Pay Per Click Marketing

New Google AdWords Interface

Google has finally made their new AdWords interface available to the entire public, not just select advertisers.  Just look to the top right of your interface and select New Interface (Beta) to see your screen transform into the new layout provided by Google.

Austin Rachlin, a member of the Google AdWords team, explains on one of Google’s latest blog posts that the reason for the new interface is to “help you manage your campaigns more efficiently.  We also wanted to offer some of the conveniences you’ll find in other Google products, like keyboard shortcuts.  Just like in Gmail, you can quickly navigate around your account without having to use the mouse.  In the new AdWords interface you have a number of keyword shortcuts at your fingertips.”

You can find the list of keyboard shortcuts here.

My personal favorite part of the new interface is that instead of click on reporting, tools, billing and my account tabs, you can simply place your mouse over them and click for a drop down menu.  No wait time to be taken to a next page to see your options.

You are also able to see all of your campaigns and their settings at once instead of clicking on each individual campaign to be taken to another page to adjust settings.  Everything is entailed into one screen - very convenient.

The same tools and resources that are included in the “old version” of the  AdWords interface are in the new AdWords interface, but accessing those functions is a lot simpler and takes up a lot less of your time.

If you choose to look into the new AdWords interface, as Google encourages us to become familiar with it, there are some helpful hints located on the bottom left corner of the interface underneath a “Help” headline.  You can find a “what you should know” link and learn how to create a new campaign, measure your account’s performance, keyboard shortcuts and more.

Google AdWords’ new interface is in “beta” and they are claiming that they encourage any feedback as they are still making changes to the new layout.

Google Adwords Conversion Metrics Updated

I have been slowly noticing some changes in the AdWords interface while running reports and browsing through accounts.  I decided to look into this and sure enough, AdWords is slowly integrating an updated interface structure with new functions and features.

While running the normal search query reports and keyword reports, I noticed that Google updated its conversion options to be either, Conversions (1-per-click) or Conversions (many-per-click).

I read an article on AdWords blog posted by Emel Mutlu that explains these conversion reporting changes.

Mutlu explains that the reason for this update is based off of every advertiser’s specific goals.  Mutlu goes on to use the following example:  “Let’s say you’re selling gardening supplies online and you’ve set up conversion tracking on your “Thank You For Your Purchase” and your “Newsletter Subscription Confirmed” pages.”

If a customer clicks on your ad, buys a bag of peat moss, then subscribes to your newsletter, you’ll see two many-per-click conversions, but just a single 1-per-click conversion in your account. If the same customer returns to your site a few days later and buys a trowel (but doesn’t click on one of your AdWords ads to get there), you’ll now see three many-per-click conversions, but your 1-per-click conversions will still remain at one.”

Google AdWords’ blog also posts several articles that are useful guidelines for the up-and-coming interface.

Google’s Local Emphasis Will Affect SEO More than PPC

Do you sometimes enter a search term in Google with a city or state name followed by a service (i.e. Boston Dentist)? If so, then you have probably seen PPC ads, followed by a map with local listings and then the organic results. Google recently announced that they will be placing a much bigger emphasis on local listings. In addition to being triggered by city/state keywords, they will also be triggered by broad keywords. If your IP address places you in Boston and you type in the keyword “Dentist”, you may see Boston local listings.

Google’s new emphasis on local listings for broad terms as opposed to just geo terms (dentist vs. Miami Dentist) seems to be applied between position 4 and 5 organically on page one. This seems to be strategic as it keeps the eye on PPC ads but definitely rocks the organic results. This is yet another move by Google that is somewhat game changing for many players who really on SEO and PPC for their stability.

Read more here…

Landing Page A/B Testing is a Must

As PPC managers, we are always thinking of new ways to optimize our accounts and to better their performance.  One very consistent, dependable approach has always been to test, test, test our text ads and landing pages.  While we are always comparing our ads and pages to our competitors  so we can try to update our campaigns with new incentives (special offers, promotions, etc.), at some time or another the question pops into our head, “how long do we have to test for?”

I read an interesting article by Melissa Kavanagh that attempts to conclude how much data we need to determine which landing page (A or B) is yielding the best results.

I found this article extremely interesting because it focused not only on the content of the landing page, but the fact that the two different landing pages being tested may impact 2 completely different groups of visitors.  For example: Melissa explains that her team’s “hypothesis is that if specials were promoted in a more visible fashion on the homepage, conversion rate would increase, as would overall revenue.”

They refer to the above explained landing page as “version B”.

Melissa and her team’s hypothesis did result as true, but from a behavior aspect, Melissa explains, “We think that because version B highlights the specials more openly than the original version, it’s possible that we are changing the way visitors are booking their vacations. Instead of going through a linear booking process, it’s possible that version B visitors are now “shopping for deals.”

Melissa and her team’s conclusions are based off of about 3 weeks worth of data.  Melissa states, “After 19 days of running the A/B test, and roughly 10,000 sample website visits, we have solid data that proves version B converts a higher percentage of specials than version A. However, the overall conversion rate of version B has now dropped even further below the control. On the upside, the data also showed that average order per reservation was 5% lower than version A (an improvement from the 6% shown a few days earlier), and average revenue per night booked is now 0.1% higher for version B (previously 4% lower).”

For advertisers that may want some assistance with these high profile testing options, a PPC marketing agency would be happy to handle all of them for you.

Google Announces Mysterious Advanced Search Query Report

I recently read an article that talked about a new option in a very helpful ppc report, the search query report.

Those “other unique queries” that show up in majority of the report will now be kept to a minimal and Google will provide us with more queries to work with after running the report.  Advertisers will be able to choose between a standard search query report and an advanced.  A common question has been, “who would want to run standard when you can run advanced?”

Before we get too excited, it seems as though Google is randomly placing this option into select accounts.  It is not available for every advertiser at this time.

In the article, PPC Hero Blogger John explains the advanced search query report: “Initially, we pulled our first Advanced (All Queries) report for the past few months – which still provided countless “other unique queries” entries. However, it has been rather consistent for new Google reports to only be valid from the date of launch. We haven’t seen one iota of reporting or announcements on this feature, so we decided to run the new report for the past 2 days (03/30 – 03/31). In this test, we found that the Advanced (All Queries) report displayed 441 search queries out of 445 searches. Not bad. Not bad at all!

For all advertisers who are unfamiliar with search query reports and account optimization, a PPC management firm should be happy to handle all of these functions for you.

Initial Google Keyword Quality Scores May Be Inaccurate

Search engine marketers who have done their research know the elements that compose a good through excellent Quality Score.  In our previous post, we summed up Google’s Quality Score stating that it is mainly based off of the relevancy between your keywords, ad groups, text ads, landing page quality and load time, historical click through rate and overall account history.

So, why do our keywords end up with terrible quality scores after putting together such a well-rounded account?  It may seem a bit confusing at first, but, don’t lose hope just yet!

Brad Geddes teaches us how to overcome this barrier and turn initial keyword quality scores into a very useful measuring tool against competition.

Geddes explains that when a keyword is added into an account, that keyword is given a quality score, but this is not the “actual” keyword or landing page quality score.

Geddes clarifies by stating, “the initial quality score is a default quality score for everyone who has used this word before you. That’s an important benchmark as you can compare your quality score to your overall competition.  After you add several keywords, run a keyword report and save the quality score info for those new keywords.”

The question is, how do we know when we get our real quality scores?

“After the new keywords added (the ones with the poor quality scores) have accrued enough data for Google to make a statically significant decision about what your actual quality score is (which could be a day to a few weeks depending on how many impressions, clicks, and when Google crawls your landing page) then your keywords are updated with your actual quality score.

Run another keyword report on your actual quality score.

Compare this data to the original quality score.”

It all makes sense now.  A simple comparison within a month’s time could possibly differentiate us from our competitors.

A search engine marketing firm is able to handle all of these updates and comparisons for you, especially if you start with higher quality scores and then see them drop to lower scores down the road.

Is Google Adwords Quality Score Exaggerated?

PPC Management companies are always talking about it, always fearing it and always wondering what the next change will be.  Of course, I am referring to Google Adwords Quality Score.  Advertisers may very well be starting to see Google Adwords as a rival instead of a profitable advertising platform.

To sum it up, Google Adwords Quality Scored is mainly based off of the relevancy between your keywords, ad groups, text ads, landing page quality and load time, historical click through rate and overall account history.  Every advertiser will have their own success rates and opinions on quality score, but I truly believe that overall account history is the prime factor.

I read an interesting and I may even call it a brave article written by guest blogger, Shawn Livengood, on ppchero.com.

In the article, Livengood refers to Google’s Quality Score as “overhyped” and claims that “the reality is that if you’re running a relevant, well organized PPC campaign, you shouldn’t even have to think about your quality score.”

Livengood also claims that his theory on Google’s Quality Score is that “it’s slightly comforting to get a “grade” on how you’re doing in your AdWords account.  With so many different numbers and statistics flying around in your account, it’s easy to focus on one specific number to determine how things are going.  The only real “score” you need is one (or all) of these three: total conversions, conversion rate, and cost per conversion.”

Livengood is basically stating that if people want your product or service and you are targeting them appropriately, then you’ll convert them.  If people don’t find what they are looking for, then they’re simply not going to convert.

I think that Livengood makes a valid point, conversions don’t lie, but in today’s world competition is more fierce than ever.  Whether we like it or not, we are not going to get our ads ranking with our competitors if Google is ranking us in the “poor” category.  I found it a bit contradictory that Livengood praised a strong, well-structured, relevant pay per click campaign, yet also stated that Quality Score is “overhyped”.

In my experience, the only times I have seen an online marketing campaigns perform with success that have not been structured around Google’s Quality Score are when the campaigns have so much history that it almost seems to wipe everything else out completely. I feel as if you can put together a beautifully structured and relevant campaign, but click history is the element that is missing in new campaigns and the piece of the Quality Score puzzle that we strive for to complete the package.

Microsoft adCenter Supplies Advertisers with New Conversion Tracking Options

Microsoft adCenter is arguably the most advantageous paid search engine as compared to its main competitors, Google and Yahoo.  What is this argument based on?  Well, one example is in regards to advertising costs.  Google is by far is the most popular search engine of our time, but when you spend a certain amount of money on Google, you can rest assure you will more than likely be spending less than half of that amount on MSN (and from personal search data, most likely for equal or more conversions).

If you are looking to increase visibility but you don’t exactly have the advertising dollars to fit expensive clicks, then advertising on MSN is commonly known as a worthwhile expansion for your search engine marketing campaigns.

As advertising on the internet becomes more and more competitive, we do need the research tools and advantages to help our campaigns grow continuously.  adCenter may be known to some advertisers as an economical benefit, but the tools for growth are limited in comparison to search engines like Google, for example.

After reading an article written by Microsoft adCenter’s Traffic Quality Programme Manager, Brandon Kitts, the good news is that adCenter is on its way toward an even more efficient paid search platform.  Kitts posted an in depth explanation on Microsoft adCenter’s blog about the new conversion tracking options that will be provided to advertisers.

Mr. Kitts says, “In order to achieve the most meaningful conversion counts possible, adCenter is releasing a package of new Conversion counting controls which allows you to specify how you want your events counted. We are offering three options from which you can pick what works best for you”.

Kitts then goes on to explain the options, stating that Conversion Counter Option 1 “will only count the first conversion that occurs after the click.”  Any following conversions will not be counted unless they are a result from a new or alternate click.

Kitts explains Conversion Counter Option 2 as a more “complicated” approach to conversion tracking, but also a more effective approach.  This second option counts one conversion per unique URL.  He says, “This allows users to synchronize adCenter’s conversion counts very closely to their own system.  It does not matter what this conversion page is, what the transaction is, etc. It only matters that the page is unique, so that we can then count it uniquely and not count duplicates.This technique allows you to lock-in the adCenter conversion counting system to your internal definition of the conversion.”

Conversion Counter Option 3 is also known as the “default” version of the bunch since it is equal to the tracking that has always been provided by adCenter.  This option tracks all conversions that result.  Kitts explains this option to be most beneficial for advertisers who “want all of the events to be reported, and they already have sites that are designed to eliminate repeat-visit problems. This option ensures that all conversion events are reported.”

A search engine marketing firm should be able to handle all of these advanced conversion tracking options for you.

I believe that this is a huge step in the right direction for adCenter. These conversion tracking options are some great renovations and will definitely help with campaign improvements. I do, however, agree with the common feedback posted on adCenter’s blog and hope that being able to track revenue will be an option in the near future.

Longtail Keywords Help Advertisers Break into Crowded Search Marketing Niche

I read an article that’s extremely useful for new campaigns in competitive industries.

Even in today’s economy, search engine marketing is proven to be the marketing medium with the lowest cost per acquisition.  This may seem hard to believe for newer advertisers launching off into the pay per click world.  There are certain industries that seem to be impossible to break into.  Let’s face it, no one is exactly keen on the idea of paying $5 plus per click.

Sometimes special offers and incentives can’t even save you because they become so repetitive.  According to Brick Marketing’s post, “The surest way to break into an overcrowded niche is to focus on the long tail. Your click bids will cost less, you’ll be able to make more budget stretch longer, and you’re more likely to reach a hungry market that is ready to buy right now - if you have the right product. Think about it: Many online marketers have been at it for 10 years or more. How many special offers do you think consumers have seen in that time?”

I agree that long tail keywords are the best way to go. With internet marketing expanding more and more each day, being specific and targeting your audience with long tail keywords is sure to eliminate the waste of clicks that come from less targeted keywords and are sure to have higher click through rates. Long tail keywords coincide with targeted ad copy and great landing pages.

Display URLs ‘important’ for PPC online marketing ads

I read an interesting article on Click Through Marketing about the impact on Display URLs in PPC Marketing:

Internet marketers are being urged not to overlook the importance of display URLs when using pay per click services.

According to Randy Pickard, vice-president for product innovation at research firm User Centric, display URLs are an important component of pay per click (PPC) ads.

Writing on the SEOmoz blog, he said that studies show they capture “a significant proportion of the gaze time” allocated to paid-for advertisements.

With this in mind, marketers should alter display URLs in order to attract more clickthroughs, adding descriptive keywords to the end of the domain name.

He acknowledged that this tactic may not work in all cases, as “stuffing in” keywords could reduce the branding value of a PPC ad.

However, he stated: “The potential long-term benefit of acting upon a successful test can easily outweigh the short-term cost of a failed one. Thus, for many PPC advertisers, a closely monitored display URL test is likely a worthwhile effort.”

I do agree that a display URL that matches the keyword being searched does add to the overall Click Rate for a search listing.  The URL will be bolded to help it stand out, creating an instant showing of relevancy.