyword lists and set my bids and then the only thing I adjusted was my bids if I wasn't receiving any traffic.

In studying more and going through several courses and blogs I have come to the conclusion that you only want to generate enough clicks (conversions or no) to be able to optimize the campaign. I don't think you should follow my steps of allowing a $50 or $60 test spend without touching anything other than the bids.

Three Key Takeaways

I did learn 3 key things during this campaign:

1. More about how to optimize a Bing campaign
2. Gained a better understanding about how to handle getting keyword lists.
3. Learned how to create ad groupings centered around those keywords

I'll share more about each of these in their own post (next three posts) before I move on to campaign 4.

I welcome your helpful insight or constructive feedback.

As always,
Here's to your success!

 

[Rvfamily]

OK, so I wanted to share a little bit about how to optimize a Bing campaign. There are several things you should do as you begin to get some data to work with. They are, in no certain order:

1. Begin to eliminate keywords that have high impressions, but low or no clicks and poor CTR%. Below is an example: Notice at number 1 this keyword has five clicks from 18,264 impressions for a CTR of just .03% with the avg click costing us 57 cents. We can also see that the ad has an avg position of 6.04. It would not be worth it to try and increase the position for this keyword and we should pause or eliminate it.
   
   
   By contrast, we see at number 2 a keyword that has six clicks out of 128 impressions for a CTR of 4.69% with an avg. cost per click of just 8 cents. In addition we see that the ad's avg. position when triggered by this keyword is 7.28. This puts it at the fourth position down on the sidebar. This would almost certainly be a keyword we could increase our bid on to move up to at least the 5th position, so that it was at the top of the sidebar ads.
   
   2. Quality Score:
   For your keywords to have the greatest likelihood to trigger your ad at the top of the search results, you need to focus on having a quality score for each keyword above 6. Six is the minimum competitive score you should seek to achieve, but 7 and above means it is highly competitive and will likely be shown more often and be more likely to have a higher CTR. In the end, you are more interested in what keywords are triggering conversions, but this quality score is still an ancillary factor to consider in optimizing your Bing campaign.
   
   3. Match Type:
   As you begin to get some good click data, and some conversions, you can begin to move from broad targeting (in the beginning) to Exact. This means that you will be more likely to have targeted eyes viewing your ads. This, in many cases can mean you get better CTR's on your ads, which in turn reduces your avg. cost per click.
   
   4. Now that you have begun to optimize your keyword lists, you should begin to optimize your ad groups as well. Let's look below:
   
   
   We can see that we should pause/cut the ad at number one to keep it from getting any views. It has a CTR of just .50% at the fourth position. We don't want this ad dragging down our stats and increasing our CPC's. By way of contrast, we want to focus our clicks on the ad at number 2. It has a CTR of 2.44% with an avg cost per click that is 12 cents lower. By removing the ads like number one and focusing our attention on ads like number 2 we optimize our ads. As I begin to reduce/remove the ads that don't perform, I begin to split test additional ads to try and improve my CTR and reduce my cpc.
   
   Hope this helps provide value.
   
   As always,
   Here's to your success!

 

[azgold]

@Rvfamily

Awesomely detailed, as always! Thanks for such a great optimization guide.

I have a question: Were you still using dynamic keywords up until you switched to Exact match? Or were they just set to 'Broad'?

 

[Rvfamily]

@azgold,

In some cases the dynamic keyword ads were disabled because they underperformed. In the cases where they performed well, I just left things in the exact match settings, but went from 4k-10k keywords to less than a hundred.

As always,
Here's to your success!

 

[Rvfamily]

So for the first 6 campaigns I conducted across two ad platforms (7S and Bing) I was using a simple set of targeted keywords usually consisting of about 300 or so. In going through two courses aimed at conducting PPC campaigns on the Bing platform, I have come to believe this is not a big enough base of keywords to get started.

When you are setting up your keywords, go into either Google adwords keyword planner, or the Bing keyword planner and do a search for the top 3-5 seed keywords for your offer type, angle and target demographic. So as an example, I am looking for auto loan keywords. I type in my 3 top seed keywords into Bing and get a return that looks like this:

We can see the ad group suggestions tab is what we are looking at. We can also view the individual keyword suggestions tab, but for what I have been doing, I just leave it on the Ad group's tab. I click the Export button (red arrow) and it downloads the entire set of keywords from all ad groups. In this case, it turns out to be 562 keywords.

In looking at some of the spy tools, I have seen where people are using keyword sets in the tens of thousands for very successful ads. We have 562. What we can do to increase the number of keywords is go to keywordshitter.com and type in the top 10 keywords (based on search volume from our total ad group) into the interface. You'll get something that looks like this:

We can see at (#1) that we have come up with what I think might be a trademarked name, so I'll just exclude this one and hit the button at (#2).

We will now get a list that will go on for some time, and usually only stops when I stop it. We can generate an extremely large number of keywords from this free tool. What's interesting, is that if you look at your results as they come out underneath in kws.com, you get search data and estimated cost data provided as well (see below: I think this is data for Adwords though). Handy from a free tool. You can also use the positive or negative filter to make sure that you include or exclude certain keywords or keyword groups.

So once I have my list of 5-10k related keywords, I can either take them over to my microsoft excel spreadsheet (with Bing Ads Intelligence add-on, which is free) or I can highlight about 1k at a time and take them over to Bing and add them to my keword sets. After that, make sure to adjust your minimum bids for all keywords right away, so you don't wind up paying 7 or 8 dollars for a click that comes in while you're processing everything (has happened to me!).

By creating such a huge list of keywords, I think you have a greater opportunity to find sleepers and high converting keywords that you might otherwise have missed. In the end we are most interested in conversions. If we find a keyword that is not quite as relevant, but converts very highly, even if the CTR is low, we win.

If you have any other tools, or insights into how to get or group keyword sets, I would love to hear from you.

As always,
Here's to your success!

 

[raynoldclare]

So for the first 6 campaigns I conducted across two ad platforms (7S and Bing) I was using a simple set of targeted keywords usually consisting of about 300 or so. In going through two courses aimed at conducting PPC campaigns on the Bing platform, I have come to believe this is not a big enough base of keywords to get started.

When you are setting up your keywords, go into either Google adwords keyword planner, or the Bing keyword planner and do a search for the top 3-5 seed keywords for your offer type, angle and target demographic. So as an example, I am looking for auto loan keywords. I type in my 3 top seed keywords into Bing and get a return that looks like this:

View attachment 5826

We can see the ad group suggestions tab is what we are looking at. We can also view the individual keyword suggestions tab, but for what I have been doing, I just leave it on the Ad group's tab. I click the Export button (red arrow) and it downloads the entire set of keywords from all ad groups. In this case, it turns out to be 562 keywords.

In looking at some of the spy tools, I have seen where people are using keyword sets in the tens of thousands for very successful ads. We have 562. What we can do to increase the number of keywords is go to keywordshitter.com and type in the top 10 keywords (based on search volume from our total ad group) into the interface. You'll get something that looks like this:

View attachment 5827

We can see at (#1) that we have come up with what I think might be a trademarked name, so I'll just exclude this one and hit the button at (#2).

We will now get a list that will go on for some time, and usually only stops when I stop it. We can generate an extremely large number of keywords from this free tool. What's interesting, is that if you look at your results as they come out underneath in kws.com, you get search data and estimated cost data provided as well (see below: I think this is data for Adwords though). Handy from a free tool. You can also use the positive or negative filter to make sure that you include or exclude certain keywords or keyword groups.

View attachment 5828

So once I have my list of 5-10k related keywords, I can either take them over to my microsoft excel spreadsheet (with Bing Ads Intelligence add-on, which is free) or I can highlight about 1k at a time and take them over to Bing and add them to my keword sets. After that, make sure to adjust your minimum bids for all keywords right away, so you don't wind up paying 7 or 8 dollars for a click that comes in while you're processing everything (has happened to me!).

By creating such a huge list of keywords, I think you have a greater opportunity to find sleepers and high converting keywords that you might otherwise have missed. In the end we are most interested in conversions. If we find a keyword that is not quite as relevant, but converts very highly, even if the CTR is low, we win.

If you have any other tools, or insights into how to get or group keyword sets, I would love to hear from you.

As always,
Here's to your success!

Thanks for the update @Rvfamily. It's a good idea. I only have around 200-300 keywords for a campaign. I'm using Jaaxy for keyword research.

It's also a good thing you mentioned about trademarked keyword. How do I know whether it's a trademarked keyword or not?

Thanks and keep going mate.

 

[Rvfamily]

Thanks for the update @Rvfamily. It's a good idea. I only have around 200-300 keywords for a campaign. I'm using Jaaxy for keyword research.

It's also a good thing you mentioned about trademarked keyword. How do I know whether it's a trademarked keyword or not?

Thanks and keep going mate.

@raynoldclare,

Thanks for following along! I just knew that bankrate was a trademarked name (authority website in the credit/banking/investment niche). You can also take the entire list out of kws.com and post it into Excel. If you have been compiling keywords from multiple platforms (in the above post, the 500+ from Bing Keyword Tool and several thousand from keywordshitter.com), you can then take them into Excel (or similar) and find duplicates and remove them. This just saves a step when you upload them into your ad platform.

As always,
Here's to your success!

 

[raynoldclare]

@raynoldclare,

Thanks for following along! I just knew that bankrate was a trademarked name (authority website in the credit/banking/investment niche). You can also take the entire list out of kws.com and post it into Excel. If you have been compiling keywords from multiple platforms (in the above post, the 500+ from Bing Keyword Tool and several thousand from keywordshitter.com), you can then take them into Excel (or similar) and find duplicates and remove them. This just saves a step when you upload them into your ad platform.

As always,
Here's to your success!

@Rvfamily. You mean we can't use any "brand name" even in a phrase or long tail keywords? For example "where to get free Mary Kay samples"?

 

[Rvfamily]

@raynoldclare,

I'm not saying you can't. It's just a personal thing for me. I have had several of my kewords come up for editorial review from Bing when they had certain brands in them. I just thought it easier to stay away from them. Hope that helps clarify.

As always,
Here's to your success!

 

[raynoldclare]

@raynoldclare,

I'm not saying you can't. It's just a personal thing for me. I have had several of my kewords come up for editorial review from Bing when they had certain brands in them. I just thought it easier to stay away from them. Hope that helps clarify.

As always,
Here's to your success!

I'm promoting on Bing too. I guess it's better to avoid the same mistakes.

Thanks a lot my friend. I wish you much success in your CPA marketing journey.

 

[azgold]

@Rvfamily. You mean we can't use any "brand name" even in a phrase or long tail keywords? For example "where to get free Mary Kay samples"?

If you're advertising a CPA offer, check the offer's restrictions. Sometimes they let you and sometimes they forbid it.

 

[azgold]

@Rvfamily

Wow, Casey - that is a lot of keywords! Looking forward to reading the outcome.

I'd never heard of keyword shitter, gonna try it, thanks.

Sadly, I cannot use Bing's Ad Intelligence tool, as it does not work with Excel Starter. However, I can copy and paste, as you also mentioned.

Lately, I've been trying to do just the opposite (7S, not Bing) and keeping my k/w list shorter, tight and exact. My thinking was that I only wanted truly targeted traffic. What a slow process! Really throttles a campaign. Think I'll try it your way, see what happens. Thanks for all the tips!

 

[raynoldclare]

If you're advertising a CPA offer, check the offer's restrictions. Sometimes they let you and sometimes they forbid it.

@azgold. Peerfly and NAMoffers dont allow publishers do bid on trademarked keywords. But i guess it means the exact keyword for example "Adidas" and not long tail keywords like "best Adidas shoes".

 

[azgold]

@azgold. Peerfly and NAMoffers dont allow publishers do bid on trademarked keywords. But i guess it means the exact keyword for example "Adidas" and not long tail keywords like "best Adidas shoes".

Hmm, not sure but they might not like it. You're best to double check with your AM to stay safe.

 

[raynoldclare]

Hmm, not sure but they might not like it. You're best to double check with your AM to stay safe.

Meaning keywords need to be generic and don't refer to any brand?