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Pubcon - Boston 06 - Intro to Pay Per Click - Brad Geddes
25 Companies who can make a web impact
Interesting article on CNN Money about the ‘Next 25′ companies who can make an impact upon the web.
Article: http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/23/smbusiness/business2_nextnet_intro/index.htm
Full index of companies outside of CNN’s frame here.
Boston Pubcon Presentation Now Online
Boston Pubcon 06 was it’s usual interesting and entertaining time.
The best conversation often happens late at night in the bars, and this time didn’t disappoint.
Jake insisted he doesn’t have a blog, he has a whiteboard (although, he couldn’t explain the difference between his whiteboard and a blog).
Rae was enjoying her blog being blogrolled by the new YPNblog. She also did a nice on-the-spot interview (inquisition?) of Jeremy Zawodny.
Todd was enjoying the single life as we all wish him well in his new endeavors.
Shri, Ted, (several people who’s names I can’t currently recall), had interesting viewpoints on the current data quality (or lack of) that Google is using.
The organized party scene was very light, however, Brandy managed to organize a very enjoyable party for YPN.
MSN adCenter organized a wonderful small party at Fenway. Unfortunately, I flew out the day before so I had to miss it. Although, I’ve pretty much promised all the MSNers that I’ll be spending a few extra days in Vegas or San Jose so I can finally catch up with everyone again. I’m very much enjoying MSN, their PPC program, and the excellent support they give.
I also had a chance to catch up with some of my favorite Googlers. (I’d link to Jame’s blog, but not sure if he has one…) in the exhibition hall.
I heard one of the exhibitors was sending out bluetooth spam the entire time, glad I’ve never adopted the unsecure network yet.
Of course, there was also a conference happening as well. Malcolm Gladwell preformed the keynote (which I missed, although, I did catch him at the Zeitgeist Conference last October.
Justin received his usual compliments for his passionate presentation about local marketing.
As for me, I was involved in two sessions. The first was an Introduction to Pay Per Click with Christine Churchhill. Jessie failed to show, so I did some double duty as both moderator and presenter.
While focusing on a high level aspect of PPC, I did go into detail about the search process; especially expectations as it relates to each step of the process (as can be seen on slide 9, the search to conversion process). I received enough requests for presentations and additional information that I plan to add a video to this blog that discusses the search process from the advertiser and searcher perspective.
The second session was a PPC and Landing Page Clinic with Christine and Dixon Jones (i.e. Receptional on the boards). The session went smoothly, and I received as many inquiries for cards and additional information that I’d ever received from a clinic before. I found that interesting as the conference was one of the smaller search conferences I’d seen in a while, yet those who were there really wanted to learn and get more complex with their marketing needs.
Now for the real information. Here’s the set of links I promised to add to the web:
Here’s the archive power point for Intro to Pay Per Click.
Where to Sign Up for PPC:
AdWords: https://adwords.google.com/select/starter/signup/Fork
MSN: https://adcenter.msn.com/
Yahoo: http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/srch/choose.php
Signup with Additional Assistance :
AdWords - https://adwords.google.com/select/jumpstartwelcome
Yahoo - http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/srch/choose.php
Keyword Tools:
Yahoo Bid Tool: http://uv.bidtool.overture.com/d/search/tools/bidtool/index.jhtml
Yahoo Inventory Tool: http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/
AdWords Keyword Tool: https://adwords.google.ca/select/KeywordToolExternal
Additional Help:
AdWords Learning Center: http://www.google.com/adwords/learningcenter/
Yahoo Tutorials: http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/rc/srch/tutr.php
Yahoo eBook: http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/rc/srch/eworkbook.pdf
MSN Help Files: http://advertising.msn.com/msn-adcenter/learning-center/faqs
WebmasterWorld: http://www.webmasterworld.com
Verizon Offers Pay Per Call Solution
Verizon has launched a PPCall solution, however, it is a bit different than the other offerings on the market.
Verizon is building static ads with static phone numbers. However, those wishing phone calls are still bidding in an auction style for those leads. Sound confusing? It’s really not, it’s just a different model.
Basically, Verizon is going to build ads that they determine have high call rates.
Those wishing the phone calls will bid (like PPC) for those calls.
Depending on who is the highest bidder at the time of the call, Verizon will route the call to that bidder.
What this does is take the complexity of building ads, testing call rates, etc out of the hands of the advertisers. The only complexity left for the advertiser is the actual budget and bidding.
Verizon will take on the responsibility of optimizing the ads, showing them in various appropriate locations, and just pass the phone call to the highest bidder.
Simple model for the advertiser. Some complex call routing behind the scenes by Verizon. Ad optimization without the customer service of talking to advertises about creatives.
It is an interesting model, and on the surface, it seems like a fairly easy one to implement. It will be interesting to watch the adoption rate for this product.
More information from MSNBC.
Google AdWords Launches New Tool - Allows Advertisers to Control Ad Position
Google AdWords has released a new feature called Position Preference. This feature lets you specify which position you’d like your ad to be displayed.
Basically, if you specify a position, a few things will happen when someone searches for your keywords:
- The typical Ad Rank auction is run behind the scenes to determine preference.
- If your Ad Rank is higher than is necessary to be in your desired position, Google automatically adjusts your max CPC (behind the scenes) to be what is necessary in the CPC x QS (quality score) formula for your ad to show in that position.
- If your ad falls into the current position, then your bid won’t be changed.
- If your Ad Rank is not high enough for your ad to be displayed in that position, then your ad will not be displayed at all.
- The feature is not compatible with ‘budget optimizer’. Therefore, you can only use one of those two features.
- The feature will not be available to starter accounts.
The new setting should go live for most accounts within the next two weeks. Some accounts will see the new feature much sooner. When your account is opted into this new setting, then you will have a new setting on your campaign preferences page called ‘Ad Position’. It’s a simple checkbox that leads to a confirmation page with instructions on inputting these positions.
If you navigate to an AdGroup, check the words you want to modify, and hit ‘Edit CPC’s/URL’ you’ll be taken to a page that looks like this:
The position preferences are incremental numbers from 1-10 (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc) and 10+.
Enter the range you wish the ad to be displayed and hit save - all done.
The change to the AdGroup structure, which included the ’settings’ tab, was to enable this feature and a couple other really nice ones that should be announced within the next few weeks.
Google has also changed the power post feature as seen below, so that Ad Position can now easily be modified on a mass scale:
If you can’t read the last line above, which is the power post example it is:
keyword**0.25**http://www.example.com/**#2-3
where #2-3 is the power post rule for position preference.
It is important to note that it’s possible your ad will occasionally show one level above your desired preference (i.e. if your preference is 3-5, it’s possible for you to show in position 2 on occasion); however, you will never show below your desired position. Therefore, it’s easy to set rules that will never trigger your ad. Be careful when enacting this rule to ensure that your ad is appearing, and that you’re not targeting a position that your ad doesn’t have the necessary Ad Rank to be displayed.
Overall, a great feature. The most common applications I expect to see for this is:
- Brand advertisers who want to be shown in position 1-3 or not at all.
- eCommerce sites who are seeing better conversions in position 3-5 (which is common).
- Sophisticated advertisers who have narrowed down conversions by time of day and position and understand their target market behavior.
- Those who want some exposure, but know they can’t afford to pay for the premium positions, yet want to appear on page 1. They will most likely target positions 6-10.
The only piece of information missing is how many ads are shown on a page. It will be difficult to target the bottom part of page 1 as 8-12 ads can be shown on a page, so with that shifting number, it’s difficult to actually set that in an integer format.
The negative impact this could have is that in competitive markets, there will be potentially dozens of people targeting certain positions, and it’s possible that position 3-5 can become more expensive than position 1-2 if more people are targeting those positions. In one way, it gives advertisers more control over their ad display, in another way, it removes them even another step further from understanding exactly how the price for their ad is being calculated.
Overall, Google is giving advertisers more control. It’s hard to complain about a feature that allows that, even if it has some possible negative consequences. The tool is there, the adoption and implementation will be the part that still needs to play out.
I’m very nit picky on details, and I didn’t come across anything that immediately stood out as being a negative consequence (other than the possibility above) or not well thought out. It seems Google has thought about this, looked at their ad serving technology, and figured out how to leverage additional control for advertisers.
Of course, the next step is implementation across hundreds of thousands of accounts and how advertisers use the tools. This feature will come soon. Keep an eye out for this release (and another really nice one that will be phenomenal for local businesses) that should be available in all accounts within the next couple of weeks.
Google Launches New Ad Format to Empower Local Businesses
Google has launched a new ad format type specifically for local businesses. This is a very important change in thinking about local web properties. In the past, prominent ad space has been reserved for the highest bidder, which is often accomplished by national presences, regardless if they are a local business or not. This has been a problem when it comes to migrating local SME onto the web. With the allocation of premium ad space for local businesses (those with a physical address), Google is helping to empower the small business to find success on it’s local property.
I have spoken at several conferences that both search engines, and other local properties, such as IYPs and Newspapers, need to be focused on empowering agencies and small businesses to find premium ad space. In the US, these SMEs represent upto 22 million clients and several billions of ad dollars. They are a force to be embraced, not to be discouraged for the quick national ad dollar.
This move by Google is a very forward thinking one on allocating this space to businesses with local presences. Yes, a national (local) chain, can outbid local businesses in many occasions, however, this gives many service based industries placement they have never enjoyed before.
Below is a screenshot of the new ad format as it appears on Google Local:
The ads have a few properties associated with them:
- A Custom Icon List (the icon can be seen on the left in the blue sponsored links - the full list is below).
- A Custom logo (125×125 max size 20k) can be attached to the ad.
- A Click on the ad opens the sponsored link in the middle of the Google Local page, yet, does not count as an actual ad click (This is PPC advertising).
- The Click on the ad in the middle of the map leads to the advertiser website, and this is counted as a click.
Here’s the full icon list:
Display Properties:
What is interesting about these ads, is that you can now create an AdGroup with only a small business ad (more information below on creating these ads), and yet receive distribution across all of Google’s Properties.
- On Google.com and Search Partners, your ad will show as a traditional AdWords ad (and like geo targeted ads, it will have the city name below the ad).
- On local.google.com, the ad will have the above characteristics.
Quality Control:
To help control the quality of local business ads, and to ensure these businesses do exist, before one can create a business ad, they must be listed in Google Local. This is a good move by Google in ensuring that these are in fact local businesses. However, getting into Google Local can be difficult for many small businesses.
To get your information into Google Local, one has four options:
- One can sign up through the Google Business Center. The biggest issues with this route is that a pin number is mailed to you. You must receive the mailer and then input the pin number into Google Local. According to Google Local, it takes around six weeks for information to be included in Google Local. This means there around a two month time lapse between entering your information and appearing on Google Local (Google Business Center Information).
- One can send a feed to Google Base. There are two issues with this approach. The feed must be properly formatted, and FTPed correctly. Google Base has been so overwhelmed with response that the FTP is often down. Once your information is in Google Base, it takes approximately two weeks for them to approve local business listings, and then according to their emails, another six weeks to be included in Google Local. Again, a two month wait time.
- Once can send a Small Business Feed through Froogle. The same formatting issues above apply, however, the upload time seems quite efficient. Google claims this method can take upto six weeks to include information as well, however, we often see a 2-4 day turnaround in new information being included.
- One can use a feed distributor (such as RegisterLocal.com) to send out business information to many local web properties (including Google Local) at a single time. This approach has advantages as it gets you into many web properties, leaves the headaches with feed distribution to someone else, but also lets you easily update your small business data on many local properties at once.
Creating Your Local Business Ad:
Within your AdWords account, navigate to the AdGroup you wish to create a Local Business Ad. You will now see three ad types you can create (Text Ad, Image Ad, Local Business Ad). Click on the Local Business Ad.
The first step is to find your information in Google Local. You’ll be presented with a screen that includes business name, street address, city, state, zip, and country. Fill out this information and have Google search for possible matches.
If you find a match, then proceed to filling out the full information. If you don’t find a match, try searching again. If you can’t find your business listing, you’ll have to submit it to Google Local first (see information above on getting your information into Google Local).
Once you find your ad, you now have a few options:
- Create your ad (same character limits as a text ad).
- Add your phone number (this is optional). However, the phone number you display does not have to match what Google has on file. This allows one to make sure the most upto date phone number is displayed. It also gives advertisers an opportunity to use a unique phone number to track their ad’s effectiveness.
- Choose a map icon (full icon list above).
- Choose your destination page.
- Upload an image. The use of a graphical logo can significantly increase both CTRs and branding. The logo must be 125×125 (max size of 20k), and be in a .gif, .jpg, or .png format.
Once the information is filled out, save your work.
This is Keyword Based Advertising:
Unlike many local web advertisements that are based on channels or categories, these ads are keyword triggered. You’ll want to review the AdGroup that contains your Local Business Ad to ensure you have a robust universe of keywords that will trigger your ad.
It is also important to note that Google Local will only show one ad type at a time, and they are giving priority to Local Business Ads. What this means is that if there are no Local Business ads, then Google will show appropriate text ads. If there is even a single Local Business Ad, then Local Business Ads will show. If you’re the only one with a Local Business Ad, yours will be the only ad on the page.
Overview:
I’m elated to see Google take this step towards giving premium placement to local advertisers. I also think web searchers will very much enjoy this additional information on Google Local. Most national ads are not relevant to local based searches. This change ensures that local businesses are receiving excellent exposure while searchers are receiving information relevant to their search. A win-win situation for everyone involved.
Hopefully, this will start a new trend in local advertising placement that will carry over to other advertising providers. Google took the first step, now it’s time for the others to follow in assisting 22 million SMEs with billions of dollars to spend, to migrate from offline advertising to successful online marketing.
Google AdWords
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These seminars will educate advertisers on the creation and management of successful AdWords campaigns.
Upcoming Seminars:
Phoenix AdWords Seminars January 22nd & 23rd
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Seminar Information
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