AdWords Agency Blog

A look back at a year of innovation in search management

2012-05-17T09:42:00.000-07:00

About a year ago, we made a promise to make managing the world’s largest search campaigns more efficient and effective with the launch of DoubleClick Search V3 (DS3). Our goal was to give search marketers a simpler and faster way to manage campaigns, provide streamlined reporting and powerful campaign optimization tools - and do it through a completely rebuilt platform that runs on Google systems and infrastructure.

Today, we’d like to shine a light on how clients are using DoubleClick Search to run high-impact campaigns, and take a look at what’s yet to come. Looking back at the past year, a few things struck us:

6 of the 10 largest agencies now use DoubleClick Search (1)
Agencies using DoubleClick Search see significant increases in efficiency, ranging from 25 to 60% (2). That’s like suddenly finding another few hours in your workday.

We heard a lot from marketers and agencies about what they wanted most from their search management tools. This feedback has informed many of the key areas we’ve invested in over the last year:

Easy, intuitive campaign management
Managing large search campaigns can be complex. With DoubleClick Search we wanted to give search teams a single point of access to their accounts across AdWords, adCenter, and Yahoo! Search Marketing. Gone are days of accessing multiple interfaces, and flipping to and from a variety of spreadsheets and one-off tools.

Better reporting, deeper insights
Today, you have access to more than 90 key metrics, which can be rearranged and saved for a customized view of your campaigns. Reports that may have previously taken hours to run and consolidate now take minutes. Event-level reporting gives you granular data for every click and conversion your campaigns receives, such as keyword, query, time, and referral data, enabling you to better optimize your search campaigns.

Bid optimization, powered by Google
A search advertising campaign is only as good as the technology powering it. For example, a key driver of campaign performance is automating the keyword bidding process based on business goals. With the DoubleClick Search Performance Bidding Suite, this is an area where we’ve made significant and continuous investments. Whether you want to maximize clicks, conversions, return on ad spend, or a combination, you can achieve those goals at scale. Our Performance Bidding Suite is powered by algorithms with a unique ability to optimize based on same-day conversion data from Floodlight tags and are built to ensure that the clicks you pay for always maximize your campaign performance. In fact, after recent improvements to our system, 88% of DS3 clients saw a significant boost in campaign performance (3).

Better Results
Since launching DS3, we’ve upgraded all our customers to the new version. And we’re thrilled with the feedback so far.

Dyson, with the help of their agency partner, SMG, was able to significantly increase search conversion rates using the new bid optimization tools available through DoubleClick Search's Performance Bidding Suite. Read more.

Universal McCann recently implemented cost per action bid strategies for one of their automotive clients and saw conversion rates increase by 32%. Read more.

2012 has more in store
The past year of work has set the foundation for exciting changes to come. Over the next few months, we’ll continue momentum by investing in:

New search funnel tools to better understand a consumer’s path to conversion
Allowing clients to integrate their own data sources to inform search decisions, and
Tighter integration between DoubleClick Search and other ad properties for enhanced cross-channel optimization

We’re also further investing in improving our key areas of campaign management, reporting, and bidding efficiencies -- improvements we think will continue to drive great results for our partners in 2012 and beyond.

Stay tuned to the latest in DoubleClick Search by subscribing to our blog.

Posted by Ariel Bardin, Director of Product Management

____________________
(1) Google internal data
(2) Forrester Research, Inc.
(3) Google internal data, March 2012

Announcing the next series of Learn with Google webinars!

2012-05-16T11:31:00.002-07:00

Earlier this year, we introduced the Learn with Google webinar program, and we were delighted to see thousands of you show up to learn about a variety of Google advertising products and solutions. Today, we’re happy to announce the continuation of our series with 10 new webinars over the next few months. During each webinar we’ll share tips and how-to’s to help make the web work for your business.

Check out our upcoming live webinars below:

May 23 at 10am PDT: Getting Started with Google Analytics
May 24 at 9am PDT: Building Blocks of Digital Attribution
May 31 at 10am PDT: Introduction to TrueView for YouTube
June 5 at 10am PDT: GoMo: Mobilize your Site with Quick and Easy New Tools
June 6 at 10am PDT: Our Mobile Planet: Understanding U.S. Smartphone Consumers
June 7 at 10am PDT: Introducing Mobile Apps Inventory in AdWords
June 12 at 10am PDT: Get Local with ZIP Code Targeting to Increase Sales/Leads
June 14 at 10am PDT: Search Optimization: Tips, Tricks, and Tools
June 19 at 10am PDT: Bringing the Power and Control of Search to Display
July 10 at 10am PDT: Account Management Tools for Large Advertisers and Agencies

Visit our webinar page to register for any of the sessions and to access past webinars on-demand. We’ll be adding new webinars as they’re scheduled, so check back regularly for updates. You can also stay up-to-date on the schedule by downloading our Learn with Google Webinar calendar to automatically see upcoming webinars in your Google Calendar.

Whether your goal is to engage the right customers in the moments that matter, make better decisions, or go bigger, faster, we hope that you’ll use these best practices and how-to’s to maximize the impact of digital and grow your business. We’re looking forward to having you at an upcoming Learn with Google webinar!

Posted by Erin Green, Marketing Coordinator

Adopt a Mantra of Agile Creativity

2012-05-04T09:34:00.000-07:00

Speed and flexibility are key for agencies to gain an edge in the next decade of digital. By borrowing a page from the tech industry playbook, agencies can get even faster, smarter, and more efficient. Welcome to the age of Agile Creativity.

To get the conversation started about Agile Creativity in the industry, we're hosting a panel at One Club's Creative Week in New York City. Google Managing Director Torrence Boone will be chatting with Rei Inamoto (CCO, AKQA), Greg Andersen (CEO, BBH NYC), and Michael Lebowitz (CEO & Founder, Big Spaceship) about how they've adopted an agile mantra and are seeing it successfully at work in their agencies.

We are collaborating with industry experts to bring you agile best practices that you can apply in your own agencies. Stay tuned and click here to get an email notification when the full "Agile Creativity" content is published.

Posted by Andrea Galambos, Marketing Manager, Agency - New York

Build Brands with YouTube and Google

2012-05-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

YouTube is home to some of the most creative, daring and talented content producers in the world. There’s something for every person and passion, which translates to hours of viewing pleasure -- 3 billion hours a month, in fact -- all at the push of the play button.

The power of play isn’t just about compelling, on-demand entertainment, however. It’s also about precision, generating word-of-mouth, and business impact.

As of today, there’s a new way to leverage the power of play -- the updated Advertise on YouTube Brand Channel. Think of it as a single destination for all of YouTube’s brand building resources. On the “Build Your Brand” tab, you can check out featured channels, the latest market insights, and find inspiration for what’s possible on YouTube and the web.

Our most recent research videos can be found here as well, including highlights from our just-announced Generation V research project, a multidimensional study of Men 18-34 and Women 25-49. You can watch and listen to consumers discuss their changing media habits and how on-demand platforms like YouTube are becoming the preferred viewing model. Plus, discover what people in other demographics are watching by viewing the videos from the Google Presents YouTube Brandcast event - all of which are posted on the channel.

Popular YouTube partners like DC Shoes and Blendtec have joined us to highlight the power of play in building brands.

We invite you to subscribe, and come back to our channel weekly to check out new videos from partners like Tony Hawk’s RIDE Channel and the Spangler Effect as they demonstrate what play can mean for your business. And if you’re interested in staying up-to-date on all the latest YouTube news and advertiser trends, also be sure to subscribe to our YouTube for Marketers Google+ page.

Posted by David Mogensen, YouTube Product Marketing Manager, recently watched TippEx Hunter and Bear’s 2012 birthday party

Reaching your audience with online video

2012-04-23T06:08:00.000-07:00

Each day, people are turning to online video for news, entertainment, and information. More than 800M unique users visit YouTube each month, and 60 hours of video are uploaded every minute. So it’s no wonder that video ads are one of the fastest growing online ad-formats this year.
Many brands are already using video ads to reach their marketing objectives, from launching a product to building brand awareness. Video ads can not only increase brand recall, but can help your client reach niche or hard-to-reach audiences. In fact, research shows that YouTube and TV ads work better together.

To make it easier to create and manage video advertising campaigns at scale, we’re introducing a number of new products, resources, and tools today:

Google AdWords for video now available to all. Similar to search advertising - where you pay for clicks and set budgets with bids - we created a new model for video advertising. With Google AdWords for video, you only pay when someone chooses to watch your ad and you can create and manage video campaigns from the same platform as your search and display ads. You can create an account and start promoting your first video in less than 5 minutes. With AdWords for video you can:

Find the right audience: AdWords for video provides a range of options to reach the right audience. For example, you can promote your video by keyword to appear in YouTube search results, or you can choose to show your ad against content your customers are most interested in - such as sports or music. Connect with your audience on YouTube and the Google Display Network, which includes millions of websites. AdWords for video links to your YouTube account so you can easily start a video campaign with your existing videos.

Measure the effectiveness of your spend: On average, we’ve found that YouTube video ads drive a 20 percent increase in traffic to your website and a 5 percent increase in searches for your business (Google Campaign Insights, 2011). With AdWords for video, you can find out how viewers are engaging with your brand during and after they watch your ad. You can see how many viewers watched your entire video, visited your website, stayed on your channel to watch another video, or subscribed to your channel, after viewing your ad.

Only pay for engaged views: With TrueView video ads you only pay when viewers choose to watch your ad so you aren’t charged when viewers skip your ad if they aren’t interested or have already seen your video. This means your ad budget is focused on viewers interested in your video. By displaying a call-to-action overlay on your video you can talk about a sale or specific offer to your viewers, share more information about your business, or drive traffic to your website.

Advertiser Playbook and support. To share best practices and tips on how video can be a core part of your client’s business toolkit, we created a YouTube Advertiser Playbook. The Playbook covers everything from creating interesting content to promoting a video with ads. If your client needs help making a video, our My Business Story is a free tool they can use to create their first video. AdWords advertisers can also call our free phone support line, 866-2-GOOGLE, to get started with AdWords for video.

$50 million in free advertising. We’re giving away $50 million in free Google AdWords advertising to help more than 500,000 businesses get into video. If your client is new to AdWords, they can receive a $75 credit when they sign up. To put that into context, with $75 a video campaign can reach more than 1,500 of your client’s most valuable customers on YouTube for one month. Request the free credit here.

YouTube Ambassador program. To recognize business owners that are already using YouTube to grow their business, we’re naming 9 businesses from across the country to our first ever YouTube Ambassador program. These businesses have seen outstanding success in reaching new customers, building a brand, and engaging their fans with video. Hear their stories and learn more about the YouTube Ambassador program.

Hear from GoPro, who built a brand -- and a business -- on YouTube

If your client has a video you want to promote, get started with AdWords for video. And, join our YouTube for Marketers page on Google+ to stay up-to-date on our latest video marketing innovations.

Posted by Baljeet Singh, Group Product Manager, YouTube

Making the Web Work for Brand Marketers

2012-04-18T04:21:00.017-07:00

Learning from the past

In the 1950s, brands slowly moved to TV, just as they have started to move online today. In both instances, buying and selling systems improved; audiences and new content quickly moved to the new medium; and the creative possibilities inspired great ad campaigns.
However, a key moment for TV came in the 1950 with dramatic improvem

ents in measurement—like ratings and quantitative market research. Once major brands could see who they were reaching and what impact their campaigns were having, they fully embraced the medium, creating a multi-billion dollar industry...and TV’s golden age began.

Making better decisions with actionable brand metrics

Unlike the early days of TV, digital advertising is already incredibly measurable. The only problem is a very old and well-known one: the standardized metrics today are largely clicks, user interaction rates and conversions.

But as brand advertisers - such as movie studios or

consumer goods companies - know, it’s a challenge to measure changes in brand favorability of a movie or whether an online campaign is driving more consumers to the store. And it’s even harder to take quick action on any such insights.
That's why today, at the Ad Age Digital Conference I'll be introducing the Brand Activate Initiative, an ongoing Google effort to address these challenges and re-imagine online measurement for brand marketers. With this initiative we're partnering with the industry and supporting the cross-industry Making Measurement Make Sense (3MS) initiative. We believe that the industry’s significant investment in brand measurement efforts can substantially grow the online advertising pie, for all.

Is a particular ad in your campaign especially useful at improving brand recall in Illinois? You should be able to immediately increase your coverage throughout the Midwest. Is one ad slightly less effective at driving purchase intent and in-store sales? Tweak the creative, straight away.

The first Brand Activate solutions
We’re working to build truly useful brand metrics into the tools that advertisers already use to manage their campaigns, so they’ll be actionable within seconds, not months.

Here’s a video describing the Brand Activate Initiative:

The first two Brand Activate solutions are rolling out today:

Active View: Advertisers have long looked for insight into whether consumers saw an ad on page 145 of a magazine, or switched the channel during a TV commercial break. It’s similar online, so we’re rolling out a technology, which will be submitted for Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation, that can count “viewed” impressions (as defined by the 3MS coalition's proposed standard, this is a display ad that is at least 50% viewable on the screen for at least one second).

Called Active View, this will first be available in coming weeks within Google Display Network Reserve. We’ll also be making this metric a universal currency, ultimately offering it within DoubleClick for Advertisers, as well as to our publisher partners. Active View data will be immediately actionable—advertisers will be able to pay only for for viewed impressions. Going forward, we’re working on viewed impression standards with 3MS, and our agency and publisher partners.

Active GRP: GRP, or a gross rating point, is at the heart of offline media measurement. For example, when a fashion brand wants their TV campaign to reach 2 million women with two ads each, they use GRP to measure that. We’re introducing a new version of this for the web: Active GRP. Active GRP has two key features:

Built-in: Active GRP is built right into the ad serving tools that our publishers and marketers already use every day. Active GRP will enable real-time decision making, allowing advertisers to make adjustments to their campaigns at the speed of the web. We’ve kicked off a pilot program for DoubleClick for Advertisers clients as a first step, and will roll it out to other products, with brands able to specify a range of audience GRP segments.
Robust methodology: Active GRP is calculated by a statistical model that combines aggregated panel data and anonymous user data (either inferred or user-provided), and will work in conjunction with Active View to measure viewed impressions. This approach overcomes problems of potential panel skewing and reliance on a single data source. This approach also has the advantage of never using personally identifiable information, not sharing user data with third parties, and enabling users, through Google’s Ads Preferences Manager, to opt-out. We will be submitting our methodology for MRC accreditation.

More to come

We look forward to bringing other measurement initiatives into our suite for brand marketers, including a brand impact survey pilot with Vizu, our brand lift measurement product (Campaign Insights) and various cross-media measurement research projects globally.

This is just the beginning of the Brand Activate Initiative, with much more to come for brands and publishers. We think that with brand new metrics comes a new brand moment - one that will encourage brands to invest in the web, help publishers show the value of their digital content, and stimulate digital media’s own golden age.

Posted by Neal Mohan, Vice President, Display Advertising

Mark your calendar for a Hangout On Air with mobile thought leaders introducing The Mobile Playbook on April 25th 3pm EDT

2012-04-16T13:29:00.002-07:00

Over the past year we’ve talked to hundreds of CMOs, agency executives and other marketing decision makers about mobile and we’ve seen a shift in the conversation: businesses and agencies are no longer asking “Why mobile?” With half of all Americans now owning a smartphone, the necessity for brands to be involved in the mobile space is clear. Today, we are increasingly hearing questions from executives related to the “How?” of investing in mobile. That’s why we are launching a new resource designed to offer our perspective on how to strategically approach mobile called “The Mobile Playbook”. On April 25th we will be hosting a live streamed discussion with an incredible panel of mobile thought leaders talking about how to strategically approach mobile including:

Joao Machado - Director of Mobile, OMD
Michelle Ogle - Digital Marketing and Affiliate Strategy Manager, Starwood Hotels and Resorts
Joshua Palau - VP of Digital Sales and Marketing, Comcast
Amit Shah - Director of Online, Mobile and Social Media, 1-800Flowers.com

Tune in to the Think with Google Google+ page on Wednesday April 25th at 3pm EDT/ 12pm PDT to learn how mobile can help businesses and agencies win the moments that matter, make better decisions, and go bigger, faster. These panelists have all been early movers in the mobile space and we’ll be discussing their perspective on the 5 key questions we feature in The Mobile Playbook that every business executive should be asking today in order to win with mobile. We hope you’ll be there. If you have a question for the panel, leave your questions with #playbookpanel as a comment on our hangout announcement post the Think with Google Google+ page.

To view the Hangout on Air, visit the Think with Google Google+ page at 3pm EDT on April 25th, look for the “Hangout on Air” post within the stream, and click “Play” to tune in. Don’t forget to be signed into Google+!

On April 25, look for the Hangout on Air post like the image above on the Think with Google +page and click to tune-in!

Posted by: Jason Spero, Head of Global Mobile Sales and Strategy

Project Re: Brief Continued...

2012-04-16T08:31:00.001-07:00

Several weeks ago, we introduced Project Re: Brief, an experiment to re-imagine some of America’s most iconic ads for the modern web. Today, we’re happy to unveil the two newest pieces, re-imagined ads for Alka-Seltzer and Avis, along with short films that give you a behind-the-scenes look at the history of the old ads, and how the new ads came together.

Alka-Seltzer: “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.”, 1972
Art Director: Bob Pasqualina, Copywriter: Howie Cohen

Howie and Bob’s original commercial depicted a heartburn stricken, middle-aged man, who said a memorable line - “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing;" the line and Ralph instantly became a part of popular culture in America.

In 2012, the re-imagined display and mobile ads bring back Ralph and his famous line, via 1970s sitcom-style episodes that tell the story of “The day Ralph ate the whole thing.” Told over breakfast, lunch and dinner, each episode leads up to the iconic moment captured in the original ad. Videos in each ad experience change based on the location, audience, time of day and other factors. Each episode also provides users unique ways to interact with Ralph, and influence the story. Watch this short film about Bob and Howie recreating their most iconic work.

The tech behind the Alka-Seltzer ad:
To give each viewer a different experience, we've combined ad targeting technologies with dynamic rich media ads to create custom videos on the fly. For example, in the morning, a user sees Ralph’s breakfast incident, while in the evening the dinner story is shown. The location of each episode is tailored to the user’s location through Google’s Street View, while weather data is used to create similar weather conditions to the viewer’s location, including rain and snow. The character roles, jobs and dialogs are all customized, ultimately making the stories more relatable. For example, when the ad is seen on YouTube, Ralph’s TV plays the same video as the user.

Custom interactions allow viewers to influence the story. During the dinner episode, viewers are able to call Ralph’s phone, in real-time, to distract him as he is cooking. While in mobile ads, a user on a smartphone can shake and wake Ralph up, or knock on his window through the accelerometer.

Avis: “We try harder.”, 1962
Copywriter: Paula Green

In 1962, Avis debuted its “We try harder” campaign, written by Paula Green. Avis adopted the phrase as the company’s ethos, and has been using it ever since. The line was based on the insight that when you’re a challenger brand, you have to constantly try harder for every customer and can’t afford to offer anything less than great customer service and a great quality rental vehicle.

In the re-imagined display and tablet ads a user can write about his or her experiences with Avis rental cars in natural language, i.e. spoken English, and within seconds, his or her story is turned into a one-of-a-kind film, which he or she can share on the web - all within the ad. Every customer’s experience is unique, and so are the stories. Today’s technology enables Avis’s customers to tell the world about those experiences. And you can get behind the scenes with Paula through this short film.

The tech behind the Avis ad:
For creatives wondering about how this works in the background, the ad uses widely available tools used for building web apps. Built in HTML5 to run on desktop and tablets, the ad relies on popular, open source, natural language processing algorithms to parse and understand what a consumer writes. The stories are classified into themes of various experiences related to renting cars. Themes are based on common scenarios, like returning lost items or upgrading a vehicle, developed using a database of real Avis customer stories, collected over many years. Notes that people enter into the ads are matched with the language from those common themes, thus developing a custom narrative for each story. Animations are composed from overlapping, illustrated sequences to render video frames, and voice clips are stitched together from a pre-recorded database using open source tools, and rendered in the ad.

For more details on the overall project, we invite you to visit www.projectrebrief.com . In the meantime, we hope this gives a taste of how the technology of today can help inspire the ad creatives of tomorrow.

A special note of thanks to our creative partners and friends at Grow Interactive and Johannes Leonardo who helped to bring these ideas to (modern) life.

Posted by Aman Govil, Project Re: Brief Lead

Toward a simpler, more beautiful Google

2012-04-12T09:23:00.000-07:00

More than 170 million people have upgraded to Google+, enjoying new ways to share in Search, Gmail, YouTube and lots of other places. It's still early days, and there’s plenty left to do, but we're more excited than ever to build a seamless social experience, all across Google.

A critical piece of this social layer is a design that grows alongside our aspirations. So today we’re introducing a more functional and flexible version of Google+. We think you’ll find it easier to use and nicer to look at, but most importantly, it accelerates our efforts to create a simpler, more beautiful Google.

Navigation you can make your own
One of the first things you’ll notice is a new way to get around the stream. Instead of static icons at the top, there’s a dynamic ribbon of applications on the left. This approach comes with lots of perks, but some of our favorites include:

You can drag apps up or down to create the order you want
You can hover over certain apps to reveal a set of quick actions
You can show or hide apps by moving them in and out of “More”

Taken together, these powers make it easier to access your favorites, and to adjust your preferences over time. We've also built the ribbon with the future in mind, giving us an obvious (and clutter-free) space for The Next Big Feature, and The Feature After That. So stay tuned.

Conversations you’ll really care about
Once you’ve upgraded to Google+, it’s easy to share with your circles from just about anywhere. We’re dreaming bigger, though. We're aiming for an experience that fuses utility with beauty—one that inspires you to connect with others, and cherish the conversations that unfold. Today’s update is an important step in this direction, including:

Full bleed photos and videos that'll make you really proud to post
A stream of conversation "cards" that make it easier to scan and join discussions
An activity drawer that highlights the community around your content

Bigger, more beautiful photos.

Simply put, we're hoping to make sharing more awesome by making it more evocative. You know that feeling you get when a piece of art takes your breath away, or when a friend stops by with unexpected gifts? We want sharing to feel like that, every single time.

A new home for hanging out
Google+ Hangouts uses live video to bring people together, and the results range from heartwarming to breathtaking to music-making. Today we're adding a dedicated Hangouts page that creates even more opportunities to connect in person, including:

An always-updated list of invitations from the people in your circles
Quick access to every public and On Air hangout, for those times when you want to meet someone new, or watch a live broadcast
A rotating billboard of popular hangouts, pro tips and other items you don’t want to miss

A place to see all the hangouts you can join or watch.

By highlighting all the hangouts you can join, all over the world, it’s now easier to spend time together—even be there for each other. And with efforts like hangout apps already underway, you can expect more hangouts in more places in the future.

Getting there from here
Today's Google+ update extends beyond navigation, the stream and hangouts. For instance: there's a new Explore page that shows what's interesting and trending across the network. And a new profile with much bigger photos. And a new chat list that puts your friends front and center. And a whole lot more.

A place to see what the world is talking about.

We're rolling out all of these improvements over the next few days, so please check back if you don't see them yet. In the meantime, you can visit this overview to learn more.

By focusing on you, the people you care about, and the stuff you’re into, we’re going to continue upgrading all the features you already know and love—from Search and Maps to Gmail and YouTube. With today’s foundational changes we can move even faster—toward a simpler, more beautiful Google.

Posted by Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President (cross-posted from the Official Google Blog)

Get Local with AdWords

2012-04-05T12:16:00.000-07:00

Get organized this spring with new location features in AdWords and share your stories

Over the past 30 years, California Closet Company has grown from the brainchild of a college student organizing his dorm room closet to a successful business with more than 77 franchise locations. To reach customers across the U.S. and internationally, the company centered their digital marketing strategy on creating locally relevant campaigns.

It’s no surprise that local campaigns are a focus for many businesses--from finding directions to looking up a phone number, more people are going online to find local information. In fact, more than 20% of searches on Google are related to location, and people often act quickly on local searches. Research shows that using smartphones, 88% of people who search for local information take action within a day.

To help you organize your local ad campaigns this spring, we’re introducing three new features in AdWords to help you create ads that are more relevant to local customers.

Target customers by zip code

If you customize your direct mail, outdoor ads, or newspaper ads at a postal code level, you now can easily do the same in AdWords in the US. We are introducing the ability to target more than 30,000 US ZIP Codes with your AdWords campaigns.

You will be able to add up to 1,000 postal codes at a time to your search ad campaigns with AdWords Location Targeting. Plus, you can get feedback on the performance of your local campaigns by viewing campaign performance statistics at the postal code level.

"Location targeting within AdWords helped us double lead volume and cut the cost to acquire new customers in half,” said Lois Erbay, Director of Marketing, California Closet Company. “We plan on building on that success by using ZIP Code targeting to create even more locally relevant campaigns for our customers.”

More locally relevant ads in less time

To help you easily create a custom ad title, text, display URL, and/or destination URL for all of your locations at scale, we’ve developed location insertion for location extensions. You’ll no longer need to create multiple ads for multiple locations--this new feature automatically inserts the city, phone number, or zip code of your local business into your ad text.

For example, if your ad text says: “Find a {lb.city:Local} Store or Shop Online,” a user viewing your ad in Chicago would see: “Find a Chicago Store or Shop Online.” This new feature cuts out all the work to building out ad text featuring local information for all your locations.

Ad with location insertion in the text and display URL

“We’ve had amazing success manually customizing our creative with local information for our top markets, which shows us that customers want locally-relevant results when it comes to a service like storage,” said Chris Laczi, Advertising Director, Uncle Bob's Self Storage. “That’s why we’re very excited about location insertion. It will simplify the task of creating locally customized ads for our 400+ locations, and we expect it will greatly enhance conversion rate of our ads.”

You must have location extensions set up and running in order to enable location insertion. Location insertion will work even if your location extensions don’t show because of other extensions. We detect location based on where your customer is physically located or by the geographic locations she may have shown interest in.

Find out more about location insertion and location extensions.

Better clarity and control

When we launched advanced location targeting in March 2011, we provided you with more control over how you geographically target your ads. Based on advertiser feedback, we’re implementing four additional enhancements that will make location targeting options clearer and more powerful. Read more about these enhancements in the Help Center and in this blog post.

There is significant opportunity for businesses to reach local customers online and win moments that matter by delivering the right ad in the right context. Stay tuned for more information on how ZIP Code targeting can help you grow your business.

We want to hear from you about your success in getting local with AdWords--share your story here and we might reach out to you to participate in our upcoming blog posts.

Posted by Richard Holden, Product Management Director (cross-posted from the Inside AdWords blog)

Google Ads - now on Google+

2012-04-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

When we launched Google+ Pages last November, we aimed to provide you with a way to post updates and news about your business, have engaging conversations with customers, and send tailored messages to specific groups of people.

We’re now excited to share that Google Ads will be joining Google+ Pages to provide you, our advertising partners, with the latest Google advertising product news, training, tips and Hangouts that can help make the web work for you. We hope it will become a useful resource for growing your business, reaching customers in the moments that matter, and making smarter decisions.

Click to view page

Here’s a quick peek at what you can expect from the Google Ads page on Google+:

Stay ahead of the curve with the latest launches and updates for Google's advertising solutions, including search, display, mobile, social, YouTube and Google AnalyticsReceive how-to information, best practices, and recommendations
Learn about upcoming trainings and events
Attend Hangouts with product experts

Add Google Ads to your circles here. We look forward to connecting with you on Google+.

Posted by: Christina Park and Katie Miller, Ads Product Marketing (cross-posted from the InsideAdwords blog)

Better results, (still) early adoption: Marketing attribution in a complex digital landscape

2012-04-03T12:18:00.000-07:00

Today, we’re sharing some research on marketing attribution that we conducted in partnership with Econsultancy, a leading digital market research firm. The insights --Marketing Attribution: Valuing the Customer Journey -- provide a snapshot of how marketers and agencies are conducting attribution, the impact it has, and the barriers holding them back.

If you’re not familiar with digital attribution, it’s about distributing credit to all of the elements of your digital marketing program, so you can gauge the impact of customer marketing interactions on your sales results and make more accurate investment decisions. Here are a few snippets from the report that we found interesting:

It’s still a new craft, but early results show positive impact
Although digital attribution is still relatively new -- 83% of practitioners we surveyed have been using it for less than 2 years -- it clearly has a positive impact on businesses that employ it. 72% agree that it leads to better budget allocations, 63% gained a better understanding of how digital channels work together, and 58% had clearer insights into their audience:

Attribution leads to improved ROI, better budgeting

Last click attribution dominates; agencies are leading the way in experimentation
Most digital marketers run multiple campaigns, each with different strategies and objectives. For instance, display campaigns that are designed to generate awareness will have a different impact on sales than paid search campaigns designed to bring in buyers. Yet most marketers today still use attribution models that do not account for these differences in strategy. Although only 14% of respondents consider “last click” attribution to be “very effective,” it remains common; most likely because marketers haven't yet found or mastered the right attribution tools. Digital marketing agencies have done more with sophisticated attribution methods and technologies:

Robust attribution leads to confident digital decisions
For organizations that use attribution, it often leads to greater confidence in marketing choices: if you know the impact of your programs, it’s easier to budget for them. As one online retailer commented, “Attribution was the missing piece to our campaign analysis. Now we don’t run a campaign without learning something about how our marketing affects the buying cycle, and then testing to see whether it applies in the long run.”

Performing marketing attribution with Google
Here at Google we spend our time building intuitive tools to make measurement easier, so that you can really use your data to make smarter decisions. That’s why we provide several important tools for marketing attribution, including Search Funnels in AdWords and Multi-Channel Funnels in Google Analytics. And check out our Attribution Modeling tool in Google Analytics Premium, which includes five standard attribution models plus a custom model builder, so you can create and customize attribution models in minutes, and see data instantly. Learn more in our Attribution Playbook.

Join us for an Attribution Hangout
If you’re available this Friday, April 6, at 9:00am PDT, please join Bill Kee, Product Manager for Attribution, and Justin Cutroni, Analytics Advocate, for a Google+ Hangout. Bill will talk about the research and give a demo of the Attribution tool in Google Analytics Premium, as well as discussing Multi-Channel Funnels and AdWords Search Funnels, two complementary features.

To watch the Hangout on Air, tune into Justin’s Google+ Page on Friday. If you have a question that you would like us to discuss, please enter it in this this form -- and we’ll invite five of you to join the Hangout live to ask your questions.

We look forward to seeing you at the Hangout on Friday!

Posted by Sara Jablon Moked, Product Marketing Manager, Conversion and Attribution

Get Inspired with Think Quarterly’s Creativity Issue!

2012-04-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

As the internet comes of age, technology is catching up with our wildest imaginations. We can realize ideas that simply weren’t possible a mere five years ago. And you don’t need to be a technologist or have “Creative” in your title; millions of people around the world are making, remixing, and sharing content everyday.

Case in point: There are over 800 exabytes of digital information in the world – words, videos, photos, music. To put that in context, a volume of the complete works of Shakespeare is about five megabytes. It would take one billion book-filled pickup trucks to make just one exabyte. This is our creative output; the sheer volume is equally inspiring and overwhelming.

Where to begin? Right here. The Creativity issue of Think Quarterly, launching today, documents this far-reaching transformation, cutting through the noise to focus on what it all means.

In “The Curious Case of Creativity,” Google VP of Global Marketing Lorraine Twohill sees creativity through an engineer’s eyes — as a way to solve problems, big and small. Interviews with the founders of two award-winning global agencies, Sir John Hegarty of BBH and Ajaz Ahmed of AKQA, discuss what creativity means in a digital context and how you can encourage it, even at a big company. Creative minds from Mullen, Wieden and Kennedy, Barbarian Group, AKQA, and Anomaly pick their most envy-inducing digital campaigns. And “Lean Communications” looks at how technology is forcing the traditional creative process to get faster, smarter, and more efficient.

We also explore how the web is inspiring entirely new forms of creativity — YouTube remixes, 3D models, data art and infographics — that are reshaping how we see the world. (And if you want to see how the web shapes your brand in particular, try our new “Brand Impressions” tool on Think Quarterly and Think Insights.)

Take some time to check it out and let us know what you think on +Think With Google.

Posted by Allison Mooney, Think Quarterly Editor

Learn from the experts with the new Adwords Community!

2012-03-29T08:37:00.001-07:00

The recently launched AdWords Community, which has replaced the AdWords Help Forum, is a vibrant resource for advertisers seeking expert advice on optimizing their AdWords accounts, to share industry best practices, and to engage with like-minded online marketing professionals. The new and completely revamped site offers an enhanced Community experience, where agencies and individuals can learn about the newest AdWords features and trends.

Check out the new look and functionality of the AdWords Community!

Here are just a few of the new features you can expect to see when you visit the AdWords Community:

Discussion Forums: Six new discussion categories provide easier navigation and categorization, helping users find quick and effective answers to their questions, and to connect with other advertisers.

AdWords Wiki: AdWords Wiki is a new section with helpful articles, written by expert AdWords users, on how to manage an AdWords account and achieve more of your advertising goals. Plus, you can implement the experts' recommended updates straight away by clicking on the ‘Try it now’ button below every Wiki article!

About this Community: Meet the Top Contributors, learn about their profession, and visit their websites! In this section you can also meet Google's AdWords Community Team, read the posting guidelines, and learn more on how to become a Power User in the Community.

Connect with Other Users: See who else is posting now! On the left hand side you can which users who are currently online. And don’t forget to rate the best answers and reward other posters for their help: Now you can give stars, +1's, and share your favorite posts on your Google+ page.

The new AdWords Community website is now available in English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian. Grow your online business with the help of the AdWords Community and its members!

Posted by Justyna Rasiukiewicz, AdWords Community Lead

Put your business in fast forward with Google+

2012-03-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

Today, we’re thrilled to share with you the story of musician and Google+ breakout star Daria Musk.

We often get asked for examples of how to use Google+ to engage with users. Lighting up Google+ with live concerts, as Daria’s done, can seem a song apart from selling wares such as designer laptop cases, hotel rooms or even car insurance -- but the principles of building an engaged Google+ community ring true across industries. Daria’s story is a shining example of what working with an active audience can look like.

Be authentic and committed
On March 13, Daria crossed the amazing milestone of having more than one million followers. That means more than one million Google+ users have added Daria to their circles, all in the space of about eight months.

Daria was looking for those listeners when she joined Google+. “I was dreaming maybe there’s this wider world that I can sing for,” she said. “Maybe my people are out there somewhere.”

Through posts and Hangouts, Daria has kept her fans engaged. Keys to success, Daria said, include starting with enthusiasm and authenticity. “Right now if you get on Google+ and you show that you’re doing something remarkable, they’ll notice you,” she said.

Being remarkable, Daria coached, includes being yourself and avoiding canned-message posts. Users can tell if you’re trying to make a real connection. Be genuinely excited to connect with them and they’ll connect back.

When users do notice you, make sure you commit enough time to connect back. Taking just 10 to 15 minutes to respond to comments can keep the conversation going.

Create a Hangout ritual

When it comes to connecting with Google+ users, Daria’s found the perfect vehicle: Hangouts, which allow Google+ users to connect over video chat, in real time, for free. For Daria, that has meant instantaneous global concerts that have included a round-the-world New Year’s Eve Hangout and a Hangout on stage at her TEDxTalk -- allowing her to share key moments with her “G+niuses, ” her followers.

For a successful Hangout ritual, follow Daria’s example and recommendations:

Announce the Hangout: Be excited! Hang a virtual poster on your stream and tell users what you’ll be doing or discussing.
Encourage participants: If you’ve noticed great comments, invite those users directly to get a lively discussion going.
Follow up: After the Hangout, post a summary on your stream. What happened? What was discussed? What will you do with what you learned?

Get inputs -- and inspiration -- from your audience
For Daria, Google+ isn’t just a way to promote her music. It’s also a way to help shape it. The magic of Hangouts -- including watching a sunrise in Norway from her studio in the United States -- has inspired Daria to create additional “products” – her songs and music -- including tunes such as “+1 Me.” She even cut audio from the live Hangouts into her live album, "L+VE." What could you learn from your own customers?

Google+ makes Daria feel like an innovator -- and it’s open to anyone. All you have to do is sign up and start engaging. “We’re … making our own party,” she said, “and everyone’s invited.”

Join the party today. Create a Google+ page for your business at google.com/+/business.

Posted by Becky Bowman, Account Manager (Cross-posted from the Inside AdWords blog)

A better way to buy display

2012-03-22T06:00:00.002-07:00

Display advertising has undergone a bit of a fairytale-like transformation over the past several years, from the medium of “Click Here!” banner ads, to one that can be smart and sexy and help bring big ideas (even those from advertising’s past) to life. Now that display has had its “Cinderella moment,” we figured the “carriage” could use an upgrade as well. So today, we’re unveiling some changes designed to simplify the way you buy and run display through AdWords.

Display’s New Home in AdWords

For nine years, AdWords customers have been buying display campaigns through an interface designed for search. This is like trying to run in glass slippers -- it might work, but it’d be a lot more effective with the right running shoes. So we’re giving display its own tab within AdWords. Rolling out over the next few weeks, the new Display Network Tab is an interface built from the ground up to run display campaigns, and will enable you to bid, target and optimize display campaigns all from a single place. Click the image below to see the different Display Network Tab targeting options.

Display Network Tab

click to view larger image

A Revved-Up Contextual Engine

The contextual engine, which matches ads to pages based on keywords, is at the heart of display-buying through AdWords. We’ve been hard at work behind-the-scenes to give this engine its biggest enhancement ever, the ability to combine the reach of display with the precision of search, using Next-Gen Keyword Contextual Targeting. This means that you can fine-tune the performance of your contextual campaigns down to individual keyword level, which will help you take the performance of your marketing campaign to a completely new level. It’s now easier for you to extend search campaigns to display and more efficient to run the two types of campaigns together.

For example, let’s say you’re running display campaigns for a Travel Agency who offers a vacation packages in several Caribbean islands. In the past, you would have created themed ad groups targeting vacations to Turks and Caicos and the Caribbean. Now, with this new keyword level transparency you might realize that the keyword “Turks and Caicos vacations” is 4 times more profitable than the keyword “caribbean vacations”. You can optimize your campaigns to aggressively target these high performing keywords, and be more conservative on “caribbean vacations”.

Giving a Visual Edge

And like the writers of the best fairytales know, sometimes pictures communicate better than words (or numbers). Along with the new Display Network Tab and contextual engine, we’re introducing a way to visualize the reach of your campaigns, and see how that reach is impacted by combining multiple targeting types, such as keywords, placements, topics, interests or remarketing.

These changes are some of our biggest steps to date towards bringing together the science of search advertising with the art of display. We hope they give you some powerful new tools to connect with their customers and deliver engaging and relevant display ads.

Learn More

We’re rolling out the new Display Network Tab to all advertisers in the upcoming coming weeks.

For more information on what’s new on the Display Network Tab visit our help center article.

Please join Google in our upcoming webinar on May 15th to learn more about optimizing your targeting strategies for campaigns using the Next-Gen Keyword Contextual Targeting. Check out our new webinar page to register.

Watch Brad Bender, Director of Product Management for Display talk about the new Display Network Tab and the Next-Gen Keyword Contextual Targeting.

Posted by Alok Goel, Product Manager Next Gen-Keyword Contextual Targeting, Rebecca Illowsky, Product Manager Display Network Tab, and Claire Cui, Principal Engineer

Capturing the Value of Social Media Using Google Analytics

2012-03-21T10:38:00.016-07:00

Measuring the value of social media has been a challenge for marketers. And with good reason: it’s hard to understand exactly what is happening in an environment where activity occurs both on and off your website. Since social media is often an upper funnel player in a shopper’s journey, it's not always easy to determine which social channels actually drive value for your business and which tactics are most effective.

But as the social industry matures, marketers and web analysts need true outcome-oriented reports. After all, although social is growing in popularity, brand websites - not social networks - remain the place where people most often purchase or convert.

That’s why we’re releasing a new set of Social reports within Google Analytics. The new reports bridge the gap between social media and the business metrics you care about - allowing you to better measure the full value of the social channel for your business. We wanted to help you with 3 things:

Identify the full value of traffic coming from social sites and measure how they lead to direct conversions or assist in future conversions
Understand social activities happening both on and off of your site to help you optimize user engagement and increase social key performance indicators (KPIs)
Make better, more efficient data-driven decisions in your social media marketing programs

The Social reports allow you to analyze all of this information together and see a more complete picture of social impact than often used today. Here are a couple of the things you can do with our new reports:

Overview Report: see social performance at a glance and its impact on conversions

The Overview report allows you to see at a glance how much conversion value is generated from your social channels. The Social Value visualization compares the number and monetary value of all your goal completions against those that resulted from social referrals - both as last interaction, and assisted.

A visit from a social referral may result in conversion immediately or it may assist in a conversion that occurs later on. Referrals that lead to conversions immediately are labeled as Last Interaction Social Conversion. If a referral from a social source doesn’t immediately generate a conversion, but the visitor returns later and converts, the referral is included as an Assisted Social Conversion.

Conversions Report: which goals are being impacted by social media

With the Conversions report, marketers can now measure the value of each individual social channel by seeing the conversion rates of each social network and the monetary value they drive to your business.

For example, you can see the effect that social content (i.e. a new video you created) had on conversions. Look at the time graph to see whether Goal Completions via Social Referral peaked after the content was published. Remember that you need to define goals and goal values in order to see data in this report, so tailor it to the things that matter to your business. Networks with a higher assisted / last interaction conversions ratio provide greater assisted conversions.

Social Sources - find out how visitors from different sources behave

The Social Sources report shows engagement and conversion metrics for each social network so you can see how people are interacting with your content and whether it’s leading to a desired outcome.

For example, if you run social campaigns that promote specific products, you can see via the Social Visitor Flow whether visitors from each social network entered your site through these product pages and whether they continued on to other parts of the site or whether they exited.

Social Plugins: find the content that’s good enough to share

If you publish content, you'll want to know which articles are most commonly shared or recommended, and on which social networks they're being shared. The Social Plugin report shows which articles on your site are receiving the most engagement and which social buttons - for example, Google +1 - are being clicked to share them.

You can use this information to create more of the type of content that's popular with your visitors, and test different layouts of social sharing buttons to improve use by your community.

Activity Stream: what’s happening outside of your website

While the other reports show you the impact that social engagement is having on your site, the Activities Stream tab (located within the sources report) shows how people are engaging socially with your content off your site across the social web.

For content that was shared publicly, you can see the URLs they shared, how and where they shared (via a “reshare” on Google+ for example), and what they said. Currently, activities are reported for Google+ and across a growing list of our Social Data Hub partners including recently signed brands Badoo, Disqus, Echo, Hatena and Meetup.

These new social reports will be available for all users over the next few weeks under the Standard Reporting Tab - please take a look and tell us what you think.

Posted by Phil Mui, Group Product Manager

Measuring modern media consumption

2012-03-19T11:57:00.000-07:00

There are a number of companies involved in developing ways to measure how people consume media—like TV and radio ratings, web traffic analysis and newspaper and magazine circulation figures. They all share the same goal: figuring out what content is popular (and what’s not). Many of these companies use panel-based research, enlisting a group of volunteers who report on their media consumption.

One of the current focuses of this type of research is to understand how people are consuming media across multiple screens, and how measurement can best reflect this new era, where a user watches her favorite TV show while surfing the web and watching a video on her cell phone. We think this is an important area of research and are currently partnering with industry players across a number of research projects around the world, all with the goal of helping content providers and advertisers deliver compelling experiences across these different screens.

In the U.S., these projects include the Screenwise Panels, as well as a partnership with NBC to look at how people interact with Olympics content across TV, the web and mobile devices. These panels are voluntary to join, participants can leave at any time and we are transparent in terms of what information is collected and how it’s used.

Once our research is complete, we plan to share both our methodology and our findings. We believe that an improved understanding of how media work together and better measurement that connects online, offline and mobile media will benefit the industry as a whole, and we look forward to working with our partners on these efforts.

Posted by Nick Arini, Product Manager

Follow the experts, not the noise, at SXSW

2012-03-07T14:48:00.002-08:00

We're starting up the engines -- the 2012 South by Southwest Interactive Festival is only a few days away! For those of you who are going to be in Austin, we can't wait to see you at the Google Village for an awesome agenda that includes everything from code labs to LEGO hackathons to the roving {RV}IP karaoke express.

But whether you're in Austin or elsewhere, we want to help you keep in the loop on all things SXSW, whether it's what apps everyone is testing out or which celebrities have showed up to crash late-night parties. Chances are, you don’t want to know everything -- you want to read what interests you. And we know there’s a ton of noise. So we've asked a handful of SXSW-bound Googlers to curate Google+ Circles of experts so that you can follow those on the ground whether you're interested in Austin locals or visiting social-media geeks. Check them out:

Creative minds, curated by Ben Malbon
Social media experts, curated by Louis Gray
Digital media pros, curated by Caroline McCarthy
Google SXSW Speakers, curated by Chris Messina
Google+ Street Team, curated by Toby Stein

Spice up your Google+ feed - just click on the circle to add.

We hope you're looking forward to SXSW as much as we are, whether it's in the flesh or over the series of tubes. Safe travels to all those who are Austin-bound!

Posted by Kari Clark, Product Marketing Manager, Google+ for Businesses

Introducing the Learn with Google Webinar Program

2012-03-05T10:04:00.000-08:00

At Google, one of our goals is to help make the web work for your business. Today we’re introducing the Learn with Google webinar program that does just that, by sharing best practices and tips across a variety of products, including search ads, mobile ads, display ads, YouTube and Google Analytics.

We’re kicking off the program with eight live webinars in March:

March 13 at 10am PDT: 5 Tips to Start Marketing your Business with Video
March 14 at 10am PDT: Introduction to the Google Display Network
March 15 at 10am PDT: GoMo: Mobilize your Site and Maximize your Advertising
March 20 at 10am PDT: Understanding Mobile Ads Across Marketing Objectives
March 21 at 10am PDT: Reaching Your Goals with Google Analytics
March 22 at 10am PDT: GoMo for Publishers
March 27 at 10am PDT: Manage Large AdWords Campaigns with Less Effort
March 28 at 10am PDT: 3 Tips to Get More out of your Video Advertising Campaigns

Check out our new webinar page to register for any of the sessions or to access on-demand webinars. We’ll be adding new webinars as they’re scheduled, so check back regularly for updates. You can also stay up-to-date on the schedule by downloading our Learn with Google Webinar calendar to automatically see upcoming webinars in your Google Calendar.

Whether your goal is to engage the right customers at the right time, make better decisions faster, or get the most from your marketing dollars, we hope that you’ll use these tips and how-to’s to maximize the impact of digital and grow your business. We’re looking forward to having you join us!

Posted by Erica Tsai, Product Marketing Manager

Google Discovery House at SXSW

2012-02-28T13:20:00.002-08:00

We’re just as excited as you are to roll into Austin this year for South by Southwest Interactive 2012 for another Texas-sized festival packed with BBQ, margaritas, and the most exciting digital chatter of the year. This year, we’ll be packing up some of our favorite things about Google and bringing them with us to the “Google Village” on Rainey St. - just a few steps from the Austin Convention Center.

We hope you’ll join some of the 40-plus Googlers participating in panels and discussions around the SXSW festival! Our participation kicks off on Friday, March 9 at 3:30 PM, in a fireside chat where senior vice president Vic Gundotra will discuss the future of the Google+ project with Guy Kawasaki.

Then, on March 10-11 at the Google Village you’ll find:

Android House with the latest and greatest from Android, complete with live music and a look at cool entertainment for your device
Google Maps House packed with cool ways to make the most of Google Maps and the places you know and love
Developer House with an exciting day of building LEGO race bots and gearing up for the ultimate rumble Sunday evening. Learn more on the Developers Blog
Discovery House where you can learn about our latest creative and advertising products, and see how Google can help you and your clients make the most of the web

As members of the agency community, we’d love for you to come join us at the Discovery House in particular, where we’ve got a diverse lineup of discussions, teaching sessions, and social events. There’s something for everyone:

Come learn how we're working with our partners to bring together creativity and technology in new ways, and re-imagining what online advertising can be. Be sure to stick around for our re-imagined happy hour, with a new take on classic cocktails.
Participate in engaging seminars about the latest in mobile marketing, the coolest things that Google+ users are creating with Hangouts, and how to make the most of consumer insights.
Want the full schedule? It’s here.

Come swing by and have a drink on us in Austin - we’d love to hear all about everything exciting and innovative that you’re seeing and hearing around town, too.

Posted by Caro McCarthy, Product Marketing Manager, Google+ B2B

New Google research: Reaching your audience effectively with YouTube TrueView Ads

2012-02-16T11:08:00.000-08:00

We're excited to share a new study that gives great insights on how to make your ads compelling enough so that people want to watch, not skip them. We’ve recently conducted a survey of more than 1,600 Americans aged 18-45 and learned some interesting insights for TrueView Video Ads, the family of YouTube ad formats that give viewers choice and control over which advertisers' messages they want to see and when.

Some of the most surprising results from our study include:
●      8 of 10 viewers preferred TrueView to standard in-stream ads
●      9 of 10 viewers thought TrueView created a better viewing environment
●      8 of 10 viewers thought the skip button was very clear
●      Only 1 viewer in 10 always skips ads

Other results give insight into how advertisers can make their TrueView ads even more effective so that viewers watch, not skip, their ads. Based on the research, here are some of the best ways to make your TrueView ads stickier:

Make great ads that people want to watch and spark their curiosity.
Viewers have the option to skip a TrueView in-stream ad after five seconds, so piquing their interest quickly is important. By far the most popular survey response from people who chose to watch an ad was this one: “I was curious to see what the ad was for.” Attention-grabbing openers and humor also keep people watching.

Include branding in those first seconds.
TrueView advertisers pay only when people actually watch their ads. They’re buying real value, not paying per impression. So, insert your logo or brand name in the first five seconds—which cost you nothing if the viewer doesn’t keep watching. Enjoy those free impressions!

Include new, different information in your TrueView ad if it’s been airing on TV.
In our study, we found that seeing ads on TV affected whether viewers later skipped those same ads on YouTube. To keep them engaged across multiple screens, be sure to provide new product information in the ad messaging and make it personally relevant to the viewer with TrueView.

To read the full details about the study and learn more tips about creating better TrueView ads, visit Think Insights.

Posted by Christina Park, Product Marketing Manager, Think with Google

AdWords API users: Deadline to migrate to v201109 is February 29, 2012

2012-02-08T12:50:00.000-08:00

On February 29, 2012, we will be sunsetting the following versions and services:

AdWords API versions v13, v200909, v201003, v201008, v201101

Calls made using these versions will return errors after February 29th. It is therefore critical that you migrate to AdWords API v201109 if you would like your applications to run without interruption.

We encourage you to use the following resources for a successful migration:

Review the resources in the AdWords API client libraries.
Review the “Discover v201109” blog series.
Subscribe to the AdWords API Twitter account, which will share daily migration tips for the next month
Make sure you’ve completed everything on this migration checklist.
Give yourself ample time to migrate from v13 to AdHoc reporting. Resources to help with this migration are available here.
Attend office hours.
Make sure your contact information is up to date in your My Client Center account.
Post questions on the forum.

Posted by Katie Miller, AdWords API Team (Cross-posted from the Google Ads Developer Blog)

Perspective on Dynamic Search Ads - Guest Q&A with RKG

2012-02-03T13:23:00.000-08:00

Since introducing Dynamic Search Ads in beta in October, we’ve seen questions from around the web asking about real-world performance and recommendations for implementation. Today we’re grateful to share the perspectives of Matt Mierzewski and Jen Syverud at RKG, an online marketing services firm with B2B and B2C clients ranging from startups to the Fortune 500 (details about RKG below).

Here’s a short video followed by Q&A. RKG has further offered to answer any other questions you might have about their experience with Dynamic Search Ads over on their blog.

Q. What’s your strategy for using Dynamic Search Ads with your clients today?

We think of Dynamic Search Ads as an advertiser-specific broad match type. Here, instead of allowing Google to match searches related to your keywords, you're allowing them to match searches related to your website.

For advertisers without automated pay-per-click inventory-based management solutions, Dynamic Search Ads can help identify products that are new or re-emerging. The system is tremendous in keeping up with changes to inventory in real time. For example, a product line may have been suspended for years, but quietly (without the search marketing team's knowledge) appears back on the website. In this case, keywords for the product line would still be paused until the marketing team is made aware, but Dynamic Search Ads are able to catch the change immediately, create ads, and generate orders. As another example, for advertisers frequently offering clearance products, Dynamic Search Ads are similarly able to offer ads while these limited quantity items are in-stock. In both examples, Dynamic Search Ads act as a safety net for advertisers wishing to advertise on dynamic products and/or inventories.

Q. What were your main concerns with Dynamic Search Ads and how have you addressed them?

One initial concern was that Dynamic Search Ads would cannibalize existing traffic, siphoning it away from active keyword campaigns. What we found was that the vast majority of Dynamic Search Ads traffic was complementary to our campaigns. Another concern was that we would have little to no control over what keywords Google was able to match on. However, Google has provided a great deal of controls within the Dynamic Search Ads product to ensure that the matching queries are relevant to the advertiser.

Q. What does your typical implementation of Dynamic Search Ads look like?

Implementation strategies will vary. In general, however, it is wise to consider pages that the advertiser wishes to exclude, as well as any known keyword negatives within the accounts, and add those from day one. From there, segmenting pages into campaigns or ad groups based on product margin, conversion rates, and so forth will allow for custom max CPC bids and maximum ROI.

Q. What best practices would you suggest for using Dynamic Search Ads?

Through restrictive targeting, exclusions and negatives, tight budgets and close monitoring, Dynamic Search Ads can be made very low risk and the results you see should be encouraging. For conservative advertisers, start by targeting only product level pages in your best converting categories.

A higher-level strategy is to add a site-wide target at a conservative bid with appropriate exclusions, and then layer on additional, more finely targeted ad groups and copy with bids corresponding to their expected performance. This approach is similar to the best practices for running Product Listing Ads and ensures wide coverage, but with a preference towards better quality traffic.

Use the power-tools that Google has made available in both targeting specific pages, while excluding other pages and search queries.

Q. How is Dynamic Search Ads doing with respect to matching relevant queries and landing pages?

With Dynamic Search Ads we can see every search that triggers a dynamic ad, the headline generated, the landing page selected, and, of course, performance stats. The searches that we’ve seen targeted are absolutely relevant to the website content -- it’s the only place Google is able to generate its targeting information from. If the system is matching to any query that the advertiser does not care to be matched on to meet their performance goals, it is very easy to restrict that traffic by URL or Keyword level negatives.

Q. What kind of results are you seeing with Dynamic Search Ads across your clients? Which is it working best for?

We’ve seen Dynamic Search Ads incremental sales impact range from 0.5% to 12%, so it’s important to note that individual account results may vary. The product is compatible with our tracking and reporting systems which makes it easy to measure performance and do head-to-head comparisons with our existing keyword-based campaigns.

Dynamic Search Ads work best for advertisers that have an extensive product offering and well developed web pages for Google to index and match relevant content to.

Q. What do you focus on when optimizing Dynamic Search Ads?

Like other AdWords campaigns, proper campaign management and optimizations are a necessity. Just like broad match, the Dynamic Search Ads product is most successful with carefully selected negative keywords, pages and categories of the website that do not perform optimally, and/or are not goal-oriented. Also similar to broad match, advertisers should monitor queries that produce conversions, and add them back as keywords to other AdWords campaigns.

Q. To what degree do you think Dynamic Search Ads are cannibalizing organic search traffic?

We haven’t seen evidence of cannibalization. But we’ll continue to evaluate performance and, if needed, make adjustments.

Q. Would you recommend Dynamic Search Ads for novice-to-intermediate or intermediate-to-advanced advertisers?

RKG would recommend Dynamic Search Ads for intermediate-to-advanced advertisers. Because it necessitates ongoing management, and is best utilized as a complement to robust keyword campaigns, it’s not likely to be a good fit for novice advertisers. Additionally, as previously mentioned, the richer the site content, number of pages, and breadth of product offering, the more fruitful Dynamic Search Ads will be. Naturally, these characteristics lend themselves to more established and sophisticated campaigns and advertisers.

About RKG

Founded in 2003, RKG is a data-driven digital agency that combines savvy marketers with sophisticated technology to deliver unrivaled results for over 180 clients in paid search marketing, search engine optimization, multichannel attribution management, display advertising and comparison shopping management. Long recognized as the thought leader in search marketing, RKG clients range from start-ups to the Fortune-500, and include both B2C and B2B direct marketers in retail, travel, finance and education. RKG is an independent, privately held agency with offices in Charlottesville, VA, Bend, OR and Boston, MA.

Posted by Katie Miller, Inside AdWords crew (Cross-posted from the Inside AdWords blog)

Real-Time Insights Finder: A How-to Video

2012-01-20T08:04:00.000-08:00

We recently launched our Real-Time Insight Finder on the new Think Insights site -- centralizing access to all our insights tools across Google. We hope you’ve tried it out and are finding it useful.

Check out our new video to show how you can use Google's Real-Time Insight Finder to support your marketing planning process and take your trend spotting to the next level. Discover how this real-time data can be a window into the attitudes and perceptions of your consumers. Even better, see how it can help inform your next brand positioning, media strategy or just look smart in your next big meeting.

Posted by Justin Joy, Marketing Manager, Agency Marketing