Google recently announced a change to device targeting in Adwords. Called “Enhanced Campaigns,” the change changes the ability to target ads by device. Whereas advertisers traditionally have needed to create device-specific campaigns in order to vary bids by device, Enhanced Campaigns will enable advertisers to change bids by a certain percentage within the same campaign.
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Keyword selection is often one of the most difficult & time-consuming aspects of launching a new paid search account. This is especially true when the target audience is a subset of a larger audience, such as an enterprise-level wireless router solution, or an enterprise-level printer. In both cases, you’re trying to reach decision-makers in IT, and you’re trying to avoid the much larger population of consumers looking for consumer routers & printers. Continue reading
Facebook’s new Timeline will soon be going live for the general public (possibly as soon as this weekend), and we think it will have a pretty big effect on paid ads. The question is, of course: what will that effect be on your Facebook Ad Management? Let’s first walk through the changes, and then discuss effects.
If you’re running an AdWords campaign with any sort of trackable conversion, make sure you’re using the Search Funnels data to inform your optimization. It offers such stats as Time Lag, Path Length, First and Last Click Analysis, Assisted Conversions, and Top Conversion Paths, all of which can help you better optimize your account.
You’ve probably already noticed the fact that Google rolled out a new look yesterday for its SERP (Search Engine Results Page) for local searches. As you can see in the screenshot below, the old SERP featured a “7-Pack” of local business listings, interspersed with organic results from the wider web, surrounded on the top and right hand side with paid ads.
Though Facebook PPC is typically more top of the funnel, and paid search PPC is more bottom of the funnel, there are a number of similarities between the two:
1) Demographic/interest targeting on Facebook is akin to selecting keywords on paid search. The more specific you get, the smaller your potential audience. Also, as you get more specific, you typically have to pay a higher cost per click.
2) If you’re running direct response campaigns, you want to keep your demographic/interest Facebook targets pretty tight, Just like you want to keep adgroups tight in paid search. Also, make sure you avoid grouping related but dissimilar groups together. For instance, if someone is interested in sustainable energy, they might be thinking wind energy, not biofuels. Keep those sorts of interests separated.
3) Just like you want to write ads specific to each Ad Group for paid search, optimize your ad copy for the demographic/interest that you’re targeting.
Landing Pages – Where Should You Send Your Facebook PPC Ad Traffic?
Most people would say it’s best to send Facebook ads to your Facebook page (preferably a custom tab), thinking that they’ll be happier staying in the same environment. However, that may not necessarily be the best way to achieve your goal. Continue reading
By now, most advertisers are familiar with the basics of paid search advertising: you choose a list of keywords that you want to trigger your ad, select the maximum you’re willing to spend per click, and then instruct the search engines to match you up with people searching for your terms. Since searchers are looking for a specific service or answer at the time of the search, paid search is great for transactional advertising such as generating sales or leads. If you are offering exactly what the searcher is looking for, he or she is likely to convert.
More People Now Visit Facebook Than Google
Search engine advertising has been a dominant force in the world of online advertising for years now. However, with Facebook taking up an ever-greater share of people’s time online, it is inevitable that Facebook will also account for an increasing share of online advertising. That said, Facebook advertising isn’t useful for every business. Here is some information to help you decide whether your company should give it a try.
All the major search engines increase the number of searchers they offer an advertiser by allowing their search results to show on 3rd party websites. The traffic for paid ads showing on these 3rd party sites is typically of a lower quality than that generated by the search engines’ own sites. However, that traffic is also usually cheaper, so some types of businesses benefit by having their ads show on search partner sites.
If you allow your ads to show on search partner sites, it’s important to constantly monitor the traffic those sites generate. This fact was underscored one day a few weeks ago when a Path Interactive client suffered an 800% traffic spike on one particular adgroup in a Google campaign, with most of the spike coming from one keyword, with no corresponding increase in conversions.
The debate about including a phone number in search ad copy has been going on for years. The Nos argue that inserting a phone number takes important space away from your marketing message, and that if people call without clicking, it will lower your quality score, thereby driving up cost. The Yesses often focus on the fact that if a searcher calls without clicking, you don’t pay for that click. They also note that few advertisers include a phone number in their ads, so doing so can help your ad stand out.
Earlier this year, Google gave Path Interactive employees the chance to help test Google’s AdWords Certification Beta exam. Taking the two experimental exams (one for Beginners and one for Experts) would be an all day affair, so we only sent two of our campaign managers: Ari Berdy and Stephanie Scorziello.
We are proud to report that both Ari & Stephanie passed the exams with flying colors! They are now among the first to be the newest type of Google Advertising Professionals. Congratulations Ari & Stephanie!
