Tag: Google AdWords

Google AdWords has been improving and enhancing their ad serving platform. There are several new ad extensions of note that every account should be watching and some new ones planned for rollout in the very near future.

New Ones Coming Soon and in Some Accounts Now

One of the newest ad extensions that has been in testing and is now starting to roll out to all accounts slowly is the third party review extension. Let’s say you’ve received an award, if it is from a legitimate third party, you can now add the link to the third party review and add exact text or a paraphrase and Google will show this under your ads. What a great way to let the world know and to give your business more credibility with these new type of testimonials. I am seeing this in my client accounts as of today.

Social annotations is another one that is moving out of beta and into accounts. This extension now matches your ad to your Google+ profile with the number of followers. You’ve got to be active and have a strong follower base on Google+ to see this extension show up in your account, but once you link your Google+ page it is automatic. Google will show your number of followers under your ads – again power to boost your ads due to what others think about you.

Seller ratings, this one is a big cherry for businesses with lots of online reviews at third party sites. Google will show star ratings based on aggregate number of reviews. Again this additional input can powerfully boost your ad above your competition by letting readers know how you’ve been reviewed and the number of reviews. This extension has a filter. You’ve got to have 30 reviews in the last 12 months in the language of the ad, participate in Google Product Search, and have at least 3.5 stars out of 5.0.

Communication extension, is one still in beta that a few of our clients are using. Google puts in a small entry field below your ad for readers to sign up without clicking into your website for deals, promotions or your e-newsletter. Google will email you a spreadsheet with the users name and email address every time you get a submission. It’s a great way to build your mailing list.

When we hear of other new extensions from our account rep at Google, we’ll share them with you on our blog.

Now you’ll be able to choose your own conversion window from 7 to 90 days instead of the previous 30 day window. For many AdWords advertisers, especially those with a higher ticket price, those that encounter more research time in order for a user to make a purchase, this is a huge boon.

So how exactly do you change this setting in AdWords?

Here’s how:

1. Once in your AdWords account, click the “Tools and Analysis” tab and then select from the drop down menu “Conversions”.

2. Find the conversion item you would like to update. Place your mouse over the wording in the column that says 30 days. You will then be given the option to change your conversion window to 90, 45, 30 days, 4, 3, 2, 1 weeks, or a custom range. Select your option and then click save. Before you may your choice you may want to click the link just below this field to see your “conversion time report”. This may give you some additional insight into what you would be best served choosing as your conversion window.

3. Remember when a conversion happens, the resulting conversion number and cost is assigned back to the date the original click happened. So keep this in mind when you change your conversion window.

I’ve been carefully reviewing some very interesting data that has come to my attention via a presentation done for a SMX Advanced Presentation By Marta Turek. I would highly recommend that you read this very interesting article Google AdWords Geo-Targeting: Have We All Been Doing It Wrong?

Here’s what the author tested in a quick summary:
1. If you advertise at the state level, do you get better results excluding metro areas by opting-out/exclude or better results by not targeting at the state level and opting-in at the metropolitan DMA region?

2. What impacts do each strategy have on click cost and conversions?

The results of these two limited tests are absolutely shocking and unexpected. The big caveat to fully embracing these results in accounts you manage is that the testing has been done in a very small  set of clients and so although may show a trend worth investigating may not be a good approach for every client.

Here are the test results as stated by the author in a quick summary:
1. When the areas in the state were targeted by opting-in, the number of impressions and clicks significantly dropped while the cost per click drastically increased.

2. When the same areas in the state were targeted using an opt-out strategy, impressions and clicks were not impacted and conversions actually improved.

My explanation for the results:
I see several specific reasons for the results. First when you target using opt-in a specific area such as a region, city or even radius, Google appears to believe that this is valuable to you and in many cases will in turn charge a higher cost per click. Remember this is a supply and demand market.

I have seen this myself when I run simultaneous programs running a state wide targeted campaign with location specific phrase match keywords compared to a radius targeted or city specific opt-in program. In the account I tested the differential in cost per click was pretty significant – $4.50 at the state level and $10.50 to $12.50 at the city/radius level. So this validates the findings that the more granular you get in targeting, the higher the click cost.

As to increase impressions, clicks and conversions, I believe that how Google serves ads and how Internet Service providers categorize locations is a key factor in the results. I know from experience that there are many cases when an Internet Service provider does not return to Google the true city location for a user.

Here’s my own case, I am located in Waldorf, Maryland. Verizon has returned my location several years ago as Reston, Virginia. That’s another state and over an hour and a half drive north and west from my true location. In the last month, I see Verizon now returning my location as Temple Hills which is about 30 minutes north of my location in an economically depressed region. By targeting a state with opt-out you open up your reach and slightly negate the impact of improperly reported locations by Internet Service providers.

It will take additional testing in your client accounts to see if these same trends ring true for your needs but a worthy time investment for some accounts that target locally and not nationally. If you are looking for an experienced AdWords account manager, I invite you to review our programs.