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SEM-Like Control For Successful PLA Campaigns

May 30, 2013 at 10:47am ET by Dan Morrison

There are notable similarities between keyword and PLA campaigns that, when leveraged properly, will give retailers greater control of their campaign management. Let’s evaluate how retailers can leverage best practices from their keyword campaigns and apply them to their PLA campaigns for maximum efficiency and control over their budgets. In SEM, search engines decide which ads are shown for which queries based on keywords; but, advertisers don’t have to yield control of their spend to the search engine. Instead, they can institute a proper campaign setup that allows for control at a gr [...]

How To Conduct Ad Tests In Enhanced Campaigns

May 13, 2013 at 9:19am ET by Brad Geddes

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 [...]

7 Landing Page Tests You Can Run Tomorrow!

Apr 22, 2013 at 10:15am ET by Mona Elesseily

For many years, I've been participating in sessions/panels in which I critique PPC landing pages volunteered by audience members. As crowds go wild for this type of session, I've decided to use this space to focus on effective landing page elements and provide several examples thereof. #1 Use Credibility Indicators Include credibility indicators on your landing page such as testimonials, reviews, awards, social media information (Facebook likes, number of tweets, etc.), and seller ratings (on Google, this info is pulled from Bizrate and other rating sites). Here are some specific ideas [...]

4 Ways To Take Your AdWords Scripts To The Next Level

Apr 19, 2013 at 3:50pm ET by Frederick Vallaeys

Last week, I presented at HeroConf in Austin and shared some advanced tips for automating AdWords account management with an audience of PPC account managers. They seemed to like what I had to say; so, I’ll share a few of the more advanced scripting tips with you here. When you manage PPC accounts, you likely experience at least one of these two frustrations: You know exactly what you should be doing, but there aren’t enough hours in the day to get it done You’ve bought a tool that automates AdWords account management, but you find yourself locked into a cookie-cutter solution t [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Enterprise SEM | Google: AdWords | How To: PPC | How To: SEM

How To Prep Your B2B Search Program For Google Enhanced Campaigns

Apr 11, 2013 at 12:47pm ET by Brad Neelan

According to the great Greek philosopher Heraclitus, change is the only constant. As you have most likely heard by now, Google is making major adjustments to its AdWords platform that will have sweeping changes to the ways and means of how you execute your search campaigns. For B2B search, this is going to have a specific impact on your programs, and getting ready for the coming changes will require a bit of forethought into how you maximize the results of your campaigns. In a realm like B2B, there is always the dual challenge of a diffuse customer base with ever changing needs and a lim [...]

How To Manage PPC Closely To A Budget

Apr 1, 2013 at 2:48pm ET by Matt Van Wagner

A few weeks ago, at SMX West in San Jose, George Michie of RKG, was talking about the challenges of managing enterprise-level PPC campaigns, and he made the interesting observation that you can either manage to ROI or to budgets, but not both at the same time. The context of George’s remarks was setting expectations with client C-Level executives and educating them about what is and what is not possible with online marketing campaigns. [caption id="attachment_153754" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Maximizing PPC ad spend and managing to best ROI are usually conflicting goals.[/captio [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | How To | How To: PPC | Intermediate | Paid Search

How To Estimate The Traffic Opportunity For Multinational Campaigns

Mar 26, 2013 at 11:07am ET by Chris Liversidge

Recently, I was asked to run an estimate of traffic opportunity for a multinational sports franchise in which I modeled their current global traffic against brand visibility growth opportunities. However, I also identified that to make the estimate relevant, I needed to quantify the traffic more than they had suggested. So, like all good Web marketers do, I got revenue involved in the equation. Want to know how to understand the revenue opportunity available to your brand globally? Read on... Calculating The Size Of The Pie First up: what's the current global reach of my client? To und [...]

How Adwords Enhanced Campaigns Can Be Used To Promote Your Mobile App

Mar 4, 2013 at 12:21pm ET by Larry Kim

There’s been a lot of confusion among paid search marketers upset about the lack of device targeting in Enhanced Campaigns. This article will tell you how to advertise your mobile app using AdWords while checking out the new app promotion ad format in AdWords. One of the most common hypothetical use cases for device targeting in AdWords has to do with mobile apps. For example, a mobile app developer who doesn’t want to target desktops because their app only works on say, iOS tablets – it would make no sense for these ads to show up on Windows desktop computer searches. One Search E [...]

15 Tips To Launch A Successful Multilingual PPC Campaign

Feb 19, 2013 at 11:35am ET by Andy Atkins-Krüger

Unfortunately for those of us who work in the international space, launching a global PPC campaign is much less successful than doing so domestically? Why is this and what’s to be done? Culture and language is the answer you’re expecting from me – right? Yes, that’s definitely an important part of the mix, but there is more, much more, to it than that. Listening to Chinese military strategist, Sun Tzu, can give us a few clues. I have a sneaking suspicion that he would have also made a great PPC strategist. [caption id="attachment_148854" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Knowin [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: SEO | How To | How To: PPC | Multinational Search

6 Advanced Strategies For Optimizing PLA Campaigns

Feb 14, 2013 at 12:10pm ET by Matt Lawson

In January, Marin Software released a study on Google’s 2012 transition from Google Product Search to the commercial, “pay-to-play” model built on Product Listing Ads. When this enhanced shopping experience was first announced in May of 2012, online retailers reacted with both praise and criticism. However, since the transition, PLA campaigns have performed with a great deal of success. In fact, by the end of December 2012, the share of spend on PLA campaigns had increased 600% compared to January. More importantly, during the fourth quarter of 2012, as holiday shoppers searched and p [...]

Analytics Matched Search Queries Vs. AdWords Keyword Details Report

Jan 11, 2013 at 9:11am ET by Carrie Hill

A question recently came across my desk regarding the use of the Matched Search Queries Report in Analytics when compared to the Keyword Details Report in AdWords. The inquirer was interested in the benefits or drawbacks to both reports, also asking if they were interchangeable. I figured this was a great question to answer in the Search & Analytics field, so I'll do my best to define and give my opinion regarding the pros, cons and interchangeability of these two complex reports. First, we need to understand what each report provides data-wise. Let's take a look at the basic data av [...]

7 Secrets For Dealing With Quality Score

Dec 24, 2012 at 11:44am ET by Jenny Halasz

I’m back to writing my own controversial thoughts this month; although, if you didn’t check out the interview I did last month with Andrew Goodman and Matt van Wagner, you should, those are smart guys. Since I was thinking about PPC and how incredibly mixed up and difficult it has become, it seemed like a good time to write about it. My team and I are trying to figure out ways to look at PPC campaigns differently, finding a way to automate some of the grunt work while still delivering great campaigns. I know everyone and their brother has done this, but we’re convinced we can do it [...]

How To Easily Manage & Test Millions Of Ads

Oct 29, 2012 at 11:53am ET by Brad Geddes

You must test ads to make your paid search account grow and thrive. That fact is no longer debatable – it is just a best practice fact. Ad testing in small accounts is very easy as there are not thousands of ad group or hundreds of thousands of ads to track. However, in large accounts, ad testing is often not done well. In today’s column, we’ll examine the most common testing techniques and why they are rarely successful, and then address how to test ads across large accounts. Common Testing Techniques For Large Accounts One of the most common is to create lots of ads. Turn on ‘op [...]

Related Topics: Advanced | Channel: SEM | How To | How To: PPC | Paid Search

How To Look For Trouble & Find Opportunity In PPC Campaigns

Sep 17, 2012 at 10:51am ET by Matt Van Wagner

As I start each day managing our PPC accounts, the same two questions always come to mind: "What problems do we have to address right away?" and "Where can we find more opportunities?" The more quickly I can get a handle on these two questions, the more quickly I can take appropriate actions. That’s why I love all the visual trend line graphs available in Google AdWords, Microsoft AdCenter and other paid search analytics tools. With a quick glance, well-trained eyes, and the same sense of investigative curiosity that we see every night in crime and courtroom TV programs, I can quickly [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: SEM | How To | How To: PPC | Paid Search

Advanced Excel For PPC: How To Work With Match Types Using VBA Code

Sep 14, 2012 at 12:23pm ET by Crosby Grant

When working with AdWords Keyword reports downloaded from the Web interface, you may come across Keywords with their Match Types signified by special punctuation, rather than a separate column indicating Match Type. In this post, we will use some Excel VBA code that will help us work back and forth between this format and the regular, two column format recognized by AdWords Editor. As an example, we can add all of our existing broad match keywords as exact match so we can refine our bidding control on them. Let's get started. This posting format originated as a means of uploading keyword [...]

Related Topics: Advanced | Channel: SEM | How To | How To: PPC | Search Marketing Toolbox

How To Find Success With Google’s Display Network

Sep 4, 2012 at 9:32am ET by Brad Geddes

Google’s display network is massive, encompassing more than 4 billion daily page views, 700 million monthly users, and reaching more than 80% of the online audience. Yet, with all this inventory, many marketers fail with display marketing. The major reasons are they either are trying to reach the incorrect goals or they don’t understand how all the targeting options work. In this article, I’m going to walk through how to get started with display advertising so you can avoid some of the most common mistakes that cause marketers to fail with the network. Display Keywords Most ma [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: SEM | How To | How To: PPC | Paid Search

The Difference In Keyword Research For SEO vs. PPC

Aug 28, 2012 at 11:11am ET by Jenny Halasz

Often when I complete a keyword research project for a client, they ask me about keywords I may not have included, or they want to know what the relative competition on the keywords looks like. This happens often enough that I thought I would remind everyone that while research for SEO and PPC can go hand in hand, they’re actually very different. First, think about what your goals are with each medium. What are you trying to do, and what constitutes success in that area? Next, think about how the keywords will be used. Where, when, how often? Finally, consider what your margin for erro [...]

How To Manage & Measure Local PPC Accounts

Aug 6, 2012 at 11:24am ET by Brad Geddes

In my last column, I looked at some of the differences between small and large accounts as the best practices vary for each. In this column, we’re going to specifically focus on one of the most common small accounts: local accounts; and examine some of the best practices for this type of small account. A local account is where there is a limited geographic area being served. When you combine a limited geographic reach with a small budget, you often run into problems trying to balance spending the budget on highly relevant keywords while getting a high enough return for the budget so th [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: SEM | How To | How To: PPC | Paid Search

3 Tips To Manage Complex Paid Search Programs

Jul 30, 2012 at 12:31pm ET by Karima Hamamsy

When you are managing hundreds of ad groups, it’s easy to neglect certain details; however, the diamonds in the rough can often only be found through account deep-dives. Thus, I’m always looking for the next tip or tool that could speed up and make more efficient my management of large, complex AdWords accounts. Below I provide 3 proven tricks that make managing large, complex programs much easier: Bulk changes to local business listings AdWords labels Automated rules Examples and step-by-step implementation steps are given as well. Bulk Changes To Local Business Listings D [...]

Related Topics: Advanced | Channel: SEM | How To | How To: PPC | Paid Search

A Beyond Average Look At Search Ad Position

Jul 26, 2012 at 12:08pm ET by Mark Ballard

Among the scores of data points search marketers have at their disposal, perhaps no other metric is as shrouded by mythology and misconception as ad position. Despite careful studies showing, including one by RKG in 2006, and confirmation by Google in 2009 that conversion performance doesn't vary much by position, you will still hear pronouncements, even among enterprise level practitioners, that some specific position on the page generates exceptional performance. This piece is not meant to rehash that argument, per se. Instead, we'll examine how attributes of the current ad auction in [...]

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