SoftwareSupp Blog

Take Control of Your Ad Performance

We live in the world of automation. There are more and more tools that require minimum input from humans to work, and online advertising is certainly an area where a lot of automation and simplification have been happening.

It is not to say that this is in any way bad, or that you don’t need professional marketers, and I would argue that in the world of automation, they have even more value now. Anyone can use automated tools to create a simple ad, but only an expert would know if the algorithms are working as they should or not. And sometimes you need to get your hands dirty.

What are SKAGs?

SKAGs mean single keyword ad groups. The basic idea is very simple: let’s say you want to use the keywords “best men's shoes in Dublin” and “best women’s shoes in Dublin” you create a separate group for each keyword, instead of putting them into one group.

First and the most obvious benefit of this approach is that you will have separate ads for each keyword and you can optimize ad copy for each keyword. This way you target a specific audience and show them the specific message that is relevant to them.

SKAGs are very specific – only one keyword triggers an ad.

How SKAGs help break Iceberg Effect

In simplest terms, Iceberg Effect is when the keywords in your ad campaign don’t match the search terms your ads appear for.

Why is that bad? Well, because you are really paying for search terms and not for keywords, and if your search term doesn’t match your keywords, then you are attracting the wrong traffic.

Match types in Google Ads help control the size of your “Iceberg” to some extent, but it is not perfect, and SKAGs allows marketers to have even more control.

Other benefits of SKAGs

Even though SKAGs are all about keywords the core of the idea is a granular approach and you can extend it beyond keywords. You can use a granular approach based on location, time, device, day of the week, etc. For example, you can have a separate ad campaign to promote your online commerce store for London and Dublin; or a separate campaign for computers and smartphones.

And to go even further, you will have very precise control of how you spend your budget on ads. You can use different bidding strategies for different campaigns, you can have different budget limits for each ad campaign.

Another benefit of SKAGs is higher CTR. If you ever had a problem with ad campaigns not generating any traffic (or very little traffic) it’s time for you to try SKAGs.

Of course, all of this takes time. SKAG approach is all about granular control of different elements and with how many options are available to us, things can get too complicated. So you have to be very deliberate in how much control you really want.

Setting up SKAGs

When you create your first SKAG campaign there are two basic steps: 

1. Creating ad groups, based on root keywords.

2. Keyword refinement.

Root keywords are very simple and basic short-tail keywords. If you are selling online music mixing services for musicians, you can start with a very simple keyword, like “online mixing services”, and you don’t need to have a hundred keywords and can start with as low as one keyword. There is also no need to do extensive keyword research at this stage, we will make Google give us the best and most relevant keywords at the refinement stage.

Once you have several root keywords (or one) you start creating your ad groups. A general rule of thumb is to name Ad Group the same as the keyword. For the keyword “online mixing services” you need to create an Ad Group name “online mixing services”. 

When you create an Ad Group, add root keyword in phrase match and exact match. Your Ad Group will look like this:

“online mixing services”

[online mixing services]‍

The next step is Ad Copy. This is where you can be as creative as you’d like, but the rule of thumb is to use the keyword as one of the headlines in your ad copy (preferably pinned as Headline 1). When you are done with creating ads you can just launch your campaign.

Keyword refinement

What you will see is that your SKAGs will start to generate different search terms. This is good. Let’s say our initial SKAG generated the following search terms:

• online mixing and mastering services
• mix and master online free
• fiverr mixing
• mastering and mix music online

The first thing you do is identify completely non-relevant search terms and add them to a negative keyword list for the group. In this case “mix and master online free” is the first choice for a negative keyword list, since we are selling the service and want only paying customers. 

Then you identify relevant search terms, for example, “online mixing and mastering services”. What you need to do next is to add this keyword as a negative keyword on an Ad Group level (not a campaign level), and then create a separate Ad Group for this search term. That way, your shorter-tail keywords won’t steal impressions from your more specific long-tail keywords.

If you want your new SKAG to generate more search terms, you can add a keyword as a phrase match and exact match. If you want your SKAG to be as precise as possible use only exact match. But the most important thing is not to let shorter tail keywords steal impressions from long tail keywords (or any new SKAGs you added to your campaign). 

I really like this approach because you base your keywords on real search terms used by real people. You don’t need to use any 3rd party service for your keyword research or spend days collecting keywords. Google will tell you how people actually look for products and services.

Is it magic?

Yes and no. SKAGs can be helpful in a number of ways. The most obvious benefit is that they can generate more traffic and generally have higher CTRs. You know your traffic better and you can target your ads with more precision. It’s easier to get high quality scores for ads with SKAGs, which in turn can improve average positions, CPC and impression shares.

With the SKAG approach you decide how much control over your ads you want, and how much leave for automation. But SKAGs take more time to set up and they can dilute data. SKAG campaigns can be hard to manage and can be time-consuming. Even though personally I really like this approach, sometimes it is not necessary.

Conclusion

SKAG approach can seem like a very simple concept on the surface, but in reality, it can be incredibly complex and complexity can come not just from having one hundred Ad Groups in a campaign, but from multiple places. With this article, I wanted to introduce you to this idea and show some concepts of how it can work, but in practice, there are so many ways SKAGs can work that it would be impossible to cover everything in one article.

And you are not just limited to search campaigns and can be used for social media ads and display ads. The core idea of SKAG is creating a granular structure, but how exactly you will implement it is up to you.

SoftwareSupp's premium partner network

‍

What is the Remote Partner Network all about?

SoftwareSupp is an elite network of the best developers in the IT industry and we want to share some exciting things we have in store for you. You can become a part of our affiliate program and receive a 25% commission on client’s life-time payment! All you have to do is refer individuals and companies to SoftwareSupp.

We are committed to ensuring that our best freelancers have a real impact on the development of SoftwareSupp, which is why we offer an additional set of benefits such as activity pay, mentor support and a set of training materials.

And because SoftwareSupp is a premium service, we want our partner network to reflect high quality standards of SoftwareSupp. That's why we are committed to building a community that is passionate about achieving its sales goals and happy to represent us in sales activities.

How to join the SoftwareSupp Partner Network?

1. Join the SoftwareSupp network as an expert
   A freelancer who wants to become a SoftwareSupp partner must go through a standard verification and certification process to prove his or her identity and expert skills.
2. Pass the certification exam
   Next, an expert member of the SoftwareSupp network must pass certification exams, proving his knowledge of sales and project management on the platform.
3. Meet with your partner mentor and plan your activities
   During the meeting with the mentor, you will learn all the details of the partners' activities, define your sales goals with a plan, and he or she will be able to ask about all the issues you are interested in.

Benefits

25% commission on each customer deposit

An affiliate receives a 25% lifetime commission on each customer deposit. The amount you earn depends on the number or volume of customers you bring in. There is no limit to the amount you can earn.

Guaranteed remuneration for active partners

Our partners are among the best, so we want to reward them for their activity and commitment. Each partner is paid for each meeting held with leads assigned by the SoftwareSupp team at their hourly rate if the lead doesn't convert.

Systematic training sessions

We care about keeping our partners up to date, so we provide them with the materials and courses they need for their work. We work out the scope of activities together and set the sales goals we plan to achieve.

Mentor support & platform resources

The Partner Mentor is here for you. The Mentor will answer your questions, help you with problems and support you during lead conversion. They will also take care of the systematic payment of your commission. :)

You can lead your client as a project manager

Partners also have the opportunity to participate in the client's project as an expert, implementing the project, but also in the role of project manager. This allows them to develop the client's project and provide further solutions tailored to the business - for which the partner is also rewarded with a 25% life-time commission.

Activities

What is the process of connecting and transferring the lead?

Option 1
Partner finds a lead and guides it through the process
Lead pays a deposit
Partner receives 25% life-time commission

Option 2
Partner forwards the lead to the Remote Partner Network manager
The Remote Partner Network manager takes over the lead and leads the sales process
Lead converts to a customer
Partner receives 25% life-time commission

Option 3
Lead submits form - SoftwareSupp business team activities
Remote Partners' mentor contacts a lead and introduces him/her to the process
Lead arranges meetings to learn about the offer
The partner holds a sales meeting, during which he presents SoftwareSupp services.
The account manager sends information to partners about the new lead
Lead is connected with a partner
Lead pays a deposit
Partner receives 25% life-time commission

‍

Communication

The conversion process of a lead, what the different communication elements look like and what a potential customer should know.

‍Introducing SoftwareSupp

At this stage, it is crucial to present SoftwareSupp as an elite network of top developers. That is important because this is usually the first contact leads have with us. This message is the first information we convey, and it's also remembered the most. It's also a good practice to include information about gather yourself at this stage.

Premium service

Premium service is:

• top developers who are vetted and certified
• dedicated project manager/supervisor for the project
• reduced recruitment costs
• developers available on-demand: full-time, part-time, or hourly
• access to the platform and its resources, which they monitor on an ongoing basis and commission work you also have the opportunity to add your team to the project

Elite developer network

Experts who want to join the SoftwareSupp network must complete a verification and certification process. It involves verifying a freelancer's identity and skills, through techniques such as research, bank verification, portfolios, and certifications obtained directly from the developers of a given technology and passing the SoftwareSupp certification process, which confirms general knowledge as well as soft skills in communication.

Payments and hourly plans

SoftwareSupp's escrow balance is hosting by Stripe. It allows our customers to securely deposit their funds before paying for services provided. There are $300, $500, and $1000 plans available - payment is possible in every currency. Freelancers and clients are billed hourly each month based on reported hours, starting at $20/hour.

Project

Important issues:

• whom the lead is looking for - what kind of project to complete or skills arerequired
• the anticipated budget for carrying out the work
• deadline
• additional issues, e.g. a Polish client may expect a developer from Poland

Product

At this stage, there is a presentation of the product and a discussion of how it works. It should also be an explanation on how to start the project.

• Building the project specifications and setting up an account
• Buying a $300 plan to start
• Starting the work
• Discussing the product: what the project will look like, reporting the work, billing

Deadlines

It is also the summary stage of the meeting. It is essential to set a date with the lead to establish a start date for the project. It will give us, for example, an idea of when to send a follow-up to the lead. 

! It is a good idea to include this date in the email summary of the meeting

‍

A guide to reselling SoftwareSupport services for partners and sales

"Already more than half of the population work more hours remotely than in the office."

That's only one statistic from our brand new “State of Remote 2022” report, showing the current state of remote work and main trends in global remote hiring.

SoftwareSupport is an elite network of the best professionals in the world and we are happy to deliver a complete report on remote hiring exclusively to our customers, helping you adapt the way you hire and interact with workforce every day.

In this report you will find exclusive content about:
1. Remote work in numbers
2. Remote work vs COVID
3. Companies hiring remotely
4. Remote work categories
5. Remote work technologies
6. Remote work hourly rates
7. Remote work tools
8. How to contract remote workforce
9. Find remote work
10. SoftwareSupp remote work

To get the report, please:
1. Log in to your SoftwareSupp account or set up your project.
2. Schedule a report presentation with us anytime convenient for you by using this link.
3. Get the PDF version of the report by going to Messages -> contacting SoftwareSupp and getting report in the message.

SoftwareSupport is launching 2 new initiatives for SoftwareSupporters, freelancers operating in the SoftwareSupp network:

SoftwareSupporter Hoodies

SoftwareSupport is an elite network of the best professionals in the world and we are working hard on delivering top quality services for our customers everyday.

However​,​ in the days of the remote work​,​ we would like to support our customers​,​ employees and developers with something you can use to make your workday better​,​ going through another challenging project or solution in a much warmer atmosphere.

We are happy to deliver a free SoftwareSupporter hoodie specially for you. Please note that this is delivered free of charge. And currently​,​ this will be delivered exclusively to the first 30 customers​,​ developers and employees who sign up with the next batch planned later this year.

To get the free hoodie​,​ please use the below form and provide:

1. The address for delivery or self-pickup in Wrocław if preferable on your side

2. The size (currently we only deliver in M and L)

3. The email and phone number to be used in the delivery

Please sign up using the below form:

-> Sign up for SoftwareSupporter Hoodie

Remote SoftwareSupp Sprint

We understand the challenges of remote work​,​ so we decided to help you plan and execute on the projects with your customers by building “Remote SoftwareSupp Sprints”.

What does it mean?

It means that every Monday 10:30 am time CEST and every Friday 2:30 pm CEST time​,​ you can meet in the online room with other freelancers working on projects with SoftwareSupport for a 30-60 min session to:

1. Plan or sum up work.

2. Ask for help related to your work​/​project

3. Brainstorm the solution related to the work​/​project

+ get support from SoftwareSupp Core Team Member.

We see it as a perfect opportunity to meet other freelancers and to help you with any challenges you face on road to successful project completion.

Please note that participating in the “Remote SoftwareSupp Sprints” for now will be optional as the priority on your side remains delivering top quality service for customers and participating in customers’ sprints​,​ however​,​ we kindly encourage you to participate as we see it as a perfect opportunity to ensure successful delivery for the customers and to help you with any technical challenges or additional solutions designed for the customers.

-> Sign up for Remote SoftwareSupp Sprint (If you're an active freelancer, please reach out to your Project Manager for an invite)

Usually, projects and meetings with clients are managed from two different places. From the customer perspective, there's nothing more irritating than a Freelancer who forgot about the call or mixed up the date because of a different time zone. To help SoftwareSupp Experts to avoid this kind of situation, we introduced a Meeting System, which will help them schedule and organize work at SoftwareSupp better.

In this Guide for Experts, you will learn:

1. Benefits of SoftwareSupp Meeting System
2. Step-by-step on how to set up your availability
3. Tips on how to attend a meeting like a pro

Benefits of SoftwareSupp Meeting System

Being a part of an elite network of Certified Freelancers has a lot of advantages. One of them is the constant development of the website to make your work easier and provide you with all the tools you need as an Expert.

Project, communication, and meetings managed from one place

All you need is a Project Board at SoftwareSupp. And so does your client. You can easily control all your tasks, inform the customer about the progress or unexpected issues, and manage meetings (planned or emergency). You don't have to organize your client meetings in a calendar anymore. All of them will automatically appear over there. What's more – you will get reminders to never miss another meeting.

No worries about the time zone

Working online for customers all over the world might be difficult due to the time difference. At SoftwareSupp you can set up your availability and current time zone. With this feature, you will get meeting notifications and reminders at your local time. No more mixed-up hours and unhappy customers.

Automated calendar

Some things might pop up last minute. A customer might modify the time of the meeting or cancel it. Having a lot of things in mind as an Expert, it's easy to overlook them. With SoftwareSupp Meeting System, calls will be rescheduled or removed from your calendar automatically.

Change your availability anytime

Freelancing has its own rules. You don't need to be a full-time Freelancer to work on side projects. Also, sometimes you might have to take an unexpected break or a day off. At SoftwareSupp you can adjust your availability to your everyday responsibilities such as job, doctor's appointments, or other meetings. Customers will be able to quickly book a meeting with you only on dates and hours you choose.

Step-by-step on how to set up your availability

1. Log in and go to your expert profile

Click on your avatar on the right top and go to "Edit expert profile".

2. Go to the "Availability"

3. Set up your availability

Adjust your time zone, days, and hours you are available to book a meeting. You can also add exceptions if it's needed.

4. Connect with Google Calendar

You will be asked to choose your e-mail address and agree to terms and conditions.

5. Save your availability

Don't forget to update the information you changed. And... voilà!

How to attend a meeting like a pro

As SoftwareSupp, we are an elite network of the best experts in the world. It's important to remember a few things during client meetings to show that they're working with top professionals.

Prepare an agenda‍

Have a structure of conversation, goals to achieve, and a list of topics or activities to discuss. It's good to inform the client at the beginning what's the plan of the meeting and what you're going to talk about.

Turn on your camera

During meetings on-site, a customer always sees your face. Treat an online one the same way. Always turn on your camera and let clients talk to a person, not an avatar.

Introduce SoftwareSupp as an elite network

If it's the first meeting, you should introduce yourself and tell a little about your specialty. Remember that SoftwareSupp is an elite network of freelancers, and customers need to be reminded about it every time.

Discuss a project in details

Clients don't always know what exactly they need, or they don't know how to describe it. That's why they choose to work with a Certified Expert. Discuss the scope of the project and all activities in detail to make sure everything is clear.

Subscriptions are becoming incredibly popular, and every forecast predicts that this trend will not change soon. As this model grew in popularity, many software brands started to provide useful tools for managing it. With so much variety on the market, companies only need to choose the CRM for subscription business that best meets their requirements.

Our client, Schapira Medical Concierge, was precise about what they expected, but not sure which CRM would be the best fit. They considered monday.com, but were concerned if it would be possible to manage subscriptions with it.

Benefits of CRM for subscription business

Everyone is familiar with Netflix, Adobe, Spotify, or LinkedIn. Do you imagine them operating without the management tool that helps to organize users’ accounts, data and preferences, payment history, and automated messages? Most likely no.

A good CRM for a subscription business is one that can manage the entire process, or at least the majority of actions that must be performed. It improves efficiency and makes the company more scalable. Clients stay longer, and their relationship with the brand grows stronger.

On the other side, it also gives an excellent opportunity for upselling. Consider Amazon Prime Video. You buy access to the basic library of movies, but to watch some of them you need to pay extra. With a subscription model, it’s easier to estimate revenue and manage the cash flow. That’s what makes it very competitive compared to other business models.

‍Tim Little | Monday.com & Integromat Expert

Setup & automation of CRM for subscription business – project details

Goals:

• Track signups, payments, and history
• Pursue renewals for subscription service
• Improve the efficiency of sales

Company: Schapira Medical Concierge

Project scope:

• Setup monday.com workflows for subscription service with the following stages: signups, paid & up to date, renewals, canceled
• Automate workflow stages
• Automate tracking of payments
• Automate email reminders for renewals to patients

Time of the project: 4 weeks 

Skills used: Business process analysis, Monday.com automation & workflow setup, email automation, project management, quality assurance, and testing plan.

Setup of monday.com workflow

Schapira Medical Concierge approached SoftwareSupp with very precise requirements. For the start, the company needed to add data to CRM, such as names, the date the client signed up, payments history, and service expiration.

With this information in hand, the next step was to automate notifications. First, to keep employees informed, and second – to send emails to patients when they join the program or before the renewal.

A CRM expert was hired to build a monday.com workflow to track all subscription signups through the following stages:

1. New sign-ups
2. Activation and updates
3. Renewals
4. Cancelled subscriptions

How CRM helps to manage subscriptions

The subscription model relies on automation, and CRM is all about that. You can organize, speed up and automate all necessary actions by using one tool. It helps to manage all communication and interactions between the company and clients. Every business using a subscription model needs to make sure that the process is fast, simple, and effortless. Otherwise, users will quickly switch to the competition’s services.

New sign-ups

First 24 hours after the client decides to use services are the most important. The relationship between the company and the client must begin right away. Schapira Medical Concierge needed to track payments, gather information about new patients, and onboard them. At this very first stage, it helps them in avoiding a situation in which the client is unsure of the next actions to take or how to properly use the service.

Paid subscriptions

Not everyone who registers on the platform makes the payment. That’s why it’s critical to exclude in CRM news signups from paid customers. Although it is obvious that only subscribers may use the service, reminders should be sent to individuals who abandoned the cart. Subscription usage history will also help with tracking the user behavior, personalization, and development of a long-standing relationship.

Renewals

People are just people, and they tend to forget things. It’s always a good idea to remind them about the upcoming membership renewal. The client needed automated reminders and tracking payment collection to be organized in monday.com. Entering this information into CRM simply saves time. Employees don’t have to send separate messages or remember who else needs to pay.

Canceled subscriptions

Last but not least. The customer who canceled the subscription might always come back. Tracking reasons for cancellation helps to establish what needs to be improved, fixed, or changed. Also, the communication with clients doesn’t end when they cancel. In this case, patients that resigned from the subscription were moved to a separate email list. That allowed to send them messages designed precisely to reactivate them.

Results of choosing monday.com CRM for subscription business

Subscription business requires more automation than any other sort of business. The data flow has to be extremely organized, and the communication must stay intact.

The expert integrated subscription management into single software to track each patient's subscription journey. He provided a scalable system and process for managing Schapira Medical Concierge processes. It enabled business intelligence reporting on subscription success and renewal for the custom bespoke process. Using CRM and implementing automated reminders for medical subscriptions, increased customer engagement and a number of renewals.