Accountancy-based searches are increasing (up 15% from June 2011 to June 2012). Our insightful white paper explores the why, the wherefore and the what you can do to capitalise on this. A must-read for all accountants.

1. A White Paper from Search Star
PPC Trends & Tips
Accountancy
July 2012

2. About Us
Search Star was set up in 2005 and is now a top 10 independent UK PPC agency.
• We do 100% Pay Per Click (PPC) and we do it extremely well.
• By combining our expert PPC knowledge with a sound understanding of technology
and a passion for campaign delivery, we achieve unbeatable results for our clients.
• These results are reported as frequently as you need them and in the most coherent
possible fashion. We expect and want to be judged by them.
• We’re based in the centre of Bath and work for clients across the UK including Jimmy
Choo, Claims Financial, PHS, the Chartered Institute of Marketing & Good Energy.
• We do not do SEO. We do not do affiliate. We do excellent PPC.

3. Accountancy Search Trends
*Google Insights for Search, July 12
Generating 50% of
With unemployment rising searches, bookkeeping is
and 15,000 new the most popular sub
businesses registered each sector, followed by
month in the UK, business, chartered and
accountancy-based tax related terms.
searches are increasing Bookkeeping also has the
(+15% from June 11 to most expensive terms
June 12*). This is a sector (average CPC is £1.81).
with increasing volume, Chartered accountancy
offers the most profitable
mid to high competition
opportunities with
and decent opportunities average CPCs of £0.89 and
for worthwhile ROI. CTRs of 5%.
Microsoft Advertising Intelligence Data, July 2012

4. Top Terms
Top Accountancy Keywords
Campaign Ad Group Top Service Provider Searches Daily Impressions Daily Clicks Average CPC Average CTR
Short-tail Accountancy Accountants accountants 13693 929.03 £1.09 6.80%
Short-tail Accountancy Accountants accountant 3739 217.93 £1.34 5.80%
Short-tail Bookkeeping Bookkeeping bookkeeping 1669 103.18 £1.39 6.20%
Short-tail Accountancy Accounting accounting 1097 65.16 £1.50 5.90%
Short-tail Bookkeeping Bookkeeping Services bookkeeping services 895 60.53 £1.31 6.80%
Short-tail Accountancy Accountancy accountancy 665 37.64 £1.04 5.70%
Short-tail Tax Tax Accountant tax accountant 571 37.96 £1.21 6.60%
Short-tail Chartered Accountant Chartered Accountant chartered accountants 436 27.8 £1.04 6.40%
Short-tail Tax Tax Advice tax advice 424 28.91 £1.38 6.80%
Short-tail Accountancy Accountancy Services accountancy services 403 28.39 £1.04 7.00%
Long-tail Chartered Accountant Certified Chartered Accountant certified chartered accountant 18 1.2 £1.30 6.40%
Long-tail Bookkeeping Outsourced Bookkeeping outsourced bookkeeping 7 0.54 £1.59 7.50%
Long-tail Bookkeeping Bookkeeping London bookkeeping services london 22 1.62 £3.22 7.00%
Long-tail Bookkeeping Bookkeeping Cheshire bookkeeping services cheshire 0 0 £0.00 0.00%
Long-tail Bookkeeping Bookkeeping Rates rates bookkeeping services 1 0.12 £0.24 6.60%
Long-tail Business Small Business Accounting small business accounting uk 0 0.04 £0.04 6.90%
Long-tail Chartered Accountant Chartered Accountants London chartered accountant firms in london 0 0.01 £0.05 7.70%
Long-tail Chartered Accountant Chartered Accountants England chartered accountants england 24 1.56 £1.56 6.40%
The statistics above are
Go for the mid and long-tail. Build up a tailored,
all based on position 1 Longer search strings
Group similar keywords keyword specific list of
and broad match. Broad containing more specifics
together in a granular negatives. Use Google’s
match is brilliant for generate the same CTR (6%
campaign and ad group keyword tool and search
targeting the ‘16% of the in this example) for lower
structure. Most query reports (AdWords
daily queries on Google CPC (£1.03 compared to
accountancy accounts >> Campaigns >>
that have never been £1.23). Searchers using mid
have at least 50 ad and long-tail terms are
Keywords >> Keyword
seen before’*. Include
groups. Some have generally further into the Details) to find irrelevant
the broad match
thousands, each one buying cycle so are more terms. Use -exact, -
modifying +sign before
containing just a few likely to convert. Google ”phrase” and –[broad]
crucial keywords for
closely related keywords also love relevancy, and will matching on your
lower average CPC with
and highly targeted ads. reward you with lower CPCs negatives to filter
quality scores equivalent and higher ad positions. effectively.
to exact match.
* Think with Google

5. Structuring your Account
The top 5 accountancy campaign must-haves:
1. Set up accounts on all search engines - Google, plus the Bing/Yahoo! partnership. The
current average CPC for accountancy keywords on Bing/Yahoo! is £0.56 less than on
Google.
2. Use geographical targeting to reach the areas that are going to yield the best ROI for
your accountancy firm (AdWords >> Campaigns >> Settings).
3. If you’re going to capitalise on the reach of Google’s display network, set up a
completely separate campaign. There are many benefits to be had from remarketing,
contextual and keyword marketing, but they need to be run, managed and optimised
in a completely different way from search network advertising. With the display
network, always use site exclusion. This removes high-click, low yield partner sites
from the display network. Go to networks >> show details and check & remove all
underperforming sites.
4. Do the same for mobile campaigns. Mobile search has grown 400% in the past 12
months* and 15% of UK Smartphone owners have ‘awareness of advertising on
smartphone’*. Copy your mobile campaign, run it separately and keep on top of this
emerging market.
5. Link to the right landing pages - test whether deep or category links work best for
your site. This will reduce bounce rates, increase dwell time and lead to improved
sales.
* Think with Google

6. Writing effective PPC ads
Get the basics
right: If you’re bidding
on shorter tail
Include the
terms, consider
keyword using persuasive
Use correct language to
spelling, encourage
punctuation, searchers away
grammar & Ad scheduling from what they
on Google thought they
capitalisation
Filter out AdWords were looking for
Use calls to allows PPC (e.g. ‘online
Have at least 3 non- bookkeepers’)
action Be local. advertisers to
ads per ad converters by to you
Include special ‘Including Cost is king so set different
group. Test being as bids for (‘bookkeepers
offers location or include it specific as in Bath’)
different different days
phone where you can. possible, e.g.
messages. More of the week
information in Check prices ‘small and different
than 5 ads per
a search ad are competitive business hours of the
ad group can
increases CTR first. only’. day. If your
dilute your
by 6-8%’*. Qualifiers also business is
data.
work wells for closed on
this. weekends, you
can pause your
ads.
* Think with Google

7. Tracking
Implement Google AdWords Conversion
Google Analytics has a longer default
Tracking (AdWords >> Tools & Analysis
cookie length of 6 months. Google Analytics
>>Conversions). This piece of code on your
is also the best place to analyse
conversion page will allow analysis of
engagement – you can see page views, time
campaigns, ad groups, keywords, ads and
on site and bounce rate for every single
search queries that resulted in specific
keyword. You may find terms that aren’t
customer actions. The only con is the 30 day
performing well in terms of conversions, but
cookie length, which means that if a
are still generating strong engagement. This
searcher returns to your site after 30 days,
software also allows you to track non-PPC
the conversion won’t be attributed to the
traffic sources, including social media.
PPC keyword.

8. Demographics
• The best PPC accounts target the
right audience. When it comes to
accountancy, it’s a fairly even-split of
men and women aged between 35
and 49 (37.5%) doing the searching.
• The majority of people searching for
accountancy services are in London,
followed by Southampton, Essex and
Gloucester.
• If your business is targeted to these
demographics, consider uplifting
bids for this audience.
• Also bid on long-tail terms especially
relevant locations. These London-
based accountancy keywords have
high CTRs for relatively low CPCs.
Microsoft Advertising Intelligence Data, July 2012

9. Next Steps
A decent PPC campaign takes patience, commitment and time. It’s no
longer profitable to adopt a ‘set it and forget it’ attitude. Return to your
account regularly and optimise, optimise, optimise:
• Run search query reports (AdWords >> Campaigns >> Keywords >> Keyword Details)
to find the phrase and broad matched search queries for your keywords. Add any
relevant ones with decent click levels to your account. Use the irrelevant search
queries as negatives.
• Use Google Insights for Search to find breakout searches – those which have
increased in popularity by at least 40%. These should have low competition and
therefore low CPCs.
• Run an ad group report. Ad groups with large click volumes might need splitting out.
Also analyse ad groups with high CPCs and low CTRs. You may need to rework ads to
boost relevancy.
• Analyse your tracking data regularly. Update everything from landing pages to your
social media to improve conversions and engagement. *Google Insights for Search, July 12
• Keep up-to-date with the latest algorithmic and product updates. Search engines are
constantly striving to provide their audience with better results, and you’ll need to do
the same.
• Be aware of seasonality. January is the key month for accountancy. Ensure you have
enough budget, seasonal ads and the right keywords to capitalise.
• ‘Two line sitelinks increase click-through rates by more than 30% compared to
standard AdWords ads’*. Sitelinks are brilliant for helping users to quickly navigate
your site. This is an automated process, but Webmaster Tools allows you some
control.
• And lastly, please get in touch with us if you need any further assistance.

10. Contact Details
http://www.search-star.co.uk/
info@search-star.co.uk