Loose match types, bid-caching, and getting what you pay for in digital marketing
When a lack of advertiser control -- whatever the platform's motives -- results in unintended purchases, trust inevitably erodes....
Andy Taylor
Andy Taylor is Associate Director of Research at Merkle, responsible for analyzing trends across the digital marketing spectrum for best practices and industry commentary. A primary contributor to the Merkle Blog, Dossier, and quarterly Digital Marketing Report, he speaks frequently at industry conferences and events.
Google is right; click-through and conversion rates kinda don’t matter
Say what? Turns out you may be focusing on the wrong things if you're fixated on click-through and conversion rates. Here are a number of reasons...
The Google expanded text ad CTR lift that never was
Contributor Andy Taylor shares his take on Google's expanded text ads (ETAs), drawing comparisons to the new responsive search ad (RSA)...
The growing importance of remarketing audiences in Google paid search management
With the explosive growth of click share coming from remarketing audiences, contributor Andy Taylor feels it’s important to consider both...
The status of Google’s presence in Google Shopping Auctions
Google has long been visible in these auctions, not only through Express but also Play and Store. Contributor Andy Taylor evaluates its presence and...
Look Ma, no keywords! Phrase-free AdWords campaigns are here
Contributor Andy Taylor discusses Google's new Local Search Ads Experiment in AdWords, which uses address and location categories in lieu of...
Bing Ads brand CPC taking the elevator — up
Looking for options to hold down brand CPC on Bing Ads? Contributor Andy Taylor shares strategies for those programs observing significant...
Phrase, broad, or broad match modifier: After exact, what’s the next best match type?
Contributor Andy Taylor answers by sharing research that shows deploying multiple match types produces little difference between phrase and broad...
What’s going on with Google brand CPC?
Brands may be at Google’s mercy when it comes to the price of branded traffic, but Columnist Andy Taylor outlines steps they can take to reduce...
Holiday shoppers increasingly turned to Google Maps in the countdown to Christmas Day
Columnist Andy Taylor from Merkle shares data on how consumers engaged with Maps and Local Inventory Ads over the holiday shopping...
Is holiday paid search more competitive in 2017 than 2016?
Columnist Andy Taylor explores year-over-year Auction Insights data from AdWords, revealing insights into this year's holiday paid search...
Four key holiday paid search trends to keep an eye on
Columnist Andy Taylor shares data that can help predict trends in the e-commerce and retail space this holiday season. Advertisers, take...
Google locally focused ads poised to play important holiday season role for brick-and-mortar brands
If 2016 trends are any indication, search ads aimed at driving offline traffic are likely to have a big impact this year. Contributor Andy Taylor...
The limitations of Google AdWords demographic targeting
Proper demographic targeting can improve your search ads' performance. Unfortunately, as columnist Andy Taylor points out, Google doesn't always make...
How important is Google Shopping for retailers?
Columnist Andy Taylor shares his views on the recent European Commission antitrust ruling against Google and how this might impact retailers that...
Amazon Prime Day’s surprising effects on Google AdWords performance
Columnist Andy Taylor dives into Merkle advertiser performance data to explore the impact of Amazon's recent Prime Day...
Early performance results from Google’s update to close variants
What impact has Google's latest update to close variants had on paid search performance? Columnist Andy Taylor reviews the...
How to compare paid search and organic search without sounding foolish
Which search channel is better: paid or organic? Columnist Andy Taylor argues that there is no simple answer to this question, despite what some...
What your paid search KPI says about you
Every advertiser measures success based on key performance indicators (KPIs) that they deem relevant. Columnist Andy Taylor asks, What do your chosen...
Google Maps ad traffic steadily growing
Columnist Andy Taylor of Merkle shares data on the growth of ad traffic from Google Maps, including conversion rate and CPC data by...
