Adwords as a Customer Research Tool

Good data is essential to marketing, and the web is a great place to gather data. Established websites can easily learn about their customers by looking at their traffic logs or by running surveys. But how can you gather data if you haven't launched your website yet? Wouldn't it be nice to know what customers want before building an online store? Using search engine advertising, webmasters can "test the waters" by running relevant ads during the planning phase. Temporary landing pages can be used to give customers more information about your upcoming store launch, including the launch date, product information, and a newsletter signup. These test ads allow businesses to gain valuable insights into what products their prospective customers want, what features are important to them, and how they will react to various marketing messages. Having this data available before launching will help you optimize for conversion from the very start.

Case Study:

We analyzed Adwords click data for an online retailer that sells dehydrated/freeze-dried foods. We searched for useful tidbits that could help the business better understand their target customers.

Dehydrated food - Long shelf life.
Free shipping. Freshness guaranteed.
http://www.TheStorageRoom.com
VS.
Dehydrated food - Long shelf life.
Free shipping. Free grain mill.
http://www.TheStorageRoom.com

Results: Ad #1 received an 11.1% clickthrough rate. Ad #2 received a 7.6% clickthrough rate.

Conclusions: Because both ads performed well, we can assume that long shelf life and free shipping are important to the customer. But it is clear from the difference in conversion rate that customers want a guarantee.

 

Delicious no-cook meals.
2,200 calories/day. Just add water.
http://www.TheStorageRoom.com
VS.
Delicious no-cook meals.
Includes real meat. Just add water.
http://www.TheStorageRoom.com

Results: Ad #1 received an 8.1% clickthrough rate. Ad #2 received a 10.6% clickthrough rate.

Conclusion: Again, both ads performed well, which tells us that "delicious no-cook meals" are appealing to the customer. Ad #1 appealed to the logical side by focusing on a feature (2,200 calories/day), implying its ability to feed a hungry person. Ad #2 appealed to the appetite by mentioning that the meat was real (not TVP, like many food storage products). In the end, appealing to the appetite seemed to be the more effective way to sell food—even when it is being purchased merely to sustain life during a disaster.

Adwords click data was able to turn up some valuable insights regarding customer intent. This technique can help you save time and money when you are preparing to launch a new website.