Google AdWords Callouts – What Are They?

New just this past week, Google AdWords callout extensions are the new way to draw attention to what you are promoting and a way to differentiate yourself from other ads.

AdWords decides when to show this new extension based on relevancy but that does not mean you should brush it off or not set it up.

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Use callouts to highlight something special like:

  • Free shipping
  • We match prices
  • 20% off for first time customers
  • 24/7 Service
  • Daily deals

Google will show your callouts underneath your ads where sitelinks or your business address may typically go. These blurbs are not linkable – they just add more ad text and selling points. When you do set up make sure you stay within the 25 character (including spaces) character limit and create a minimum of two for your AdWords account.

Google recommends sentence case versus capitalizing each word’s letter. They say they’ve had better results, but it may be a factor that Google shows two or three at a time and so they simply look more like an extension of the ad versus an after thought.

To find our more information and tips on using AdWords callouts make sure to check out this great article.

AdWords Enhances Phone Call Tracking for Websites

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McCord Web Services is a Google Partner.

AdWords has rolled out a nice improvement for call tracking that every business owner who is using AdWords should implement.

This new conversion tracking feature allows website owners to code their website phone number to auto insert an AdWords call forwarding phone number. This new feature now allows for website visitors to use the auto generated phone number to improve lead tracking that happen back on the website but originated from an AdWords click.

This new conversion feature will give website owners a more accurate picture about how AdWords is driving lead phone calls that had previously not been recorded as AdWords generated activity.

Implementation of the code is really a three step process:

  1. New code is generated from within the AdWords account from the conversion tab.
  2. Two bits of code are installed in the <head> tag of the web pages and then these codes are called into the page using an onload function in the <body> tag.
  3. Code is then created to tag each incidence of your old phone number in the page content with a dynamic insertion call to the two scripts.

What happens after implementation is the following:

  1. A person clicks your ad and lands on your website.
  2. When your website page loads, the scripts go into action and instead of showing your default phone number on the page, AdWords inserts dynamically a special unique phone number tied to that specific search query action/ad click.
  3. The customer then phones you using the phone number they see on your page and AdWords records the action of a call lasting 60 seconds (you can select the duration in set up), as a conversion back in the AdWords control panel.

This is really a revolutionary improvement for AdWords conversion tracking. I found that when Google first started call tracking clients were surprised how effective AdWords was in making their phone ring. This new enhancement will surely boost metrics even more proving that AdWords is driving more lead conversions than previously expected.

I highly recommend this implementation on your website if you are using AdWords to drive lead generation. If you are looking for a savvy AdWords account manager make sure to check out our pricing and services.

Are You Really Working Negative Keywords in AdWords to Your Benefit?

Educate yourself on the value of negative keywords in Google AdWords.
Educate yourself on the value of negative keywords in Google AdWords.

Keywords are the backbone of a successful AdWords campaign, but negative keywords are the “secret sauce” that make a program truly successful.

Negative keywords in an AdWords account will limit the search queries where an ad will show on Google search, but not quite as effectively in the Display network. That being said, the inclusion of negative keywords into every AdWords program is something that should be done and routinely reviewed.

Here are some of my tips on developing your own negative keyword list for your AdWords account.

1. Create a standard list you can use for every program but review it first before using as some keywords may not be appropriate for every campaign. Some I routinely use are: free, discount, info, information, forum, reviews, stories, school, job, hire, career.

2. Decide if you want to add all your keywords to the negative keyword field as broad match or if you would like to use phrase match instead or in addition to the broad match keywords you’ve added. This requires a little bit of thought; think how searches for your product would be done. I will typically add a combination of both.

3. Do a reality check and monitor your account for actual search queries. If you are seeing keywords that are not targeted to what you are really selling, take some time to review if you need to expand the negative keywords you are using. You may find that there are new versions you may want to add. An easy way to do additional negative keyword discovery is to use the “add keywords” button just above the keyword table. Look at the keywords that Google is suggesting that you add. Look over the list, you’ll find all kinds of additional keywords that may really not be about your product or service and these keywords will give you great ideas on new negative keywords to add.

4. If you add your negative keywords as broad match, you will not need to create such an extensive list as Google will also use synonyms and close variations in your negative list as a nice benefit of using broad match.

5. Watch your AdWords alert button for negative keyword conflicts that Google will tell you about over time. Sometimes you will want to leave the keyword in place and sometimes you may want to remove it.

If you need help with your AdWords program, I invite you to find out more about our AdWords set up and management services.

Five Tips on Creating Negative Keyword Lists for AdWords

Giving you a hand on negative keyword lists.
Giving you a hand on negative keyword lists.

Keywords, they are the pivot point for the success of all AdWords programs. Have keywords that are too broad in your account and you’ll be looking at poor quality scores and higher costs. Have keywords that are too narrow and you’ll be looking at very low impressions and very low conversion numbers.

So, how do you achieve the balance you need to make an AdWords program truly successful? By combining broad match, phrase match and negative keywords you can drive traffic while staying targeted.

Here are my five tips on creating top performing negative keyword lists for AdWords.

1. Think like a customer. By putting on your thinking hat as you create your initial keyword list you will actually identify keywords that will not bring you the traffic you need. Got something that is top quality? Good negative keywords will be cheap, free, and discount.

2. Review your search query report. Look for keywords that are popping up in the report that have actually triggered your ad. For example you are selling enterprise document generating software, are you seeing terms like letter generator, tattoo letters; if so your ads may be showing to people who are looking for a letter (symbol) generator not a correspondence generating platform. Good keywords to use to filter out this traffic would be generator (focus on generating instead in your keyword list) and online.

3. Consider using match types for your keyword list. Remember however if you use phrase match negative keywords, you will need to enter in plurals. To enter in phrase match keywords, use the same syntax by quoting the phrase.

4. Look for the smallest number of keywords that still make your negative phrase workable. Instead of a negative keyword phrase like “luxury Hawaiian vacations”, maybe luxury all alone is a better match or the broad match variation of “luxury vacation” and “luxury vacations”.

5. Use the shared library. By adding your negative keywords to the shared library, all your campaigns and ad groups in your AdWords account will share the negative list. This action makes it easy to update your global keyword list. Just make sure if you add a new campaign to the account that you link that campaign to the shared list.

If you need help with your AdWords program, I invite you to find out more about the services my firm provides for AdWords set up and account management.