Google’s introduction yesterday of Google+ Pages for businesses will likely have a dramatic impact on +1s in AdWords. When businesses create a Page on Google+, they can link the page to their web site URLs and also to their AdWords account. When that’s done, +1s for any of the linked URLs — on web sites […]
We’ve been seeing tests for months, and this week Google officially announced it would begin serving AdWords at the bottom of search engine results pages on Google.com. Interestingly, the company says that, in tests, the ads at the bottom performed better than those on the side of the page. Google says ads at the bottom […]
Sensitive to privacy issues surrounding ad targeting, Google is opening the kimono to consumers about why certain search and Gmail ads are targeted to certain people. The company is launching an additional section to its ad preference center — where users can already manage targeting criteria for display ads. In the new area, people will […]
Google is unveiling some changes to its location-targeting tool in AdWords which allow advertisers to search and discover new targets, view targeted areas on a map, and get additional information about the audience likely to see the targeted ads. The first change involves a search interface that gives instant results on matching locations, locations that […]
Google has long allowed approved third-party networks to serve inventory into its AdSense display network, and now it says publishers will begin to get reporting on impressions served, earnings and performance by network. The third-party networks in AdSense are enabled via Google’s DoubleClick Ad Exchange, and the system aims to let publishers to serve the […]
Google is opening wider a beta test of Dynamic Search Ads, an interesting new type of AdWords ad for larger advertisers that eliminates the need for keywords. With this ad type, designed for retailers or other advertisers with large, often-changing inventory, Google automatically generates ad copy — based on the advertiser’s template — by looking […]
Buzz was a great learning experience, says Google, but in a few weeks it will be shut down and all such efforts will be focused on Google Plus. The move will likely come as no surprise to Google-watchers, who noted that Buzz integration with Google+ was minimal. Additionally, the Google Labs page, as previously announced, […]
Paid search advertising grew 24% in the third quarter of 2011 as compared to the year-ago period, according to a new report by interactive marketing agency Covario. A second report on the quarter conducted by Marin Software finds that click volume increased by 22% year-over-year while cost-per-click prices were lower, indicating marketers achieved increased efficiency. […]
Visitors to Google Display Network sites will begin seeing +1s and annotations on display ads for the first time today, according to Google. The initiative, announced nearly a month ago, is aimed at adding social cues — recommendations — to display advertising. The addition of social cues at least partly takes its cues from Facebook […]
In an announcement fittingly posted on her own blog, Karen Wickre, Google’s senior manager of global communications & public affairs, says she has left the company. Wickre launched and masterminded the company’s blog strategy during her nine-year tenure at the company. Her farewell was something of a love letter to Google and the experiences she’s had […]
After quietly testing in Brazil, Spanish-speaking Latin America, Spain, and Portugal, Google will roll out a new algorithm globally that gives more weight to landing page quality when it comes to AdWords Quality Score. This means ads with landing pages that Google deems to be most relevant to the query will be able to rank […]
One of print newspapers’ only advantages these days may be the ability to deliver circulars and coupons. Not anymore. According to a report from Bloomberg News, Google is working with advertisers such as Best Buy and Macy’s to create Web-based circulars, which will be available starting today. The piece quotes Nick Fox, vice president of […]
In their regular analysis of revenues generated by the online advertising industry, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers say search unsurprisingly accounted for the most spending of any category (49%) in the first half of the year. Display was next with 37 percent of interactive spend in 1H 2011. Total spending on Search came […]
In a bid to unify its advertising interfaces and improve reporting for YouTube video ads, Google is launching a limited public beta of “AdWords for Video” — which includes four “TrueView” video ad formats, for which advertisers pay when the video is viewed or started by a user. The release integrates video advertising, previously housed […]
Google has worked the most-requested features from its older interface into its new one, including creating scheduled reports and viewing channels on the Home tab. Now, it’s getting ready to sunset the old interface, as of mid-November. So, Google is urging AdSense publishers to take the time now to familiarize themselves with the new interface, […]
Google is now allowing AdSense publishers to opt in to display certain types of gambling ads in some geographic locations. In 2008, the company loosened some of its restrictions on gambling ads in search. The latest change takes place tomorrow, September 27. “In response to advertiser and publisher feedback, we’ve expanded the types of ads […]
The European Union’s Court of Justice has ruled in the long-running Interflora case against Marks & Spencer, which involves bidding on trademarked terms, and the decision is no clear victory for either party. Instead, it OKs trademark bidding so long as the resulting ad offers an alternative to the mark holder’s service and doesn’t cause […]
Search AdWords have had +1 buttons since late May, and now the +1 functionality is coming to the Google Display Network (GDN). Additionally, +1 data will, for the first time, serve as a signal of relevance in the AdWords auction — for display only, for now. As with the +1s that accompany text ads, people […]
In a move that Google says was designed to “ensure quality, improve Google products and services and compliance with AdWords API Terms and Conditions,” the company earlier this week revoked access to the AdWords API to a large number of developers, raising the ire of many who complained about a lack of warning and communication, […]
On the heels of its announcement about Smart Lists, Facebook is giving users more options for sharing and managing their content, including letting individuals share public content with people who “subscribe” to their feeds rather than “friend” them. The most important change is probably the introduction of a “Subscribe” button to each user’s profile. (This […]
In an apparent response to Google’s rising prominence in the display advertising market, the rest of the major players — Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL — are reportedly teaming up to sell ads on one another’s sites. The report in the Wall Street Journal’s All Things D says the pact was explained to a group of […]
We’ve seen reports and are also seeing some AdWords ads displaying with three lines of sitelinks, and Google has updated its help documents to indicate that “up to six” and “three-line” Ad Sitelinks are now being displayed. Previously, Ad Sitelinks were only displayed in one-line, two-line and embedded formats. Generally speaking, the multi-line AdSitelinks are […]
Now that you know how your AdWords perform on the top of the page, versus on the side, the next question is how much it’ll cost you for that (presumably) better performance. Google aims to answer that question with a new metric — top of page bid estimates — announced today, which shows how much […]
Starting September 6, AdWords advertisers can get ads through the Google approval process even if they’re immediately paused after creation. Google is beginning a new practice worldwide under which it will review paused AdWords ads, as well as active ones, the company confirmed. The change seems to be aimed at allowing advertisers to set up […]
Google has added a new review step to its process for adding new AdSense publishers, presumably to better eliminate abuses and improve the quality of the AdSense network for advertisers. In the new process, publishers’ sites will be reviewed after they’ve placed the AdSense ad code on their sites, and real, paying ads won’t run […]
Microsoft has announced changes that tighten up its adCenter Relevancy and Quality policy for ads served to the U.S. and Canada. Changes are set to take place tomorrow, August 31, though the company says it won’t begin enforcing the changes until the next week or two, giving advertisers a chance to make changes, if needed, […]
The sheer number of people potentially affected by the approaching Hurricane Irene means that the web is experiencing an incredible amount of traffic from those seeking information. Hitwise reports that searches for Hurricane Irene have increased more than 2300% since August 21. Thankfully, there are plenty of resources online where people along the heavily-populated East Coast […]
Google has released version 9.5 of its free desktop software for managing AdWords campaigns, adding support for campaign experiments and location extensions, among other recent enhancements to the AdWords web interface. Users can now manage their campaign experiments on the AdWords Editor, including applying and editing an experiment status, a default maximum CPC or a […]
Google has agreed to forfeit $500 million and to more tightly comply with laws surrounding online pharmacy advertising, after a Department of Justice investigation found it both allowed and helped Canadian pharmacies that were advertising and selling to U.S. consumers in violation of federal law. The $500 million penalty is one of the largest in […]
Google is working on an update to the AdWords Keyword Tool that will allow marketers to input 2500 keywords — up from just 100 — to generate new keyword ideas. The folks at Hobo SEO in the UK spotted that this change is in the works, noting that they were able to input a lot […]
Google has long supported phone extensions, which allow advertisers to include clickable phone numbers in AdWords when they appear on mobile devices. Now, phone numbers in other parts of the ad creative will be clickable, as well, essentially creating phone extensions from ads that don’t necessarily have them activated. The company announced the change in […]
Google is experimenting with an AdWords ad unit unique to Gmail which allows the company to introduce more graphical interactive ads without going so far as to introduce display ads. The new AdWords units appear above the text ads in the right sidebar. They include an image, a headline and a couple of lines of […]
Google has partnered with a variety of catalog merchants to launch its next-generation catalog search as an iPad application (with an Android version “coming soon”). The app launches with products from Anthropologie, L.L. Bean, Land’s End, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Pottery Barn, Sephora, Tea Collection, Urban Outfitters and Williams-Sonoma, among others. This isn’t Google’s first crack […]
In a bid to build up its patent arsenal and get a stronger foothold in the mobile phone and tablet business, Google has agreed to acquire Motorola Mobility Holdings for around $12.5 billion in cash. Motorola Mobility Holdings is one of the entities that resulted when Motorola split its business in two earlier this year. The […]
Some AdWords advertisers may find their ads appearing with capitalization that differs from what was approved in their AdWords account, as Google apparently tests capitalization variations to see how it affects click-through rates. One Search Engine Land reader, Nilaye Thakrar, search engine marketing manager at Canada’s Workopolis, sent us an example. Some words that had […]
Google is apparently testing a new AdWords placement at the bottom of search results pages. At least one Search Engine Land reader, LebSEO Design‘s Wissam Dandan, spotted four AdWords ads at the bottom of some search results pages. We weren’t able to replicate this internally, but the search giant is constantly testing new ad placements […]
As it continues to develop the advertising opportunities available on its service, Twitter is now allowing brands to target their promoted tweets to followers only. Like other promoted tweets, the messages appear at the top of users’ timelines upon login, and scroll down afterwards. They can also be dismissed immediately. The company announced the new […]
Google has acknowledged receiving a “second request” for additional information from the Department of Justice, as it continues to review whether the company’s planned purchase of AdMeld would impede competition in the space. In a blog post, Neil Mohan, VP of display advertising, noted: “This doesn’t surprise us, as today’s display advertising industry is very […]
Further consolidating the products (or at least their names) in the local and mobile space, Google has re-named Boost as AdWords Express, also stepping up marketing efforts and consolidating sign-up for Express and Google Places. “We’ve seen great success with the product, but we want to change the product name to better emphasize the ties […]
Click-to-download AdWords ads for mobile devices are getting more visually appealing. Google will now find the advertised application’s icon in the iTunes store or Android market and display it alongside the ad in search results. The new feature will automatically be applied whenever a click-to-download ad appears on a mobile device. Google announced its immediate […]