• • Certified Knowledge PPC Training & Tools. Training to fit your schedule. Tools to increase
    your profits.
  • AdWords SeminarsIntensive two day seminars
    supported by Google™.
  • Advanced Google AdWords BookRead the most advanced guide
    ever written about AdWords.

Avoid the Downward Quality Score Spiral

May 27, 2010

My rule (and like all rules there are exceptions) is that if your quality score is 6 or below; stop raising bids and start working on quality score.

However, I keep receiving the question: Outside of cost and position; why is quality score so important?

Here’s the answer.

First, take a look at this list of what quality score actually affects in your account:

• If your ad is eligible to be shown in the auction
• What position your ad will be displayed on the search page
• The price you pay for the click
• If products extensions will be displayed with your ad
• If sitelinks will be displayed with your ad
• If location extensions will be displayed with your ad
• If your ad is eligible to be displayed in the top spot above the natural results
• If dynamic keyword insertion will work

Not working on quality score can put a keyword into a negative spiral.

Ad rank (where your ad is displayed in the search results) is a simple formula: ad rank = QS X Max CPC.
Ads are shown in descending order of ad rank (the highest ad rank is position 1, the second highest ad rank is position 2, etc)

Let’s say your paying $2 per click with a quality score of 4. This means your ad rank is 8.

Now let’s say that your competition is bidding $1 with a quality score of 7. This means their ad rank is a 7.

At this point in time your ad appears higher in the search results.

However, with a 4 quality score your ad does not show DKI, it does not show product extension ads, in fact the ad displayed on the SERP is identical to what you see inside your account as none of the ad ‘add-ons’ will be displayed with your ad.

Your competition’s ad, with a 7 quality score, is showing extensions (this could be product or location extensions) and looks nicer on the SERP than your ad. So what happens? Your CTR goes down and theirs goes up.

This causes your quality score to drop even more.
And their quality score to rise.

Over time, their ad starts showing above your ad even through their bid is half of yours.

Then the next advertiser below you has a 7 quality score and their ad is showing product extensions….

The cycle repeats itself until your ad just stops showing because of low quality score reasons.

Spending a little time working with quality score each week might not always result in increasing all of your quality scores; but it will help keep you from falling into a downward spiral.

If you need quality score help; our new training site will have tutorials on quality score as well as a tool where you can quickly see where inside your account you should spend your time optimizing your quality scores.

Google AdWords Remarketing Campaigns: See how we set up our own campaigns

May 21, 2010

Google remarketing campaigns allow you to serve custom ads to users who have visited your website.

My latest Search Engine Land article covers the basics of setting up a remarketing campaign and gives some examples for setting up remarketing ad groups for an ecommerce site. If you are new to remarketing, you might want to take a quick look through that article and learn the basics of how to set up a remarketing campaign as in this article we’re going to make the assumption that you have some basic knowledge of remarketing.

In this article, we will show you how we are setting them up for our new product, Certified Knowledge (note: the site is not fully live yet, but we’re planning out our marketing campaigns now so this is what it will look like once everything is publicly launched).

The Marketing Campaign’s Objectives

Certified Knowledge is a subscription based AdWords learning, PPC tool, and community site. With many subscription products it takes a few visits for someone to finally convert. Therefore, remarketing is a perfect way to serve custom ads to those who have been on the site once, but have not yet bought a subscription.

There are three main benefits of Certified Knowledge (tutorials, tools, and community); therefore, we want to make custom ads based upon what sections someone has visited within the site.

If someone entered the cart but did not buy, we want a very custom message.  For example, if a user started the purchase process but did not complete the transaction; we want to display a custom message or offer specific to the fact that they didn’t finish the purchase process.  This group of cart abandoners still have a better chance of converting than someone who has never been to our website before or looked around the site and didn’t enter the cart, so our bids for this list will be higher than for any other audience.

If someone has subscribed we don’t want to serve then an ad for the membership.

Lastly, the further into the conversion process that someone was, the longer the cookie will last based upon our settings (remarketing ads are displayed based upon a browser having a cookie that corresponds to your lists).

The Remarketing Lists

Google offers the ability to create a straightforward list (a cookie on the computer means they are in a list), or a custom combination which uses Boolean strings to combine audiences into a single list. With some of these lists, I think we could use custom combinations instead of straight lists. However, I’ve not been able to test Google’s Boolean strings yet to be confident in their use. What I’d like to do is add someone to list 1. Then, if they also make it to list 2, remove them from list 2. However, that is not currently possible.

In addition, what I don’t know is if someone is on two different lists; and you use one list as a negative list, it appears that the ad will not be displayed to that person at all. (i.e. if someone is on list a and on list b, and list a is your positive list and list b is your negative list – will the user see the ad?)

Therefore, for the initial setup of our remarketing campaigns (this may change in the future); I’m setting up several lists; and then I’ll use negative lists at the ad group level and CPC manipulation to determine which shows (i.e. if a basic list is worth $0.25 and a more advanced list is worth $1, even if someone is on both, the should see the $1 CPC ad copy for that list).

Here is a list of the remarketing lists that we created and where we put the codes across our website:

List Name	Purpose	Placed	Cookie Duration
All visitors	Reach everyone who examined in the offer	Global Footer	30 days
PPC Tools	Reach those who examined the Tools section	PPC Tools pages	60 days
AdWords Tutorials	Reach those who entered the tutorial section	AdWords Video page	60 days
PPC Community	Reach those looking for community engagement	PPC community page	60 days
Pricing	Reach price conscious shoppers	Visited price page	60 days
Shopping cart abandonment	Reach consumers who showed intent to buy but did not finish	All pages except confirmation of cart	90 days
Converted: Free email training	Free 5 email training message for sneak peak. Reach these consumers who showed high interest in system.	Thank you for subscribing email confirmation page	90 days
Converted: Subscription	If someone subscribed, want to make sure we don’t serve them ads	Thank you for subscribing page after billing info entered	360 days

 

Once the lists are created and the scripts placed on the appropriate pages, then it’s time to create the Ad Groups that reach the various audiences.

Remarketing Ad Groups

We are creating an entirely new campaign for our remarketing lists for four reasons:

• Budget. We have a much higher budget than for our placement and discovery campaigns.
• Blocked domains. We don’t want our usual blocked domain list to affect remarketing ads (at least to start)
• Geography: As this product has international appeal (and we’ll do international billing); we are going to start with a few different countries in our campaign list (and refine from there).
• Reach & Frequency: We want a different frequency caps for the ads than our other content campaigns.

Once a new campaign is setup, it’s time to map out the ad groups. The reason to create various remarketing ad groups is when you want to show different ads to different audience lists. At an ad group level, you can add both positive and negative audiences and set a different bid by audience. Therefore, we’re going to build our ad groups from the ads that we’re going to be showing.

In addition, it will be common for some users to be on multiple lists. Therefore, we’re going to use a lot of negative lists to ensure the most relevant ad is being displayed. In cases where someone is on multiple lists, we will also use bids to ensure the more specific ad is being shown (so our bids will be the lowest on general ads and highest on close-to-converting individuals).

Ad Group 1: Non-Engaged Users

This ad group is for users who visited the site but did not enter a specific section of the site. Therefore, these are the absolutely least qualified of all the visitors. This is the reason the cookie duration for this list is only 30 days, the shortest of all the lists.

The positive list: All visitor

The negative lists: All the other lists. If someone is on any other list; we don’t want them seeing our general ad; we want a more specific ad served to that user.

The ad: Showcasing all benefits.

Bid: Lowest of all the remarketing lists. These visitors went to at least the homepage, and possibly an interior page; but not one of the very specific pages that is useful for tailoring a separate ad for that user.

Ad Group 2: Price Shoppers

This ad group is for users who visited the pricing section.

The positive list: Pricing

The negative lists: All others except non-engaged users list.

The ad: Showcasing that your time is worth money, and then show how Certified Knowledge can save you time.

Bid: Second lowest of all the remarketing lists. Price conscious users can be difficult to convince. In addition, I’d rather the more specific ad (the ad groups below) be shown to consumers instead of this ad. If someone happens to be on both the non-engaged user list and the price shoppers list, they should see this ad because its bid will be higher than the non-engaged user list.

Ad Group 3: PPC Community

This ad group is for people who visited the PPC community page. I expect that most people who visit this page will also visit other pages across the site. Therefore, while this will be an ad we show, we’re going to put less importance on what I expect the stronger benefits to be: Tools & Training. However, if someone did visit this page, we’re willing to show them this ad (in addition to other ads they may see from the more specific ad groups).

The positive list: PPC community

The negative list: All others except Price Shoppers and Non-engaged users.

The ad: Showcasing the benefits of having access to an active forum, email, and news system.

Bid: Third lowest. Higher than Price Shoppers; lower than PPC Tools & AdWords Tutorials.

Ad Group 4: AdWords Tutorials

This ad group is targeting consumers who examined our tutorials. As we’re going to have many pages explaining the tutorials, this might be broken down into two lists over time: main tutorials page, all training subpages. That sectioning will help us identify those who just glanced at the tutorials versus looked at our videos and read more about the AdWords lessons.

The positive list: AdWords Tutorials

The negative list: Converted subscription, Converted email training, Shopping cart abandonment. If someone converted, or was closer to converting than just visiting the features pages, then I want them to see the more specific ad.

The ad: Showcasing what Certified Knowledge can teach you about AdWords with more than 50 lessons, and more than 100 coming by the end of the year.

Bid: Higher than PPC Community and lower than the three negative lists.

Ad Group 5: PPC Tools

This ad group is targeting consumers who examined our toolset. As we’re going to have many pages explaining the tools, this might be broken down into two lists over time: main tools page, all tool subpages. That sectioning will help us identify those who just glanced at the tools versus looked at our videos and read more about the tools.

The positive list: PPC Tools

The negative list: Converted subscription, Converted email training, Shopping cart abandonment. If someone converted, or was closer to converting than just visiting the features pages, then I want them to see the more specific ad.

The ad: Showcasing the benefits of the PPC tools we have developed which will save you time in creating ad copies, geographic keywords and keywords. They will help you bid, find quality score issues, find broken links, and help you analyze your site. While most of the ad groups will contain two or three image ads to start (by themes, each theme will have different sizes); I expect this ad group will have more test ads to see what message resonates better.

Bid: Same as the AdWords Tutorials. I expect it will become slightly higher than the tutorials over time as tutorials are one to three time views for most consumers, and many repeat views will help refresh your knowledge. The tools will be used daily, weekly, or monthly depending on what you’re trying to accomplish inside your account; and therefore, I think will be more valuable over time.

Ad Group 6: Converted Free Email Training

This ad group is for targeting those who signed up for a ‘free lessons training’ via email. Many people who sign up for free training do not have an intent to buy as they just want the free stuff. Others want a trial of what you are offering and have a high chance of converting. However, email open rates can be sporadic on free training offers. Therefore, these ads will both remind them about Certified Knowledge, but also serve as a reminder about the emails delivered to them.

The positive list: Converted Free Email Training

The negative lists: Converted subscription, Shopping Cart Abandoners

The ad: Showcase the Certified Knowledge tutorials with messages to remind them about their email subscription. I’m not sure if they will be something like: “Did you enjoy your free email training from Certified Knowledge? Learn how you can access all of our training” as that might seem a bit creepy to people that we know they have the email – or if they’ll be images more aligned with the training aspects of Certified Knowledge.

Bid: To start, a bit higher than AdWords tutorials & tools lists as these users were willing to give us a name and email address to receive the information. Overtime, the bidding for this list might change significantly up or down.

Ad Group 7: Shopping Cart Abandoners

This ad group is for targeting those who entered the shopping cart but did not convert.

The positive list: Shopping cart abandoners

The negative list: Converted subscription, Converted Free email training

I’m making an assumption here that I might change in the future. I’m considering these users more valuable than the converted free email training list as these shoppers were within a submit button of entering their credit card information and becoming customers. I think they will be more valuable than the Converted Free Email Training list – but I might be wrong; therefore, I might test this exact same ad group minus the email training list as a negative list in the future.

The ad: One ad will showcase the Certified Knowledge benefits. One will show a phone number with the benefits that talks about support for any problems. As we start to map out sign-up objections, then we will base the ads around the most common ones.

Bid: The highest of all the lists.

Are all these lists necessary?

Outside of the time to create the actual ads per ad group, setting up one list and one ad group versus seven ad groups and lists is only a few minutes of additional work. We’re using WordPress for this site’s CMS; so adding some custom code to the pages is very simple and will take less than a minute per list. I’m expecting the entire setup (outside of the ad copy creation) to take less than ten minutes. I’ve already set up some remarketing campaigns for the AdWords Seminars and it took less than a minute to setup the list and add the code to the pages for each created list.

The advantage of showing an ad to the consumer based upon their main interests in the site should significantly outweigh the work involved.

The Next Step

Once everything is in place, then remarketing success is all about ad creatives and measurement.

Remarketing has a higher potential of success than almost all other forms of marketing because the user was already involved with your website. Most marketing drives some users to your website based upon a common interest (keyword, placement, email list, etc). Remarketing engages users who have already been on your website and are somewhat familiar with your offerings. This type of campaign can be the final push that someone needs to realize how valuable your service can be to them.

Google’s New Match Type Now Live – Modified Broad Match

May 11, 2010

I was lucky enough to be in the beta of modified broad match and have been using this match type for a couple months now to great success. Google lifted the veil of secrecy today about the new match type and let me know that I can now blog about it.

Broad match increases reach. Phrase match increases relevancy. The new modified broad match gives you the flexibility of broad match with the control of phrase match.

Broad match is useful because: “20% of the queries Google receives each day are ones we haven’t seen in at least 90 days, if at all?” – source.

While the fact that so many queries are unique often led people to using broad match – the returns often aren’t there. This new match type gives you some control over how a broad matched word can be matched.

To use this match type, go to your account and add a + (plus) symbol in front of one or more words in your keyword phrase. Then, the word/s with the +sign must either be in the query or a close variant must be in the query. A close variant is a misspelling (flor instead of floor), plural (flowers instead of flower), or stemmed version (running instead of run).

Keyword	Possible Matches	Notes
running +shoes	running shoes running shoe tennis shoes	The word +shoes or it’s variant ‘shoe’ is in every query
+running +shoe	running shoes running shoe run shoe shoes for running	Both +shoe and +running must be in the query or have a variant in the query
+extra +wide running +shoes	Extra wide running shoes Extra wide exercise shoes Extra wide walking shoes	All the words are matched or closely matched except for ‘running’

The use of the new modified broad match will help expand your possible matches while still keeping those same matches under control. Broad match and negative keywords do work well  together, and this new match type will open up some new possibilities for broad and negative match combinations. Just remember that these new matches will still not convert higher than your exact match keywords.

If you wish to try this out, I’d suggest picking a few select ad groups where you are having problems gaining the exposure you desire, and then following these steps:

• Create a new ad group using those same keywords with the new plus modifiers
• If the old ad group has all broad match, then set a higher CPC for these new match types
• If the old ad group has all exact and phrase match, then set a lower CPC for these new match types
• Let the ad group run and collect some data
• Run the search query report examining these two ad groups and their variations
• Set appropriate bids based upon conversions

The reason to create a new ad group in this example is that you can only see search query data at the ad group level. While you can see the match type; you cannot see the keyword and match type combination that triggered a query. Over time, you might get rid of one of these ad groups and combine the keywords back into a single ad group. However, this is a new match type and there are bound to be some odd combinations that you will be shown for.

When trying out a brand new function with AdWords, it can be useful to look at the new features in isolation from other variables.

Introducing Google AdWords Certified Partners. Google Advertising Professional Program is being shut down.

April 26, 2010

Google has been doing some serious thinking about the GAP (Google Advertising Professional) program for at least three years.

A while ago they redid the entire learning center. No one seems to completely understand this change as all their nice videos are gone replace by text and a fewer number of lessons.

Then AdWords launched Agency Land.

And today they launch their new certification program.

Here are the main differences:

Individual Qualification

Old Days: One test and spend requirement.

Now: Two tests (one basic and any one of the advanced tests) and no spend requirement.

This seems that the individual qualification is more a resume bullet point than a way of attracting business.

Certified Partner

Old Days: This was a qualified company. Qualified companies required 3 GAPs and a nice spend requirement.

Now: Need one Individual Qualification and spend $10k/quarter. This is a much lower threshold to become a partner than the old ‘qualified company’ logo.

Others

While Google still offers logos for analytics, website optimizer, etc – the AdWords Reseller and AdWords Company qualified logos showed both a combination of size (more than 1 employee) and spend.

AdWords Reseller

There is so much speculation around the reseller programs demise or massive change that I won’t even speculate here. It is the only section of the Advanced AdWords Book that Google legal & Google marketing asked me to alter.

Free API  Credits

Here’s the really good news. Agencies will now get API credits based upon client spend. In the old days, an individual advertiser or reseller could get free quote points, but agencies had to pay for it. Now, just like individual advertisers; agencies can be eligible for credits if they have an agency page (a free listing page on Google’s site that you can create once you’re a partner).

You get 250 units per $1 spent. This is an excellent ratio of free API units. Few companies are going to need to buy additional API units (and if they do – they might need to examine their their usage first).

[update]Google called me to make sure people realized that you didn’t just get API credits by having a profile page. You still need to apply for the credits[/update]

What’s Next

Individual qualification has become a bullet point. Certified partners are just old GAPs with one good client ($10/quarter). The reseller program is going under major restructuring. It seems the only logical step is to make the old AdWords Resellers a program for large agencies.

There’s definitely a few tiers that is not well recognized here:

• The large agency: $1 million month or quarter. These agencies handle big accounts and are splitting the spend between multiple channels.
• The medium agency: $1 million / year, with 100 clients and 3-5 GAPs. If this agency gets 1 or 2 big clients, they might be 2-3 million/year in spend, but most of their clients are small.
• The small personal big client agency: This agency has 1-3 GAPs, but has one or two huge clients and spends $100k/month or more
• The small personal small spend agency: This agency has 1-3 GAPs, 10-40 clients per GAP, and manages roughly $50k-$250k of spend per month.

Google does not need this many tiers of logos. That I wouldn’t claim. However, having the above 4 agencies using the same Certified Partner logo that having one client who spend $3.5k/month will earn you doesn’t seem right either.

Expect to see a lot of posts about the new tests. The toughness of the new advanced tests (I haven’t taken any yet – I’m hoping they are *hard* and fair). And speculation about how to recognize those larger agencies.

Advanced Google AdWords Book – Now Shipping

April 2, 2010

Advanced Google AdWords is the most advanced book on AdWords techniques, tips, and optimization tricks on the market.

I’ve spent the past year putting my decade of PPC knowledge into a single book, and I must say, I’m quite proud of the results. It has been a difficult, but very fun process.

The book covers a large range of topics. Here is a list of the chapters:

• Chapter 1: Understanding Search Theory
• Chapter 2: Keyword Research
• Chapter 3: Keyword Tools: Chapter 4: Writing Compelling Ads
• Chapter 5: Landing Pages that Convert Searchers into Buyers
• Chapter 6: Advanced Optimization Techniques
• Chapter 7: Demystifying Quality Score
• Chapter 8: Beyond Text: Image, Video, and Mobile Ads
• Chapter 9: Understanding the Content Network:
• Chapter 10: Advanced Content Network Techniques
• Chapter 11: Advanced Geographic Targeting
• Chapter 12: Save Time & and Scale Accounts with the AdWords Editor
• Chapter 13: Profitable Bid Strategies
• Chapter 14: Successful Account Organization Strategies
• Chapter 15: Testing Techniques That Will Increase Profits
• Chapter 16: AdWords Reports: How to Extract Actionable Information
• Chapter 17: Step- by- Step: Create & and Monitor Your AdWords Account

You can read full summaries of the chapter contents on the AdvancecdAdWordsBook.com website.

The book also contains $175 worth of discounts:

• $25 AdWords coupons (for new accounts only)
• $50 Two Day AdWords Seminar coupon (when hosted by Brad Geddes)
• Up to $100 off Certified Knowledge (our newest project)

However, you don’t have to take my word for it. Here’s a list of testimonials from industry veterans:

Most books about search advertising show you how to do it. In Advanced Google AdWords, paid search expert Brad Geddes takes it to the next level, showing you not only how to get the most from your search advertising campaigns, but more importantly why you should use specific features and techniques, who you should be targeting with your creative, and when to use the scores of advanced tactics he describes for maximum impact and profitability. I’d advise buying more than one copy of this book because you’ll wear one out from constant use.

—Chris Sherman, Executive Editor, Search Engine Land

The thing that differentiates this book from other AdWords guides is that it takes you inside the mind of a successful paid search advertiser and walks you through each and every step of the auction and advertising process. The two consistent strengths of the book are its ability to ground the reader in the core goals of their advertising program (generating leads and sales through effective targeting and messaging) and its relentless attention to detail. That perspective and thoroughness mean that the book is accessible to less sophisticated advertisers, and ensure that there are a series of valuable nuggets for intermediate and even expert AdWords users.

—Tom Demers, Director of Marketing with WordStream

Brad is the go-to guru for AdWords. Advanced Google AdWords is actionable, readable and has tons of handy tips that any online advertiser can try immediately. Even if you think you know everything about Quality Score or the Google content network, you’ll find things you haven’t thought about that can boost your sales right away.

—Ron Drabkin, VP Business Development, JustAnswer.com

Brad has made a lot of people a lot of money in some of the most competitive markets of PPC marketing. Now he’s put all his knowledge into one book. Buy and read this book before your competitors do!

—Adrian Bye, Founder, MeetInnovators.com

Ironically, it’s hard to find complete, accurate, and intelligent information about how to build and manage paid search campaigns. Brad Geddes is one of the few people in the PPC world that I trust to deeply know the facts, communicate them clearly, and add value with insights that save time and/or money. This book is perfect for anyone who wants to really learn paid search and discover the best ways to improve their results.

—Craig Danuloff, President, ClickEquations

Brad’s book is the most comprehensive compilation of Google AdWords tools and how-to advice I’ve seen in some time. He gives a thorough explanation of the theory and history of search, and provides detailed, specific instructions on execution of strategies & tactics covering every possible facet of Google AdWords. Every online marketer, from novice to expert, will find this an invaluable resource in getting the most out of their AdWords campaigns.

—Melissa Mackey, Online Marketing Manager, Fluency Media; Search Engine Watch Expert Author, Search Advertising

Brad Geddes knows marketing, and he understands the inscrutable mind of Google—a killer combination when it comes to explaining AdWords. His book is a powerful combination of deep insight and simple prescriptions that will help anyone, from AdWords novice to seasoned pro, get more clicks and make more sales. I’ve never seen a clearer discussion of the buying funnel as it relates to choosing keywords and writing ads. And you ignore the chapter on Quality Score at your own risk. This book raised my game—and I’m sure it’ll do the same with yours.

—Howie Jacobson, Ph.D., author, Google AdWords For Dummies

There are many paid search experts out there, but Brad is unique in that he is not just an expert, but is able to effectively communicate his knowledge to those who are new to the field. It is rare to find someone in the industry that has such a deep understanding of a topic that can teach both the basics and the robust features of paid search.

—Barry Schwartz, CEO of RustyBrick, Editor at Search Engine Land & Search Engine Roundtable

Brad Geddes is one of the few AdWords experts I always pay attention to. He’s one of the best in the field. This book is incredible comprehensive, illustrative, and readable. Both beginners and experienced pay-per-click marketers will find invaluable insights here. Brad fills in a lot of gaps that the AdWords Help screens don’t cover. Otherwise, you’d have to get the info from an AdWords rep, and only the biggest spenders get the best attention from these reps. Heeding this book’s advice from the start will save you a lot of money and get you much better results. Highly recommended.

—Brian Carter, Director of PPC, SEO, Social Media at Fuel Interactive

If Google set out to make AdWords simple—they failed. Brad steps into the breach and makes things clear, understandable and profitable for us mere mortals with a marketing background.

—Andy Atkins-Krüger, CEO WebCertain

Successful PPC campaign organization and management is more complex than one would originally think. Thankfully, the author has provided us with a highly practical, easy-to-understand guide to launching and managing PPC campaigns that will simplify the process and increase the likelihood of great results. Brad really opens your eyes to not only how, but to why things should be done. For instance, in the chapter on ad writing you are given proven best practices, but also taught how to get into the minds of the search prospects and meet them where they are at in the sales funnel. Awesome! Whether you’re a beginner or have been running PPC campaigns for a while now, you can be sure your head will be exploding with new ways to make your campaigns more effective and profitable.

—Stoney G deGeyter, CEO, Pole Position Marketing

Brad gets it! He has a wealth of hands-on experience and shares it freely. If you want to drive and convert Google AdWords traffic, you need to read this book—now!

—Tim Ash, CEO, SiteTuners.com; author of Landing Page Optimization; chairperson, ConversionConference.com

I’m not going to lie. I’m jealous. This is the AdWords book I wish I had written. I’ve been following and learning from Brad Geddes for years and without a doubt, this is the single most useful, detailed and comprehensive book on AdWords available. Who is this book for? Absolutely everyone who uses Google AdWords. No only will beginners get a lot from this book, but seasoned professionals with years of experience will pick up a lot more than a few nuggets. This is it. This is the AdWords book that others will try to match. This is the only book about AdWords you will ever need. Brad has brought something truly useful to the advertising community.

—Dale Davis, Managing Director, RedFly Limited

This book translates years of successful experience into language anyone can learn from to improve their skill level and understand paid search at a higher level. For years Brad has been my go-to source for the hardest of AdWords questions no one else could answer. Understanding the evolution of paid search is key to taking advantage of the nuances and complexities of current search algorithms. Brad does the impossible by teaching you high-level skills that will equate to actionable strategies you can apply immediately. He describes the lifecycle of paid search, and most importantly how to create a strategy from this understanding that applies to you. Brad has stayed fresh and documented his decade of experience and teaches people with a patience level acquired from years of teaching in person that results in an attention to detail that will be hard to find in any other book on the subject. The money you will save on understanding quality score alone makes buying this book a no-brainer.

—Todd Malicoat, SEO Faculty at Market Motive

This is a book you’ll keep on your desk, not your bookshelf. Brad Geddes explains advanced optimization in plain, simple language. You read it and it makes sense, so you trust it. You read it and you understand it, and so you can put it to work on your own campaigns. He makes it seem easy, and that’s the brilliance of this book. Even as Google continues to expand and evolve, the techniques shown in the book will still be perfectly valid—they are built on a very sold technical foundation. I highly recommend it to any serious PPC campaign manager. Well done, Brad!

—Matt Van Wagner, President, Find Me Faster

Brad Geddes is the clearest voice on advanced AdWords teachings, tactics and strategies. I’m constantly referring to Brad’s articles and sharing them with others to help our clients make tens of thousands of dollars in their PPC campaigns—so be sure to grab a copy of Brad’s new book. One of the best things I like about Brad’s knowledge is that he is constantly sharpening his blade by teaching (Google’s Seminar for Success, AdWords advanced courses) and doing (running his own campaigns) so his writing reflects his deep knowledge of the intricacies and details which, when followed, lead to improved campaign results. There are a handful of books on the market which give you a broad understanding of the psychology behind how to advertise on Google; in Advanced Google AdWords Brad gives you that plus a practical, step by step plan to leverage what you’ve learned by including the technical details you need to turn your knowledge into action.

—Timothy Seward, Founder, ROI Revolution, Inc.

Brad has been the authority on Google AdWords for years, and this book is the best training tool I have seen since Google’s own training on their program. Brad goes a step further by explaining everything from where PPC advertising got started to advanced optimization techniques. If there is one part that I focused in on the most, it was keyword and ad group organization. As Brad says, it is the most time consuming but most rewarding tactic you can use in PPC marketing. If you want to learn AdWords, this is a fantastic book to read to get the whole picture.

—Kate Morris, Search Engine Marketing Consultant, KateMorris.com

Very few people have the grasp and understanding of Google’s content network or the ability to use words and illustrations to make it look so easy. From best practices to organizing your campaigns to the importance of placement performance reports, you’ll find it step by step in Advanced Google AdWords.

—Shelley Ellis, CEO, Shelley Ellis Consulting

Brad Geddes is the quintessential AdWords authority. His love of sharing information and his deep knowledge of pay-per-click systems makes this book a compelling read. This book hits the mark by blending practical with creative strategies to help me organize, quantify, and present ads for the most effective return on investment.

—Brett Tabke, CEO, Webmaster World

For years, I’ve been recommending Brad Geddes to people who ask me for AdWords resources. I’m thrilled to now have Brad’s book Advanced Google AdWords to recommend as well. This book clearly walks through every step of the paid search process in accessible, relatable language. Just as importantly, Brad keeps the focus on the audience. He understands that it’s not enough to know how to create and buy ads and ensure they are visible in Google search results. The real goal is to connect your business to the right searchers, engage them, and turn them into paying customers. That’s what this book will help you do.

—Vanessa Fox, author, Marketing In The Age Of Google

Many AdWords advertisers realize that the search and content network need different approaches. The problem is that most don’t know how to handle the difference so they just ignore the content network. Big mistake. The content network has the potential to deliver more visitors with lower CPC’s. Brad does a great job in breaking down, with a flowchart no less, how the approach to the content network differs and how to implement a winning content network strategy. Brad even goes a step further by showing you how to put a laser focus on certain content network sites to get the most out of what is available. If you want to boost your content performance you need t listen to what Brad has to say and follow in his steps.

—Rob Lenderman, Founder, Boost CTR

Brad Geddes takes the reader by the hand, starting with the basics of search engine marketing, then steadily introduces more advanced concepts and more powerful tools. I really appreciated his consistent focus on maximizing conversion rates. All the traffic in the world won’t help us unless it generates leads and sales. As a primer, a field guide, and a reference, this book will be a constant companion for online marketers at all levels of experience.

—Brian Massey, The Conversion Scientist

This book is a must read for anyone working with AdWords! Whether you only have a basic understanding of AdWords or if you are AdWords certified this book will give you insight from someone that continues to see success within the industry. This book will take your understanding of AdWords to the next level. In this book Brad’s advanced knowledge in optimizing accounts for top performance is displayed. There are plenty of golden nuggets in this book that will surely help you in optimize your accounts for top performance!

—Troy Stockinger, senior account manager, Findability Group

For years I have been seeking out the one book that I can turn to when I need both a basics refresher and when I tackle more advanced AdWords tactics. Brad Geddes has finally provided me with such a resource. In Advanced Google AdWords, Geddes demonstrates his years of expert experience in paid search marketing as he demystifies the many components involved with AdWords and shares valuable secrets of those successfully dominating the AdWords platform. I can officially say my search is over—if you are looking for the one book that will help you drive qualified traffic to your site and increase ROI, you just found it!

—Joanna Lord, Director of Customer Acquisition & Engagement, SEOmoz

What separates this book on Advanced Google AdWords from the others on the bookshelf is the brilliance of the author and the wealth of experience he has in the search industry. Brad Geddes is well known amongst other leaders in search and is often sought for his expert opinion on AdWords campaigns and optimizing campaign performance by decreasing spend while increasing overall ROI. He has consulted online advertising agencies on setting up keyword taxonomies, written articles for major search news websites and has collaborated with Fortune 500 companies on the implementation and performance of their PPC initiatives. Frankly stated, Brad is frequently sought for his insights on all areas of search because he knows what works and more importantly, he knows how to explain paid search strategies to any audience regardless of level of experience. I am thrilled that Brad has written this book as I, as well as you, will use this tool frequently.

—Michael Martin, Director of Search Platform, AT&T Interactive

Brad has been the #1 resource on AdWords for many years and getting some of his insights has been priceless to many in the past. Now that he finally released his book I have to admit that this is probably the best book on the market for advanced AdWords topics. If you’re serious about using paid search, this book is a must buy. Not only does Brad share tips that were never published before, but also gives help on how to use your time as efficient as possible.

—Thomas Bindl, Founder/CEO Refined Labs

The word "expert" gets thrown out there a lot in the digital marketing industry, but Brad Geddes is FOR SURE one of our top experts in search engine marketing. I’ve had the pleasure to learn from Brad through the years through his various writings and speaking engagements. Bottom line, do you want to know how to win at paid search? Do you want to become an advanced AdWords user and make your organization successful at using PPC? Then read this book. Brad has compiled into one resource what it would take you a decade to learn yourself.

—Joshua Dreller, Vice President, Media Technology and Analytics at Fuor Digital

Brad Geddes has a knack for translating complex concepts into easy-to-understand information. I’ve heard Brad speak many times over the years and always send my staff to his ‘Seminars for Success.’ I’m thrilled that he’s published a book, which my team can use as a manual on an ongoing basis. ‘Advanced Google AdWords’ is a superb overview of Google AdWords. It starts at a beginner level and goes step-by-step through the strategies and tactics for setting up and managing campaigns. The book also includes plenty of advanced content, even covering topics like Google’s content network, image and video ads, and understanding reporting data. Specific screen shots and examples are included, which help illustrate each point. ‘Advanced Google AdWords’ should be required reading for anyone, at any experience level, who’s advertising on AdWords.

Stacy Williams, President, Prominent Placement, Inc.

You can buy your own copy at Amazon, or read much more information about Advanced Google AdWords on the AdWords Book Website.

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