AdWords | Internet Marketing Blog

How did Google AdWords algorithm changes impact campaigns?

Just over a month ago, Google announced the global roll-out of an update to the AdWords algorithm, which increased the value of landing page relevancy and worth when determining Quality Score.

Google predicted that the changes would alter keyword Quality Scores and ad positions for some campaigns. However, the company claimed that most brands would not see a significant change in overall performance.

by Ed Stevenson 24 November 2011 12:23pm 2 comments

How dirty is your PPC?

A well managed Google's AdWords campaign does a great job in delivering relevant traffic to your site.

However, if you leave AdWords alone to judge what is 'relevant' for your products or services you may uncover some surprising results.

We have compiled a list of frightening and sometimes comical examples from real campaigns.

by Ian Harris 26 October 2011 09:53am 18 comments

Overcomplicating your AdWords account

In many ways, effective Adwords account management is a balancing act. Whether you’re trying to balance sales volumes with the cost per sale or trying to write a compelling advert whilst trying to stand out from your competitors, you’re often pulled in opposite directions.

I am often approached to appraise accounts for advertisers, and one of the most common problems that I see is also perhaps one of the most understandable, it’s the result of failing to find the balance between relevancy and optimisability.

by Shane Quigley 27 September 2011 09:57am 15 comments

Brand bidding on Adwords is ok, rules EU in Interflora vs M&S case

On the way into the office today I noticed a bunch of tweets along the lines of 'Interflora wins EU PPC case vs M&S'.

I have just read the ruling in full, and I don’t interpret it as a win at all, but there are some key takeaways that you need to be aware of if your brand is involved in bidding on competitor trademarks.

by Chris Lake 22 September 2011 12:30pm 12 comments

Will $50 in ad credits make small businesses like Facebook?

With more than 750m users, Facebook is the world's largest social network. So it's no surprise that marketers have flocked to the Facebook in an effort to reach consumers online.

But Facebook's COO, Sheryl Sandberg, knows that multinational brands and Madison Avenue ad agencies aren't necessarily the most lucrative group of 'marketers' her company can court.

by Patricio Robles 19 September 2011 15:42pm 1 comment

Is Google getting hip to customer service?

Google is one of the world's largest advertising companies as measured by revenue, but it's also one of the world's largest as measured by number of customers.

The fact that Google serves millions of advertisers annually is both a blessing and a curse. While having a huge customer base helps minimize the risk that the company's cash cow will suddenly die, it also makes providing quality customer support a very challenging task.

After all, Google's customer base is as diverse as it is big, and its advertiser tools can be as confusing to newbies as they are powerful to AdWords veterans.

by Patricio Robles 06 September 2011 14:54pm 4 comments

Only 6% of UK advertisers fully invested in Facebook ads: report

Thanks to an audience consisting of more than 750m users, Facebook has grown into an online advertising powerhouse despite the fact that, for many advertisers, the efficacy of advertising on the site is still something of a question mark.

But even though major brands have flocked to the world's biggest social network, and the company's ads are now a billion-dollar business, a recent survey indicates that a very small percentage of advertisers is actually "fully on board" with Facebook ads.

by Patricio Robles 17 August 2011 10:02am 10 comments

Should marketers pay attention to Google+?

Is the third time the charm? Google is certainly hoping so following the beta launch of its latest attempt at building a social network, Google+.

And that hope may not be entirely misplaced. Many of those who have Google+ accounts have positive things to say about the search behemoth's social network.

Perhaps that's because Google has learned from its mistakes, or because it may have been heavily 'inspired' by Facebook.

by Patricio Robles 30 June 2011 16:20pm 6 comments

The smartphone is basically the holy grail: study

Just about everyone in the marketing and technology fields has accepted that mobile and more specifically, the mobile internet, are really, really important. That's true today, and it's only going to be more so in the future.

But many believe that mobile is more than just really, really important; they believe it will be far and away the most important channel as more and more consumers become armed with smartphones.

According to a study conducted by market research firm Ipsos OTX on behalf of Google, that belief has some supporting evidence.

by Patricio Robles 27 April 2011 16:16pm 5 comments

Just how easy is it to click on a Google ad by mistake?

Google makes the vast majority of its money from selling advertising, which is typically paid for on a per-click basis. As such it wants people to click on the ads it serves up on its search pages.

Advertisers also want people to click. They are in the business of generating a response to their messages. But the response needs to be meaningful if ad buyers are to make a return on investment. And the problem for advertisers is that sometimes people click on ads in error.

Sometimes people don't know that 'search results' are in fact ads. For example, let's look at the central 'top ad' unit that appears at the top of the search results...

by Chris Lake 19 April 2011 12:16pm 20 comments