Thinking through your campaigns like an information architect is a useful way to plan and optimize your search marketing campaigns.

Like websites and applications, campaigns are more effective when they follow a logical flow. Solid IA is not only helpful when planning and classifying campaigns, it’s also useful in structuring the reporting framework. Logically ordered campaigns support more practical reporting and can help search marketers to optimize campaigns.

PPC campaigns follow a strict hierarchy. The top node, Account, contains the billing and administrative information for the account’s owner. Campaign is the next level. Google allows for up to twenty-five campaigns per account. Campaigns are structured around a specific product, concept, or theme. Meta data and setting like geographic targeting, language, and budget are set on the campaigns level.

A campaign may include dozens of specific Ad Groups. Ad Groups contains the components of campaigns, including ad creative (text, Flash, video, etc.) and the keywords and search phrases that will spawn the ads. Ad groups represent the campaigns sales concept. Consideration must go into their structure and organization—properly structure ad groups are the heart and soul of successful PPC campaign.

The lists below illustrate the high-level IA for two campaigns that are focused on the same concept: New England Patriots memorabilia. In the first instance, the ad groups are organized around the players and the memorabilia type constitutes the creative and keywords.

The second campaign structures ad groups around the memorabilia type with player names functioning as creative.

While I can’t say which approach would be more effective, ad group structure clearly plays a major part in campaign approach and, ultimately, the success of the PPC program.

Campaign: Patriots Memorabilia (V1)

• Ad Group One: Tom Brady Memorabilia
  • Ad Creative: Tom Brady Hats, Tom Brady T-Shirts
  • Ad Keywords: Tom Brady Keywords
• Ad Group Two: Randy Moss Memorabilia
  • Ad Creative: Randy Moss Hats, Randy Moss T-Shirts
  • Ad Keywords: Randy Moss Keywords

Campaign: Patriots Memorabilia (V2)

• Ad Group One: Hats
  • Ad Creative: Tom Brady, Randy Moss
  • Ad Keywords: Tom Brady Keywords, Randy Moss Keywords
• Ad Group Two: T-Shirts
  • Ad Creative: Tom Brady, Randy Moss
  • Ad Keywords: Tom Brady Keywords, Randy Moss Keywords

Taking some time to map campaigns using basic information architecture can help advertisers structure their campaigns more effectively. At RDVO, we sketch out our campaigns using a basic hierarchical template that helps us visualize the information relationships in our campaign. By visualizing campaigns using an information architecture approach, we can better structure campaigns and ensure that the campaigns are logical and optimized. This technique also helps us communicate campaign strategy to clients.

Try it for yourself! You can download our PPC information architecture template:

• PPC IA Worksheet VSD
• PPC IA Worksheet PDF

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I was reading a report that predicted that online advertising will hit $44.6 billion in 2008, approximately 10% of total advertising spending. At these numbers, online ad spend will overtake radio this year and magazines in 2010.

All in all, online advertising increased 25% this year and has nearly doubled in two years—all without the Olympics or election year traffic that we’ll experience in 2008. 25% growth may be a conservative estimate. My first prediction is an easy one: it’s going to be a huge year for online advertising.

Increased online advertising spend clearly trickles down to the search engine marketing firms and consultants. Someone has to help companies effectively spend their money.

2. Search engine marketers get more credibility

Look for search marketing to grow as a field in 2008. SEM and paid search firms have traditionally been looked down upon by the more established online marketing disciplines. However, as organic positions become even harder to obtain, companies are going to be looking to paid search to maintain competitiveness and ensure their brand is positioned. The process of planning, creating, and managing paid search campaigns will likely become even more complex and competitive, putting search marketers into high demand.

Search marketing should grow in prominence in 2008 and firms that offer those services should have a great year. Traditional advertising agencies and digital firms who haven’t branched out may get a rude awakening in the coming months.

3. Better tools and applications

In 2008 we will see better tools, applications, and platforms that will improve the ad management experience for both large-scale SEMs and small, individual advertisers. Look for more desktop tools like Adwords Editor or helpful Excel add-ons that make it easier to plan and manage campaigns. Users will continue to find the online applications slow and limiting. There will be some major advances in tools that will be readily embraced by online advertisers and may—over time—help to demystify the process.

4. We begin to see the benefits of the Google/DoubleClick and Microsoft/Aquantive acquisitions

These acquisitions were big news this year. It will be interesting and exciting to see how Google and Microsoft integrate them into their offering. For Google, DoubleClick gives them a huge boost in their traditionally weakest area: display ads. The marriage of DoubleClick’s ad-serving platform and Google’s targeting engine could help Google dominate in an area they’ve struggled with in the past.

The tangible benefits of Microsoft’s purchase of aQuantive are a bit harder to pin down. aQuantive arms Microsoft with a number of new tools, clients, and expertise that may help the company continue to grow its online advertising division. Traffic and search volume may the most immediate benefit of the buy; now Microsoft has a global offering and ad platform. aQuantive may give Microsoft enough leverage to overtake Yahoo as the number two online ad platform.

5. Google loses some marketshare

Google is clearly the dominant player in the paid search market, locking up nearly 90% of the market. 2007 saw a few chinks in the market, however, and it’s feasible that Google could lose some marketshare in 2008. For one, Google has become increasingly more expensive. Cost of keywords has amplified along with competition. Small advertisers can no longer hope to compete with large companies for top placements. Faced with growing costs and competition, more advertisers will begin to look to other platforms and providers. It is still relatively inexpensive to advertise at Yahoo.com or Microsoft’s sites. Microsoft should get a nice traffic boost based on its recent Facebook deal.

It should be an interesting, banner year for online marketing…

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Google’s new charting API is one of the cooler technologies we stats geeks have seen in quite awhile. I had heard that they were going to release some sort of live charting application, but what they’ve quietly announce with make it really easy for anyone to integrate gorgeous charts into their webpages or applications.

Sparklines can be easily integrated — just set lfi as your chart type.

The sparkline comparison shows Tom Brady’s TD passes per season. His average for the 2007 season has been 3.2; if he maintains that average he’ll finish with 54 TD passes, setting the new NFL record. Will he do it? Well…that’s 9 more TDs needed in two games. The sparklines clearly indicate that his late season production tends to slip!

Tom Brady TD Production by Season
Season	TDs by Game	Game Average and Season Total
2007		Average through 15 weeks=3.2 TD/Game | Est. Total: 54 TDs
2006		Average TD/Game=1.5 | Total: 24 TDs
2005		Average TD/Game=1.6 | Total: 26 TDs
2004		Average TD/Game=1.8 | Total: 28 TDs
2003		Average TD/Game=1.8 | Total: 28 TDs

Some useful links regarding the Google Chart API:

• Developer’s Guide
• Quick reference from Ajaxian
• Google Code Blog
• 24 Ways - Tracking Christmas Cheer with Google Charts

Also check out this interface for creating charts…

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