SEM Research: How Do You Present Paid Search Build Outs?

TL;DR - This post outlines the results from a recent Paid SEM survey we ran. The question we wanted an answer to: How do SEM pros present campaign build outs for feedback and approval?

It all started with one simple question:

How do other SEM professionals present Paid Search build outs for feedback or approvals? This question has been burning a hole in our brains for years.

Our team currently presents Paid Search build outs using PowerPoint. We seek feedback and approval from clients directly in the document.

We have also tried using the HTML Export feature from Google Ads Editor. That export feature never worked well for presenting our work; the creative is tough to read.

Additionally, the newest version of Google Ads Editor removed this feature, making so that we had to keep an older version installed to even create an export.

Why is this problem important?

Paid Search is a $55 billion dollar industry, according to ZenithOptimedia research.

That means  a lot  of people are creating and presenting Paid SEM build outs!

We are total analytical nerds here at MKG. To answer this question, our team built a survey and deployed it to 20 SEM pro's.

If you'd like, you can visit this link to take the survey.

Writing our Survey

We outlined the key question up front: How do SEM's present build outs?

Based on this question, we needed answers to:

• Do SEM's  actually present their build outs?  Or are we making an incorrect assumption?
• If SEM's do present build outs, what platform do they use? How long does it take them?
• Are SEM's satisfied with the existing presentation process? What would they change?

The Pitch - Why We Want to Know These Things

We have an idea for an alternative way to present Paid Search build outs.

Let us describe it below:

Stop presenting Paid Search buildouts using Excel or PowerPoint.

Use something interactive. A dashboard that display campaigns, ad groups, creative and keywords.

This dashboard uses a web hook to plug into Google Ads API. With a few clicks, your campaign will populate into a presentation-worthy view.

Want to collect feedback or approvals? The comments feature allows reviewers to write campaign feedback on the dashboard.

The Key Insights

Enough talk! Let's see the results.

The top five findings were:

• 73% of SEM's present build outs for approval
• More than half of SEM's use Excel or PowerPoint
• 47% are happy with Excel and PowerPoint
• 80% of SEM's  are interested in the product we described
• Surveyed SEM's would pay up to $50 per month for that product

Are these results accurate?

Good question.

We used a sample size and margin of error calculator from our good friends at Relevant Rankings.

Take a look below.

According to this calculator, a sample size of 13 gives us a 90% confidence in data and 8% margin of error.

This is dependent on the response percentage, which we listed at 95% of SEM's  asked to take the survey.  ​

Want full access to the results?

If you want access to the full results, share your email address in the form below.