Tag Archives: Adwords
Quote

Google Adwords: How much does it cost to get to the top?

We’re excited to announce a new metric in AdWords, top of page bid estimates, to provide additional assistance in optimizing your ads to show above the search results. Analogous to first page bid estimates, this metric approximates the cost-per-click (CPC) bid needed for your ad to appear regularly in the top positions above the search results.
Inside Adwords: Google Official Blog

Your ad position will still depend on quality score, your overall budget and other factors, but at least now you’ll have an idea of the amount of cash it takes to get your ad to the top of the heap.

New Feature: Google Ad Sitelinks Boosts Click Thru Rate 30%

In November, Google launched a small beta of Ad Sitelinks.  Essentially, Ad Sitelinks is a feature for search-based ads that lets you include up to four additional links to deeper content on your site beyond the main landing page or link.  To give you a better idea, here’s what they look like.

Google Ad Sitelinks

Well, I guess the test was successful, because Google is now releasing the feature to all Adwords users.  In fact, they’re even reporting the advertisers are boosting their click-thru rates upwards of 30%!

Ad Sitelinks is available on the campaign level, so  before you turn it on you’ll want to make sure that the additional sitelinks you create are releavant to any ad in that particular campaign.  When a user’s search matches a keyword in your Ad Sitelinks campaign, Google will decide if your ad is up to snuff (ads with the highest quality score are most likely to contain sitelinks) to show Ad Sitelinks and whether to show the two-line or the one-line format.

To turn on Ad Sitelinks, shimmy on down to the Campaign Settings tab in your Adwords account.  Once you’re there, go to the “Show additional links to my site” section under “Ad extensions.”  All clicks are charged the same rate, regardless of which of the Sitelinks are clicked, but you may want to make sure you increase your budget a little in case you experience the same success as the beta testers.

How to implement Google Ad Sitelinks

Got questions or want to find out more? Check out the FAQ on Ad Sitelinks.

Leave a Comment

Using 1st-Person Quotes in Your Ad Text

Here’s a quick tip from PPCBlog. They suggest using 1st-person quotes in the title of your Google Adwords to distinguish your product from other bland ads.

You don’t want to go too over-the-top and keeping it believable and relevant could be something to consider, but I’d be interested to hear how a 1st-person text ad like the samples below perform against similar ads.

Leave a Comment

Create A Hyperlocal PPC Campaign For Your Small Business

If you have a small business, you know you don’t have tons of money to waste on pay-per-click advertising that doesn’t convert. But, how do you target the right local customers in their given location?  Here’s a cool hack that uses Google Local Business Center coupled with Adwords to create a hyperlocal, spot-on ad campaign that will crush your competitors.

What you end up with is creating a super-targeted and hyperlocal PPC advertising that focuses directly on the customers that ring your cash register without breaking your budget.

Leave a Comment

Search Engine Marketing Basics – How the Google Ad Auction Works

A great introductory video on how the Google Ad Auction actually works.  Chief Economist, Hal Varian (Mr. Personality 2003) shows how your max CPC bid and quality score determine how much you pay for a click within your Adwords account.

Leave a Comment

Quick Online Marketing Tip – Update Your Negative Keywords

Originally posted January 15, 2009

As budgets get tighter, take 20 minutes today to update your paid search negative keywords.  Negative keywords are those irrelevant or low converting keywords that you add to a pay-per-click campaign which tell the ad system not to show your ad when that particular keyword appears in a search.

To start, do some research for new negative and low-performing keywords through Google’s keyword tool or your web analytics data. Add your findings to your already established campaigns and adgroups.

Adding additional negative keywords optimizes and streamlines your campaigns’ effectiveness. They increases your quality score, improves your click-thru and conversion rates.

Leave a Comment