We audit campaigns everyday. We dig into keyword portfolios, look at creative messaging strategies, and sift through analytical data to expose inefficiencies and look for opportunities for growth. We talk to prospective clients about protecting their brand, the importance of granularity in search marketing, and the need to tightly track and manage search campaigns. In the end, what we expose are sometimes the silliest (and most embarrassing) weaknesses.
We have all heard about the peanut recall that caused moms across the country to play a desperate tug of war with little Johnnie over his favorite peanut butter candy. Frantically, many set out to determine if their peanut butter was affected. Can choosy moms still choose Jif? Were the peanut butter cookies on the shelf still the peanutiest, or now the deadliest? So where did many turn? The world wide web of course. Surely, we can find the answer to our concerns. Well, a recent search for "peanut butter recall" produced the following results (notice the red boxes).
Now Skippy can make the argument that they want their brand represented here. At least they say in their ad that they are not part of the recall. Personally, I wouldn't want the brand association, but they don't pay me for my opinion. But, poor Jif. Their creamy, fresh roasted peanut butter goodness is now linked to a salmonella recall caused by rodent feces. Yuck! What makes it even worse is that the search term "peanut butter recall" was one of the top searches on the web in recent months.
My guess is, they simply didn't negative out the word recall. Maybe they didn't think of it. Maybe they figure their customers find them in the store so they don't throw enough resources at the management of their PPC campaigns. Any way you spin it, this isn't good!
I see this all the time. Big keywords set to broad match driving search queries with unintended consequences. Just the other day I audited an account for a recruiter that would show up when you searched sports recruiting related keywords; clearly not their market!
What you need is solid campaign structure, extensive keyword build-outs (negatives too!), targeted creative messaging strategies and a tracking and reporting system capable of capturing metrics down to the most granular level. With this foundation, and an agency like WebMetro on your side, your brand can be the peanutiest of them all!