Go beyond Google! Make it easier for consumers to FIND YOU ONLINE by establishing your brand’s presence on this platform too! [Thursdays: FYO!]
According to Neil Patel, co-founder of the marketing agency NP Digital:
“Gaining paid search footholds can be challenging, and once you’ve built a successful Google Ads campaign and watched it perform, it can be disheartening to reach the end of that campaign’s lifespan.”
Think about it. Do your PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns really have to end?
They don’t have to—unless it’s necessary or you’re planning to conduct a new marketing strategy!
In fact, one good tactic for extending the success of your PPC campaigns is to look beyond Google Ads.
One of the other platforms you can use to promote your brand online?
The Microsoft AdCenter!
…which Neil Patel states is easy to advertise on because the platform has similar functionalities with Google Ads.
What is Microsoft AdCenter?
This is a centralized hub where business owners and marketers go to create sponsored ads on Bing, Yahoo!, and other affiliate platforms.
The Microsoft AdCenter was previously called Bing Ads, which went through a rebranding after joining forces with Yahoo!
Here’s the thing: While it’s true that the majority of online search traffic comes from Google, that doesn’t mean you should be disregarding the Microsoft AdCenter.
In case you don’t know, the advertising platform still has a 30% market share of the Internet’s search function, with 1.3 billion unique users per month!
If that doesn’t make you want to add Microsoft AdCenter to your online marketing strategy list, we don’t know what does.
So… what are some benefits of using the platform for your ad campaigns?
- Campaign Level Control – Some platforms require brands or businesses to set the language, ad rotation, network, ad scheduling, and location settings on a fixed basis. Once finalized, you are no longer allowed to change these settings.
Good news: That’s not the case for Microsoft AdCenter! Here, the options mentioned above are open for changes, allowing you to easily update the settings anytime rather than having to build an entirely new ad campaign.
- Increased Engagement and Conversion Rates – According to a study conducted by NP Digital, brands that used Microsoft Ads in their campaigns recorded as high as 56% conversion rates. That’s a good conversion if you’re aiming to establish your brand’s online presence and increase engagement rates with your target market.
Aside from that, the platform has search partner networks that enable you to connect with other businesses and expand your brand’s reach across multiple channels!
- Ad Scheduling – Scheduling is a key component of any PPC campaign. That is why you have to carefully consider different parameters for setting up ad schedules.
One good thing about Microsoft Ads is its dashboard time is not automatically set to the time upon the creation of your ads! This means you can easily set schedules based on the location of your target market without having to update the time every now and then.
Now that you know a few benefits of using Microsoft Ads, here are tips on how to optimize your ad campaigns on the platform:
- Segment your campaigns.
Segmentation lets you:
Cater your message to different groups of consumers.
Enable the collection of targeted metrics.
Make more intelligent optimization decisions for your ads.
By segmenting your ads, you can tailor your marketing messages to target different groups of people.
… and when you successfully reach more consumers online, there’s a higher chance for your brand to improve its online traffic and even its customer base!
- Use ad extensions.
Extensions expand your ad with more information, giving online users more reasons to interact with your business.
Through these tools, you may add additional pieces of content about your brand such as contact number, address, or a particular web page link.
These free-to-add options help increase the visibility of your ads―and brand in general!
- Follow good copywriting practices.
Strong and relevant copies are vital to the success of your Microsoft Ad campaigns. As you optimize content, it’s important to keep these practices in mind:
Identify your target market’s primary pain point (a specific problem that customers are experiencing). Doing so will help you establish how you can solve their problems and that you understand their pain. This will also build trust and connection between your brand and prospects.
Use numbers and statistics appropriately. Including these data in your copies helps grab readers’ attention. However, keep in mind that you shouldn’t overload your content with numbers as these might also cause readers to lose interest in knowing what your brand has to offer.
Use emotional triggers. When you harness the power of emotion in your ads, there’s a high chance that your target market will react to your copy. Just keep in mind that like numbers and statistics, you shouldn’t misuse emotional triggers since doing so can lead to awkwardly written copy.
- Maximize the Microsoft Audience Network.
This marketing solution draws on the platform’s artificial intelligence (AI) to help you better target your audience.
By providing you with data about online users’ Internet activities, LinkedIn professional profiles, demographics, and more, the Microsoft Audience Network lets you know your target market more.
Be sure to take advantage of this exclusive offering as it can boost your ad performance!
- Use Universal Event Tracking (UET).
Another exclusive solution from Microsoft, UET lets you view customer behavior after they interact with your ad.
By placing a UET tag across your brand’s website or ads, you allow the platform to gather data and keep track of your goals and engagement rates with online users.
Here’s one business that uses Microsoft Ads to create effective PPC ads:
MAYBELLINE!
As a multinational cosmetics company, Maybelline makes sure consumers all over the world are aware of its makeup, skin care, fragrance, and other personal care products.
One of the things that the company does to achieve that?
It uses a detailed breakdown in its paid listings to allow online searchers to find exactly what they need!
By using ad extensions and segmenting its website links by eyes, lips, face makeup, and other promos, Maybelline increases the likelihood that a customer will readily find what he or she is looking for.
Has this strategy been effective for the brand?
YES!
According to the traffic analysis website, SimilarWeb, the total number of visits to Maybelline’s website in April 2021 was 1.1 million and 81.6% of the brand’s traffic source came from online searches.
Clearly, advertising on the Microsoft AdCenter was a great help for Maybelline’s online marketing strategy!
When you optimize your online marketing efforts, you increase your brand’s chances of being immediately seen by consumers.
Once that happens and you successfully reach your target market online, you will not only increase your revenue, but also your brand’s online visibility and customer base.
Be sure to take advantage of Microsoft Ads!
Familiarize yourself with the platform’s features and go beyond your brand’s established online presence on Google.
By doing so, you’ll later on see your business’ success rate rise as you optimize your target audience reach online!
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Thursdays: FYO! Find You Optimization”
Why should you stop thinking SEO and start thinking FYO?
We’re not saying that you should abandon Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Don’t get us wrong, of course, we know this is something very important, especially in today’s digital marketing age.
The internet landscape is vast, and a world of its own. You really need to distinguish yourself and make your brand/company/website known and easily searchable.
Better yet, get to the top of page one for Top Results on Google or any other search engine.
However, what is the purpose of SEO? It’s that customers Find You!
That’s what matters. So, while SEO is one factor of FYO… it really is only one, and we ought not to abandon all the myriad of ways digitally and offline for improving your FYO.
How can we look at this from a different and better perspective?
Let’s say you have it in the bag! You and your team are experts in SEO. Awesome. But did you ever wonder what else you could do to push it further and give your SEO skills a boost?
FYO! Find You Optimization!
You need your target audience to FIND YOU—your brand, product, service, or offer. This is SEO plus other tools that increase visibility online (and offline).
Every Thursday, we publish content on how you can get your target market to find you, beyond the typical “type and search.” There are other things you can do along with your SEO to give your online advertising process a boost.
Try considering other tactics beyond it—WOMO (Word Of Mouth Optimization), RO (Referral Optimization), and “All-Other-Means-Of-Getting-Your-Target-Market-To-Find-You” Optimization (AOMOGYTMTFY, if you’d like a long acronym).
Part of a great marketing strategy is knowing how to adapt new methods and make use of different types of marketing and promotion that best fit your business goals and which give you the results you want.
Hope you’ve found this week’s insights interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Thursday’s FYO!
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Marketing
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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