Inside AdWords: April 2009

New AdWords interface more widely available

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Beta testing for the new AdWords interface has been expanded to an even larger number of advertisers. The new interface is now available to most active AdWords accounts in these languages:

English
Spanish
French
German
Italian
Dutch
Hebrew
Simplified Chinese
Japanese
Brazilian Portuguese

We'll be adding more AdWords languages in the future.

If your account has been added to the beta test, you'll be directed to the new interface the next time you log in. The previous interface will still be available if you need it: during the beta you can switch back and forth using the "New Interface (Beta)" and "Previous Interface" links in the top corner of your account, next to your email address.

Have questions while using the new interface? The new interface microsite has videos and a how-to guide that will help you with the changes. For example:

(click to view video)
In the coming months we'll continue to add features to the new interface and make additional adjustments based on your feedback. Once we're confident that the new interface meets the needs of our advertisers, we'll convert all AdWords accounts to use the new interface exclusively.

To start managing your campaigns with the new features available in the new AdWords interface, simply log into your AdWords account.

Posted by Austin Rachlin, Inside AdWords crew

Analytics and AdWords tips - Part 4 of 4

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Last week we looked at finding your ROI for AdWords and also identifying keywords that aren't performing well. This week, in the last part of our series, the Google Analytics team will take a look at keywords that bring in revenue and also how to use Analytics to improve your ROI overall.
Which keywords drive revenue?
Just like you did with your poor performing keywords, go to the AdWords Campaigns report and click down to the Keyword level. Once you are in the AdWords Keywords report, click in the Revenue column header (you may have to click twice) so that the highest revenue keywords are listed first.
The high revenue keywords may or may not be your highest ROI keywords. If your ROI shows that you are losing or making little money on a high revenue keyword, you might want to adjust your strategy.
Using Analytics to improve overall website ROI

Use Analytics to create an optimization plan to improve the conversion rate on your site

Track your email marketing campaigns with Analytics

Expand your keyword lists using Analytics with Insights for Search and the Search Based Keyword Tool

Follow the 9 steps to becoming an Analytics Emperor

Hire a Google Analytics Authorized Consultant to handle all your tracking for you

Google Analytics blogYoutube Channel
Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

Announcing our Small Business Network

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

It's no secret that small businesses play a key role in Google's success as a company and drive the economy as a whole. AdWords, AdSense, Apps – you name it – have all grown because small businesses use them. Because of that, increasing their bottom line is very important to us.

In Washington, D.C. and state capitols across the country, we often witness policy debates, legislative initiatives, and regulatory changes that significantly affect the small business constituency – the same constituency that has helped make Google what it is today. But the recent economic downturn has turned entrepreneurship into an uphill battle. So we asked ourselves a simple question: What can we do to help broaden the collective voice of small business both on Capitol Hill and in the states? We want to know about the issues that are important to our small business partners so that we can better invest in their goals and objectives and ultimately, their success.

Today we're launching a new initiative called the Small Business Network. It's designed to promote business-friendly policies at the federal and state levels. We plan to tackle a number of important technology policy issues - the first two of which are increasing broadband access and preserving an open Internet. And we also want to have a dialogue with small business owners about other issues that affect their online business.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law by President Obama in February, sets aside $7 billion to increase access to high-speed Internet or broadband for the 20 million Americans who live in underserved areas. By expanding broadband access and preserving an open platform, small businesses in America have the ability to reach all consumers at an affordable cost and compete with their counterparts anywhere in the world. We hope that the Small Business Network will encourage lawmakers to grant those funds to the right providers and create broadband access for all small businesses across the country.

If you are a small business owner who is interested in learning more this initiative, visit Google's S mall Business Network site to find out how you can be a part of it.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

New "Google for Advertisers" site has launched

Monday, April 27, 2009

We're excited to announce the launch of Google for Advertisers. Google for Advertisers is a place where we've brought together information about the broad range of our marketing solutions -- and where you can explore and discover the combination of tools that best meet your own objectives.
Here are four ways to dive in and get the most from the site:

Read up on our various media platforms. This site gives straightforward descriptions of each of Google's platforms (like search, TV, the Content Network or mobile) and all of the supporting tools. You'll learn how to reach your audience in relevant and useful ways across devices, locations and languages.
Take a ride on 'The Marketing Cycle.' We put Google solutions in the context of how they can be applied across all the stages of building an effective advertising campaign -- ways to sculpt your strategy, creative development, media deployment, measurement and optimization -- which together help you better plan campaigns that make an impact and deliver strong ROI.
Stick it to a marketing objective. Explore a [very fictional] marketing example that illustrates how Google tools could come together to solve for a particular goal. We hope it inspires you, and offers a chuckle or two.
Build your personal 'toolkit.' As you browse the site and find Google tools that pique your interest, you can add them to your online toolkit. This way you can easily hone in on the solutions that are right for you and share them with your colleagues.

We invite you to have a look around and afterward, we welcome your feedback.Posted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

Google and OTX present: The Brand Value of Search

Friday, April 24, 2009

Lift key metrics for your brand

Increase traffic to your site

New Interface Thursdays: All about filters

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Have you used filters in the new AdWords interface yet? Filters allow you to look at just the data you want within your account. You can use filters throughout your account and save them for later use.

Let's take a look at some of the cool things you can do with filters. First, no matter what tab you're in, you'll find filters under Filter and views.

(click to view larger image)

Setting up a filter is the same whether you're working with ad groups, keywords, or placement; though, the criteria you can filter by does depend on what you're trying to filter. For example, you can filter keywords by match type, but you can't filter ad groups by match type.

(click to view larger image)

To set up a filter, just specify the criteria you want. You can add additional rules to make your filter more specific. For example, you can set filters for clickthrough rate (CTR) and average position at the same time to see keywords with a high CTR appearing on the second page of search results. If you want to re-use the same filter repeatedly, you can save it by checking the Save Filter box.

Let's say we'd like to find high performing keywords across our account. Rather than hunting down all the keywords from ad group to ad group, we can just filter for high performance. Let's look for keywords with a CTR greater than 2% and conversion rate of at least 5%.

(click to view larger image)

Then, after we've filtered the list, we can make changes to our high performing keywords directly in the results table instead of having to click through to each ad group one by one.

Another place you might find filters very handy is in the Ads tab, which displays all your ads across your account, campaign, or ad group. Here's a way you could use filters to get better insight into your campaigns:

The Google Store has campaigns with two types of landing pages: product pages for a specific product like this t-shirt, and category pages for entire groups like all wearables. We'd like to know which type of page generates more sales. Since the URLs for our product pages are formatted differently than the URLs for our category pages, we can create a filter to show only ads that have category landing pages by filtering for destination URLs that start with http://www.googlestore.com/category.asp?

(click to view larger image)

With this filter, it's easy to see performance across all ads that drive traffic to our category pages. We can compare this to the performance we see on product pages. For the Google Store, we found that the category pages generate more sales than the product pages-- information that will help us improve our campaigns.

With filters on the Ads tab, you can also quickly identify ads with a specific approval status. This is a quick way to identify all pending or disapproved ads across your account.

(click to view larger image)

As you can see, filters have a lot of possible uses. We encourage you to try looking at your campaigns in different ways. You might be surprised at what you find. Happy filtering.

Posted by Austin Rachlin, Inside AdWords crew

Analytics and AdWords tips - Part 3 of 4

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Once again we've asked the Google Analytics team to share some of their tips on how to use Analytics and AdWords together. Last week we talked about how to link your two accounts and view your results. To recap, the three steps you need to take are:

1) Link your AdWords and Analytics accounts (how-to video)

2) Configure goals (Help Center article)

3) Assign a value to your goals

This week we'll show you how to use Analytics reports to find your true return on investment (ROI) and identify poor performing keywords.
Which keywords lose money?
As we mentioned last time, the report for tracking keyword ROI is the AdWords Campaigns report in the Traffic Sources section. To identify the keywords that are losing you money, click the ROI column header twice so that the lowest ROI keywords are at the top of the list. Do you have any -100% ROI keywords? These are keywords on which you lost all of the money you spent (you paid for clicks on those keywords but no one completed actions on your site). But before you take any action in your AdWords account, consider how much you spent and whether you have enough data yet to make a decision.
Very often, -100% ROI keywords are those that have only received a few clicks. You might want to wait until you receive more than one or two clicks on a keyword before you make any changes. And if you've only spent a few cents on a keyword, it's probably worth waiting to see if the keyword pays off.
If you want to learn more, you can check out this video on finding poor performing keywords.
Short date ranges may obscure your true ROI.
It’s generally not a good idea to make keyword changes on the basis of a few days worth of data. You’ll make better decisions if you also take into account your sales cycle and everything else you know about the specifics of your business online.
Consider your return customers – those that find you via an AdWords ad and then return later to buy again. You’ll miss these repeat conversions if you set too short of a date range. Also, it may take a few days for many of your visitors to become customers. By making decisions based on a date range that is shorter than your sales cycle, you might actually lower your ROI by discounting keywords that are actually profitable.
Try out different date ranges and see how your ROI is affected. Try the most recent days, week, month, and then look at this year’s data. You’ll have more – as well as more interesting – information upon which to base your decisions.
Next week we'll look at the Keywords Positions report and see how your ad position can affect performance.
Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

Search-based Keyword Tool: Wider availability and improvements

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

announcedSearch-based Keyword Tool

Language/Country-specific results: Narrow your results by adjusting your country/territory and language settings. For example, you can use this if you only want to have the tool match your website against searches from Canada or Australia.

Ad/Search Share filters: Filter by Ad Share and Search Share, in addition to the other advanced filtering options. These filters help you customize your results to focus on queries where you're not showing up in the natural search-results.

Go to http://www.google.com/sktool.

Enter the URL of your website.

Use the Language or Country/territory settings to get results specific to your selection, or keep the default settings to show global data.

Click Find keywords.

suggestionsHelp CenterPosted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

Choosing the right mobile ad

Monday, April 20, 2009

mobile ads for iPhone and Android devicesthis video

post on the Google Mobile BlogPosted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

A Google white paper: Content Network performance trends

Monday, April 20, 2009

Many of our advertisers show their AdWords ads on the Google content network to reach potential customers as they spend time across the web.
How effective is the Content Network for these advertisers? We wanted to find out, so we looked at performance metrics for advertisers who show their ads on both the Google search and content networks.
Our findings, captured in the white paper, CPA Performance Trends On the Google Content Network, show that ads on the Content Network are likely to be as cost-effective as ads on the search network. In fact, we found that the median advertiser showing their ads on both the search and content networks has a cost-per-acquisition (CPA) that's about 2% lower on the Content Network than on search pages, with the Content Network driving close to 20% of their total conversions.
In the analysis, we looked at thousands of AdWords campaigns and many geographic regions. We also analyzed how conversion rates improve for advertisers using campaign management tools such as the Conversion Optimizer and site exclusion.

These findings show there's a substantial opportunity for advertisers who complement their search marketing campaigns with ads on the Content Network. To learn more about advertising effectively on the Google Content Network, we recommend you review our Content Network optimization tips.

You can read the full white paper here. We hope it helps shed light on the potential to meet your performance goals when advertising on the Google Content Network.Posted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

New Interface Thursday: Using keyboard shortcuts

Thursday, April 16, 2009

One of the primary goals of the new interface is to help you manage your campaigns more efficiently. We also wanted to offer some of the conveniences you'll find in other Google products, like keyboard shortcuts. Just like in Gmail, you can quickly navigate around your account without having to use the mouse. In the new AdWords interface you have a number of keyboard shortcuts at your fingertips:

Global navigationg then o: Go to All Online Campaignsg then c: Go to Campaigns tabg then r: Go to Ad groups tabg then k: Go to Keywords tabg then n: Go to Networks tabg then a: Go to Ads tabg then s: Go to Settings tab
Table navigation and actionsj/k: Next/previous row in the primary data tablex: Select current row (Use Shift + x for multiple rows)e: Editp: Pausen: Enabled: Deletel: Download
Editing ad groups and keywords:e: Edit selected rowsCtrl + Arrows: Move between editable fieldsCtrl + s: Save changesEsc: Cancel edit mode
If you ever forget a shortcut, you can always find them in the help widget in the bottom left of your account.

(click to view image)
And we also have a handy reference guide that you can print out and keep at your desk.
Posted by Austin Rachlin, Inside AdWords crew

Analytics and AdWords tips - Part 2 of 4

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Last weekGoogle AnalyticsLinking your accountsvideo

Google Analytics Blog: Tracking Code Tutorial

Help Center Article

this articleFinding your ROI

(click for larger image)
Tracking your revenuearticlethis onePosted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

AdWords system maintenance on April 18th

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

On Saturday, April 18th, 2009, the AdWords system will be unavailable from approximately 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. PST due to system maintenance. While you won't be able to sign in to your accounts during this time, your campaigns will continue to run as usual. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Posted by Austin Rachlin, Inside AdWords crew

Display ad builder contest winners

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

display ad builder contestWilshire Grand Hotel in Los Angeles

ResortQuest.com

TripRes.com

Printglobe.comTeavanalearn more@GoogleAdBuilderPosted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

Join us at ADSPACE next week

Monday, April 13, 2009

If you're in San Francisco next week, come see us at the ADSPACE conference and expo on Wednesday, April 22nd. This first-time event will teach advertisers how to maximize returns from contextual advertising platforms, like Google's content network. ADSPACE is taking place alongside ad:tech San Francisco and will be a gathering for small to mid-sized advertisers and publishers– it’s a great opportunity to network with us, and other advertisers and publishers.
Members of the Google AdWords team will be present at ADSPACE, and here are a few sessions where you can hear from them, which we think you'll enjoy:
Back to Basics in 2009 - Follow the User (Keynote)Wednesday, April 22nd, 9:00am - 10:00amIn this session, Brad Bender, Product Management Director at Google, will cover an insights-driven approach to understanding what web users and prospects want, how publishers can use that information to build a better online presence, enhance the user experience and, ultimately, drive the best possible results.
Workshop Series: Placement vs. Content AdsWednesday, April 22nd, 2:00pm - 2:30pmFind out the differences between the various targeting options offered and how your advertising approach to each option must take these differences into account.Speaking: Rajas Moonka, Group Product Manager, Google
Tools and Technologies: Using Targeting and Optimization to Achieve SuccessWednesday, April 22nd, 10:15am - 11:15amWith hundreds of thousands of publishers across various contextual networks, as well as text, video and graphical ad units, managing a contextual advertising campaign can often feel overwhelming. This session introduces advertisers to cutting edge technologies that make contextual advertising easier and more profitable. Andrew Silverman will be specifically speaking about the role Google's Conversion Optimizer plays in making this happen.Speaking: Andrew Silverman, Product Manager, Google
If you register for a conference pass with our Google promotional code ADSPACED, you'll receive a 20% discount on the price. With the ADSPACE conference pass you'll have access to all ADSPACE sessions and keynotes, an ADSPACE attendee lunch, and the ad:tech San Francisco Exhibit Hall. You can find additional information on the official site, including the complete conference schedule, who’s speaking, and who’s already signed up to exhibit.
We hope to see you in San Francisco next week!Posted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

New financial display ad templates for targeting Google Finance (and anywhere else)

Monday, April 13, 2009

Google Finance is now accepting image-based ads for the first time, and we're launching several new financial display ad templates that you can use specifically for Google Finance or any other placement on the Google Content Network. Of course, you can use any of our more than 80 templates on Google Finance, but we've also created several new financial services templates with pre-designed elements for your specific needs. As with many of our display ad templates, you can customize any of the text and colors, and specific templates also allow you to upload your own images. Here are screenshots of a couple of the new templates that you can use - they're available in multiple sizes:

(click to view image)

Google Finance is a great opportunity to reach a relevant audience while they engage with financial content. You can use the AdWords placement targeting tool to target Google Finance like any other site on the content network, with the exception of third party ads. If you want more information about the ads on Google Finance, visit the Help Center. Additionally, you can read more about our new advertising initiatives in the latest post on our company blog.

To access the display ad builder, choose the "Display Ad Builder" ad format option from any group. The new templates will be available in the "Financial Services" section. For more information, watch our video tutorials.

If you use Twitter, you can also now follow @GoogleAdBuilder to get display ad builder updates and to ask us questions.

Posted by Austin Rachlin, Inside AdWords crew

AdWords system maintenance canceled on Saturday, March 11th

Friday, April 10, 2009

informed you ofPosted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

Account access issues resolved

Friday, April 10, 2009

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

Account access issues

Friday, April 10, 2009

known issues pagePosted by Christian Yee, Inside AdWords crew

Starting up New Interface Thursdays

Thursday, April 09, 2009

You may have heard that we're testing a new interface for AdWords. Many of you are starting to use the new interface, and we want to take time to tell you more about it. So we're starting a series, New Interface Thursdays.
Each week we'll cover some aspect of the new interface, whether it's an in-depth look at some of the new features, tips and tricks, product updates, or announcements.
For this week, we'd like to point you to the new AdWords interface website and highlight what you'll find there. The site has two sections. First, there's a section for videos abut the new interface, including a handful of videos about new features and how these features can help you more effectively manage your account. There's also a video from the AdWords product managers and engineers telling the story behind the new interface:

The other section is the beta resources page. If you're currently using the new interface, you'll find lots of helpful materials like the How to Guide. The interface is still a work in progress so we also have a Known Issues page. The Known Issues pages can suggest possible workarounds and also lets you tell us if you're having a problem.
If you want to try the new interface, but don't have access yet, you can sign up from the new interface website. During the beta, you can switch between old and new interfaces, so you'll still have access to the full range of AdWords tools and reports, if needed.
Finally, if you use Twitter, you can follow @newadwordsui to keep up with the latest news and updates as well as tips and tricks on using the new interface.
Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

AdWords system maintenance on April 11th

Thursday, April 09, 2009

PSTPosted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

Updates to AdWords conversion metrics

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

We know different campaign goals often require different success metrics. If you want to drive online purchases, you probably look at the total number of sales, so if one person buys three items from your web site, you'd want to count three sales. But if you're measuring leads, you may care more about unique leads, so if the same person fills out a lead form three times on your site, you'd want to count them only once.
To make it easier for you to manage campaigns with a variety of advertising goals, in the coming months we're updating AdWords conversion tracking metrics in the new AdWords interface and other AdWords account management platforms (such as AdWords Editor and the AdWords API).
Today we've taken the first step by clarifying the conversion terminology on the AdWords Report Center and conversion tracking tool pages. "Conversions" columns are now labeled Conversions (1-per-click), while "Transactions" columns are now called Conversions (many-per-click). The current AdWords campaign management pages display 1-per-click conversions, so if one click leads to multiple conversions, they're counted only once. On the other hand, many-per-click conversions count each conversion that occurs after a click on your ad.
Here's an example to explain the difference: Let's say you're selling gardening supplies online and you've set up conversion tracking on your "Thank You For Your Purchase" and your "Newsletter Subscription Confirmed" pages.
If a customer clicks on your ad, buys a bag of peat moss, then subscribes to your newsletter, you'll see two many-per-click conversions, but just a single 1-per-click conversion in your account. If the same customer returns to your site a few days later and buys a trowel (but doesn't click on one of your AdWords ads to get there), you'll now see three many-per-click conversions, but your 1-per-click conversions will still remain at one.
By focusing on many-per-click conversions, you may be able to more easily compare AdWords campaign performance with the performance of your other online advertising campaigns, since a large number of online ad serving and search campaign management tools (such as DART for Search) use many-per-click conversions as the default conversion metric.
You can learn more about the new terminology, as well as get guidance on when to use each of the different conversion metrics to measure success, in this Help Center article.
Over time these metrics will also be released to AdWords Editor, the AdWords API, and the new AdWords interface. We'll also improve conversion tracking for display advertisers through the release of view-through conversion tracking for campaigns on the Google Content Network.
We hope these reporting enhancements to conversion tracking will make it easier for you to manage campaigns with a wide variety of advertising goals.Posted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

Analytics and AdWords tips - Part 1 of 4

Monday, April 06, 2009

survey last monthGoogle Analyticsafter

Which types of shoes do visitors view most often? For example, do people prefer sandals or sneakers?

In which order do visitors view pages? For example, do people view more expensive shoes, but then buy cheaper ones?

Which pages are the last ones people see before leaving the site? For example, do people get confused on the sign-up page and leave?

Do people actually complete a goal on your site? For example, how many visitors buy or sign-up?

Google Analytics in 60 Seconds: Find the Best KeywordsGoogle Analytics in 60 Seconds: Location TargetingGoogle Analytics in 60 Seconds: Find Poor Performing Campaigns and KeywordsGoogle Analytics in 60 Seconds: Placement TargetingGoogle Analytics in 60 Seconds: Identifying High SpendersGoogle Analytics in 60 Seconds: Conversion FunnelsGoogle Analytics in 60 Seconds: Tracking Ecommerce with Google AnalyticsGoogle Analytics sitePosted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

New Seminars for Success videos

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Seminars for SuccessExplaining Quality ScoreAdvertising in a Down Economy

course descriptionAdWordsAustin, TX Tampa, FLPhiladelphia, PA Chicago, IL San Diego, CA
Boston, MA Analytics
Orange County, CA
Honolulu, HI Boston, MA Miami, FL
Website Optimizer
Orange County, CA
Honolulu, HI
terms and conditionshttp://www.google.com/awseminarsPosted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

Inside AdWords

We've moved!

New AdWords interface more widely available

Analytics and AdWords tips - Part 4 of 4

Announcing our Small Business Network

New "Google for Advertisers" site has launched

Google and OTX present: The Brand Value of Search

New Interface Thursdays: All about filters

Analytics and AdWords tips - Part 3 of 4

Search-based Keyword Tool: Wider availability and improvements

Choosing the right mobile ad

A Google white paper: Content Network performance trends

New Interface Thursday: Using keyboard shortcuts

Analytics and AdWords tips - Part 2 of 4

AdWords system maintenance on April 18th

Display ad builder contest winners

Join us at ADSPACE next week

New financial display ad templates for targeting Google Finance (and anywhere else)

AdWords system maintenance canceled on Saturday, March 11th

Account access issues resolved

Account access issues

Starting up New Interface Thursdays

AdWords system maintenance on April 11th

Updates to AdWords conversion metrics

Analytics and AdWords tips - Part 1 of 4

New Seminars for Success videos

Google Best Practices

Best Practices Newsletter

Achieve Your Marketing Goals

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