Adwords bidding landscape has changed as Google confirm the right sidebar on desktop SERP is to be removed.
Importance: [rating=5] (For PPC Managers & SEO managers)
Recommended source: Search Engine Land
Google have ended their six-year experiment with the Sidebar ads, instead opting for three above-the-fold text ads for queries on the desktop SERP and a further 3 ads at the bottom.
“We’ve been testing this layout for a long time, so some people might see it on a very small number of commercial queries. We’ll continue to make tweaks, but this is designed for highly commercial queries where the layout is able to provide more relevant results for people searching and better performance for advertisers.”
A fourth ad will be shown for only the highly commercial queries such as "Car Insurance", "Hotels in New York" and "Cheapest Smartphones", so the types of search where people express a deep intention to buy.
Although we were a…
During Dharmesh Shah’s and Brian Halligan’s keynote at Inbound 2015 they announced Hubspot’s new Ads feature which, for the first time, aligned Hubspot’s inbound marketing methodology with more 'traditional' paid search.
When I heard this it raised an important question for me; do paid ads really fit into the inbound model or are Hubspot are simply looking to cash-in?
The case against: Are Hubspot just cashing in?
During the announcement Hubspot said that 53% of their users already use paid ads, which means they have instantly created a captive audience of more than 7,500 subscribers, which is handy.
Remember that this feature is also a paid ‘add-on’, if it were truly a part of the Inbound Methodology, would it not be made part of the standard software? I may be being picky as…
Importance: [rating=4] For Ecommerce businesses / retailers
Recommended link: Adwords Shopping Campaigns available on YouTube
Originally announced in May 2015, Google have finally moved 'TrueView for Shopping' out of Beta and have also introduced Shopping Ads on Youtube, which is available to all online advertisers through AdWords. This is a great opportunity for retailers to gain awareness and clickthroughs beyond the Google Shopping ads that have proved so popular in Google Search.
This is supported by research about the new format showed that 57% of the 708 campaigns studied, saw an increase in consideration, with 24% seeing a lift in favorability, whilst 35% of the campaigns saw an increase in purchase intent.
What is TrueView for Shopping?
In short, it allows you to showcase your own products, which have been pulled from the Google Merchant Centre, onto your own videos. Simple as that.
It uses a card system with users clicking…
Examples and best-practice advice on implementing Google ad extensions
Ad Extensions are additional features that enhance, or extend, your AdWords ads. Options include call extensions - which add a phone number or ‘click-to-call’ button to your ads, sitelinks - which let you add links to other pages within your website, and location extensions – which can include a map marker.
There are various types of Ad Extensions and each has its own advantages, but in general the overall benefits of using Ad Extensions are:
Ad Extensions are free. You only incur a pay per click amount, equivalent to a headline click, if someone engages with your ad.
They make your ads more visible, because they take up more room in the SERPs.
They help improve CTR, because they let you add valuable information about your products and services.
They help improve Ad Rank: Google says “If two competing ads have the same bid and quality, then…
Google shares new research about changes in local search behaviour and how to use extensions to deliver relevant local ads
Importance: [rating=2]
Recommended link: Google's preview of new mobile ad extensions
Google has responded to changes in users' searching behaviour as more people look for local services using their smartphones. In the introduction to this new feature, Google gives the example of changes in search behaviour...
"Google search interest in "near me" has doubled since last year,1 with 80% coming from mobile".
Google's research shows that in these 'moments', consumers have heightened expectations for immediacy and relevance — 4 out of 5 say they want search ads to be customized to their city, zip code or immediate surroundings.
The new ads shows three or four different businesses for location-related searches like “nearby auto repair.” As the example below shows, each ad unit will feature click-to-call and directions which can be easily followed-up on, for example by calling your…
Research study tests show brand awareness lift in 12 different sectors
Simulated search experiment research from Google and IposMediaCT reminds us that search ads are not only about driving direct response for lead generation, but that they can also develop brand awareness. By measuring brand metrics and reviewing test Search Results (SERPs) with control groups, the study showed the impact of search ads across 800 consumers.
Ads across 12 vertical sectors were tested and proved that 'search ads' placed their brand at the forefront of a consumer's mind, lifting awareness by an average of 6.6 points.
How search ads lifted awareness
Respondents were asked which brand first came to mind when thinking about a specific category keyword. An average of 14.8% in the Test group named the test brand, while just 8.2% of the…
With ½ billion ads banned in 2014 it could happen to you
We know you will be a squeaky clean Google Advertisers; you don't breach advertising policies or deal in counterfeit goods! But how good are you as an individual at spotting a harmful advert which will download malware or spyware software, or is selling dangerous healthcare products ? Let's be honest, we are not trained police or specialists and even the most alert person can be drawn in by fraudsters. Consumers have the 'web busters' looking out for them as the consortium TrustinAds.org helps to fight this on-line advertising crime by removing or rejecting adverts - though we still need to be vigilant!
In this new infographics from Google its seems there is shortage of scammers - last year alone, more than 7,000 Advertisers promoted counterfeit goods, 250,000 sites from Google's network were removed for hiding malware and 2.5 million ads related to weight loss…
Examples show why you should avoid the cultural pitfalls of over-simplistic keyword research
When working on keyword research, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that tools will do the job of brains. Let’s clear that out from the outset: they won’t. Tools are only as good as their handlers. Give a spanner to a monkey, it’ll find ingenious ways to use it. Give the same spanner to a dog and it goes from tool to toy. We should use tools wisely!
There are countless tools dedicated to the daunting task of keyword research and there’s a growth in tools for multilingual keyword research. A promising trend, but we should never believe tools can replace the work of a native expert in a given market.
So often is the case a client will already have an English-language keyword list that they use and generate through translators into a target market’s 'language'. These translations are…
Avoid those common PPC Mistakes to maximise your campaigns
As I work with new clients to improve their PPC campaigns, there are some common mistakes I see again and again. These include both the way the account is set up and the overall strategy of where to focus PPC spend. In this post I'll recommend a number of tools and techniques that can help you avoid these mistakes and so boost campaign ROI in AdWords.
1. Not analysing enough data
One simple mistake that marketers make is that they don't analyse enough data to come to a statistically reliable decision. When you first start out testing and you see that one ad has 15 clicks and one has 12 and come to the conclusion that the one with 15 is better. However here you would not have enough data to make a reliable decision and are at risk of choosing the wrong advert as your winner.
To…
“Close variant” keyword matching to become default by end September can increase clicks by 7% on average
Importance: [rating=4] (If you’re not already using this feature)
Recommended link: AdWords official announcement
Context for the change to match types
The Match types advertisers use in AdWords are important since they control whether relevant ads are displayed to searchers based on the keywords they type. This in turn affects the clickthrough rates, Quality Score and the ROI you get on your campaigns.
Here’s a reminder of the main match types from iProspect:
What is the change?
In their announcement, Google explain that starting in late September, they’re applying close variant keyword matching to all exact and phrase match keywords. Previously it was possible to opt-out of these.
Close keyword variations include Close variations include misspellings, singular and plural forms, acronyms, stemmings (such as floor…
