The company needed to consolidate their product catalogue into one single website, continue to grow qualified leads, and find new tactics that would drive the greatest performance at the lowest cost. It was of the utmost importance to maintain strong paid performance while going through this transition.

Prior to the rebrand, ShoreTel and ShoreTel Sky paid search programs had been run out of two separate paid search accounts. The launch of the new website presented an excellent opportunity for Mediative to define a strategy that included everything from the creation of a more streamlined account structure, to the testing of new landing pages along with the implementation of new tactics to maximize performance.

The AdWords account was re-organized to better match the product offering and the number of campaigns and ad groups were reduced to align more tightly with the products and services while creating a clean and more manageable campaign structure.

The process involved a comprehensive keyword performance analysis and keyword research that revealed top performing keywords, keyword expansion opportunities, and negative keywords. Top performing and expansion keywords were then classified based on intent and match type, and then segmented into highly relevant, tight ad groups.

For each ad group, we developed three different versions of ad copy, tailored specifically to the keywords and the customer intent expressed, and redirected to the existing landing pages most relevant to where the searcher is in the buying cycle. Remarketing Lists for Search ads were used to exclude converted users from the search campaigns aimed at new acquisitions.

The improved account structure enabled better insights into the campaigns, increasing the ability to see high-value keywords, and high potential keywords that could improve with tweaks to landing pages. Performance analysis revealed that some of the new landing pages weren’t ideal for converting PPC prospects and a strategy for new landing pages was devised.

The new pages contained a much more prominent, above the fold call to action in an effort to make it easy for users to convert. In addition, new content was developed specifically dedicated to the main categories of the search campaigns. Ad extensions such as Structured Snippets, Callouts and Review Extensions were all launched in the campaigns as they were released to complement the existing set of features and extensions and improve CTR and visibility.

The Results

• The changes in the account led to a 76% increase in overall search CTR versus the prior period.
• Branded CTR increased 16% while branded CPC remained the same.
• Conversion rates for branded campaigns increased by 50% (99% significance level) and generated 67% more conversions. Non-branded campaigns saw a 92% better conversion rate (98% significance level), which increased ShoreTel’s marketing team contribution to sales from PPC.
• As can be seen in the table below, A/B testing of the new landing pages in branded and non-branded campaigns against the old pages showed that conversion rates had doubled with the introduction of the new landing pages.This new campaign structure enhanced visibility, increased management efficiency, and enabled Mediative to more effectively manage the account to the campaign goals.