Uncovering PPC Best Practices With Allstate Insurance

In the lead up to his presentation at ClickZ Live Toronto, Finhas Jhaveri, Manager of Digital & Cultural Marketing at Allstate Insurance Canada chats to us about PPC best practices.

finhas-jhaveri-allstate-insuranceWhen it comes to PPC, the insurance industry is a highly competitive one. And with such fierce competition, keywords and getting noticed tend to cost more. However, the success of one’s PPC campaign isn’t necessarily determined by the amount you spend, but the way in which you invest in your resources.

This Q&A offers a glimpse into the insurance industry and provides expert insight for marketers so they can reach their audience and boost profit in the most efficient and effective way possible, regardless of budget size and industry.

ClickZ (CZ): Tell us about your role at Allstate Insurance and what you’re tasked with achieving for the brand

Finhas Jhaveri (FJ): My role at Allstate is focused on delivering leads to the sales team; therefore all the marketing tactics that are transactional are led by me. I am also responsible for the marketing analytics group that measures the performance of our marketing spends.

CZ: What are some of the trends currently shaping the Insurance industry and how do these forces influence your digital marketing strategy and in particular, your approach to managing PPC campaigns?

FJ: The insurance industry is currently facing pressures on retention due to increasing premiums as a result of rising claims costs due to weather and fraud. Increasing premiums often prompts consumers to shop around, which then presents an opportunity for digital marketers to use PPC to generate new business leads.

CZ: Let’s start with the basics. What are the pillars of a successful PPC campaign that will ensure marketers get their ROI, irrespective of budget size and industry?

FJ: At a fundamental level, you need to establish clear goals for the campaign – i.e. answering the question “How will we know if the investment in PPC has been successful?” But even as you establish these goals, it is even more important for the marketer to decide how this performance will be measured. In many cases, it may not be very straight forward, and a marketer may need to use attribution. For example, at Allstate one of our goals is to drive calls to our agents, so we measure conversions by doing a match back of phone numbers. The final step is to ensure that all stakeholders (internal or external) are in agreement with the measurement and attribution methodology.

CZ: What are some of the common PPC mistakes you see marketers making and what can they do to avoid them?

FJ: The main mistake marketers make on PPC is not looking at all the data to optimize their campaigns. A marketer should measure keywords at a local market level for its efficiency in achieving goals.

Another mistake is not customizing the experience by the user intent. I have seen many ads lead to pages that are generic and sometimes even the home page of websites. Making sure you lead the person from the ad to the information they are looking for is important. This will help increase conversions and also decrease bounce rates.

CZ: What do you think will be the biggest PPC trends in the next year?

FJ: The two biggest trends are – increasing cost-per-click as the market place gets more competitive; and mobile searches equaling, or possibly even overtaking, desktop searches. So ‘mobile first’ as a strategy is no longer just a good-to-have option, it needs to be the norm.

CZ: What will the key takeaways from your presentation at ClickZ Live Toronto be?

FJ: I would like to ensure that everyone who attends will go back with a few new thoughts and ideas that they can implement in managing their PPC campaigns more efficiently. Therefore the format of my presentation is going to be a top list of initiatives that marketers can use to improve performance.

Finhas Jhaveri, manager Digital & Cultural Marketing at Allstate Insurance Company of Canada will be speaking at ClickZ Live Toronto on Thursday, June 25 in a session titled “Uncovering Best Practices in Managing PPC”.

Get your ticket to ClickZ Live Toronto by registering here!

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