Google AdWords – Page 15 – The Web Authority

December 24, 2014December 19, 2014

Use Dynamic Search Ads to Complement Your AdWords Programs

Google Partner Badge — McCord Web Services is a Google Partner.

If you are looking for a way to increase AdWords activity in your account while keeping click costs low, make sure you test Dynamic Search Ads.

I like to set up a separate campaign for dynamic search advertising instead of just creating dynamic search ads within an existing ad group. I feel that I have better control over the program and potential click costs. Typically dynamic search ads will be about one half of the cost of a regular keyword targeted program.

Dynamic search ads work by using the power of Google Search; Google knows what pages exist on your website and when you set up dynamic search ads, you tap into this power. Google will match a users search query to pages on your website, create, on the fly, an ad title for you and even take the person that clicks the ad to the page that speaks to that specific search by dynamically creating the destination URL.

There are no keywords with this type of campaign and dynamic search programs are really great for driving quality targeted traffic. Using this with ecommerce programs is a must.

One word of caution, make sure to keep an eye on your dynamic search ad categories and know your content. For example, you may want to create a negative category for your blog pages so you are not driving traffic to informational content. You may want to create a negative category for ecommerce pages that show a product out of stock. Just be a little savvy in set up, and dynamic search ads can be a great supplement for just about every AdWords advertiser.

November 17, 2014November 13, 2014

Interesting Data on Mobile Usage and AdWords

I attended a Google Partner hangout this last week with four marketing reps talking about how mobile has changed their marketing plans on AdWords. The comment that really has stuck with me over the last several days is that mobile is used for research before buying and is not necessarily the device that will drive a conversion. Very Interesting!

When I think about how I use my own smartphone, that comment is spot on. Many times I will be with others or sitting in a car chatting (not driving mind you) and I will quickly do a Google search to ask a question or find out more. Although more often than not, I am not looking at mobile ads while I am getting the information I want, I am using my smartphone to perform research that I may follow-up on later.

From an account manager and advertiser point of view, depending on the product or service that you are selling, the research aspect of mobile may be crucial to your overall marketing plan. With the much smaller screen of a smartphone limiting the number of AdWords ads that can show, you’ve got to be in the number one or two spots with your ad to get action.

Although mobile is not the right place for every single business, if the research phase that would be done on a smartphone is important to your business, keep in mind that actively testing your AdWords program in the mobile arena bidding up 10 to 25% of your desktop bid may be a very smart strategy. By testing this approach over a 60 day period (a shorter time period may not be long enough to really evaluate response), you may find that mobile drives conversions and sales on desktops and tablets and the mobile click can be attributed for the actual conversion. Or, you may find that more expensive clicks from smartphones simply padded Google’s wallet and did not drive conversions.

As Google is very bullish on advertising in the mobile space and many marketers are testing mobile AND the data shows that mobile activity is a very new and exciting landscape, it is time to try strategies in your AdWords account on mobile.

November 10, 2014November 7, 2014

New Ways to Use AdWords Scripts

I watched this Google Hangout this past week and wanted to share it with you as you may really like some of the pre-made scripts (like the broken link checker that this video shows how to set up). You can watch it online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqQ19h7OwYs&feature=youtu.be

I am no programmer, but I will definitely be trying out some of the easy to configure out of the box scripts that run at the Account level and even MCC level.

September 17, 2014September 13, 2014

Google AdWords Loves Mobile, But Is It Right for You?

Google continues to push advertiser activity into the mobile arena citing that online searches on mobile devices have eclipsed searches done on desktops; but is advertising activity in mobile right for your business?

Of note is the new test that Google has been doing with mobile ads shrinking the ad space landscape to allow them to show more ads on smaller screens. Check out images.

Of particular interest to me is also the boost of app placement in Display ads when shown on mobile devices. Many placements when you look, are simply not a good match for most businesses and to me appear for a way for Google to really bleed you of your cash. Case in point, one industrial client showing in the display network spends more money than I feel he should in the mobile app arena with no way for me to totally block activity there. When I move out of the smartphone space for him, Google simply delivers more clicks on tablets to counteract my strategic changes. I have excluded literally thousands of mobile app sites in his account and Google continues to show his industrial ads on new mobile apps.

Google reps are suggesting that due to mobile trends, accounts should plus up, by 20%, the cost per click to get a better position on mobile screen. What I have seen for the majority (but not all), of my clients is that this strategy simply rings up a bigger bill. When you monitor cost per conversion for mobile, you should not bid up when the conversion numbers do not bode well for your return on investment. A limited two week test may be in order to just do a double check with careful monitoring.

My recommendation is for each account to set and monitor how effective mobile is for your needs and make strategic unique decisions based on your findings. Make sure you evaluate a 30 day and then 6 month period every now and then to give yourself a reality check as to if mobile activity is necessary for your business.

I have personally found that businesses with strong location specificity like stores, dentists, doctors, and pest control firms would do well to be active in the mobile space, but nationwide providers will need to be cautious, as would those selling higher end products, as more evaluation before a purchase will typically be done by desktop or tablet. Bidding up for position on mobile for these types of businesses may simply bleed out cash that would be better spent elsewhere.