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January: the ideal time for an AdWords spring clean

If you manage your own Google AdWords account but the very thought of logging in and performing tweaks sends shivers down your spine, I’ve put together a really simple five point checklist for you.

There’s no better time to spring clean your AdWords account than the dawn of a New Year – so what are you waiting for?

An AdWords campaign is never complete. The most successful campaigns are chopped and changed regularly in order to wring out every last cent of ROI.

PPC is becoming increasingly competitive – in order to run a successful campaign you must be committed. 

The bread and butter of PPC ad testing

PPC ads are never finished. They should constantly be tested and refined to increase performance with the ultimate goal of increasing click-through rate (CTR).

An eye-catching and well-optimised ad will attract greater click-through which in turn will lead to a lower cost-per-click. The entire account will benefit from the improvement in these key metrics, so why settle for results that are just OK when you can test your ad copy and achieve PPC greatness?

However, before you drill into the finer points of testing your ad copy, there are a few basics to understand that will ensure your tests are giving you reliable data:

Top 10 Twitter Trends of 2013

Twitter

It’s the time of year again that analysts report yet another bumper year for ecommerce trading, and commentators try to predict digital trends for the forthcoming year.

But it’s also the time when we gain access to data to help understand what was most talked about online. 

Baidu’s Zeitgeist 2013: stats and trends

Last month we looked at 2013’s UK edition of Google’s Zeitgeist which always proves an interesting overview of the most popular trends in our search behaviour over the year.

But as China gears up to celebrate the start of its new year, let’s turn to Baidu to see how search habits in the east might compare.

These stats and trends, as well as a wealth of Christmas ecommerce data can be found in the latest edition of our Internet Statistics Compendium.

Global paid search spend increased in 2013: stats

Covario has just issued its Global Paid Search Spend Analysis for Q4 2013, revealing that global spend on pay-per-click (PPC) advertising has increased by 13% from Q3 and 7% year-on-year.

Paid search on mobile also had an incredible 2013, with impressive numbers recorded for Android, iPhone and iPad activations. Total advertising spend on mobile grew 23% in Q4 2013 from Q3. This is 55% up from the same period in 2012.

Keyword pricing wise, the average cost-per-click (CPC) came down in Q4 2013, however the average CPC rose 10% versus the same period in 2012.

Why is the internet of things so compelling?

Welcome to the interweb. Regular readers may know this ‘column’ as a compendium of enjoyable rubbish from across the web, to enjoy with your coffee.

Well, I’ve decided to change it up and make it marginally more relevant/less childish. So this week I’m offering a light-hearted take on why one hot topic in digital, the ‘internet of things’ (IoT), is so compelling.

Why do smart devices fascinate us? What is the root of our obsession with fridges that know when we have run out of milk?

Here’s my take on the IoT.

A list of 10 retail mobile apps that customers love

I’ve been thinking a lot about mobile apps in retail recently. I’ve been thinking about which retailers need an app and whether in fact we’re seeing a bit of a backlash against the app, fuelled by mobile optimised and responsive websites.

Retail apps still have their place in a mobile optimised world, but they’re increasingly characterised as devices for customer retention. Loyalty programmes and coupons keep regular customers feeling loved.

Of course, there are still some successful shopping apps, too, often for retailers big or pervasive enough to demand smartphone real estate (supermarkets, Amazon and the like).

So, here you go, here are 10 apps that I think have made a difference for customers in retail.

Agree? Disagree? Tell me in the comments.

Is Beats about to launch a Spotify killer?

Beats, the ubiquitous headphone brand co-founded by Dr Dre, will release its music streaming service Beats Music in the USA on 21 January.

Beats currently controls 27% of the $1.8bn headphone market and 57% of the premium market (an eye-watering place where headphones can cost anywhere between $100-$400) and its headphones have quickly become a visual staple of public transport, the high street and indeed the very office I’m writing this article in now, within only the last few years.

Now it looks like Beats is set to take on the music streaming market with what appears to be an expertly planned, theoretically artist-friendly and potentially Spotify smashing service.

Let’s take a closer look…

KLM tops league table of most popular travel brands on social

As we all know, social media success should never be benchmarked purely on the number of fans and followers that you have.

But that doesn’t mean that it’s not fun to sometimes line up a load of brands and judge them based on their popularity among consumers.

We’ve done it before with fashion retailers, and this time it’s the turn of travel companies and airlines.

It turns out that Dutch airline KLM is the most consistent brand across the board, coming first, second, third and fourth on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest respectively. It’s also the only travel company to feature in each top 10.

Google image search changes: making life easier for publishers

This is just a quick one for all you bloggers and publishers out there.

If you’ve run into problems from accidentally, or not-so-accidentally, using images under copyright from a routine image search, Google has just made things a lot easier for you.

In amongst the image search options, Google has just added a search by ‘usage rights’ field. 

How Lowe’s nails social media through Vine, Pinterest and Facebook

I’ve been feeling in a home improvement mood lately.

Perhaps just because it’s January, perhaps just because I like the way I look with a tool-belt strapped around my waist. Either way I’ll be growing a bristly moustache, keeping an assortment of spare nails in a coffee cup and seeking out US home improvement store Lowe’s for all my hammering and buzzsawing needs.

This article will take a look at how the almost 70-year-old hardware chain has recently made tremendous strides in its social media reach by treating social media not as a single entity, but by realising that audiences use different channels for different reasons and tailoring its content accordingly.

So pour some three-day old coffee into a cup that’s never been cleaned, pop your squared off pencil behind your ear and let’s begin.

trends

Digital marketing and ecommerce trends for 2014 by Econsultancy CEO Ashley Friedlein

Each year I try to give my personal thoughts on what will be interesting and important in the world of digital marketing and ecommerce for the year ahead.

These are somewhere between trends and predictions. They are based largely on the many conversations I have with industry influencers and practitioners. 

Following are just a selection of 10 trends that I’ve chosen to highlight. However, there is free report to download and share which is over 40 pages long and covers all of my trends and predictions for 2014 across the 10 core digital topics that Econsultancy cover. 

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