Leveraging Search to Increase Subscriptions While Maintaining Acquisition Costs

When it came under new ownership in 2008, the print version of TV Guide Magazine instantly turned to another medium – the Internet – to grow its subscriber base. Though it had already leveraged search marketing tactics to drive web-based orders in the past, the magazine sought to improve the efficiency of previous initiatives. It specifically needed an online marketing agency that would be able to maximize the number of paid orders generated online, while controlling costs per acquisition. Recognizing the value of a cross-channel online marketing program, the magazine also needed an agency that could integrate search with other online initiatives down the road.

Tapping into more than a decade of experience with search and online marketing, iMarketing recommended a strategy to overhaul TV Guide Magazine’s existing search marketing programs. This included overcoming an inherited low quality score with Google due to keywords, ads, and landing pages that weren’t as integrated as they could be - proving to be both inefficient and ineffective, resulting in both minimal traffic and a higher cost-per-click. iMarketing also implemented a bidding strategy and new ad creative to improve quality score and lower CPCs.

Within a day, iMarketing had successfully transitioned the programs while avoiding a lag in activity by ensuring a seamless transition of TV Guide Magazine’s search initiatives. The new strategy was fully implemented within a week and in the space of just two months, cost per order dropped by 20% while sales increased by 23.6%.

To sustain the momentum, iMarketing launched a comprehensive strategy to improve TV Guide Magazine’s sales volume while maintaining the current CPO, including:

Optimizing branded terms and diversifying the keyword base: To drive CPO under target, iMarketing focused on optimizing branded terms while diversifying the active keyword base beyond these terms – leading to increased performance without an increase in cost.

CPO has dropped by 47% and sales from non-branded terms have increased from 0% to 7%.

Conducting offer testing: To boost conversion rates and total paid subscriptions, iMarketing and TV Guide Magazine tested a mix of offerings, including premiums, subscription terms/prices and free issues. After thorough A/B testing, the agency and TV Guide Magazine found and implemented the optimal mix to effectively increase sales and reduce CPO. Once the best offer was identified, iMarketing monitored performance and optimized bids across ad groups on a weekly basis, in an effort to drive as many orders, as cost-effectively as possible.

In just one year through offer testing, iMarketing has more than doubled conversion rates and increased subscriptions by more than 152%.

Through iMarketing’s targeted offer testing and other proven best practices, TV Guide Magazine has improved conversion rates, lowered cost per order, and increased volume.

Within six months of managing TV Guide Magazine’s paid search campaigns in Google, Yahoo!, and MSN, iMarketing increased total orders by 265% all while decreasing CPO by 3.5%.

As a next step, the agency is testing and reviewing additional online marketing initiatives that can be implemented in concert with the search program, to further expand TV Guide Magazine’s reach and increase subscription revenues.