Alternatives to Google AdWords

Google Adwords is the 800 lb gorilla of the search ad market.

According to the research firm eMarketer:

• Last year, Google grossed about $24.6 billion in revenue from search ads. That’s more than 75 percent of the market.
• Google ad search revenue is expected to grow to $36.6 billion in 2019 and estimated to have a search ad market share of around 80 percent.

Despite Google’s domination of the market, four savvy paid media experts educated a few dozen digital marketing colleagues yesterday evening on the value of the Google AdWords alternatives that comprise the other ¼ of the search ad pie.

Bing Ads – Lizzy Geiling

The first speaker was Knucklepuck’s own Marketing Manager Lizzy Geiling. She focused on Bing Ads.

Some of the illuminating info she offered the group included:

• Although Bing Ads only has a 9 percent global search market share, that translates to 12 billion searches per month.
• Bing Ads have good demographics: 73 percent of users are 25 – 64 years old, and 38 percent have an associates degree or higher education.

Lizzy used some real client data, showing how a Knucklepuck client was able to achieve a 58 percent decrease in CPC (cost per click) and an 18 percent decrease in CPA (cost per acquisition) by adding Bing Ads into the paid search mix. This was just the tip of the iceberg. She also shared information about the Bing Universal Event Tracking Tag and Multi-Image Ad Extensions and other features during her full presentation.

2nd benefit of @BingAds is the ease of use. You can make use of the @Adwords import feature to import #AdWords campaigns directly to #Bing. #SEMdmv #DigitalAdvertising pic.twitter.com/Q4fwUg4HYA

— Knucklepuck (@KnucklepuckDC) February 22, 2018

Facebook Lead Ads – Cyrus Sussman

Next up was Cyrus Sussman, a marketing lead at Quorum. Cyrus presented on how Quorum is using Facebook lead ads to supplement his paid search.

After reviewing Facebook ad basics, he used actual campaigns with metrics to demonstrate how he’s been using Facebook lead ads to capture prospect’s contact information.

Although paid search ads consistently represent the lionshare of Cyrus’ budget, he pointed out some of the reasons he particularly likes Facebook lead ads, including:

• Facebook Leads can collect data from interested viewers (specifically designed to build email lists)
• Facebook Leads can be targeted by demographic
• Facebook has a larger inventory of lead ads than Google does of AdWords
• Facebook Leads look better on mobile than many websites

Cyrus said if a campaign is driving less than .5 percent results, his rule of thumb is to reconsider the campaign. His best campaign result to date is 4 percent CTR (clickthrough rate). He was also quick to point out that “conversion” is always a better metric to judge success than CTR.

Why would you use a #LeadAd on @FacebookAds? When you capture their email address, you can reach out to them for further offers and reengagement. #SEMdmv

— Knucklepuck (@KnucklepuckDC) February 22, 2018

YouTube, Twitter & LinkedIn – Cara Koscher and Adam Dominguez

The final speakers of the workshop were Cara Koscher and Adam Dominguez of Reingold, Inc.

Cara and Adam presented their advice on three alternatives to AdWords: YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn. Some of their observations included:

• Sometimes the higher price for 6-second YouTube ads are worth the spend because the viewer is forced to watch the entire video.
• YouTube is perhaps the most effective way to educate, entertain and inspire.
• Of the LinkedIn offerings, sponsored content and InMail are the most effective.
• Twitter is strong for building brand awareness and social following, but each tweet has a shelf life of about two hours.
• A-B-C-D is the best video content strategy: Attract – Brand – Connect – Direct.

Using a client as an example, Cara and Adam showed a LinkedIn InMail campaign with a 7 percent open rate, a $0.73 cost per send and a $1.25 cost per open that yielded five conversions.

Keep Up with Digital Marketing

Whether it’s paid digital media advertising or SEO, digital marketers need to keep their skills updated to be successful. That’s why Knucklepuck hosted educational events for the community.