This is the 6th post in the SEM Beginner Series, following last week's post on ad position. This series of posts is intended for new search engine marketing professionals that are looking for guidance to help identify, monitor and adjust the key performance indicators (KPIs) that determine the success of a PPC campaign. Previous posts in this series discussed dynamic text, ad copy, click-through rate (CTR) and cost-per-click (CPC).
During the past two weeks, the Bing team has been hard at work rolling out new features, which followed the adCenter release of several new features including search query reports. As we head into the holidays, it is important to understand the differences between natural search results compared to sponsored sites (pay-per-click ads) and where they appear on the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Organic Results
The listings that I have highlighted for the search "digital camera" are organic listings, otherwise known as natural search listings. These listings are based on relevance to the search query, meaning you cannot buy your way to position #1. Often times, companies and website owners will hire SEO (search engine optimization) professionals to help build, maintain and optimize their site to achieve high rankings for relevant search queries.
For this search, DPReview.com is ranked #1 as they are an informational site, offering digital camera reviews, news and forums. Ritzcamera.com, a company who offers reviews, product information and the option to buy, is ranked #2. The number of results on the page will vary based on the search query.
Depending upon the user's search intent (informational, transactional or navigational), they may decide to refine their search by selecting subsets of digital cameras on the left hand rail. These include "top 10 digital cameras" and "digital camera accessories". Another option is to click on the related searches, featured on the left hand rail. Examples include: "Canon PowerShot" and Sony Digital Camera". You can also visualize this search by clicking "Visualize Digital Cameras". Visual search is a newer Bing feature that allows you to scroll through images to find the desired camera.
For updates and additional information on how to optimize your site for natural search listings, I highly recommend visiting Bing's official Community blog and Webmaster Center.
Sponsored Sites (also known as Pay-Per-Click ads)
Results highlighted in red are called "sponsored" or "paid" search ads. These ads are auction based and can be managed in Microsoft's adCenter. Several factors including relevance, performance and bids are used when determining ad placement for sponsored ads. The four ads at the top of the page are known as "mainline ads". These ads typically garner the highest click-through-rate and vary on cost. Typically, 1-4 ads will appear on the mainline, depending upon the search query.
Results 5 through 12 on the right are also paid search ads. These ads are relevant to digital cameras and offer great promotions including the ability to save money with Bing Cashback. This includes Dell and eBay.
The adCenter Community blog is a great community that is filled with tips, tricks and beginner's knowledge if you are new to paid search. The adCenter Learning Center offers several great video adCenter tutorials that will help you learn efficiently and effectively. Another great site for information regarding how to advertise with Microsoft is advertising.microsoft.com.
Finally, if you are experienced in adCenter and would like to become accredited, I recommend taking the adExcellence free course training and certification exam.
Happy Holidays!