Rarely content with the status quo, Google have been making some rather eye-catching changes to the way in which AdWords advertising is presented on its SERPs in recent weeks.
I’m not just talking about the subtle transition over to a pale lilac hue for the top results, but the options available within the results themselves. We’ve seen a number of new elements appear and doubtless there will be more to come.
Let’s take a look at few of the more eye-catching updates. More…
Google announce new Enhanced CPC option within their AdWords Pay Per Click platform, helping advertisers automatically vary bids for high converting phrases.
Enhanced CPC is a brand new option within Google AdWords. Like many of their recent developments, this is designed to help account holders get more from their budgets. In this instance though, it is through manipulation of bid process for campaign keywords.
That probably sounds a little ominous. Handing over power to Google to bid on the price you pay for each click on their PPC platform. But it is actually reasonably straightforward and safe too; yep, a pretty good idea all round. More…
In my mind there are key steps that everyone should be following when a Pay Per Click campaign is being created. Whether you are new to PPC or an experienced Search Specialist, we all need guidelines to ensure we keep on track.
We may all have different tools that we use when creating a PPC campaign, but the end goal is always the same…. To have a well structured campaign that achieves good results and a positive ROI.
I have put together this Pay Per Click Campaign Checklist to give pointers on the different steps I take when creating a campaign and have summarised each point in more detail below. If you would like to add anything, please feel free to leave your comments at the end of this post.
The European high court has judged that the use of trademarks by competitors within Google organic and AdWords results is legal.
If you are looking to use a brand name or trademark within your Google AdWords this latest ruling might well be good news. The European Court of Justice has ruled that trademark infringement is fine, as long as it isn’t used in a way that might confuse consumers into believing you are representing the trademark holder.
Confused? Well, here is what the court had to say “The trade mark proprietor cannot oppose that use of the sign, identical with its mark, if that use is not liable to cause detriment to any of the functions of that mark.” [Source: Bidding for rivals' AdWords can be infringement, sometimes | The Register]. More…
Last month, Google announced that they were raising the bar for the AdWords Certification Programme by increasing the number of exams a company needs to pass in order to maintain their qualified status.
Previously, there was only the one exam that individuals within a company needed to pass, the Google Advertising Fundamentals Exam. Google expanded the number of exams to include an additional three exams covering intermediate-to-advanced best practices in managing an AdWords Account.
Google AdWords announces new ACE tool, allowing advertisers to compare the effectiveness of campaign changes in real-time.
The Google AdWords Campaign Experiments (ACE) tool will give you the opportunity to clearly distinguish which changes are effective and which aren’t. You can simultaneously test different bid prices and keywords to see which ones bring in the conversions.
This new feature could well take a lot of the guess work out of PPC advertising. In the past changes would have to be made, measured over a certain period and then compared with your previous data. With Google ACE, you can do your testing in real-time, pitching new against old and getting measurable results as a consequence.
Google have included a new feature within AdWords to allow advertisers to define keywords that must appear within the search string when using broad match.
Google have looked to remedy this by introducing a keyword targeting feature. This feature allows AdWords users to define the words that must appear within the search string. Therefore, rather than simply relying on variations of your key phrase using synonyms, you can now ensure that certain words are used for your ad to appear.
Google have just announced the limited release (gradual roll out) of new AdWords reports available to Google Analytics users with a linked Google AdWords account. Watch this short video to get an overview:
Whereas Google AdWords reporting focuses on the click received on an advert, Google Analytics AdWords reports will allow you to see how respondents from your PPC advertising interact and engage with your site. Good stuff, Google!
As Google unveil Partner Search in an effort to make finding Google AdWords Qualified Companies easier, we look at other ways you can find out and just why this certification is so important.
Google commands a 92 per cent share of the search market in the UK [see: Search Engine Market Share Statistics - April 2010]. Invariably, this has helped to make their paid search platform, Google AdWords, the most competitive and lucrative for advertisers.
With greater volumes of search traffic passing through the pages of Google each day, their SERPs are the place to get seen. Whilst Yahoo, Bing and the other search engines offer their own platforms, it is AdWords that most go to by default. This has created greater competition; helping to push up bid prices, Google profits and the expertise required to effectively manage a profitable campaign. More…
With the ever growing internet market, it is becoming more and more important to ensure your website Conversion Rate is continuously increasing. There are so many factors to consider when you are looking at increasing your online Conversion Rate and this blog is going to cover my top six favourite ‘boosters’.
If you have any other hints or tips, please feel free to add to the bottom of this post and share your ideas with others.
A Google AdWords Qualified Company can maximise your ROI and here we look at why it is important that you choose a Pay per Click (PPC) management company who are qualified to manage your online marketing budget.
Online advertising is now one of the most popular ways to gain exposure for your site, company and the promotions you offer. It is unlike any other form of marketing, relying solely on a Pay per Click basis, which means that your adverts need impact and they need to be shown for the most appropriate keywords. More…
Now that you have set up your AdWords Account and have traffic going to your website, it is important that you know what all these people are doing on your website. That’s where Google Analytics can help you.
Analytics can separate the traffic you are paying to visit your site from the remainder of your traffic, allowing you to see if your advertising budget is converting to profit.
To join search engine marketing in with the festive spirit, this blog post will provide you with 12 tips for optimising your AdWords Pay per Click campaign.
This third and final post in the Quality Score series should provide you with a few ideas when to improving your current Quality Scores. Don’t settle with a Quality Score of seven or eight, set your sights higher and always aim for the top score.
To catch up on why exactly your quality score is so important you should take a look at my previous blog post – The Benefits of a Good Quality Score
This is the second post in the Quality Score series and covers probably the most important issue, in my opinion.
Once you are aware of the benefits of having keywords with high Quality Scores, you should have no problem with making the changes required to improve your scores.
