CD Universe saw 34 percent larger orders with Google AdWords.
| Since 1996, CD Universe (http://www.cduniverse.com) has been a major online destination for purchasing DVD, CDs and videogames. Today the Wallingford, Conn.-based company stocks over 400,000 entertainment titles. Marketing director John Salai says the hottest DVDs at the moment are TV shows, both current programs now hitting the shelves faster than ever and classic shows released on DVD for the first time.
Approach CD Universe was looking to maximize its exposure on Google's search results and also to advertise to as many Google users as possible. "Internet users all surf differently, so one user might use the natural search results, while another might go directly to the ads first," Salai says. "Google AdWords™ enables us to capitalize on the different ways people navigate their search results. The Google search engine does a good job of indexing our site, but we wanted to see by comparison how paid ads would help us bring in new customers." CD Universe's advertising goal was to generate more sales and keep all the campaigns profitable. Historically, most of the company's marketing has been done online because the success is easiest to measure there. Today its entire advertising budget is dedicated to online marketing. Salai likes the ability to increase that budget at his own pace. "What's nice about AdWords is that you can start out small," he says. "If your budget is too low, you are prompted to increase it to take advantage of any clicks that you might be missing out on. It takes the guesswork out of budget allocation." Salai also likes the ability to measure campaign performance and to experiment. "It's very easy to try new things and track their performance," he observes. "If something isn't working, we can simply change the copy, maybe add some negative keywords or take it all down at a moment's notice." He also uses Google Analytics to track conversion rate and cost per conversion. "Instead of having to pause campaigns for lack of performance, we can adjust the budget allocation to higher converting keywords, remove ineffective keywords, and make copy changes. Overall Google Analytics gives us more options instead of turning on and off campaigns." AdWords also gives Salai more control over his AdWords campaigns, particularly through keyword CPC bidding. "Having the ability to control CPCs at the keyword level, we can control how much we spend and how much exposure without having to take down entire campaigns," Salai says. Results AdWords generates far more traffic for CD Universe than any other form of marketing, and in sales it surpasses many of the company's current marketing programs. The average amount of an order from an AdWords customer is 34 percent more than the yield CD Universe gets from any other online marketing program. And AdWords orders are outperforming the average cost per order coming from Google's natural search results, by 26 percent. "I'm glad we joined AdWords instead of relying on customers to find us solely through natural search. We would have missed a huge opportunity," Salai says. Today, the company continues to push sales by trying new ad campaigns and experimenting with ad targeting by region. Salai advises new advertisers to get creative: "Don't be afraid to experiment with AdWords. It may cost you a few dollars to explore, but the risk is minimal and the potential payoff could be big." About Google AdWords Google AdWords is currently used by thousands of businesses worldwide to gain new customers in a cost-effective way. AdWords use keywords to precisely target ad delivery to web users seeking information about a particular product or service. The program is based on cost-per-click (CPC) pricing, so advertisers only pay when an ad is clicked on. Advertisers can take advantage of an extremely broad distribution network, and choose the level of support and spending appropriate for their business. For more information on launching your own campaign or getting expert help, visit http://adwords.google.com. Would you like to share your Google AdWords success story with us? We'd love to hear from you! Return to Entertainment overview page |
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