I may be a pay per click consultant and an expert when it comes to internet marketing. However, I am always looking for ways to refine my consulting skills. I have read a few consulting books that all seem to focus on a similar consulting process.
Here is the consulting process that can be applied to ppc consulting or any consulting for that matter:
- Define problem: most clients have a problem, whether it is traffic, leads or sales and this is the first tasks an internet marketing consultant has to clearly define. If you don’t properly define the clients needs then you are in big trouble (needs analysis for marketing folks)
- Collect data: spend your time getting as much background information into your client’s industry and needs. The first thing you should do is Google search your clients core products and see how much competition there is for those keywords. Remember to look for both natural and paid. If there is a lot of paid advertising then you may be getting into a very competitive marketing. Click on every natural result and take notes for each site. Use Google Keywords tool and take a look at the competition and CPCs for main product lines. Hopefully your client has a Google Analytics account, which can be another source of data. Lastly take a look at your clients site and take notes of any blatant issues that may hurt conversions later on.
- Analyzing data: record your findings from the data collection step in an Excel document. How much competition is there for PPC? Are they all using PPC best practices? Do the natural results contain sites that are frequently updated and look pro? Record all observations and start to think about your recommendations. Start setting goals and bench marks for the project. Finally the most important part of this process is deciding whether or not you want to proceed with the project.
- Making recommendations: hopefully you had some insightful findings from your analysis of the data. Come up with an action plan for your PPCÂ program. Think about costs, CPAs and the length of time it will take to get results. It is very important to set realistic clients expectations. Set up a meeting with your client and discuss your action plan with your client. Make sure that you have come to a consensus and that everything is signed off.
- Implementation: to get started make sure that all your Google Analytics and Adwords conversion tracking is properly set up. Make any necessary changes to your clients site so that it has a chance of converting. Start implementing your action plan and watch your minimum bids are being meet with your CPCs. Lastly keep your client up to date on the progress of your implementation.
Hopefully this helps you either as an internet marketing consultant or as a company looking for help.