Are there economy-specific tactics that can help your campaign? With more people out of work, should you take a new strategy to market? I think the answer is “yes,” and that foregoing DKI (Dynamic Keyword Insertion) is one strategy worth considering. I’ve always thought of DKI as Fool’s Gold, and I’ll share some data to that point below.
The great Lakers/Knicks/Heat coach Pat Riley once referred to 3-point shots as “fool’s gold.” The gist of it is that those field goals can mask an otherwise poor effort, and can be easily taken away by a quick defender off the bench. Riley, whose teams’ physical play used to intimidate the league, preferred a more-methodical, deliberate, predictable approach.
The parallel is that “easy” clicks – in better times a great target – are easy gold. But now, with people out of work and budgets stretched farther, you’ll get more, less-qualified searches. And if you sell a product or service online, you need to protect yourself from idle searchers, from this Fool’s Gold.
As an aside, I’m aware that DKI is probably the most commonly suggested “expert” tactic in Search Engine Marketing. And in having this discussion with clients, I’ve more than once had them say “you want to do away with DKI? Are you nuts?” And it has it uses – an auto parts supplier where 10K+ Sku’s are offered, or a reg. flow site where there are multiple conversion points – but it has its pratfalls too. Its main danger is the fact that it draws less-targeted traffic to the site. People look for a pot of gold at the rainbow’s end, and DKI promises it to them. When you can’t deliver, you lose.
For my money I’d rather have a more-restrictive ad, sacrifice some idle clicks, and convert better on the traffic I do get.
I’ll be writing more about this over the coming weeks, but in the meantime here’s some data from a Financial Services client’s campaign (the client is a highly-trained, licensed expert in a topical financial service. The campaign drives traffic to a sign-up page, where he and his staff get the data they need to call in and help the prospects. They sell in the 48 contiguous states, and a signed client is worth several thousand dollars.)
- Ads with DKI
- 2.14% Conversion Rate
- $190 CPL
- Ads without DKI
- 2.72% Conversion Rate
- $143 CPL
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Hi, interest post. I’ll write you later about few questions!