Using Product Data Feeds to Automate Paid Search Marketing

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is the practice of matching the search terms a consumer uses in, for example, Google to products on e-commerce sites. Often called paid search, or pay per click (PPC) it is a type of online acquisition marketing. For merchants that sell online ‘paid search’ is an extremely important sales tool. SEM is about producing compelling advertising that makes an online consumer click on the link within the advert. The more relevant an advert is to the search terms used, the more likely this is to elicit a click through. If a merchant can match a product exactly and the price, availability and delivery terms are reasonable then this will result in a sale. A general rule of thumb is that Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns will deliver around £1 of revenue per click through to the website across all products within paid search.

Where Product Data Feeds Fit In to Search

IF a consumer uses product key words in their search query we can then match these to the search. A search partner, such as Kenshoo or Marin, can then deliver a dynamic solution and decide on the bid terms to ensure that the advert is placed accordingly. There are, therefore, efficiencies for both consumer and advertiser in using product feeds. The advent of Google Instants means that a consumer can literally refine their keyword search as paid adverts appear and the most relevant adverts attract the most click-through. We can take the online consumer directly to the relevant product page. This ensures a 2 click search to basket process.

A product data feed contains all the product information and attributes about a particular product on an ecommerce website. For example, a feed should contain:

Category, Currency, Price, Delivery Cost (if applicable), Description, Standard Image, Last Updated Time Stamp, Mature Content Rating (if you have this type of product in your inventory), SKU/Unique Identifier, Stock, Thumbnail Image, Title, URL

The following attributes are RECOMMENDED attributes for retail feeds although they may be considered CORE attributes for particular categories. There may be other attributes that you need to include in your feed based on your particular products and website:

Brand, Colour, Delivery Time, EAN, Features, Gender, Genre, ISBN Number, Keywords, Model Number, Platform, Promotional Text, Size, Stock Level, Warranty, Was Price

Why use Product Feeds to Optimise Paid Search?

When an e-commerce merchant is interested in optimising their paid search, we normally build and supply a product feed to one of their search partners. We are also happy to recommend search partners such as Kenshoo or Marin if we need to start from scratch. One of the benefits of our feeds is the fact we can include numerous relevant keywords for each product. We can do this because we already have rich attributes extracted from the site. Often we complete manual mapping on our side, for example to map model numbers out of titles, enhancing the search results. We can also implement bespoke logic which ultimately means we cut out ‘wasted’ click through. We’ve done this for one client’s Kenshoo feed, to include per-category and per-brand rules to generate model number variations e.g. “AB-123L”, “AB123L”, “AB 12”. Furthermore, we can ensure that meta-descriptions of products match the search terms a consumer uses AND that the consumer then clicks through to the landing page of that product. We can even take consumer reviews if these are included on product pages.

You’ve heard of ‘Long Tail’ search right?

People are using multiple online channels and devices to research products and compare prices before buying. Once they’ve found the product it is then often further comparison around price points, availability, delivery options and payment terms that will decide ‘finally’ whether or not a product is placed in a basket and purchased. Online marketing is a multi-channel, multi device discipline now. Research performed on a laptop at work that cannot be turned into a purchase on the same site via i-phone later on = lost sale. Using product feeds we can apply business logic and ensure that all keyword terms within a meta-description are matched to a search. This is compelling when trying to first engage a consumer with the initial click through. By including price, discounts, model number, stock value and customer ratings you are also ensuring a strong position with which to convert researchers using ‘long tail’ search terms. Lastly, there is a great deal of competitive advantage to gain. Long tail terms typically don’t attract high bid prices because they contain 4 to 5 key words e.g. blue burberry mens coat (colour/brand/gender/product) that aren’t in great demand across merchant advertising bids.

Keeping  up to Date

Because we extract data directly from the e-commerce site (front end) we maintain key word terms as they change on site or for new products that are added. This cuts out considerable amounts of administration time in, for example, AdWords because you already have product optimised search terms. By automating PPC activity there is little requirement to AB test meta-descriptions as people are being directed towards products that have more precise search terms.

Marks and Spencer Example

Rob Freedman, head of online acquisition, explains the advantages:

“During the first six months of working with FusePump, M&S saw click through rate (CTR) on some categories within paid search increase by 32% and ROI increase by 150% for these categories. It has also seen a significant increase in revenue year on year via one of the UK’s top affiliate networks since integrating the FusePump feed with them”. Crucially, using a comprehensive product feed has helped M&S to improve inventory management. “We have a lot of products and priorities, and the business is continually updating pricing and offers, so it is important to get these to market quickly and accurately,” says Rob. “Integration of the data feed with Marin ensures we are limiting wastage through PPC spend and delivering significant gains in ROI and efficiency.”

The Future of Search

Aaron Goldman, CMO at Kenshoo, shares his thoughts on the future of search and search engine marketing:

“The future of search is a new engine in which ‘search’ is only one third of the functionality with ‘find’ and ‘transact’ functionality built in as well. In other words, the search engine will be rolled into a search, find, and transact engine (SFT engine). As a result, the 2-click landing page to basket process described in this column will shrink to 1-click and this will not occur on an e-commerce site. The ‘search’ engine results page will become the landing page populated with rich, dynamic content from merchants. There, consumers will be able to ‘find’ the best product through deep listings and nifty comparison features. Finally, shoppers will be able to ‘transact’ and complete purchases on the spot using Google checkout or something similar. So how will e-commerce merchants thrive in this future state? A simple way to unlock product inventory is by using product data feeds making everything available to SFT engines displaying the products on results pages.  Meanwhile, search automation will still be the name of the game and tools like Kenshoo will enable the delivery and optimisation of these listings based on each merchant’s promotions and margin requirements.”

In Summary

Paid search Automation has the following advantages for the e-commerce merchant:

• Increased matching of search terms to relevant products on the site and increased CTR as a result
• Utilise the product attributes including promotional text and discounting
• Dedicated meta-descriptions that employ business logic to ensure relevant terms
• Take consumers directly to the product landing page and basket in a 2 click process
• Ensure that products are correctly priced, discounted and billed increasing the chances of conversion
• Be prepared for the future of search, find, and transact engine