Inside AdWords

New Interface Thursday: Introducing spreadsheet editing

2009-07-09T16:52:00.000-07:00

Many advertisers use spreadsheets when managing their AdWords campaigns to streamline tasks such as changing bids, creating keyword lists, and adjusting destination URLs. As a result, we decided to work on a way for you to use spreadsheets directly in your account, and today this feature is available in the new AdWords interface.

You can access spreadsheet edit mode from the Keywords tab in any ad group. You'll find it under the More actions menu.

In the past, you might have used power posting to enter your keywords with bids and destination URLs. Now, with spreadsheet editing, you can accomplish the same tasks from a spreadsheet view. Even if you use another spreadsheet application, it's very easy to transfer your work into AdWords - simply copy and paste directly from your spreadsheet into your account.

Like in a spreadsheet, you can use formulas to edit your keywords and bids. For example, if you want your ad to show on the first page, but your bid is lower than the first page bid, you can set up a formula to address this.

Here, I've set my Max CPC to be 120% of the first page bid (Cell G2). To apply this to all of my keywords, I can just copy and paste. Keep in mind that only the values are saved back into AdWords, not the formulas.

Questions? Attend a new interface webinar tomorrow

We'll be holding another free webinar about the new AdWords interface tomorrow, July 10th at 11a.m. PDT. If you're looking to get up to speed quickly, it's a great way to spend an hour on Friday. If you can't make it tomorrow, we have one on Thursday, July 16th at 10a.m. PDT as well. You can register for either webinar on the New Interface Webinars site.

Posted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

AdWords system maintenance on July 11th

2009-07-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, July 11th, 2009, the AdWords system will be unavailable from approximately 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. PDT due to system maintenance. While you won't be able to sign in to your accounts during this time, your campaigns will continue to run as usual. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

Help customers find their way with new Google Maps gadget

2009-07-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

As an AdWords advertiser, it's important for you that potential customers find you on the Internet. If your business has one or more physical locations, it's just as important that customers can find where you are.

To help your customers find your business locations, you can now add customized directions to your website from Google Maps. With the Google Maps directions gadget, you no longer need to write out and update multiple sets of directions from the North, South, East or West. After all, customers are looking only for directions from their specific location, and they may not know which direction they're coming from.

(click to view larger image)

We wanted to make the process of implementing the gadget on your web site easy for you. You can pre-fill the "To" field with one or multiple addresses, a generic zip code or even a set of latitude-longitude coordinates. Customers only need to enter where they're coming from and are able to print their directions with a single click. And if they would prefer not to drive, the gadget also provides walking and public transit directions.

(click to view larger image)

Take a look at how Legoland California, Emeril Lagasse, and Harvard University are using the gadget. Then test and create your own directions gadget here. The Google Maps gadget is available in 23 languages.

If you're interested in learning more, head over to the Google Lat Long blog for a more detailed walkthrough of the gadget's features.

Posted by Austin Rachlin, Inside AdWords crew

Use YouTube to drive awareness and conversions

2009-07-06T13:12:00.000-07:00

If you'd like to expand your advertising to YouTube, consider using YouTube Promoted Videos. You can make a video about your business and then promote that video alongside relevant YouTube search results. Similar to AdWords, YouTube Promoted Videos lets you decide where you'd like your videos to appear on YouTube, place bids in an automated online auction, and set daily spending budgets.

Last week we launched "Call-to-Action," a new feature that allows you to add a clickable overlay to your Promoted Videos. This allows you to drive viewers to a website off-YouTube, which can help you drive more conversions and generate engaged, well-targeted traffic for your brand or product.

You can learn more about this new conversion feature of by visiting the recently launched YouTube Biz Blog. To start using Promoted Videos today, visit ads.youtube.com.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

New Interface Thursday: You said it, we're fixing it!

2009-07-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

We released the new AdWords interface early to get your feedback on it as soon as possible. And you haven't disappointed us! We receive thousands of comments every month covering likes, dislikes, and ideas for ways to further improve the AdWords interface. We read your comments carefully to prioritize the areas to work on next.

And we've made a lot of progress on the top issues our advertisers reported, so today we wanted to share these improvements with you.

Less horizontal scrolling

When working with certain browsers and monitor resolutions (especially 1024x768), you told us you needed to scroll back and forth in order view data tables and controls. We've now condensed the layout of AdWords pages and width of columns in order to eliminate the need to scroll horizontally. If you're still encountering this issue, please let us know.

If you'd like to further condense the view of your account, remember that you can customize your columns. Try hiding columns that aren't important to you and move other columns around to quickly compare important metrics side-by-side.

Support for Safari 4 and Firefox 3.5

Those of you working with the newest versions of Safari and Firefox will be happy to know that the new AdWords interface now works with these browsers. We'll continue to work to support the latest versions all major browsers in the future.

Faster load times

One of our most important goals with the new interface was to improve the efficiency of day-to-day campaign management tasks. We've heard from some advertisers that while integrated reports and roll-up tabs help them quickly access and act on important data, the data didn't always load as quickly as they'd hoped.

We've worked to improve the speed of the interface with the latest releases, and hope you can now see a noticeable improvement. However, our work isn't done, and we'll continue to focus on shortening load times with upcoming launches. For the fastest experience, we recommend using the following browsers: Chrome, Firefox 3+, Safari 4, or Internet Explorer 8.

Searching for keywords

We heard many of you are looking for quick ways to search for keywords, ad text, or campaign names within your account. In previous posts, we talked about how you can use filtering to focus on the data that matters to you.

While text filters allow you to search and act directly on the data you see, they also take a few clicks to set up for the first time. To help you work more quickly, we've added a new shortcut that lets you quickly search by text under the 'Filter and views' menu on any tab.

Try it on your Keywords tab to quickly find all keywords containing a specific term.

Educational materials

You told us you'd like more help with transitioning to the new interface. In addition to New Interface Thursdays and our new interface website, we recently started a series of free educational webinars, featuring the product team. Sign up now for the next webinar on July 10.

If you haven't been using the new AdWords interface to manage your campaigns due to a specific annoyance, now's a great time to to log in and see how the interface has improved. And please, keep your feedback coming. Just click on the Send Feedback link at the top right corner of your account to share your thoughts.

Posted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

Google Ad Planner has a new look

2009-07-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

On June 24, Google Ad Planner turned one year old, and what a busy year it's been. Marketers and media planners worldwide now manage tens of thousands of media plans with Google Ad Planner. Additionally, with publishers directly contributing their own site data and sharing their Google Analytics traffic numbers, we continue to provide you the most accurate data measurements for your media planning. We've also steadily released a variety of new features over the year based on your feedback, including pre-defined audiences, more site filters, and additional demographic data.

To celebrate these milestones, we've given Google Ad Planner a facelift. Starting today, you can find sites and manage your media plans even faster with the redesigned Google Ad Planner interface.

Screenshots of old vs. new Ad Planner interface

We've kept all the best features from before, but the new interface streamlines your research and media planning by making features easier to find and use. Simply enter the URL to jump directly to a site's profile page and see Ad Planner's rich profile data for the site. We've also improved your campaign management by allowing you to easily merge and copy media plans.

We hope you'll take advantage of the new Google Ad Planner interface. Visit www.google.com/adplanner to check out our new look and to find out more information about Google Ad Planner.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

New version of the AdWords API

2009-06-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

For those of you who use the AdWords API, we are happy to announce the launch of the latest version of the API, v2009. This version offers more speed, scale, and flexibility to developers, at a lower cost. Since v2009 is a production beta, developers can sign up for access and will be whitelisted on a rolling basis. For full details on what you'll find in v2009 and how to get started, visit the AdWords API blog.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

AdWords click measurements accredited by MRC

2009-06-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

We're pleased to announce today that the click measurement systems in Google AdWords has now been accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC). MRC accreditation certifies that Google's click measurement technology adheres to the industry standards for counting interactive advertising clicks and that its processes supporting this technology are accurate.

The industry guidelines were developed over the past three years in an effort coordinated by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the MRC. We're proud to be one of the founding members of this group, which established the first ever industry guidelines governing how interactive advertising clicks are counted and how invalid clicks are detected and handled. The audit against these guidelines was conducted by a CPA firm engaged by the MRC to perform the audit. You can view the IAB / MRC Click Measurement Guidelines here.

We look forward to continuing to work with the rest of the industry in promoting rigorous standards and practices in click measurement and analysis. As ever, our Ad Traffic Quality team continues to work hard on protecting advertiser ROI. To read more about our work in this area, please visit our Ad Traffic Quality Resource Center.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

New Interface Thursday: Exploring campaign settings

2009-06-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

A few of the changes we've made in the new AdWords interface improve how you manage your campaign settings. In today's post, we'll cover these changes.

Edit Settings for Multiple Campaigns

Have you ever wanted to quickly see which of your campaigns are running on the Google Content Network? Or compare ad scheduling settings for multiple campaigns at once?

Now you can, using the new account-level Settings tab. On the All Online Campaigns page, click the Settings tab to see the primary settings for all your campaigns in a single table.

(click for larger image)

Some settings, like campaign name or daily budget, can be changed directly in the table using in-line editing. To edit advanced settings such as location targeting and ad scheduling, simply click on the setting you'd like to change and you'll be taken directly to the Settings tab for that particular campaign.

You can also use bulk editing to change settings for multiple campaigns at once. Say, for example, you'd like to copy the Networks & Devices settings from one campaign to three others.

Simply select all four campaigns, click Edit, then use the copy-down button to copy the setting across all selected campaigns.

(click for larger image)

Better Organized Settings

We've also changed how campaign settings are grouped together within the campaign-level Settings tabs for easier navigation.

The Audience section contains settings to specify the audience you want to reach. Language, location, and demographic targeting for the Google Content Network are now grouped together in this section.

(click for larger image)

The Bidding and Budget section now contains advanced settings such as position preference and delivery method in addition to campaign mainstays like daily budget and bidding option.

(click for larger image)

Finally, you'll notice a new campaign setting in the Advanced Settings section: frequency capping, which lets you limit the number of times your ad is shown to the same unique user on the Google Content Network.

(click for larger image)

New Interface Webinars

If you want more help learning the new interface, we're holding two free webinars in the next week to help you get up to speed. During the 1-hour sessions, we'll walk you through the new interface, show you the new features, and answer your questions.

The first webinar is tomorrow, Friday, June 26th at 11 AM PDT. Following that, the next one is on July 1st at 9:30 AM PDT. You can register on our new interface webinars page.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

Advertisers share their success stories and AdWords tips

2009-06-23T14:50:00.000-07:00

After reorganizing their ad groups, ExecutiveChefEvents.com saw a 140% increase in their click-through rate (CTR). Many advertisers ask us how to improve their performance, and the answer is that simple one day projects, like the one ExecutiveChefEvents.com completed, can lead to big improvements in your performance.

Click on any of the video links below to see how these AdWords advertisers received more visitors to their websites, more paying customers, and more awareness about their businesses with a few simple changes to their campaigns. Each video will show you the problems the advertiser was having in their campaigns, how they improved their performance, and how you can do the same.

Expanding keywords: After adding keywords to their account, Adventures Cross Country saw a 55% increase in the number of people who filled out forms on their site. Watch the video and see how adding new keywords with consistent CPCs can help you reach more customers.

Organizing ad groups: After creating tightly themed ad groups, ExecutiveChefEvents.com saw an influx of visitors to their site and a 140% increase in their click-through rate. Watch the video and see how reorganizing your campaigns makes it easier for your customers to find you.

Testing new ads: After testing new ads, Studio 132 saw a 200% increase in CTR and a huge increase in phone calls for their services. Watch the video and see how testing ads with optimized rotation helps attract more potential customers.

Adjusting bids: After raising some keyword bids to meet or exceed their first page bid recommendations, MoonKnight Networks saw their call volume shoot up by 200%, with a 270% increase in CTR. Watch the video and see how adjusting bids can help you get more exposure and more clicks for your ads.

You can also view the entire playlist of videos here: www.google.com/optimization-success.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

New Interface Thursdays: Finding features from the previous interface

2009-06-18T17:55:00.000-07:00

The basics of AdWords, such as bids, budgets, and Quality Score, haven't changed with the new interface. Still, every once in a while, you might find yourself asking, "Where did that go?" Here's a set of pointers to help you pick up where you left off in the previous AdWords interface.

Search my campaigns

In the previous interface, you could search your campaigns using a search box in the top corner of your account. In the new interface, we've replaced this functionality with text filters. You can now search for ads or keywords across your account by setting up a text filter. For searches you run often, you can save the filter to quickly access it at any time. Filters allow for more than just searching though, and you can read our earlier post to learn more about how filters can help you zero in on the data you care about most.

Keyword destination URLs

If you'd like to edit the destination URLs for individual keywords, you can do so by clicking the checkbox next to the keywords you'd like to edit, and then clicking on the "Edit" button at the top of the table. This will open up all keyword fields for editing, including the destination URL. If you'd like to see your destination URLs in your Keywords tab all the time, you can do so by customizing columns. By customizing columns, you can also find additional metrics like Quality Score that you might want to view and add them to the table.

Negative keywords

In the previous interface, you created negative keywords by adding a - sign to them. For example, you would add -free if you didn't want your ads to appear for searches containing the term free. Negative keywords were also mixed in with your regular keywords in your overall keyword list. With the new interface, negative keywords now have a home of their own. You'll find a section for negative keywords under your regular keywords in the Keywords tab. You can also view your campaign and ad group level negative keywords side by side.

Google Analytics and Website Optimizer

Where did the Analytics tab go? If you're looking for Google Analytics or Website Optimizer, you'll now find them under the Reporting tab at the top of your account.

Other questions?

If you'd like a side-by-side comparison of how to complete common tasks in new interface, we have a What's Changed page on the New Interface website.

Finally, we're providing webinars as another resource to help orient yourself in the new interface. The first webinar is tomorrow, June 19th at 11 AM PDT, and there's still time to register. We've scheduled the second webinar for June 26th also at 11 AM PDT.

We hope to see you at a webinar, and please continue to send us feedback on the new interface.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Inside AdWords crew

Import your Google Analytics Goals into AdWords and use them with Conversion Optimizer

2009-06-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

In order to track your return on investment (ROI) from AdWords, you need to be able to see which keywords, ads and campaigns lead to conversions on your site. If you use Google Analytics, you can now import your Google Analytics Goals and Transactions into your AdWords account to use as conversion actions. This lets you track the ROI from your AdWords campaigns directly inside the AdWords interface. In the past, you needed to separately install AdWords Conversion Tracking to make use of this feature.

If you're new to Conversion Tracking, a "conversion" happens when a visitor to your site completes a desired action (such as making a purchase or requesting a quote). A conversion is very similar to the concept of a Goal or Transaction in Google Analytics, and is crucial to assessing the ROI from your online advertising spend.

One of the benefits of importing your Google Analytics Goals and Transactions into AdWords is that you can use them with the Conversion Optimizer, an AdWords CPA bidding tool that has been shown to help advertisers get more conversions from AdWords. Conversion Optimizer makes it a lot easier to manage your AdWords bidding and maximize results.

Here's how to get started importing your Google Analytics Goals and Transactions into AdWords:

Link your Accounts, Enable Sharing and Setup a Goal

First you need to link your Google Analytics and AdWords accounts and create at least one Google Analytics Goal or track at least on Google Analytics Transaction. You'll also need to enable data sharing in Google Analytics by completing the following steps.

Sign in to your Google Analytics account.
Click "Edit Account and Data Sharing Settings."
Make sure you've selected at least the "With other Google products only" options under "Share my Google Analytics data."
Click "Save Changes" to finish.

Import your Goals into AdWords

Navigate to the "Conversion Tracking" page from within your AdWords account.
Click "Link your Analytics goals and transactions" from the Conversion Tracking table.

(Click to view larger image)

Select the Goals or Transactions you want from the list.
Edit the action name so you can identify the goals in your AdWords reports.
Select "Link" from the bottom of the table to finish.

That's it! Your imported Goals and Transactions will show up in your account, along with AdWords conversion metrics. You can use this data to see which ads, keywords and campaigns are bringing in the best ROI and then optimize your campaigns based on this information.

Posted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

Free Webinars for the New AdWords Interface

2009-06-16T16:46:00.000-07:00

Last week we shared tips on how you can get ready for the new AdWords interface. We now have another resource to help you prepare for the change. Starting this week, we're holding weekly webinars about the new interface.

The first webinar is this Friday, June 19th at 11 AM PDT. The free 1-hour webinar will be led by Ariel Bardin, Product Management Director for the new AdWords interface. Ariel will walk you through the new interface, show you how to use the new features, and answer your questions.

You can register for the webinar here: New Interface Webinar Registration. Also, we have set up a Google Moderator page where you can send us your questions and vote for the questions you want answered. You can visit this page to submit your questions.

And, remember you can always visit the new interface microsite for additional help. We hope to see you on Friday.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Inside AdWords crew

Getting started with AdWords workbook

2009-06-16T12:52:00.000-07:00

If you'd like more help getting started using AdWords, we'd like to show you the free Step by Step workbook that details the simple steps in building successful AdWords campaigns. The workbook breaks down advertising with AdWords into four steps:

Organizing your campaign
Picking the right keywords
Writing targeted ads
Putting it all together

Within each section you'll find definitions, tips, screenshots, and other helpful information to help you navigate your account and build your campaigns. Check out www.google.com/adwords/pdf/step_by_step.pdf to get started.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

How to Get Ready for the New Interface

2009-06-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

By now you probably know that we've been working on a new interface for AdWords to help you save time managing your account and get even better results from your campaigns.

We've built a number of new features that make managing your campaigns faster and easier: more graphs to track your performance over time, integrated reports that provide ready access to detailed search and content network data, and faster editing to help you make changes quickly.

You've probably received an email from us letting you know that your account will be converted to the new interface in the coming weeks. Today we have two release updates to share with you: we've recently made the new interface available to everyone who uses AdWords Standard Edition, and we've begun the migration process with a small number of accounts.

In our email, we stated that you would have at least 30 days before we update your account. This 30 day period is a minimum; in fact, most advertisers will have more than 30 days before their accounts are upgraded. We're taking a gradual and deliberate approach to ensure a smooth transition, and we won't upgrade your account until we're confident that the new interface meets your advertising needs.

So, how should you prepare for the transition to the new interface? First, the single most important resource to help you get up to speed is the new interface microsite. Here you can find short videos explaining the benefits of the new interface, a before and after guide, and even a short quiz you can take to make sure you're ready for the changes.

Next, if you haven't explored the new interface yet, now is a good time; try it by signing in to your AdWords account. If you notice any issues that make it difficult to manage your campaigns in the new interface, please let us know right away by submitting feedback.

If you've already sent us feedback on the new interface, thank you! We're listening closely to your comments and are working to fix the problems you've reported. Examples of top issues we're working on are wide pages that require too much scrolling, and slow load times for some types of browsers and Internet connections.

We've already made a number of changes in response to your feedback, and this week we've released updates to the new interface that address many of the top issues we've heard. And we're not done yet; we'll continue to make ongoing improvements to the new interface over time.

For those of you who joined the beta test early, we hope you like how the new AdWords interface has improved. And for those of you just getting started, we hope you're already noticing a few of the ways the new interface can help you get more out of your AdWords campaigns.

Posted by Austin Rachlin, Inside AdWords crew

Seminars for Success updated for the new interface

2009-06-10T15:32:00.000-07:00

Starting today, all AdWords Seminars for Success will be taught using the new AdWords interface. So, if you've been wanting some in-person instruction on how to best use the new AdWords interface or how to generally grow your campaigns, check out the seminars we're hosting in the next couple months:

AdWords 101: Beginner and AdWords 201: Intermediate

June 15-16: San Diego, CA

AdWords 301: Advanced Account Optimization and AdWords 302: Advanced Conversion Optimization

June 24-25: Boston, MA
July 16-17: Minneapolis, MN
August 4-5: Denver, CO

Analytics: Introduction and Analytics: Advanced

June 17-18: Dallas, TX
June 25-26: Washington D.C.
July 7-8: Edmonton, Canada
July 7-8: Sao Paulo, Brazil

Website Optimizer

June 19: Dallas, TX
February 11: San Jose, CA
July 9: Sao Paulo, Brazil

If you sign up for seminars at least seven days in advance, you'll receive a $50 AdWords credit (view the terms and conditions).

For more information about Seminars for Success, including registration details, course outlines, and past attendees' comments, please visit http://www.google.com/awseminars.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

AdWords system maintenance on June 13th

2009-06-10T13:59:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, June 13th, 2009, the AdWords system will be unavailable from approximately 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. PDT due to system maintenance. While you won't be able to sign in to your accounts during this time, your campaigns will continue to run as usual. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

New Interface Thursdays: Exploring the Ads tab

2009-06-04T16:20:00.000-07:00

Today on New Interface Thursdays, we'll take a quick look at the Ads tab in AdWords. The Ads tab lets you view and edit all of your ads, as well as check their status and performance. In the new AdWords interface, you have access to the Ads tab within individual ad groups, whole campaigns, or for your entire account.

Like in the other tables in the new interface, you can make edits right in the table, customize columns, and filter your ads within the Ads tab. One feature we've added to the new interface is the ability to see which ads are pending approval. While in the previous interface you could only see when ads had been disapproved, the new interface allows you to see if they're pending review or have been approved. This will take the guesswork out of determining when your ad is eligible to start running on the Google Network.

You can use filtering to quickly identify all ads that are pending review. Click on Filter and views and select Filter Ads. From the drop-down, select Approval Status, and then check the box for Pending. Click Apply and the table will only show ads that are pending approval.

(click to view larger image)

You can do the same with disapproved ads. If you have a disapproved ad, you can click the bubble icon in the Status column to learn why it was disapproved

(click to view larger image)

We've also recently added the Display Ad Builder to the new interface. You can get to the tool by clicking New ad and then selecting Display ad builder. If you've wanted to expand your campaigns beyond text ads but haven't had the time to create a display ad from scratch, the Display Ad Builder is a great tool to try.

We hope you find the Ads tab helpful in managing your AdWords campaigns.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

Free Google webinars in June

2009-06-02T11:54:00.000-07:00

We'd like to share with you some upcoming, free Google webinars in June, ranging from general AdWords topics to topics geared specifically toward the travel and auto industries:

AdWords ongoing UK webinar series
Along with a number of on-demand webinars that you can watch any time, every month we also run live webinars hosted by UK AdWords specialists. Due to the timing of these webinars, they may be most suitable for UK and East Coast advertisers. Coming up in June we have:

June 3rd at 3pm British Summer Time (9am EST): Website Optimizer: Test & Enhance your Website
June 10th at 3pm British Summer Time (9am EST): AdWords Editor I
June 17th at 3pm British Summer Time (9am EST): AdWords Editor II
June 18th at 11am British Summer Time (5am EST): ROI Maximization for the Education Industry
June 18th at 3pm British Summer Time (9am EST): Back to School for Retailers

For more details please see our webinar calendar.

We also have two specific webinars focused on the travel and auto industries:

A Look into Destination Shopping Behavior
As consumers plan and book travel to destinations around the world, understanding their online and offline research and purchase process is key. Using a detailed online behavioral analysis and in-depth survey of traveler perspectives, Google and Compete are partnering to present a new study exploring how consumers shop for and book destination-based travel.

Register today and join us on Tuesday, June 16th at 10am PST to learn:

How do consumers split their time researching and shopping across online and offline resources?
How long do consumers spend doing research before booking destination travel and what's the timing of particular research activities?
What do consumers value when comparing destinations and planning leisure vacations?
When do consumers use search in their process of researching and booking destination travel and how can travel sellers leverage this?

The Role of Search in the Auto Insurance Shopping Experience
Consumers are turning to the web in increasing numbers to research a variety of financial services products. In order to maximize your online marketing ROI, it's important to understand their behavior.

Join Google and Compete as we present findings of a recent study that analyzed consumers’ auto insurance related shopping and purchase behavior, with an emphasis on the role of search.

Register today and join us on Thursday, June 18, 2009 at 11am PST to learn:

What leads consumers to shop for a new auto insurance policy?
How important are various research channels for consumers during their auto insurance shopping process?
What role does search play in driving online auto insurance quote volume?
How do consumers search before requesting a quote and what keywords are driving conversions?
What's the role of brand and generic search terms in the purchase process?
What's the effect of key word types on conversion rates?
What's the time frame from beginning research to eventual application?

This webinar will run approximately 30 minutes, followed by a 15-minute question and answer session. We look forward to having you join us.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

AdWords Editor 7.5.1 for Windows and Mac

2009-06-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

We just released a new version of AdWords Editor with a few exciting updates.

Increase efficiency with CSV import.

Many advertisers have requested the ability to import CSV files in AdWords Editor, and we're happy to announce this feature is now available in the new versionwe're happy to announce this new feature. If you make changes to your account in a spreadsheet or a custom application, you can now import your spreadsheet directly into AdWords Editor, then post your new or edited items. Learn more

Save time by downloading or updating selected campaigns.

Have you ever waited a long time for your account to download, when all you want to do is work with one or two campaigns? Now you can just download the campaign (or campaigns) that you want to edit, leaving the rest of the account alone. You may also choose to download or update only active campaigns (or only paused campaigns). Learn more

Make the most of Keyword Opportunities.

We've made a few changes to the Keyword Opportunities tool that should make it easier to manage your keyword data. On the "Search-based keywords" tab (the AdWords Editor version of the Search-based Keyword Tool) you can now view and organize new keywords by topical category, letting you zero in quickly on the keywords that are most relevant to your account. Also, when you export or copy keywords, the Keyword Opportunities columns (such as Volume and Competition) are now included. As another response to advertisers' requests, you can now add terms to your account as either keywords, negative keywords, or campaign negative keywords. Learn more.

To learn more about what's in version 7.5.1, such as multiple column sorting and new conversion columns, please visit the release notes.

If you're already using AdWords Editor, you'll be prompted to upgrade automatically. This update won't require you to re-download your account, and it won't affect your comments and unposted changes. In the auto-update prompt, choose the 'Update without Backup' option; after you upgrade, your account will already be in the new version.

If you're not already using AdWords Editor, you can visit our website and click 'Download AdWords Editor.' To learn more about the benefits of using AdWords Editor to manage your ad campaigns offline, please refer to these frequently asked questions. Also, comprehensive instructions and tips are available in our Help Center.

Posted by Austin Rachlin, Inside AdWords crew

New Interface Thursdays: Looking back and a chance to meet the team

2009-05-28T16:37:00.000-07:00

With more AdWords advertisers using the new interface each week, we'd like to take a moment to recap the topics we've covered on New Interface Thursdays these past two months.

We started the series with a list of learning resources including the new AdWords interface website. The next week we showed you how you could use keyboard shortcuts to manage your campaigns more efficiently. We then wrote about how you can use filters and customize columns to help you focus on the data that's most important to you. Most recently, we took close looks at both the Keywords tab and Networks tab.

If you want to take the next step in mastering the new interface, and if you plan to attend SMX Advanced in Seattle, Washington next week, you can learn about the new interface from the people who built it. The new AdWords interface team will be doing a deep dive into the new interface and demonstrating some of the latest tools we're adding to AdWords:

Deep Dive into the New AdWords Interface

When: Tuesday, June 2, 11 AM to 12:15 PM

Where: Sound Conference Room, Bell Harbor Convention Center, Seattle, WA

If you'd like to attend our session, you'll need to register for a free expo hall pass. We hope to see you at the session, and please visit us at booth #32 and tell us your thoughts about the new interface.

Posted by Austin Rachlin, Inside AdWords crew

6 tactics for maximizing your AdWords investment

2009-05-27T17:54:00.000-07:00

The current economy has been tough on businesses and customers alike, and it can be a lot harder these days to connect with more price-concious customers. To reach these customers, our internal team of AdWords optimizers has come up with 6 tactics that will help your AdWords campaigns be more relevant to your customers.

1. Focus your ads on low prices and savings.

2. Use value-related keywords.

3. Make sure your ad groups are targeted and relevant.

4. Don't waste money on irrelevant clicks.

5. Make it easy for customers to buy.

6. Focus your money on your high-performers.

You can read more about each of these tips including examples and instructions at www.google.com/adwords/tactics and you can also view these tactics in a pdf format at www.google.com/adwords/tactics/top_tactics.pdf. We hope these tactics will help you continue to see good returns from your AdWords investment.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

Update: Analytics Webinar with Avinash Kaushik

2009-05-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago we posted some upcoming Google webinars, and last week, Analytics Evangelist, Avinash Kaushik, led a discussion on the 'Top 5 Things Marketers Can Do Now" in order to maximize ROI. We realize some of you may have missed the opportunity to hear Avinash speak, but may still be interested in the tips he was able to provide. As such, we've posted a recording of his talk onto the Google Brand Channel on YouTube.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

New Interface Thursdays: Managing keywords and the Search Query Report

2009-05-21T16:06:00.000-07:00

In this week's post, we'll take a deeper look into the Keywords tab in the new AdWords interface.

The Keywords tab lists the keywords within your account. Just like in the previous AdWords interface, you can add, edit, and create new keywords on the Keywords tab in your account. However, the new interface takes keyword management a step further with a feature called roll-up tabs. A Keywords tab is available at every level of your account, allowing you to see the keywords for a whole campaign, or even across all campaigns in a single list. This is helpful for tasks like identifying your top-performing keywords across your account.

You can also make changes to your keywords directly from any Keywords tab. For example, you can change a keyword's match type by clicking on the keyword and then selecting the desired match type from the drop-down.

(click to view larger image)

Additionally, you can pause and resume keywords, change your bid, or change the keyword itself on any Keywords tab across your account. If you want to make changes to multiple keywords at once, you'll want to use bulk editing. Select the keywords you want to change and then click the Edit button at the top of the table.

A nice feature of bulk editing is the Copy down button, which allows you to change bids across a number of keywords. For example, if you want to change your bids across multiple keywords rather than entering the bid manually for each one, you can click on the Copy down button next to the bid you're editing. Your bid will then be copied to all of the selected keywords. You can also copy down changes to keyword status or destination URLs.

(click to view larger image)

You can also find many of the features that we posted about in the past few weeks in the Keywords tab. If you want to quickly edit your keywords, remember that you have keyboard shortcuts at your disposal. You can also use customizable columns to look at the date in which you're interested. And, of course, you can filter your keywords, which can be especially helpful if you're looking at all the keywords in your account.

Another feature you can try on the Keywords tab is segmentation. By clicking the Filter and views button and then selecting Segment by Query Match Type, you can see the performance for each of your keywords broken out into broad, phrase, and exact match.

Using the Search Query Report

Earlier this week, we posted about the enhancements to the Search Query Report, which you can access directly from the Keywords tab in the new interface.

As a reminder, this report shows you the search terms that triggered your ads. To see the report, select the keywords of your choice and click See search terms, then Selected. You'll be presented with a list of search terms that triggered your ads for those keywords as well as metrics like CTR and conversion rate.

You can then make changes to your account directly from the report. For example, if you a see a search term that looks like a good fit, you can add it to your campaign. Just select the term and click Add as keyword. You'll also have the opportunity to set a specific bid and set the match type for the keyword. Likewise, if you see a search term that isn't a fit for your campaigns, you can add it as a negative keyword. When adding negative keywords, it's best to wait for data. You don't want to exclude a keyword too soon as you might miss out on relevant traffic. Also, you might try using a lower bid or using more targeted ad text before you exclude it completely.

When using this report, it can be tempting to tweak keywords that only have one or two clicks. If you want to get the most out of the Search Query Report, we recommend you focus on keywords with the most impressions and clicks. That's where you'll get the most value out of the changes you make.

Your feedback on the new interface

You've already given us lots of helpful feedback on what you like about the new interface, such as easier Content Network management and faster account navigation, and feedback on what needs improvement.

You can learn more about some of the top issues we're working to address by reading this article. We continue to work on changes to the new AdWords interface based on your feedback. Please continue to send us your feedback on the new interface using the Send Feedback link in the top corner of your account. Your feedback is very valuable to us as we continue to improve the new AdWords interface.

Posted by Austin Rachlin, Inside AdWords crew

AdWords Success Stories

2009-05-20T11:55:00.000-07:00

Last quarter you gave us feedback on what you'd like to see on the blog, and many of you asked for more case studies on how other advertisers have succesfully used AdWords. Google has a site devoted to AdWords Success Stories, and today we'd like to highlight two of those stories:

Twiddy & Company Realtors

Twiddy is a vacation rental company in North Carolina that has effectively used Analytics and AdWords to optimize its website and deliver profitable traffic. Check out Twiddy's success story.

(click to view video)

JustAnswer

JustAnswer is a pay-per-question site based in San Francisco that has used AdWords and the Google Content Network to cost-effectively reach its customers. Check out JustAnswer's success story.

Be sure to check out the other 22 success stories or submit your own.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew