Search Automation Optimizing Paid Search Activity

Client
Fanatics
Industry
Retail
Solutions

Data Activation
Performance Media
Accolades
International Performance Awards 2018
Share
Hello Copy link Copied

Increase in CR

13%

Increase in ROAS

Given the challenges brought by a tricky Q4 2016, Fanatics was pleased to see a return to form courtesy of a lift in sales and decline in the cost of driving them. We reported a 23% YoY increase in affiliate-based revenue during May 2017. This came off the back of a 9% reduction in COS, from 8.7% down to 7.8%. Our strategy allowed Fanatics to increase their revenue by 27% against the affiliate-based taking in 2016. Due to the overall campaign success, Incubeta was tasked with rolling out the script to international markets.

Incubeta has been handling over 15+ of our accounts in numerous languages, since 2014. During which time it has grown under their care. In May 2017, the team suggested an innovative approach to bidding which really showed their understanding of our industry. This approach has seen even greater uplift and I am thrilled with the success of the campaign. Incubeta has been a great agency to work with, helping to expand our PPC accounts into other territories.

Sahida Aarndell

Acquisition Executive at Fanatics

Insights

Fanatics International are the leading e-commerce partner for many of the world’s top football teams including Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United.

Account performance for football merchandise fluctuates greatly

based on how individual players perform in matches. The majority of games are played on weekends and in the evenings, making it difficult to keep paid search ads up-to-date and as relevant as possible. Incubeta was tasked with building a solution that allowed us to optimize Fanatic’s paid search activity based on live player performance.

Strategy

We built a bespoke Google Script that automated the bidding process, allowing us to continually optimize campaigns for every football match played in the UK. As player performance affects the sale of their football kit online, the script adjusted keyword bids based on the live point system from the official Premier League Fantasy Football API.

These points determine the impact a player has on a match using goals, assists, clean sheets, cards received, minutes played and additionally awarded bonus points. This data was used to increase bids for players who performed well, and decrease bids for those who did not, ensuring the optimal ad rank was achieved.

The script was set to run an hour after each match played in May 2017 and bids were altered for 15 different players, as well as for non-player specific keywords using the team performance as a whole.