Paid Search
At Royle Media, we've been buying Google Ads since 2000, the year the program first debuted. Our view of paid search is different than other agencies. Our methodology requires extensive testing and keyword advertising is no different.
Google Ads
Pay-Per-Click advertising started with Google AdWords and the platform continues to be the dominant player in digital advertising. AdWords debuted in 2000 as the first self-serve advertising platform, a major innovation at the time. Google paid search continues to be an important part of the Royle Media advertising stack, particularly for business-to-business clients.
Google Ads (formerly AdWords) has fully matured. Google’s total share of US searches has declined to 62% (Jan, 2021) as the company focuses on other products like YouTube, Google Pay and Google Workspace. It feels like Google is divesting from the platform while wringing out as much margin as possible through automation, offshoring customer service and raising prices (cost per click).
Bing Ads
With 26% of all US search queries and growing, Bing cannot be ignored. Compared to Google, Bing users have more education, higher incomes and are older. For highly competitive keywords and phrases, the cost-per-click is normally more affordable than Google, reducing conversion costs.
Clients with niche products and services, particularly business-to-business, need to reach every possible prospect. Bing’s volume becomes the difference between make or break. All B2B companies should consider Bing in their advertising stack as the Microsoft search engine continues to grow.
Programmatic Advertising
Royle Media uses programmatic advertising leader Simpli.fi for two important keyword placements: search retargeting and contextual advertising. Simpli.fi purchases search data from Google and Microsoft for keyword targeting.
Search retargeting is one of the most powerful digital advertising tools available. Showing display banners and video ads to “searchers” in the market to make purchase is effective for both transactional and branding objectives. The clicks bring traffic and conversions while the visual ads create brand awareness.
Contextual advertising is another tool for keyword-based placements. Keywords and phrases are loaded into the programmatic platform, and display banner ads are placed adjacent to news stories about the same subjects.
Yelp
With more than 90 million unique users accessing Yelp on mobile each month¹, the advertising platform must be considered for local clients. In 2019 Yelp retooled their approach to under-cut expensive Google keyword advertising. People using the Yelp app have intent – they are ready to make an immediate buying decision. In fact, 97% of people who visit Yelp make a purchase after visiting Yelp!² Expect Yelp to become more visible and dominate in the local paid search space.
¹ comScore Media Metrix, October 2019
² 2019 survey by SurveyMonkey of people who reported having used Yelp in the prior 3 months