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AdWords Seminars are Stopping in Seattle

September 29, 2009

The AdWords Seminar for Success series is heading to Seattle.

When: October 20 & 21
Where: Hilton Seattle Airport Hotel & Conference Center
17620 International Blvd
Seattle, WA 98188

The AdWords Seminar Curriculum has been completely revamped based upon feedback from previous attendees. We’re now offering a two day seminar. Each day is optional; however, we’re offering a discount to those attending both days.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Before you read the new curriculum, don’t forget the fun goodies you also get for attending:

• $100 AdWords Credit ($50 if you register for a single day) **Must Register 7 Days in Advance
• 2 USB Thumb Drives with Presentation Materials (1 for each day)
• Other Google Goodies

Curriculum Day 1

AdWords Seminar 301: Advanced Account Optimization
Morning Session	Afternoon Session
Psychology of Search Best Practices for PPC Success Understanding Keywords Keyword Research Long Tail Keywords Wide vs. Deep Keywords Negative Keywords Search Query Reports Discovering Effective Keywords AdWords Keyword Tool Spidering Websites Competitive Research Creating Compelling Ad Copy Connecting with the Searcher Unique Selling Proposition Benefits vs. Features Landing Pages that Convert Showcasing the Answer Where to Send Traffic Best Practices Usability Overview Advanced Optimization Techniques Boosting Your PPC Traffic Dynamic Keyword Insertion Ad Preview Tool Increasing Page Views Increasing PPC Conversion Rates Ad Copy Calls to Action Optimizing Landing Pages Open Q&A	Quality Score Demystified What is Quality Score How Actual CPC is Calculated Quality Score Factors How to Increase Your Quality Score Using Keyword Reports Beyond Text – Multimedia Ads Video Ads Image Ads Widget Ads Display Ad Builder Content Network Deep Dive Overview of the Content Network Data: Placement Performance Report Demographics Reports Content Network Optimization Placement Targeting Enhanced Campaigns Content Campaign Organization AdSense Preview Tool Ad Planner Advanced Geographic Targeting The Technology Effectively Reaching Local Audiences Local Business Ads Geographic Performance Reports AdWords Editor: Quick and Easy Account Changes Live AdWords Editor Demo Making Large Account Changes in Minutes Google Analytics Implementation Open Q&A
**Bonus Presentation: Marketing in a Down Economy

Brad – GREAT JOB! you managed multiple experience levels beautifully. I learned a lot. Already seeing better results from my Adwords campaigns. I’m sure I’ll attend another session.
Steve Hodgdon

The Google Adwords seminar by Brad Geddes was the most informative and enlightening one I have ever attended. The day flew by and the information gleaned was more than most two-day sessions I have attended.

Jeff Cunningham
Cunninghamn Gas Products

Curriculum Day 2

AdWords Seminar 302: Advanced Conversion Optimization
Morning Session	Afternoon Session
Setting Profitable Business Goals Putting Your Ad Dollars to Work Ad Delivery Bidding Types Max CPC Preferred Bidding Conversion Optimizer Budget Optimizer Learn How to Track Conversions Implementation Measurement Exploring ROI and Profit Calculating Bids Effective Bidding Strategies Position Preference Ad Scheduler Basic Advanced Time Sensitive Ads By Location My Client Center Successful Account Organization When to Create Campaigns Content vs. Search Budget Geography Product or Service Types Ad Scheduling When to Create AdGroups Organizing Ads and Keywords	Find Effective Messages through Split Testing Overview of Testing Ad Delivery Methods Statically Relevant Information Ad Copy Testing Advanced Ad Writing Split Testing Ad Copy Ad Performance Reports Landing Page Testing Where to Send Traffic for Testing How to Test Page Layouts Split Testing Landing Pages URL Performance Reports Profit Per Impression Combined Landing Page and Ad Testing Variations Understanding the Reports Lifetime Visitor Values Be More Productive Using AdWords Reports Keyword Report Search Query Performance Other Reports Google Analytics Reporting Site Overlay Conversion Funnels AdWords Account Navigation Click Quality and Reporting Even More Tools for Effective Research Ad Planner SK Tool Trends Widget Ads Resources Open Q&A
**Bonus Presentation: Actionable Items: Step-by-Step: How to Maximize Results for Your Limited Time

I attended your “Google Adwords Seminar for Success” sessions in Austin earlier this week.  I just wanted to say I really appreciated the content you offered.  Your material was well balanced.  I was fearful that because my company is not a product-selling company that we would not benefit from your information.  That couldn’t have been further from the truth.  Your seminar validated to me that the direction we have taken so far is appropriate.  It is good to see and hear from an expert that we have made good decisions about our Adwords strategy.   Your information and tips have given me new things to think about and to use when looking for new keywords to use, and as well to examine our existing keyword performance.

Stu Roberts
Director of Information Technology
Nelson Architectural Engineers, Inc.
Investigative Engineering & Forensic Technology

Brad, great job with the seminar.  It was taught well and at a good learning pace.  You handled the array of questions from simple to hard with great explanations and analogies.  I will probably be calling you for some personal phone consultations for my larger ppc clients.
All the best!
Tony Mandarich

I’m an affiliate and this type of training is essential and you guys delivered the best quality in content I’ve even seen about the subject of adwords. I left the seminar feeling more confident about this interface, but I sure would have been glad to pay extra for access to recorded video sessions.

Maybe that’s something you guys could
offer soon?

Thanks very much.
Charlie Perez.

Brad is a genius–and I don’t say that about a lot of people.  He knows Google adwords inside and out.  I was thoroughly impressed by his presentation.

-Anon

I attended this conference in order to learn the latest Adwords developments, and in this respect, I found it to be most useful. We are using Adwords tools daily, so know more about them than the average user. Still, it is useful from time to time to take a step back and listen to an expert who is obviously plugged into the latest, as well as upcoming, developments.

Brad is an exceptional speaker, offers insightful views about marketing theory, and is a technical master. Aside from that he demonstrates during his presentations a willingness to roll up his sleeves and delve into the nuts and bolts of how to manage Adwords to improve ROAS for clients.
Chris Lude
Denver-PPC.com

How important is bid management to your PPC Success?

September 25, 2009

Last year at SES in Chicago I did a presentation on the bid management panel with David Szetela and others. While most of the panelists were going to talk about bid management systems, I decided to compare it to other actions you could accomplish. While bid management is important, often companies think that once they have an automated system in place to change their bids; they are done with their PPC account and no longer have to manage it.

I created a demo account, and the looked at the various ways that you can increase your profits based upon various actions. In the slide, I compared it to a basic bid management system. There are some very complex systems which will give you better returns than basic bid management.

Last week, David and I did a podcast on PPC Rockstars where we walked through the presentation and had a nice conversation about bid management and other actions you can accomplish. You can listed to the podcast here. However, you will want to follow along with the slides if you listen to the podcast.

Have You Tried WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool Yet?

September 24, 2009

Every time I talk to someone at WordStream, or read their blog, the more impressed I am with the people. There are some smart, and very curious people who are trying to solve some interesting issues around keywords. If you’re looking to streamline keyword expansion and gain some insight into your keywords (both SEO and PPC), it’s worth testing out their product.

They recently launched a free keyword tool. Here’s a demonstration video:

You can also follow WordStream on Twitter. Their main accounts are: http://twitter.com/quality_score and http://twitter.com/wordstream; however, there are quite a few other Twitters at the company.

The best part of this post? It’s not a paid review. I never take money for posts nor endorse anything that I don’t believe in. It’s a product that deserves some attention; and the entry point of free is pretty easy to test.

If you’d like to see more good videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel

The AdWords Seminars for Success are going to Dallas

September 22, 2009

The AdWords Seminar for Success series is heading to Dallas.

When: October 13 & 14
Where: DoubleTree Hotel Dallas Market Center
2015 Market Center Blvd
Dallas, TX 75207

The AdWords Seminar Curriculum has been completely revamped based upon feedback from previous attendees. We’re now offering a two day seminar. Each day is optional; however, we’re offering a discount to those attending both days.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Before you read the new curriculum, don’t forget the fun goodies you also get for attending:

• $100 AdWords Credit ($50 if you register for a single day) **Must Register 7 Days in Advance
• 2 USB Thumb Drives with Presentation Materials (1 for each day)
• Other Google Goodies

Curriculum Day 1

AdWords Seminar 301: Advanced Account Optimization
Morning Session	Afternoon Session
Psychology of Search Best Practices for PPC Success Understanding Keywords Keyword Research Long Tail Keywords Wide vs. Deep Keywords Negative Keywords Search Query Reports Discovering Effective Keywords AdWords Keyword Tool Spidering Websites Competitive Research Creating Compelling Ad Copy Connecting with the Searcher Unique Selling Proposition Benefits vs. Features Landing Pages that Convert Showcasing the Answer Where to Send Traffic Best Practices Usability Overview Advanced Optimization Techniques Boosting Your PPC Traffic Dynamic Keyword Insertion Ad Preview Tool Increasing Page Views Increasing PPC Conversion Rates Ad Copy Calls to Action Optimizing Landing Pages Open Q&A	Quality Score Demystified What is Quality Score How Actual CPC is Calculated Quality Score Factors How to Increase Your Quality Score Using Keyword Reports Beyond Text – Multimedia Ads Video Ads Image Ads Widget Ads Display Ad Builder Content Network Deep Dive Overview of the Content Network Data: Placement Performance Report Demographics Reports Content Network Optimization Placement Targeting Enhanced Campaigns Content Campaign Organization AdSense Preview Tool Ad Planner Advanced Geographic Targeting The Technology Effectively Reaching Local Audiences Local Business Ads Geographic Performance Reports AdWords Editor: Quick and Easy Account Changes Live AdWords Editor Demo Making Large Account Changes in Minutes Google Analytics Implementation Open Q&A
**Bonus Presentation: Marketing in a Down Economy

Brad – GREAT JOB! you managed multiple experience levels beautifully. I learned a lot. Already seeing better results from my Adwords campaigns. I’m sure I’ll attend another session.
Steve Hodgdon

The Google Adwords seminar by Brad Geddes was the most informative and enlightening one I have ever attended. The day flew by and the information gleaned was more than most two-day sessions I have attended.

Jeff Cunningham
Cunninghamn Gas Products

Curriculum Day 2

AdWords Seminar 302: Advanced Conversion Optimization
Morning Session	Afternoon Session
Setting Profitable Business Goals Putting Your Ad Dollars to Work Ad Delivery Bidding Types Max CPC Preferred Bidding Conversion Optimizer Budget Optimizer Learn How to Track Conversions Implementation Measurement Exploring ROI and Profit Calculating Bids Effective Bidding Strategies Position Preference Ad Scheduler Basic Advanced Time Sensitive Ads By Location My Client Center Successful Account Organization When to Create Campaigns Content vs. Search Budget Geography Product or Service Types Ad Scheduling When to Create AdGroups Organizing Ads and Keywords	Find Effective Messages through Split Testing Overview of Testing Ad Delivery Methods Statically Relevant Information Ad Copy Testing Advanced Ad Writing Split Testing Ad Copy Ad Performance Reports Landing Page Testing Where to Send Traffic for Testing How to Test Page Layouts Split Testing Landing Pages URL Performance Reports Profit Per Impression Combined Landing Page and Ad Testing Variations Understanding the Reports Lifetime Visitor Values Be More Productive Using AdWords Reports Keyword Report Search Query Performance Other Reports Google Analytics Reporting Site Overlay Conversion Funnels AdWords Account Navigation Click Quality and Reporting Even More Tools for Effective Research Ad Planner SK Tool Trends Widget Ads Resources Open Q&A
**Bonus Presentation: Actionable Items: Step-by-Step: How to Maximize Results for Your Limited Time

I attended your “Google Adwords Seminar for Success” sessions in Austin earlier this week.  I just wanted to say I really appreciated the content you offered.  Your material was well balanced.  I was fearful that because my company is not a product-selling company that we would not benefit from your information.  That couldn’t have been further from the truth.  Your seminar validated to me that the direction we have taken so far is appropriate.  It is good to see and hear from an expert that we have made good decisions about our Adwords strategy.   Your information and tips have given me new things to think about and to use when looking for new keywords to use, and as well to examine our existing keyword performance.

Stu Roberts
Director of Information Technology
Nelson Architectural Engineers, Inc.
Investigative Engineering & Forensic Technology

Brad, great job with the seminar.  It was taught well and at a good learning pace.  You handled the array of questions from simple to hard with great explanations and analogies.  I will probably be calling you for some personal phone consultations for my larger ppc clients.
All the best!
Tony Mandarich

I’m an affiliate and this type of training is essential and you guys delivered the best quality in content I’ve even seen about the subject of adwords. I left the seminar feeling more confident about this interface, but I sure would have been glad to pay extra for access to recorded video sessions.

Maybe that’s something you guys could
offer soon?

Thanks very much.
Charlie Perez.

Brad is a genius–and I don’t say that about a lot of people.  He knows Google adwords inside and out.  I was thoroughly impressed by his presentation.

-Anon

I attended this conference in order to learn the latest Adwords developments, and in this respect, I found it to be most useful. We are using Adwords tools daily, so know more about them than the average user. Still, it is useful from time to time to take a step back and listen to an expert who is obviously plugged into the latest, as well as upcoming, developments.

Brad is an exceptional speaker, offers insightful views about marketing theory, and is a technical master. Aside from that he demonstrates during his presentations a willingness to roll up his sleeves and delve into the nuts and bolts of how to manage Adwords to improve ROAS for clients.
Chris Lude
Denver-PPC.com

Integrate Phone Call Tracking and Google Analytics with Mongoose Metrics

September 21, 2009

I recently wrote a long article at Search Engine Land on the advantages and disadvantages of different types of phone call tracking solutions. Many companies are spending a significant amount of dollars on PPC, SEO, banner ads, etc and do not understand how many phone calls those marketing channels bring in. To really optimize your advertising efforts, it is essential for most companies to track phone calls.

The article generated a lot of buzz among phone call tracking providers; which was good as it enabled me to finally catch up with Mongoose Metrics; a solution that lets you see phone calls in Google Analytics as well as other analytics solutions. I had originally heard about Mongoose Metrics from the Google Analytics blog post on GA integrations.

I talked to one of the co-founders, Jeff Tirey, who will also be speaking at Pubcon this year if you’d like to talk to him directly about their solution; and found their approach quite unique.

While some companies use a reverse proxy solution, correlate phone numbers to campaigns, or use a 1 phone number to 1 campaign solution; the conversation always comes back to pricing.

Unique Pricing Approach

Mongoose Metrics has taken a very unique approach to their pricing strategy which gets away from the cost of total phone numbers, and minutes used: it’s a session based pricing model.

This means that you do not have to determine how many numbers and minutes you will use. You can choose what types of sessions you wish to track, and then on those sessions show a call tracking number. The implications?

You can track:

• PPC by keyword, ad copy, landing page, or anything you desire
• SEO by keyword, engine, etc
• Banner buys
• Email blasts (once they hit your website)
• Or any channel you desire

To determine pricing, determine an estimate on the number of user sessions that occur for which you wish to track, and then talk to Mongoose about pricing and implementation. It’s pretty easy.

Once a user calls one of your call tracking number, Mongoose Metrics will serve a user session to your website with your defined parameters. This lets you see your phone calls within your analytics system. You do not need to marry up a phone call tracking interface with your analytics system, their system will do some of the work for you.

If you are a small company who can’t afford a large implementation, you might consider using it for a few months – determining exactly what keywords, ad groups, engines, etc are leading to phone calls and then turn it off.

If you’re a large company; this is a solution you should at least price versus other possibilities.

Their pricing model alone makes then an interesting player in the space. Their solution (which I have not tried yet) looks like it might solve issues for many businesses attempting to understand what makes a user pick up the phone and call them.

Optimizing for No Phone Calls

During our call, Jeff mentioned an interesting approach one of their customers’ is using to not receive phone calls. Yes, they do not want phone calls. The customer is a web based knowledge help system. Their goal is for their customer’s to find their answers on the web based system and not have to call in for help. Therefore, they examine the searches and pages which are resulting in phone calls in order to make their knowledge based system better. Creative.

Mongoose Metrics Screenshots:

Phone Call by Keyword (Click to enlarge):

 

Phone Call data in Google Analytics (Click to enlarge):

 

 

If you’re in the market for a phone call tracking solution, I’d recommend including Mongoose Metrics in the conversation. They do have an API; but I didn’t go into much details as to it’s specs.

As with all website optimization solutions, you need to determine what you need to learn to make actionable business decisions – and then find the best solution that helps you gain the proper insight. They won’t be the best fit for everyone; but if you want an easy pricing model, phone call tracking, and/or analytics integration; include them in the conversation.

As usual; none of these posts are paid endorsements. I found the solution interesting and thought it was worth raising awareness of a different type of call tracking solution.

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