22 replies to this topic

[LeftoverJoe]

Hello,
I wanted to ask the forum if there is anything you would really like to see in a book on PPC? Are there specific things that aren't covered enough elsewhere? Any topics that you would consider 'must-haves'?

Any suggestions or things you would like to see would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Betty]

I'd like to see a reason that I would even want to buy a book on the subject! With so much info online - it would have to be pretty compelling info I coudln't find anywhere else.

[radhika]

I expect an very updated info in your ebook and proven strategies for me to follow easily

[LeftoverJoe]

Betty - That's a very good concern...however, there are people that don't know where to look to find that reliable information. Also, you are very knowledgeable about the industry, so honestly you probably wouldn't be the target reader. But, the idea is to write a book that compiles as much of the relevant information available from my perspective, organize it so that it is convenient and flows from topic-to-topic, and then add my own experiences, personal strategies and tactics, etc.

It could be a good resource for marketing people that have to implement PPC for their firm and haven't done SEM before, or small businesses that want to advertise on the web but can't afford to, or don't want to, hire out a consultant or agency.

With those things in mind, would you add anything else? Thanks!


radhika - Thank you. Updated information, and current trends and best practices would be useful. This is the type of book that would need to be updated on a yearly basis potentially. Kind of like a software bible or manual that changes whenever there is a major revision or update. Thanks for the input!

[torka]

Frankly, the main thing I'd want to know is how this book would be better, or offer me information I can't already get, from established experts in the field who have already written such books (Andrew Goodman, Perry Marshall, etc.).

--Torka

[OldWelshGuy]

Are we talking 'a few $$ to make life easier by my not having to search forums websites etc for the information' E-Book, .

OR are we talking about a genuine printed book here?

$20 for the easy guide to stop you wasting $$$hundreds a day would be good.

In it \i would expect everything from keyword reseaerch through to landing page quality score, grouping ads, tracking conversions, tracking ALL information, honing the campaigns, time controlling ads.

Well really a step by step guide to setting up and optimising an adwords campaign.

[Christopher]

Talking about the importance of properly tagging your urls with traffic information that can be tracked well.

[LeftoverJoe]

torka - Most of what is out there is about Google. Also, just because there are two or three books by several authors on one subject doesn't mean they have it totally covered. I have heard it from several people that you can teach the basics of pay per click with little difficulty...but the creative aspect and the unusual strategies that not everyone can do on their own, is what is hard to teach. That's what I am going for here. I am also going to cover Yahoo, MSN, etc., at a deep level.

OldWelshGuy - The book was originally conceived as a printed book. But it also lends itself to the e-book format. E-books can be updated much quicker and less expensively, so that may be a good option...but I always wanted to do a regular book.

I do plan on doing a comprehensive review of everything you should need to do when you first think of starting a PPC campaign, to what you do after you've got it setup, and what to do to make sure it continues to be profitable, etc. Ideally it will be an A-Z guide so anyone could read it step-by-step and at the end have a viable, quality campaign in place, and know what to do with it from then on.

Christopher - Tracking would definitely be a big part of the content. From deciding on what you want to track, best practices for setup, and all of the tools currently that are out there.


Thank you for your input, and your time. I appreciate it!

Joe

[Ignoramus]

"It could be a good resource for marketing people that have to implement PPC for their firm and haven't done SEM before, or small businesses that want to advertise on the web but can't afford to, or don't want to, hire out a consultant or agency."

That's us ! I think such a book would be useful.

We started using PPC several years ago and learned mainly by experimentation and trial and error. Granted, the information needed is on-line and in forums but when you are starting off it takes a while to find and understand it.

If you are an SEM pro' lots of things probably seem blindingly obvious. When you are not, Adwords/YSM etc can be daunting. It's remarkably easy to spend a lot of money learning the hard way !

Personally, I think such a book should start with the basics (eg. keyword research, types of 'match', ad design etc) before moving on to expand and cover each topic in more detail. The danger is getting too complex too soon.

One of the challenges of doing your own PPC marketing in a small company is knowing where to focus your time and effort. For example, after much experimentation and ad testing we now get around 10% to 20% CTRs on our most valuable keywords/keyword phrases. I think that's probably good enough - so now we are concentrating on conversion rates, shopping cart drop-out rates etc. Of course, you need to monitor everything all the time but when you are small you don't always have the resources to do everything at once.

If you are not a pro' one really useful feature in a book would be some 'industry averages' so you can tell how you are doing and where the biggest improvements are needed. For example, is a CTR of 10% good or not ? Does a conversion rate of 2% mean your boss is going to shoot you ? If 30% of the people entering your shopping cart leave without a purchase have you got a real problem or is this acceptable ? Of course, the figures will vary depending on your specific industry but averages would at least provide a rough guide to your success or failure.

Hope that helps from a 'user perspective'.

[LeftoverJoe]

Ignoramus - Thank you for your suggestions and your experiences. Starting with the basics and working into advanced concepts is a great idea. I also like the idea of suggesting where to focus your time and energy and what to look for as you're maintaining the accounts over time so you're not wasting resources.

Including and explaining industry averages, benchmarks, etc., is another great suggestion. I can see how that would be useful.

Again, thanks for your input. Your perspective is important because I think you would be the primary audience and who I am really writing for. Have a good one!

[tina]

... and don't forget MIVA on your SE list.

I'm with Ignoramus - a really good basic how-to book ... Simple Phase of PPC, More-Complex Phase, Very Complex Phase - there are so many levels of PPC that you can get into.

If this will be an e-book, then updating it regularly would be fabulous!

Can't wait!

Tina

[LeftoverJoe]

... and don't forget MIVA on your SE list.

I'm with Ignoramus - a really good basic how-to book ... Simple Phase of PPC, More-Complex Phase, Very Complex Phase - there are so many levels of PPC that you can get into.

If this will be an e-book, then updating it regularly would be fabulous!

Can't wait!

Tina

Tina, thanks for your reply! I was also thinking that an actual printed book would be cool, but there would be a dedicated site, or even emails, that would have all of the relevant updates. So you would go and sign up with your email address to get frequent updates to the content. Do you think that would be cool, or just have the whole thing as an e-book? Or both?

And yes, MIVA would be included. There setup and maintenance process is certainly not the easiest, but it can be good traffic. Good point.

Thanks!

[Ignoramus]

My ideal would be..

1. A hardcopy book.
2. A subscription to online updates.
3. Some sort of email based help.

When it's published put me down for a copy - providing, of course, it's a signed first edition.

[LeftoverJoe]

My ideal would be..

1. A hardcopy book.
2. A subscription to online updates.
3. Some sort of email based help.

When it's published put me down for a copy - providing, of course, it's a signed first edition.

Thanks, I definitely will get yours signed! And I like the idea of doing a hardcopy and then offering a way to get email updates as major changes happen. That seems to be the best of both worlds, and a way to keep the book relevant going forward.

[rolf]

If you are an SEM pro' lots of things probably seem blindingly obvious. When you are not, Adwords/YSM etc can be daunting. It's remarkably easy to spend a lot of money learning the hard way !

I second most (all?) of the suggestions so far so I won't go over the same stuff, but the above is the most relevant point to our situation. We've had several attempts at PPC, using a couple of free vouchers and a few quid we put in ourselves. I have found it quite daunting/confusing and so far all I can be certain about that I've learned some things I'll do differently on the next attempt, but I have no idea how far I am from at least breaking even. The free information I have found is often too complex to fully grasp at my current skill level, makes assumptions about the supposedly blindingly obvious (as above) and sometimes also contradictory. A consistent and simple (but thourough) guide would be invaluable - kinda how the 'for dummies' books used to be.

I think a print book with email updates etc. would suit me, even better would be a print version with a free download of an ebook version. I often read print books and then wish I could just find that one paragraph which mentioned 'xyz', an electronic version for later reference would save me a load of frustration in these situations.

Aslo, put me on your list of interested people - pm me for an email address if you want to

Good luck with it :-)