Dear AdWords, Please Change These 2 Things

In terms of paid search platforms AdWords is far and away the leader. Tools like the AdWords Editor and the incredible support section are just two of dozens of features and services that separate AdWords from the rest of the paid search crowd.

That said, there are two things about AdWords that really bug me and I think AdWords should change to benefit their advertisers - which in turn will benefit Google in the long run. I know Google cares about the long run as they have proven they are willing to make changes that may impact short term revenue but will likely pay off in the long run.

The two items that in my opinion need to change are:

Item # 1: The quality score column is disabled by default in AdWords accounts.

The AdWords has team has been pounding the importance of the quality score into advertisers heads ever since it was announced. It is an integral part of AdWords advertising and Google has made it nearly impossible for advertisers to ignore it and maintain successful AdWords accounts.

Google's own documentation sums up the importance of the quality score:

"Quality Score influences your ads' position on Google and the Google Network. It also partly determines your keywords' minimum bids. In general, the higher your Quality Score, the better your ad position and the lower your minimum bids.

Quality Score helps ensure that only the most relevant ads appear to users on Google and the Google Network. The AdWords system works best for everybody—advertisers, users, publishers, and Google too—when the ads we display match our users' needs as closely as possible. Relevant ads tend to earn more clicks, appear in a higher position, and bring you the most success."

They have entire sections dedicated to improving quality scores, talk about it extensively on their blog and seeming go out of their way to reiterate it's importance again and again and again. Bloggers and AdWords users all over the world dedicate entire posts to discussing it. If you work in paid search for a living you probably hear the term "quality score" a dozen times a day. I think at this point in the life of AdWords, we the advertisers get it - the quality score is important.

So why on earth is the quality score column disabled by default in new accounts?

Like others, the first response that pops in my head is $$$. If people have low quality scores and don't realize it they may just pay more, at least for awhile. That of course, in the short term, benefits Google. But the reality is that as AdWords advertising costs for those advertisers continue to increase they become less and less profitable and may eventually will reduce their spend or shift to other providers. Long term, I don't see this as a good practice for Google to follow.

Google, put the same effort into making sure all of your advertisers see the quality score from day 1 as you do in preaching it's importance every step of the way and everyone will win. Advertisers will build better campaigns that will lead to increased conversions that will lead to increased spend. Don't be evil, show the quality score from day 1.

Item # 2: Don't enable the content network by default.

This has been a common complaint among advertisers for years. Sure, it takes 2 seconds to uncheck the content network when building a new campaign but that's 2 seconds more than advertisers should have to spend on it.

It's no secret that content advertising is completely different that search advertising. It's not even remotely close to the same thing. Everything from the tactics used to setup a content campaign through the analysis pf the results and campaign performance is different. This is not just an opinion of advertisers, it's Google's stance on the subject as well:

"On the search network, ads are shown to users who are specifically searching for results using one of your keywords. On the content network, ads are shown to users as they research interests and browse sites that are related to your keywords and ad text. Users on the content network are in a different mindset than users on search, so changes to your keywords, ad text and account structure may be necessary to make the most out of your content network advertising."

That's from a January 24, 2008 post on the AdWords blog entitled Google Content Network Tips: Optimizing for a Content Network Audience. You know what the first tip on that post is? How about:

"Create separate search and content campaigns."

Other posts from the AdWords blog that are about working with the content work include suggestions such as "use duplicate keywords for appropriate ad groups, use ad group level urls instead of keyword level urls and measure content performance at the ad group level." All of those are great suggestions for the content network but they are absolutely horrible suggestions for the search network.

Don't get me wrong, I think the content network is great and when used properly can produce phenomenal results but can't for the life of me come up with a reason why you would ever have the same campaign running in both search and content. I would go so far as to say that there is never a case in which that setup would make sense or produce better results than a separate content and search campaigns.

I know Google is making a big push this year to ramp up the content network - I think that's great. I think the practice of enabling the content network by default is working against that effort. From my point of view, here's what happens. New advertiser sets up a new campaign and unknowingly leaves the content network on. Almost without the fail the results will be horrible and when they see how the content network is performing they will shut it off. That experience leaves a bad taste in their mouth and they now consider the content network to not be a viable form of adverting for their business. They miss out, Google misses out and the publishers (AdSense) miss out. Everyone loses.

Google, bombard advertisers with account messages and e-mails asking them to opt in, call them...do whatever you feel you need to do to get people to opt in but make sure you set them up to succeed. If advertisers succeed you succeed. Opting advertisers into the content network by default is not the right way to make that happen.

I think AdWords is a great paid search platform - just hope we can see these two items addressed in 08'.

The Worst Summary of AdWords You Will Ever Read

Earlier today I came across what I will describe as the most uninformed, embarrassingly inaccurate description of AdWords I've ever seen that wasn't written as a joke.

The title of the article linked to above is Tech Solutions Your Small Biz' Can't Use by Gene Marks. Based on the content of the article (among other ridiculous comments Mr. Marks states small businesses shouldn't use anti virus software) I'm going assume that Mr. Marks doesn't own a small business, know anyone that does, or has even been in the presence of a small business owner. Even though he has a website that states otherwise I refuse to believe it.

This post will focus on the number 8 thing a small business doesn't need according to Mr. Marks, AdWords (or paid search in general). Here are Gene's comments relating to the use of AdWords by a small business:

"John's a pretty smart guy. He runs a company that sells specialty pet foods. He manages his own investments. He keeps an eye on his taxes. But I've found a way to turn John into a blithering idiot. I've asked him to figure out how to use Google's (GOOG) AdSense profitably. Are you interested in a mind-numbing exercise? Give AdSense a shot. Or Yahoo SM or MSN AdCenter. Don't you know how much to budget for "clicks" on your ad? Are you just a little suspicious as to who exactly is counting these "clicks" that conveniently turn into revenue for these companies? Like John, you've just entered the alternate universe of Internet advertising! Here's a word of wisdom: Leave the mass-market advertising to Coke (KO) and Pepsi (PEP). Small business owners should stick to less mystifying forms of promotion."

Ouch. Let's take a look at that opinion a few chunks at a time.

"John's a pretty smart guy. He runs a company that sells specialty pet foods. He manages his own investments. He keeps an eye on his taxes. But I've found a way to turn John into a blithering idiot"

Maybe Gene made John read this 100 times?

"I've asked him to figure out how to use Google's (GOOG) AdSense profitably. Are you interested in a mind-numbing exercise? Give AdSense a shot. Or Yahoo SM or MSN AdCenter."

Gene Gene Gene...even my 14 year old neighbor knows the difference between AdWords and Adsense. Glaring error in using the right term for what you're talking about aside, in order to AdWords in a cost effective manor you follow the same basic marketing principles you do when using other more traditional forms of media. The goal is to spend less than you earn...you know, make a profit.

"Don't you know how much to budget for "clicks" on your ad?"

You budget for AdWords just like you budget for any other marketing initiative. Use data.

"are you just a little suspicious as to who exactly is counting these "clicks" that conveniently turn into revenue for these companies?"

The company counting the clicks would be the company that you signed up with. In the case of AdWords, that company is Google. There are plenty of tools and services available that can also assist in auditing clicks if you are concerned.

Try auditing magazine circulation, direct mail deliveries and billboard exposure. The amount of information you can get about the people who clicked on one of your ads far exceeds the amount of information you can get about the person who saw your ad in a magazine.

"Like John, you've just entered the alternate universe of Internet advertising!"

Alternate universe? Are you kidding me?

"Here's a word of wisdom:"

I scanned the entire article and couldn't find it.

"Leave the mass-market advertising to Coke (KO) and Pepsi (PEP). Small business owners should stick to less mystifying forms of promotion."

Yea, because highly targeted relevant ads on search engines and content matched pages is exactly what I would consider "mass-market" advertising....

I personally know more than dozen small business owners that use AdWords to promote their business. Most have increased their spend with AdWords (and paid search in general) over the past few years as they watched the results speak for themselves. In terms of performance, most if not all of the small business owners I know would say paid search is the most effective form of advertising they do. It's more effective than Yellow Pages, television, radio, direct mail and print. Small business owners should without a doubt look into paid search as a form of promotion for their business. If they don't have the time to do it themselves (and most won't) they should consider hiring a professional to manage it for them. When done right the increased revenue will more than offset the campaign management costs.

I am actually astonished that the article being discussed was ever even published. The advice Mr. Marks is giving isn't just wrong, following it could actually harm (not using anti virus...I could tell you some small business horror stories...) a small business. While not using AdWords surely won't harm your business it could put you at a disadvantage and limit your growth potential. AdWords is marketing and marketing is a critical component to the overall successfulness of a small business.

My advice for small business owners would be to look into the viability of a paid search program now, don't take the advice of someone (*cough* Gene Marks *cough*) who doesn't even know the name of the advertising method he's telling you not to use.

Working with AdWords Expanded Broad Match

The "expanded" part of the AdWords broad match keyword match option has been getting a lot of attention recently, most of which would be described as negative.

Back in 2003 when expanded broad match (EBM) was first announced it was described as follows:

Expanded broad matching

Broad keyword matching now includes expanded matches such as plurals and synonyms. Keyword matching options enable you to control how precisely you want a user's query to match your specified keyword, and expanded broad match simply lets you find more matches automatically.

For example, if you advertise on the keyword 'web hosting,' your ad might also appear for searches on 'website hosting.'

* How does expanded broad matching work?

Based on the monitoring and analysis of millions of user queries, the AdWords system automatically shows your ads for expanded matches, including plurals and synonyms.

* How do I get samples of these new matches?

You can view your potential expanded matches using our keyword suggestion tool.

* How do I limit some or all expanded matches?

You will receive more clicks by leaving your broad-matched keywords on broad match with the new expanded matching capability. However, if you want to prevent your ads from showing on particular expanded terms, you can add those terms as negative matches to your keyword list. If you'd prefer not to expand certain keywords at all, you can use a new account tool to easily change those keywords from broad matches to either phrase or exact matches; these match types will not be expanded. This will prevent your ads from showing on any matches related to those keywords (but you may also see a decrease in impressions and clicks). For each keyword whose matching option is changed, you'll see your broad match history and your new match type. Contact your Client Service Representative with any questions.


A more recent note about expanded broad matching on the keyword matching options page says:

"A note about expanded matching: The AdWords system continually monitors system-wide keyword performance and other relevance factors. This helps determine which expanded matches and variations are the most relevant to user searches."

As I mentioned earlier, most of the recent comments about EBM haven't been what most would call positive. That's not overly surprising as with most things in life, the people who are the most vocal on a subject tend to be less than satisfied with how something works.

I've found myself in the perceived minority in relation to the EBM issue. I have actually started using broad match more in the last year due to it's effectiveness - and by effectiveness I mean ROI. I'm not talking about CTR, impressions, number of clicks or any other non success related metric. I'm not doing anything that's complicated or cutting edge either...just what in my opinion are the basic best practices one should use in conjunction with broad matched keywords. A typical new broad matched campaign build out follows the same basic steps;

1. Add keyword(s).
2. Use the AdWords keyword tool to come up with a list of negative matched key words.
3. Run those potential negative keywords through all keyword tools at my disposal to check for other potential keyword variations I would like to block.
4. Where applicable, check server logs for additional potential negative matches.
5. Launch campaign and based on the potential volume (high volume = quicker audit) schedule an account audit.
6. During the audit rerun the AdWords keyword tool to see if any new potential variations have shown up. Then on to the server logs and other keyword tools to look for more potential negatives. Now that the search query report is available I'll usually run one of those too just to be on the safe side.

Finally I pull out any high performing (i.e. converting) keywords and add them to a different campaign as exact or phrase match depending on the circumstances. Then I go back into the broad matched campaign and add those words/phrases as negatives so I'm not competing with myself in my own account. I repeat this process frequently as dictated by overall campaign volume. Of course this process will vary depending on the circumstance but generally speaking it's the process I follow.

It's been suggested that Google should allow AdWords users to opt out of the expanded part of broad matching. I wouldn't oppose such an offering but in terms of priorities, at least for me, this one's way down at the bottom of the list. I really don't think it's all that high of a priority for Google either. I'm sure they make nice chunk of change from those who just enter in a broad matched keywords with few or no negatives and high bids. Advertise at your risk I suppose.

For more on the expanded broad match issue take a look at the pages listed in my AdWords search engine by clicking here.

If you have any feedback/comments related to expanded broad match please feel free to share via the comments. No registration required.

Google no longer claims AdWords/AdSense doesn't influence the natural results

Was answering a question last night and went to reference a page I've pulled up many times in the past. At one point that page said:

"Will participation in AdWords or AdSense affect my listing in Google's free search results?

Google's advertising programs are independent of our search results. Search results display on the left side of our results page; ads appear on the right and in the colored box at the top.

Participation in an advertising program doesn't positively or negatively affect inclusion or ranking in the Google search results. Inclusion and ranking are free services; we don't accept payment to expedite inclusion or improve a site's ranking for particular keywords. To learn more about how Google ranks pages, please visit http://www.google.com/technology/index.html"

Now that page says:

"We're sorry, but the information you've requested cannot be found. Please try searching or browsing the Help Center."

Here's the original page in Archive.org

Looks like the same fate for the UK help page as well.

So there you have it, participating in a Google advertising program might ( or might not;-) ) help your natural listings.

AdWords Keyword Tool, New Features

Couple new features coming to the AdWords Keyword Tool in the next week or so:

Per-Keyword Match Type: The addition of a per-keyword pop-up menu allows you select the match type you wish to add for individual keywords. The addition of a Negative match type in the per-keyword pop-up lets advertisers add a keyword as a negative match.

Consolidated View: Instead of having four separate views (Keyword Search Volume, Cost and Ad Position Estimates, Search Volume Trends, Possible Negative Keywords) as with the current tool, we will now have only one detailed view in which you can customize which columns you want to see. This way, you can see all the information you want in a single view.

New Filters: We will be adding three new filters to the Keyword Tool based on user feedback. As such, users can now limit the types of results they see:

- Don't show results that contain the following words or phrases (advertiser can enter in words or phrases in a box below)

- Don't show keywords already in my ad group (if they entered the Keyword Tool from the ad group page)

- Don't show ideas for new keywords. I only want to see data about the keywords I entered.

I'm looking forward to the new filters, will be a big help in my world. The consolidated view should be pretty handy too.

Google Conversion Optimizer vs Manual Optimization

Earlier today Google announced a new AdWords service - the conversion optimizer.

Here's a snippet from the AdWords blog explaining what the conversion optimizer will do:


"Here's how Conversion Optimizer works: simply specify a maximum CPA bid and the Conversion Optimizer does the rest. It uses historical information about your campaign and automatically generates optimal CPC bids for each auction. You still pay per click, but you no longer have to manually adjust your bids to reach your CPA goals. Since the Conversion Optimizer can choose a new bid for each auction, you're provided with the additional benefit of spending money only on the search queries and sites where your ads are likely to convert. You can read more about how the Conversion Optimizer can manage your costs here."

I'm going to put the optimizer to the test. I pulled stats from one of my campaigns for the last 30 days (8/24 - 9/24):

Conversion rate: 38.60%
Cost per conversion: $0.03

This campaign has had in excess of 40,000 conversions during the previous 30 days so there should be plenty of data for the conversion optimizer to work with.

I just flipped on the conversion optimizer for this campaign and will post periodic updates as well as a complete summary when the test concludes. My hunch is good old fashioned manual brain powered optimization will prove more effective although part of me hopes I'm completely wrong and the conversion optimizer blows that conversion rate away.

If you would like to give the AdWords Conversion Optimizer a spin here are the instructions for getting started. Keep in mind for a campaign to be eligible for the conversion optimizer you need to have 300 conversions over the last 30 days in that specific campaign.

Types of Sites Penalized by AdWords

Yesterday a new post was made to the AdWords Blog, websites that may merit a low landing page quality score.

The post talks about two categories of sites - one set that will almost automatically receive a low landing page quality score and may even lead to AdWords account termination, and, another set of sites that will "likely" lead to a low landing page quality score.

Here are the types of sites the AdWords team say will receive a low landing page quality score:

- Data collection sites that offer free gifts, subscription services etc., in order to collect private information

- Arbitrage sites that are designed for the sole purpose of showing ads

- Malware sites that knowingly or unknowingly install software on a visitor's computer.

Interesting list, and obviously it's open to interpretation. Some would argue that services such as Gmail (or a Google account in general) would be classified as "data collection" and Google.com search results pages as "Arbitrage" pages. Google search results pages exist for the sole purpose of serving ads, right?

The post also referenced additional types of sites that "may" lead to a low quality landing page score. Those sites include sites such as:

- eBook sites that show frequent ads or install malware

- 'Get rich quick' sites

- Comparison shopping sites

- Travel aggregators

- Affiliates that don't comply with our affiliate guidelines

The reference to ebook sites seems odd. "Frequent ads" is obviously a relative number and malware sites were covered in the "likely to be penalized" list. I guess there must be a large number of ebook sites that dabble in arbitrage + malware.

The "get rich quick sites" listing is also a bit odd. What's your definition of quick? How about rich? In the past few years people have made significant incomes via AdSense practically overnight. Adsense publishers literally make money while they sleep. Google promotes AdSense over the AdWords network - I'm willing to bet the AdSense landing page does not have poor landing page quality score:-)

Next up is comparison shopping sites. Google has one of those too. Bet it doesn't get a low landing page quality score:-)

Finally the list closes out with travel aggregators and affiliates that don't adhere to Google's affiliate guidelines. I haven't really spent any time in the travel space and off the top of my head would think that some travel sites that pull info (i.e. consolidate) from other sites to help a potential traveler get a good deal or review lots of information from various sources at once would be helpful to the end user. I guess like the ebook sites that show "frequent" ads and/or install malware there must be something in the travel space I'm not aware of. In terms of affiliate sites, I don't think that surprises anyone. Any who's an affiliate and an AdWords users has known about this for quite some time now.

On the bright side the post from the AdWords team will help end some of the speculation about what AdWords is looking for and what they are looking block from their system. On the not so bright side it seems to this marketer that Google is following the "do as we say not as we do" logic and is making exceptions for their products and services that may fall into the site categories they listed in the post.

Feel free to share your thoughts, comments & opinions on Google's landing page quality score post.

Free Search Ads on Google Mobile

I received this earlier today regarding a free trial of AdWords ads on Google mobile search results:


"Hello XXXXXXXX,

We are happy to announce a new feature that will allow you to easily reach additional qualified customers who are searching Google from their mobile phones.

In the next few days, your search ads will be eligible to run on Google Mobile Search pages (like they currently do on Google.com).We are offering this feature - and any resulting clicks - for free through November 18, so you can experiment with the rapidly growing mobile platform while still reaching qualified customers.

Each ad's eligibility will be determined by its landing page and only ads with landing pages that can be adapted for viewing on mobile browsers will be shown. You can monitor each ad's performance via a special performance tracking page within your account called "Performance Data: Search Ads on Google Mobile Search."

Again, you will not be charged for clicks on these ads until November 19, at which time we will begin charging the usual CPC prices. And as always, you may opt-out of this feature at anytime.

We hope you find this new feature helpful and profitable, and we urge you to learn more about it at our AdWords Help Center:

http://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=72226

Thank you for advertising with Google AdWords.
Sincerely,
The Google AdWords Team "

Looks like you're opted in by default if you meet the standards. If mobile isn't for you make sure to login and opt out

I'm sure a lot of advertisers will try it out while it's free but wonder what the retention rate will be when the trial ends.

There will be banner ads on the Google homepage and/or web search results pages

Back in late 2005 Marissa Mayer, VP of Search Products & User Experience at Google wrote;

"There will be no banner ads on the Google homepage or web search results pages. There will not be crazy, flashy, graphical doodads flying and popping up all over the Google site. Ever."

Fast forward to 2007...

At the recent Citigroup Technology conference in New York Nick Fox & Sundar Pichai made some comments in relation to image/video ads being integrated into Google's universal search results;

"Fox says integrating video or image ads into sponsored search results is an option that has come up in internal discussions, since search ads are there to give users information that is most relevant to their query. "In many cases that's a text ad," Fox says. "In some cases, it may be an image, a video, or something else. But the risk is not showing something garish or flashy, because users would become blind to the ads and it would hurt the business long-term."

And Pichai added;

"the images and video ads you see today on content networks are not what will work. They won't carry over well." Any steps Google makes will have to be "incremental and evolutionary."

Personally, I think it's a logical step that needs to be taken with the introduction of Universal Search. There are times when a video or image ad will result in a better user experience when compared to standard text ad. I think Google is taking the correct approach to this - "incremental & evolutionary".

A key element that will need consideration (and I'm sure most would agree) is the current "instant approval" for ads/keywords that run on Google's own search results. I think video/image ads would all have to go through an approval process, similar to site targeted or content network ads do. I could just imagine some of the video/image ads people would try and sneak into Google's results and the outcry that would follow.

I've been in discussions with other search marketers who strongly disagree, for a number of reasons, with the opinion that image and video ads have a place in Google's search results. A few years back I was on that side of the fence as well but with Universal Search staring search marketers in the face it's time to accept that image & video ads will be in the search results in the future. We can either get our video and image assets in line and ready to use or pretend like it won't happen and watch our competitors jump ahead of us in that space.

Thoughts on image and video ads in Google's results? Feel free to comment.

Hiring an AdWords Professional

From time to time I am asked how someone should go about finding (and hiring) a professional to manage their AdWords (and PPC in general) marketing. While there isn't a "one size fits all" approach I recommend there are a few places to look and things to ask a potential AdWords professional if you are considering using them to manage your AdWords account(s). In no particular order:

- Check sites like this for qualified individual and company listings. Mainstream sites like this tend to have a number of potential candidates as well. Google Maps can also help you locate AdWords Professionals.

- If you have identified someone you are interested in using look for the AdWords Qualified Individual or Qualified Company logo/status page. While the requirements to be a "Qualified Individual" are fairly light someone holding that qualification has at minimum demonstrated a basic understanding of the fundamental elements of managing an AdWords account.

- Ask for references. AdWords management is pretty cut and dry - objectives are either met or are they are not. That's the beauty of direct marketing, it's very measurable. While to me references are not a deal breaker (no one would give you references that would say anything bad about them anyway) they are none the less still important.

- Look for an AdWords professional with EXPERIENCE IN YOUR INDUSTRY. This one's important. You don't want to pay for someone to learn what works in your industry - you want someone who already knows what works and can get your campaign into the black at light speed. If you sell products and the AdWords account manager your are talking with has done nothing but lead generation kindly thank them and move on the next candidate. Sales & lead generation are not the same....not even close. Look for a professional that knows your market. It's important. Really important.

- Read the point above this one one more time.

- Ask what technology (if any) they use for bid management. Once you get tied into someone who's using bid management technology to run your account it can be a pain to move out of that relationship into a more manual operation. I'm not a huge fan of bid management but to each their own.

Related - pros and cons of bid management.

- Ask them some specific questions about AdWords. What are the types of keyword matching? What is your assessment of the viability of the content network? What type of results have you seen with Google's PPA platform? How many campaigns can I have? What type of geo targeting options are available? Do you use the AdWords Editor?

You don't need to ask complicated questions, just the basics to see if the person you're talking with is yanking your chain. A few years ago when I was looking for a part time PPC manager to help with some overflow work I asked a potential candidate (who indicated they had 3 years experience) what they thought of using dynamic keyword insertion. They had never heard of it. End of interview:-)

- Of course there's the issue of money. Odds are your AdWords Pro will want some:-) There are a number of methods out there for pricing AdWords management.

Percentage of spend - usually 10 - 20%.
Performance based.
Flat monthly fee (usually tied to number of keywords).
By the hour.

There really isn't a one size fits all method here either. How you pay will be based primarily on your business and the expectation set for the management of your account. For example, I won't work on a performance based contract unless I have full (or close to it) control of the landing pages that will be used for the campaigns. Most people are working on the % of spend or performance based models at the present time.

- Have a trial period. If you're being asked to sign a long term agreement right from the get-go that cold be a bad sign. Look for initial agreements to be 90 days or less depending on the industry. In most cases 90 days is sufficient for both sides to feel each other out and make sure they are comfortable with the performance and associated expectations.

- Google them by name / company name. While Internet reviews can easily be faked you may some information about the company or person your are considering that is helpful is in your decision making process.

- If you do end up at the contract stage of an agreement, make sure ownership of the account and it's related pieces are clearly established. When possible seek a non-compete clause. If your relationship at some point ends with your account manager the last thing you want is for them to (legally) share your keywords or other strategies with your competition.

- It just needs to feel right. If you've ever bought something from someone you know what I'm talking about. You should "feel good" about the person or company you are working with.

Everyone is different and I'm sure many people have criteria not on this list that would be important to them when seeking a paid search pro. Take your time, use your judgement and run any potential candidates through your own process to find a person or company you feel comfortable with. If you have things you look for in an AdWords (or other PPC) account mananger feel free to share in the comments.

Good luck!

Getting the Top Spot - Google AdWords

Earlier this week Google announced they are changing the way ads are promoted to the top spot above the search results (not the top spot on the right of the results). Here's a snippet of the announcement:

"Quality Score is the greatest determining factor in top ad placement, which means no one will ever be able to pay their way to the top. We have, however, been working on an improvement to the top ad placement formula that will soon offer advertisers more control over achieving top placement while increasing the quality of our ad results for users.

The key change to the formula will be how we consider price. Today’s formula considers an ad’s Quality Score and actual cost-per-click (CPC). The improved formula will still heavily weight Quality Score, but instead of actual CPC, it will consider an ad’s maximum CPC. "

Basically what that is saying is that instead of using your actual CPC, they will now use whatever you have entered as a max CPC. The old model for the top spot(s) looked like this: Ad Rank = Actual CPC X Quality Score. The new model is Ad Rank = Max CPC bid X Quality Score. It was explained in the AdWords FAQ/help as follows:

"For the top positions above Google search results, we use a slightly different formula. First, only ads that exceed a certain Quality Score threshold may appear in these positions. Second, for ads that do surpass this Quality Score threshold, we use the actual CPC rather than the maximum CPC when determining their ranking in the top spots. This ensures that Quality Score plays an even more important role in determining the ads that show above the search results."

So who wins here (besides G' of course)? I say it's the advertisers with the largest budget - theoretical or actual.

For example let's say I sell cars. I have a small dealership and I compete with a number of larger local car dealers in the paid search space. I've been holding the top spot for years. I have great ads that are well received by users and my site provides a phenomenal user experience. I've had my max bid set at $3.00 CPC and actual has been coming in around $1.80 for the past 12 months. All my competitors, despite their larger advertising budgets, have always appeared below my ads in the search space. They have max bids that are 10X mine - they can afford to pay for some tire kickers - I can't.

Now when I check my ad position after this update who do you think will hold the top spot? My "quality" has always surpassed my competitor but now they are getting credit for a $30 max bid even though their actual bid probably comes in at around the same CPC as mine. Is having a max bid that's 10X my max bid going to push them above me? While it's just speculation at this point I would say it will, and I think this will be proved out in the coming weeks.

As a small advertiser I suppose I could just up my max bid to $50 knowing that at least for now, I'll still pay a much lower CPC...at least until my large bank rolled competitor ups their max bid to $75. At some point the small advertiser will be forced to accept positions 2 - 10...the tops spot will indeed be for sale, despite what's posted here. Why would I say that?

The only real variable here is the Max CPC. Everything else is an even playing field. Ads, landing pages, keyword selection, etc can all be built to the highest standards by a guy in his basement just as easily as they can be by a large team of paid search pros. So what's the real variable? What separates the little guy from the big players?

Money.

The big guys will always be able to significantly out bid the little guy. It's not even so much what they actually pay as what they are willing to pay. The guy in his basement can build a perfect landing page, get all the right keywords and write perfect ads and he'll still have to settle for positions other than #1 if big money moves into the space.

I don't fault Google for this change....they are a public company and have obligations to their shareholders. Putting the top spot up for sale should have a nice impact on their bottom line.

The bright side for the "little guy" in all this is the fact that most who have tested have seen that the top AdWords spot is rarely the best converting position. Combine lower conversion rates (top spot gets tons of curiosity clicks) with an ever increasing CPC and spots 2 - 10 just became a lot more appealing.

Some related reading:

AdWords Help Center - Top Ad Position Formula Change

Google AdWords "Promotion Algorithm" Will Change @ SER

Want Top Ad Position on Google? The Rules are About to Change @ SEL

AdWords Top Placement Formula Changing @ The Lonely Marketer

AdWords Top Placement Formula is Set for a Face lift @ PPC Hero

AdWords: Show Ads Evenly Over Time Setting Not Working

I posted about this at DP but figured I would mention here too to see if others are seeing the same thing. Basically, the daily budget I have set for one of my campaigns, despite having the option checked to show ads evenly over time, is being used up very early in the day.

Someone else just posted that they are now seeing the same thing.

I've literally checked hundreds of campaigns and don't see the issue anywhere else except for in the one campaign I've posted about.

I just sent a message to support about an hour ago to see if they can shed some light on the subject. If you're seeing the same thing or know how to fix it please post in the comments.

AdWords is Stealing From You (or you just don't know what you're doing)

I'm sometimes amazed that people will immediately jump to conclusions and pass blame without doing any real research or significant statistical sampling to arrive at their conclusions. In this post, I'm referring to people who present wild theories as fact in relation to AdWords. The majority of the time the people making these claims have very limited experience and it's obvious they have spent no time actually reading about the product they are using - AdWords. AdWords is marketing and why people think they should just be able to press the "make me money now" button and watch their bank accounts grow is beyond me.

This morning a thread at DP caught my eye - Google AdWords is Stealing from You!. You can head over and read the whole thread if you like, I'll just highlight some of the more "interesting" comments from the opening post. Comments from the post in bold.

"In case you were wondering why your campaign budget's always reach the specified max each day, here is the answer: IT IS BECAUSE YOU ARE BEING RIPPED OFF BY GOOGLE."

Here's the thing...not all my campaigns reach their max budget everyday. Actually, the majority don't. I guess that means I'm not being ripped off by AdWords:-)

"I have used adwords for 2 and a half years and was spending $65 per day which was always reached without fail. Then a funny thing happened. Due to a mix up with their new my client center, I was forced to open a new account with a different email address but using the same campaign, same keywords and same bids per click. I didn't transfer it but rather typed in the details again from scratch into the new account. I ran this for the last couple of days and my total costs for each day were around $7 as opposed to $65. This is even though the ads were sitting in the same position as the previous campaign. "

Lots of important details missing here but that's pretty normal for these types of posts. I don't expect the poster to actually present relevant details, they most likely don't even know what's relevant to the discussion and what's not.

Basically what I get from the above is the person created a new account and then recreated all the same ads/keywords and other account info. My assumption could be right or wrong...again, a lot of important details missing. After this new account went live they were only spending $7 vs $65 they had previously spent on a daily basis. Without any data or info my hunch would be the $7 represents what they spent on the search network (goes live quick) and the balance was spent on content ads. When you create a new account with new ads and everything else it can take awhile for everything to get approved and running and to this day there are still reports of additional delays with new AdWords accounts.

The person posting message thinks there's another reason for the drop in spend though...it's because AdWords has been ripping him off for the past two and half years and this new account is showing the "real" data!

"As such, if you feel you are being overcharged, re-open a new account and type in your campaign details from scratch."

That's just all around bad advice.

"You will be both shocked and horrified with the outcome."

Probably, as you're going to start over and lose any good history that was associated with your account.

"And don't worry about their trying to tell you that longer term customers have better standing as it is a lie."

Wrap an extra layer of tin foil around the hat please...

"The only reason you are told this is they have suckered you in to believing that you really are receiving $65 worth (or whatever your max is) of clicks per day."

Anyone who is not validating numbers with their internal system is just foolish.

"Have a look back at your payment history to Google and ask yourself why it seems to have increased in cost gradually whilst business hasn't."

If that's what you're seeing it's because THE ACCOUNT IS BEING POORLY MANAGED.

"The answer is Google's click fraud."

No, the answer is THE ACCOUNT IS BEING POORLY MANAGED.

"That's right they are stealing from you with a program designed to mislead you into believing you really are receiving that amount of traffic. As soon as you open another account, you will see how many clicks you really are receiving. "

That's so foolish and inaccurate I'm not ever sure how to respond. So I won't. Besides this:-)

"I am never going to keep open another campaign for more than two months with them and suggest you all consider doing the same. If you are skeptical, just try it for yourself."

See what I mean about misinterpreting data to arrive as inaccurate conclusions? Following that advice you would consistently be dealing with new account headaches...not to mention the never ending line of unique credit cards and other info you would need to produce to keep opening new accounts.

The bottom line, at least for me, is this: AdWords is working for tens (hundreds?) of thousands of people and companies. If it's not working for you check the variable you have the most control over - the person/people running your campaign(s). Hammers don't build houses, carpenters do. Wrenches don't fix cars, mechanics do. Stoves don't prepare meals, chefs do. AdWords doesn't make sales, marketers do.

AdWords Search Query Performance Report (New)

Received notification today of a new AdWords report called "Search Query Performance" report. According to the info I received the search query report "is a new report type that shows performance data for search queries which triggered your ads and received clicks. Search query performance data provides insight into how users find and react to your ads. "

According to Google the purpose of this tool is to help you;


1) Select the correct match type (i.e broad, phrase, exact or negative) for existing keywords.
2) Identify new keywords you may want to add.
3) Identify existing keywords you may want to delete.

Search query performance reports will include search queries on the search network from May 2, 2007 and onward.


You can select this report from the reports tab:





Interesting report - check it out in your account if you haven't already.

Edit - I also found this page that goes into a lot more detail in the AdWords support center.

The Most Important Element of Your AdWords Campaign is...

Over the years I've interacted with a number of people and companies in regards to their AdWords campaigns. It's always amazed me to see the varying degrees of importance different organizations assign to different elements of their campaigns.

In your mind, what is the most important element of an AdWords campaign? I know that's kind of like asking what's the most important part of your car...in reality they are all very important but some elements are critical (brakes) and other not so much so (radio).

To me it's the landing page. By simply swapping landing pages I've seen huge and immediate swings in conversion rates and overall campaign profitability. Losing campaigns can become winners and winners can become losers, instantly. The landing page is the one area of an AdWords campaign where you can really separate yourself from the competition.

Discuss & vote at Digital Point.

Google PPA Payout %

Was just messing around in a few AdSense accounts and realized that Google shows AdSense publishers what they receive when an "action" is completed in their PPA program.

Based on what I pay as an advertiser and what I'm told I would be paid as a publisher for my own PPA ad Google is paying 77% (rounded up) to the publisher.

Anyone else seeing similar numbers?

Another interesting thing is that none of the text link ads I created a few few weeks back when I set up my first PPA campaign seem to be available to AdSense publishers. I was wondering why they were not getting any impressions...now I see why. I'll have to do some digging and see if I can figure out why those text link ads are not showing to publishers.

AdWords Search Engine

I've been working on my AdWords search engine for a few months now adding pages & site sections that have solid AdWords info. My intent when I started working on it was to build a search engine - just for AdWords related stuff - that eliminated all "make money while you sleep" type crap that filters it's way into the normal results.

Over the past few months I've been very pleased with the results it returns. typically I test it a few times a day with AdWords related questions that are posted in various forums. The majority of the time the AdWords search engine gives better results (ie - the actual answer) than any of the major search engines...which was the intent.

If you have a second and don't mind leaving me some feedback, search for something AdWords related and let me know what you thought of the results set. What I'm looking for are queries that did not return what you were looking for on page 1...as well as any "spammy" type AdWords stuff that's managed to sneak it's way in.

Leave any feedback in the comments.

Thanks.

Google Pay Per Action (PPA)

I've been testing Google Pay Per Action ads for a little over a week and wanted to report on my early experiences and opinions of the PPA service.

The initial setup was pretty straightforward. If you're already comfortable with AdWords and conversion tracking you can get your first ad setup in a few minutes. I setup "regular" ads as well as 6 or 7 text link ads. To date, I've only seen impressions on the "regular" ads which at least to me is a little surprising. I thought the text link ads, which I designed so they could fit nicely into almost any content on the subject, would see at least some action early on.

Anyway, here's how my impressions have trended since I launched the campaigns:
I've yet to see any clicks or conversions but assume as more and more publishers are invited to the beta all the important metrics will increase. At this point I'm sure the number of approved publishers, especially in certain verticals, is still relatively small.

Detailed Reports for the Content Network

Following up my February post, Transparency Coming to the AdWords Content Network, it looks like this feature is being activated in select accounts. I personally haven't seen it yet but there's a screenshot and some info here.

It's too bad this doesn't apply to the search network too....that's where the real money is being spent. I suspect Google realizes by looking at the data that people would be opting out of A LOT of the search network sites if given the choice. And considering those are full price clicks...

Discuss at Digital Point.

Redesigned AdWords Campaign Summary Page

Noticed a new look this morning in an AdWords account. There was a message at the top of the screen when I logged in:

"Cleaner look, more data. This new Campaign Summary layout makes it easier to show the date ranges and account information you want. And it looks pretty, too."

In addition to grouping the data by media type (which I think looks nice) there's a summary box at the top of the screen that looks like this:



The help link included in the message links to here.

AdWords Site Targeted CPC Will Replace CPM...Maybe

I've been testing the AdWords site targeted CPC ads. I started slow but yesterday added a few hundred sites and upped the budget to see what's out there in terms of volume. After the new site additions yesterday I received 232,182 impressions for a total cost of $6.81.

Considering that the minimum bid for AdWords CPM ads is $0.25/M it really makes me wonder why anyone would use the CPM model if the site targeted CPC model is rolled out to all accounts.

Anyone care to speculate?

Dynamic Keyword Insertion Question

Dynamic keyword insertion can be a great tool in AdWords (and other PPC engines that offer it) when used properly.

An interesting question about DKI popped up at DP today.

"What I want to know is this - since having the search term in your advert improves its relevance (particularly in the headline), does DKI ensure a very relevant advert, or the opposite (does Google penalise you or reward you for using DKI to put the search term in, rather than writing a genuinely relevant advert)?"

So does using dynamic keyword insertion help, hurt or have no direct impact on the quality score?

AdWords CPC Bidding for Site Targeting

Noticed in my AdWords account this morning a message saying I can try out the AdWords CPC based site targeting.

The exact message:

"New! Bid for clicks in site-targeted campaigns
Now you can bid for impressions or bid for clicks when you use site targeting to place your ad on specific sites in the content network."

The "Learn More" link took me to this page, which is basically a FAQ about cpc based site targeting. It covers some questions like;

- Can I also bid CPM for keyword-targeted campaigns now?
No. Keyword-targeted campaigns accept only CPC bidding at this time. Site-targeted campaigns accept both CPM and CPC bids.

- Can I convert an existing CPM campaign to CPC bidding?
Yes. For instructions, see this help center entry.

- Does CPC pricing mean I get charged both when the ad appears and when it gets clicked?
No. With site-targeted ads you can now choose to pay either per click (CPC) or per thousand impressions (CPM). You'll be charged only in the manner you choose. If you choose CPC pricing, you'll pay only when the ad is clicked, no matter how often it appears.

- Is there a minimum price when bidding CPC for site targeting?
Yes. With CPC pricing, ads have a minimum bid of $0.01 per click. With CPM pricing, the minimum bid remains $0.25 per thousand impressions.

- Which ad formats can I use with CPC-based site targeting?
Site-targeted ads can take all these formats: text, image, flash, and video. This is true whether you bid CPC or CPM for your ads. See the AdWords Editorial Guidelines for more details about ad formats and sizes.

That page also links to another page, How do I create a new site-targeted campaign with CPC bidding? That page includes step by step instructions for setting up cpc based AdWords campaigns, and, links to a page that shows you how to switch existing site-targeted campaigns from CPM to CPC bidding.

I plan to set up a few test campaigns today. More to follow.

New AdWords Promotional Credits Policy

Got a little pop up in my MCC today about AdWords promotional credits that lead me