Aaron Weiche will be speaking on the “Wrapping Your Brain Around the Mobile Opportunity” panel at SearchFest 2014 which will take place on February 28th, 2014 in Portland, Oregon. For more information and to purchase tickets, please click here.
1) Please give us your background and tell us what you do for a living.
I’m a full blown web-net-mobile-search-social-aholic.
I was at a small company 15 years ago and since I had an email address (the only person on staff with one) they thought I should build a web page for the company. I started designing and coding sites and the addiction only increased moving forward from there. I’ve spent the last 10 years helping build 3 different digital shops, creating better and bigger organizations along the way.
I’m currently the COO of Spyder Trap in Minneapolis for the past 3 years. We are a full service digital firm creating responsive websites, mobile apps, search, social and email campaigns. Our team of 35 creates some amazing platforms and strategies for a client list that includes brands big and small. My daily role is wide ranging, but you’ll usually find me developing strategy, meeting with clients, solving problems, honing process and thinking forward.
Outside of the office I’m a faculty speaker for Local University, getting to speak at 8 to 10 events per year around the country on web design, SEO, local search and mobile. I was a founding board member of the Minnesota Search Engine Marketing Association and continue to serve the organization on it’s Advisory Board. This is my second SearchFest and I can say it’s one of those events that others in our industry should aim to model theirs after, it’s so solid.
Most importantly I’m a husband and father of 3 daughters that make the world right with me at all times.
2) How would you choose an optimal mobile bid modifier for a PPC campaign?
Of course every account is going to act and perform differently based on it’s components. The no brainer is to start by asking “does it even make sense”? If it does here is a sampling of places to start.
1. Is your site optimized for mobile and is it already converting mobile users? If it isn’t, test cutting the bid in half with a modifier and then review the results.
2. Segment your mobile traffic out in analytics and look for pitfalls or opportunities in the behaviors. Can you find intent or behaviors that would suggest a test of a modifier?
3. Look at patterns in the time of day of you mobile traffic. If you see certain mobile behaviors at specific times, then test an increased modifier during those times. An example would be towing services and auto collision repair increasing mobile PPC during rush hour times.
4. Analyze differences in CTR and CPC. If mobile is pushing a strong click through rate at efficient levels, start to test the modifier to find a sweet spot. You might be able to lower your bids and still capture results.
It’s just what you’d except in process: ideate, test, analyze, refine and start the whole loop over again.
3) What is the state of tracking cross-channel attribution in 2014 and how can businesses deal with the issue of visitors using different devices in various parts of the sales funnel?
Cross device tracking is evolving, but still imperfect. Google’s Universal Analytics is the strongest attempt to reach that point. One of the main issues is companies/brands not meeting the customer where they are and delivering a strongest experience regardless of device. Cross channel experience needs to improve for many and the hope is that the ability to track follows suit. I’m excited to see the continued development here.
Todd Mintz knows PPC…knows Social Media…knows SEO…knows Blogging…knows Domaining…and knows them all real well. He runs growth marketing for )and is also a Director & Founding Member of SEMpdx: Portland, Oregon’s Search Engine Marketing Association, and he can be found here on Twitter and Facebook.