Category: Google AdWords

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AdWords the New Keyword Discovery Tool

What About Keyword Data???
What About Keyword Data???

In the name of privacy Google has been stripping away one by one the tools website owners and SEOs have used to identify important keywords that drive organic traffic.

First, it was Google’s announcement that they were moving only to https:// and that they would no longer supply keyword data for organic search activity in your Google Analytics account. This was sold to the public as a way to keep you the user secure from prying eyes. The dreaded “not provided” for keyword data started to appear in all Google Analytics accounts for more than 60% of the recorded traffic.

Now Google is stating that they will not even flow AdWords search terms into Google Analytics. Although I do not believe that this change can be passed off as a user security enhancement, it clearly is a move on Google’s part to enhance their own ROI. Due to this soon to be enacted change, the only way a website owner can now know AdWords search terms is to login to their own Google AdWords account. Some data is available in the Google Webmaster Tools site but only the top 2,000 queries and only for a 30 day period. This data will no longer appear in Google Analytics.

“This change means that Google AdWords is not becoming the world’s most lucrative keyword search tool.” Nancy McCord, President of McCord Web Services

Remember when you used to pay for a subscription to WordTracker so you could optimize your own or client website’s with words with a high KEI index? Is this the direction that AdWords is moving in? Do we need to have a running AdWords account while we are optimizing a website so we can see keyword traffic?

To me it seems like Google has decided to start closing access to their own services and are moving to a pay to play model.

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Google Shopping Custom Labels Explained

If you are currently running Product Listing Ads (PLA) in AdWords, be aware that there is a new campaign type that is more powerful and allows you greater control available in your AdWords control panel called Google Shopping.

PLA programs won’t be rolled over automatically, so I recommend that you create a new Google Shopping campaign and then pause your old PLA program. However before you do that, you’ll want to update your Google Merchant data feed with a new column called custom labels.

At first I though that in the custom label field you could simply add your descriptor, but this is not how it works. So, here’s my recommendation.

1. You can have five custom labels. Decide how you want to sort your products as you will be able to bid on them separately with this approach. For example in your data feed you may call all bucket pallet fork products custom label 0, all manure fork products custom label 1, and all high profit items custom label 2 and so on.

2. Set up your Google Shopping campaign. In the new Product Groups tab, select the plus next to all “all products” to create sub categories and then select your custom label number. Then bid separately based on your needs for each of your custom labels.

3. This action gives you far greater control over what is shown in Google Shopping ads and greater control over your return on investment.

Here’s a great video from Google that helps clarify just what Google Shopping is and more screen shots on custom labels.

 

You can also watch the video here http://youtu.be/ivsyPeYeyqs

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AdWords Conversion Setting Guide

Google Partner Badge
McCord Web Services is a Google Partner.

In February AdWords will be making some sweeping changes in how it records conversions in your Google AdWords account. The changes will be an improvement and allow you or your account manager to have greater control over that data that Google records for your account.

Here are a few tips to help you get started with the new conversion program.

Conversion one per click. This conversion type is being renamed to Converted Clicks. This type of conversion is best used by those interested in tracking leads like professional consultants or business services firms. Here what is important to track is not the number of times a potential prospect fills out a lead or information request form but rather the number of prospects generated by AdWords.

Conversion many per click. This conversion type is being renamed to Conversions with additional descriptors of All or Unique. This type of conversion is best used by those selling products. Here it is best to record the number of actual sales generated by a click rather than the number of customers and then not recording the value of a click to the amount of sales generated by one customer.

With these new pending changes, Google will allow account managers more control over what is recorded statistically in regards to conversions further showing the real value of AdWords to clients. You can read Google’s full notice in their help section.

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How Not to Use AdWords

Sometimes It Is All about the Money
Sometimes It Is All about the Money

So often a prospective clients approaches us for Google AdWords Services as they have heard AdWords is great for lead generation. But, sometimes a prospective client may need a quick review on how not to use AdWords. Here’s my short list to help demystify what AdWords is and is not.

How Not to Use AdWords

1. Do not use AdWords if your ad budget will preclude you from participating in the “real” money keyword auction. If you want to spend $1,500 per 30 days and AdWords says your keywords need a maximum cost per click of $23.00 to appear on the first page of results, do not expect to get lead conversions as your program will only show on peripheral keywords and so the traffic you get from AdWords may never convert to your expectation. If your budget is this low and your click cost that high, consider investing instead in AdWords Express or other forms of low cost advertising like Facebook or Twitter ads.

2. Do not use AdWords if you are already having money issues. It can take sometimes as long as 60 to 90 days or even longer for a program to really start generating leads and sometimes the reality is that the leads generated are lower than a prospective client may have expected. Understand that the conversion rate of a typical ecommerce store is under 2%. Do not move into AdWords expecting conversion numbers of 20% or higher when they may really be closer to 2%. And remember, as the cost of your product or service moves up your conversion numbers will move down.

3. AdWords is not really the place for a business that is already floundering financially. Google will spend whatever you allot to it without real regard for your desired conversion dreams. Get your account manager to help you understand the average cost per click and potential conversion numbers before you start advertising. Although your results are all dictated by the auction marketplace, if your product and services are over priced and are not selling for other market driven reasons, promoting them on AdWords will not bring sales. Fix the real problem with your sales and market competitiveness first!

What AdWords Really Can Do

1. AdWords really can drive leads and grow your business! That’s the good news. I’ve done it and seen it happen. The key is to be competitively priced, offer something for sale or as a service that is of value – AdWords can expose your products and services to a wide audience that you may never have been able to reach without it.

2. Your AdWords program can pay for itself and generate profit for your business. It does not happen the day your program starts running typically – although I have seen it do just that for some businesses, but for most sales and leads typically happen in week two or three after start.

AdWords is hands down the best lead generator that I have found for my clients and I feel that it provides reach and exposure that is unparalleled. But your budget must be high enough to really be able to support performance based on your industry. A software firm that spends $1,500 a month will get very different conversion results than a similar software firm that spends $8,000 a month.