Adwords Mania

Sitelinks Conversion Data

2010-10-23T11:08:00.000-07:00

Sitelinks Conversion Data

Ad Sitelinks are ALWAYS an effective method to crank up the CTR for Adwords campaigns; checking the campaign stats from the ad extensions tab usually proves this, but there was no data regarding conversions from ad sitelinks, or number of clicks on the sitelink itself from this tab.

Now, such data are available via choosing "click type" from the "Segment" button on the campaign level.

Data will be divided between the "headline" and "Sitelink" levels, which will provide useful information regarding conversion rate of clicks on the sitelinks themselves, verses clicks on ads' headlines.

However, other potentially useful data are still missing, I think Google should think about providing more detailed data regarding performance of each sitelink individually, including conversion data. (This is still achievable though, via applying dynamic destination URLs and setting up Google Analytics goals).

Types of People Working in PPC

2010-10-21T14:29:00.000-07:00

Types of People Working in PPC

So I'm trying here to sort out some kinda stereotypes for people working in Adwords or PPC in general, I used two metrics in my Matrix: Intelligence & Work Rate.

And by the by, I think both of these metrics apply for so many other careers.

Here are the four stereotypes I got:

1- GURU: With both intelligence and work rate higher than 50% - this guy is the perfect candidate for managing pay per click advertising.

2- Lazy Einstein: Being in this position is really bad, you know why? because this Einstein guy is being gifted, however, with work rate less than 50% There won't be a big difference between him and a Sloth! results will be at some point the same.

3- Robot: The hard-worker .. workaholic .. for me this is the second best position, as I'd give the edge for work rate over intelligence a little bit. The robot won't come up with surprising ideas, but his overall outcome will be just fine.

4- Sloth: It's simply not his career, however, there's always a chance to move to the Robot zone by doubling efforts!

Let me what you guys think

Misleading CTR History Data

2010-10-20T12:35:00.000-07:00

Misleading CTR History Data

Every now and then, PPC manager will face a dilemma when he add new keyword(s) to his Adwords account, and figure out later how dumb this idea was.

This happens mostly when trying out a very general broad match type keywords as an attempt to get more impressions and hence more clicks to improve traffic.

In many cases, this will only lead to a huge number of impressions on such keyword(s) with very few or even no clicks. is it bad? sure! it will damage the account's CTR and quality score.

Instantly Deleting/Pausing such keyword(s) is a good idea to save the situation, I'm cool with that, however, this will lead to misleading history data in the ADS, as those will keep running after accumulating wrong CTR data due to keywords previously added, and those bad boys will end up being semi-worthless in terms of historical CTR data.

Tip: After deleting/pausing low CTR keywords with huge impressions, which were added due to a stupid idea, it's also recommended to get a fresh batch of ads so to start accumulating data after the new corrected keywords' situation.

Or maybe not: If those ads have really big and valuable historical data in terms of conversions! in this case I may give up the previous idea, leave them , and make my peace with the wrong CTR data. I hate that

Impression Share

2010-10-16T04:10:00.000-07:00

How to (no no) WHY to improve Impression Share

One might ask, how can I improve the impression share ? and the answer simply is: Why would you do that? Because having a higher impression share is not always the way to go, and here's why:

Let's assume the total available impressions for my campaign is 10,000 , and I'm getting only 3000 of them, which means I have an impression share of 30% on my campaign right?

The point here is, I don't need to increase those number of impressions before I make sure I'm making great use of the current impressions, in terms of CTR, conversions .. whatever.

If I'm not achieving my goals via the current impressions, adding extra impressions to them won't make sense.

Only when I make good use of the current impressions, I will see my lost impression share as an opportunity to seize, and should start acting on it. okay ?

Online Advertising Vs. Regular Advertising

2010-10-09T15:19:00.000-07:00

Online Advertising Vs. Regular Advertising

When I first started my career in Online Marketing, and specifically in Google Adwords, I was really impressed with the advantages provided by the online advertising over the regular advertising, which really takes the whole process to a whole other level.

I just want to point out a couple of stuff that really impressed me here:

1- Measurability: Online adverting is so precisely measurable, most importantly in terms of ROI "Return on Investment", and in other terms clearing out the efficiency and in managing Adwords accounts and development in performance.

2- Relevancy: A key concept in Online Advertising is directing the marketing campaign to the relevant potential costumers, whether they are searching precisely for your product, or they are browsing websites related to your business.

3-Control: It's all about the power of controlling the advertising Ad Spending, and the power of controlling the maximum amount of dollars or even cents you are willing to invest in certain areas in your marketing campaign.

4- Instance: The regular advertising mediums usually require previous "time planning" to start delivering the message and most of the time, you'll find yourself stuck with a banner on the high road for a month!

Unlikely, Online Advertising gives your instant access to your marketing campaign, so you have full control to change, add or delete marketing messages anytime throughout the day.

5- Versatility: When it comes to digital advertising, the ad formats are versatile: Text ads, Image ads, Video ads, Mobile ads .. etc

6- Targeting:

Geographic: The ability to target the entire world, or as little as 10 miles radius from your store.
Language: Useful option to target customers around the globe based on their language.
Chronological: This option gives the advantage of showing your online ads on a specific days of week, and specific hours on the day based on your marketing needs.
Audience: The content campaign gives the option to target different segments of audience, in terms of: Age, gender, type of websites .. etc.

7- Marketing Goals: Online Advertising can take huge part in one of the the following marketing goals:

Brand Awareness
Generating Leads
Generating Sales (online stores)