What is my favorite 7Search.com feature, you ask? It’s hard to nail down just one! But based on my experience with other PPC advertising groups, there’s no question that 7Search.com’s bidding structure is my hands-down favorite. Why? Well, let me break it down.
Top 3 Bids
This is absolutely the best! We all know how tricky it can be to get your site seen amongst the hundreds (if not thousands) of other advertisers who are trying to do the same thing. When I’m setting up my keyword bids, the Top 3 Bids feature lets me see exactly what I need to bid to be in the top three. Plus, the Rank column tells you exactly where you rank in comparison to everyone else using that keyword…so even if you’re bid isn’t in the top three, you’ll still know exactly where you stand compared to your competitors. Let me give you an example:
I have one highly relevant keyword that I knew would draw clicks, so I needed it to rank high. The number one bidder for that same keyword was bidding $.60 per click. I bid just $.06 per click. Seems like my bid would be at the bottom of the barrel, right? Wrong! For $.54 less than the number one competitor, I rank at number two. You read that right, NUMBER TWO! If I hadn’t been able to see the bids that ranked number two and number three (which were $.04 and $.02 respectively), you can bet I would’ve been forking out a whole lot more in hopes I’d be at least somewhat competitive.
Smart Bid
This is such a great feature of 7Search.com’s bidding structure, especially if you’re new to the PPC game or you simply need to dive in feet first to get immediate exposure for your online business. Based on the bids shown in the Top 3 Bids column, it’s easy to see how to get top ranking in 7Search’s search engine. But what about your ranking in all the search engines, websites and portals that make up 7Search’s affiliate network? The Smart Bid amount shown in the column is the average bid amount it takes to be listed in the top 2 or 3 spots on the affiliate network. Click on the amount in that column to see details about that keyword for 8 to 10 affiliate sites. You can use that information to determine if you wish to bid higher than the Smart Bid amount in order to raise your rank on the affiliate network.
MakeTop
No time to micromanage your bids on a day-to-day basis? Use the MakeTop feature to automatically bid higher on a keyword to keep yourself at the top of the bidding. Simply click on the MakeTop icon, select which campaign(s) you wish to work with, select where you want it to rank (#1 through #5), determine the minimum and maximum bids you’re comfortable with, and click the MakeTop For Selected Campaigns button. All the bids in your selected campaign(s) will automatically be changed to $.01 higher than your competitor’s bid for the position you selected, or to your specified maximum bid…whichever is lower. Talk about fast and easy…I love this thing! Click on the MakeTop icon on your Campaigns page for more details.
Visibility Flags
If your bid isn’t high enough to provide you with good visibility, you’ll see a flag pop up next to your bid telling you the level of visibility your ad will receive. A yellow flag indicates average visibility, and a red flag indicates poor visibility (see the legend at the bottom of your screen). If you see one of these flags pop up, it’s a good indicator that you need to re-think your bid for that keyword.
Wait, there’s more!
Of course, you still need all the basics when it comes to data analysis, and 7Search.com delivers. You have immediate visibility to your campaign’s keyword-specific data for a chosen period of time including total number of clicks, total cost for those clicks, average cost per click, and your overall average rank. There’s also an option for setting up conversion rates if you wish to install the conversion coding on your site’s “thank you” page. These are each essential to gauging the effectiveness of your ads in comparison to your sales volume.
So there it is…my favorite 7Search.com feature, the bidding structure. Wait, did I mention that their customer service group is easily accessible and quality driven? Then there’s the fraud protection that makes sure your ads aren’t being clicked maliciously…and the keyword suggestion tool…and 7Search.com’s Twitter page…and the detailed real-time reporting…hmm, maybe I should have titled this thing “Ten Things I Love About 7Search.com!”
Michelle Anderson
Zume Sales & Marketing, LLC
www.holidaywreathstore.com
www.madplatters.com