Google rolled out a new version of AdWords Editor today. The latest version features more ways to make bulk changes to enhanced campaigns. New capabilities include: Bid adjustments for placements, topics, and audiences Mobile bid adjustments at the ad group level Upgrade campaigns in bulk using CSV import or the Add/update multiple campaigns tool Enter ValueTrack {ifmobile}, {ifnotmobile} parameters In addition, keyword performance metrics in Display Network campaigns are available on the Keywords tab. Performance statistics by targeted location are available in the Locations t [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | Google: AdWords: Enhanced Campaigns

Google will be rolling out "flexible bid strategies" in enhanced campaigns in the next couple of weeks. Flexible bid strategies will allow advertisers to override automated bidding and apply manual bidding strategies within a single campaign or across multiple campaigns. The new Bid strategies tool will be located in Shared Library. You can create a flexible bid strategy and then apply it to specific keywords, ad groups, and campaigns. Performance metrics by bidding strategy will be available in Bidding strategies. There will be four types of flexible bid strategies available when th [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | Google: AdWords: Enhanced Campaigns

As of today, all users will see the Keyword Planner available in their AdWords accounts. Keyword Planner combines data from the Keyword Tool and Traffic estimator, both of which will be sunsetted in about 60 days. Users will need to log in to their AdWords accounts to access Keyword Planner. The external version of Keyword Tool that non-AdWords users, including SEOs, could access for general keyword research will also be disappearing. The new tool is designed to make it easier for advertisers to create new campaigns and ad groups from within the planner. To learn more about the ins and outs [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords

If you needed another reason to get your location extensions set up in AdWords, Google has announced its testing new ads in the new Google Maps. AdWords search ads set with location extensions can appear directly below the search box and on the map itself. Ads without location extensions can appear below the search box only and not on the map. The screenshot below shows a Rent-a-champ Cars ad below the search box and an "ad", or sponsored listing, on the map, indicated by a red icon with a white square in it. Google announced the new version of Google Maps at the company's annua [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Featured | Google: AdWords | Google: AdWords: Enhanced Campaigns | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Mobile | Top News

[caption id="attachment_160187" align="alignright" width="300"] Image provided by the Multi-State Lottery Association.[/caption] Chances are you didn’t win this past Friday's $190 million Mega Millions drawing or Saturday’s $600 million Powerball jackpot. However, the great news is that if you’re an SEM account manager, you can still try your luck at winning the AdWords Jackpot! What’s An AdWords Jackpot? An AdWords Jackpot happens when all of the paid search ads for a search query are the same or are pretty similar. In this case, of course, having an ad that's like all the rest i [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | Paid Search

Google has updated  the interface for AdWords Express, Google's AdWords product designed for small businesses. Among the interface updates are a redesigned dashboard to show an at-a-glance look at ad views (impressions), clicks and calls generated as well as a pie chart that tracks monthly budget expenditures.  A new performance graph allows advertisers to compare results over time. A real-time ad creator tool now lets users see how their ad will look as they write their copy. Hovering over the icons at the bottom of the window allows advertisers to see a preview of the ad in the di [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Mobile

The auction-based industry we work in involves a number of metrics which help search marketers identify where they are doing better or worse than the competition. Just to name a few, the most common metrics search marketers usually look at are the Quality Score (QS), the average cost-per-click (CPC), the impression share (IS), and the 'Relative CTR' on the Google Display Network. While the Quality Score indicates whether your keywords/ads/landing pages are relevant against the competition, it does not tell much about the actual competitiveness of the market. Instead, the average cost-per-cl [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Analytics | Google: AdWords | Search & Analytics

Automating AdWords as much as possible is every advertiser’s dream, especially when dealing with the massive accounts we see in enterprise-level SEM. This article provides a few examples of how we at Top Tier Marketing have automated some of the more laborious tasks of running AdWords. Hopefully, these examples will give you some ideas for your own accounts. There’s even a full script that should work by simply copying it into your own account toward the end of this post.  Automate AdWords Ad Creation From Your Catalog [caption id="attachment_158965" align="alignright" width="212"] F [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Enterprise SEM | Google: AdWords | How To: SEM | Search Ads: General

In an update on the early progress of the transition to enhanced campaigns last night, Sridhar Ramaswamy, SVP, Ads and Commerce at Google -- and the lead on enhanced campaigns -- said that close to two million campaigns have been set to enhanced. That's up from 1.5 million Google quoted on the first quarter earnings call on April 18. Results From Early Adopters Based on positive case studies from clothing retailer American Apparel, financial services provider Woodbridge Structured Funding, and an unnamed luxury shopping brand among others, Ramaswamy says early adopters of enhanced campaig [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Features: Analysis | Google: AdWords: Enhanced Campaigns | Top News

Wired is telling the story of David Whitaker, a federal prisoner that helped the U.S. government catch Google breaking the law by allowing and helping foreign pharmacies sell drugs via Google AdWords. It's a story you may have heard before; the Wall Street Journal did a similar exposé on Whitaker and the federal sting operation in early 2012. Wired tells how Whitaker used a pseudonym and convinced Google AdWords reps to help him tweak his pharmacy websites so that they'd be approved for AdWords. To prove that Google's behavior was widespread, Whitaker went through a different rep—one [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google | Google: AdWords | Google: Legal | Legal: Regulation

Google Shopping scored best in class in our latest rankings of comparison shopping engines. How can you get more revenue out of it? Read on for our five tips to increasing the conversion rate of your Product Listing Ads. 1. Please The Feed Your Google Shopping product data feed is the most important element of a healthy PLA campaign. It tells Google what information to use for your product ads and helps Google determine where your ads should appear in search results. It's better to err on the side of providing too much relevant information than not providing enough. Give Google as many cl [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | Search & Conversion | Search Marketing: Shopping Search Marketing

Enhanced campaigns have brought about many changes to AdWords. One of the biggest changes yet to be discussed is the fact that your ad testing methods will have to change. One of the “features” of enhanced campaigns is that your campaign can now run on desktops and mobile devices with different CPCs that are controlled by bid modifiers. However, since your ads can be run on multiple devices at the same time, you need to test your ad metrics by device. This can easily be accomplished with device preference and Excel filters. First, let’s discuss why this change needs to occur, and t [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | Google: AdWords: Enhanced Campaigns | How To | How To: PPC | Paid Search

In my previous post, From 3rd Party To 1st Party: The Evolution Of The Google Advertising Toolset, I wrote about the evolution of AdWords data and how recent changes have constricted the incremental value presented by third-party paid search tools. I wrote in loose terms about using internal analytics to calculate average profit per conversion to use in AdWords Conversion Optimizer. In this post, I will detail the logic behind and process of incorporating margins into bidding at the CPA and CPC level, in case you prefer manual bid management to cost-per-acquisition based management. Depe [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Analytics | Google: AdWords | How To | How To: Analytics | Search & Analytics

Google announced new changes to the AdWords terms and conditions for all countries and territories in the Asian Pacific region except China, Korea, Taiwan and India. Among the changes to the terms is the accommodation of new advertising products and services, including third-party ad serving. AdWords has added new policies around resolving ad serving issues. Advertisers will have 45 days to review and accept the new T&C. Your ads will be paused if you fail to accept them within the time period. Affected advertisers will see the new terms and conditions when signing in and can accept [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords

Google announced that ad group-level mobile bid adjustments will start rolling out today and continue over the next couple of weeks in the Web UI. The added feature went live in the AdWords API last week. Like the elusive Keyword Planner that is rolling out now, ad group mobile bid adjustments are only available in a small number of accounts today. So, be patient and remember it could take two weeks or so to be active in your account. Google made the announcement along with the introduction of the 'Set bid adjustment' button to make bulk edits to location and daypart bid adjustments. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | Google: AdWords: Enhanced Campaigns | Top News

To make multiple bid adjustments for locations and dayparts without having to click into each target individually, Google has added a new "Set bid adjustments" button to the Web UI. The button is available when you are in the "All online campaigns" view, as well; so, you can make bulk changes across multiple campaigns. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords: Enhanced Campaigns

Google announced changes to the Google Shopping Feed Specification today. Here is a review of the updates and deadlines to be aware of: Products Without Unique Identifiers In the biggest change, Google has added the 'identifier exists' attribute for merchants selling custom goods and other products that don't have unique identifiers like brand names or MPN codes. In categories where unique product identifiers are required but don't exist for an item, you enter FALSE for the 'identifier exists' attribute. Important deadlines: U.S. merchants currently exempted from using unique product [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords

Last month, Google quietly began rolling out the AdWords Keyword Planner to select AdWords accounts last month. In typical AdWords fashion, one of the biggest overhauls of the Google Keyword Tool ever went almost unnoticed!   This new keyword tool combines elements of two existing keyword tools, the Google Keyword Tool and the AdWords Traffic Estimator, adding a more structured and integrated workflow as well as all sorts of new bells and whistles. If you've ever used the Google Keyword Tool and/or AdWords Traffic Estimator in the past, take note here -- the new Keyword Pla [...]

Related Topics: B2B Search Marketing | Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords

AdWords product extensions will soon be heading off into the sunset. They are leaving quietly, too. Brad Geddes noticed the announcement in the AdWords agency newsletter, but no other formal notification has been communicated to advertisers. Product extensions will disappear from the campaign set-up flow on May 20th. Google eventually let product extensions be outrun by Product Listing Ads. As Geddes notes, when Google launched PLAs, product extensions were reduced to a less-than-compelling line of text and price. Here's a pictorial walk down memory lane: U.S. debut in 2009 When PLAs [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords

Over the next few weeks, Google will be migrating AdWords campaigns that don't use any advanced features from "All Features" to "Standard" type campaigns. The change applies only to "Search Network Only" and "Search and Display Networks" campaigns. When Google updated the AdWords campaign setup back in June 2012 to include the "Standard" and "All Features" options, existing campaigns were automatically rolled over to "All Features". In Legacy campaigns, you can still see "not recommended" noted in red next to the Standard option. Now, ahead of the enhanced campaigns switch-over in Ju [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | Google: AdWords: Enhanced Campaigns