- 10 Worst AdWords Campaign Management Mistakes
Helpful article/tutorial on what to avoid with your AdWords campaign management. Topics include: Long list of less than targeted keywords, Not identifying unique aspects of your product or service, Lack of keywords in your ad text, Directing users solely to your home page, Creation of single Ad Groups, Utilizing single campaigns, Using broad match only, Failure to optimize Ad Serving for your ads, Not tracking results, Entering the content network without modifying bids. [Article/tutorial dated 05/3/2006, by Tyler Huston, for ISEdb.] - Google AdWords Adds Placement Performance Reports Showing Content Network Data To Advertisers
Blog post about Google AdWords adding a new report to “give AdWords advertisers the ability to see the exact sites their ads are displaying on within Google's content network. These Placement Performance reports will detail the domain, URL, impression, click, conversion and cost data for each site an ad appears on.” Explanations, screenshots, links to more information, comments. [Article/tutorial dated 06/12/2007, by Barry Schwartz, for Search Engine Land.] - Google Targets Search Ads on Prior Queries, à la Behavioral
Pros and cons of Google's new feature to target search ads based on prior queries, also called “behavioral targeting” although Google apparently doesn't like that term for reasons also discussed in this insightful review. [Article/tutorial dated 07/31/2007, by Zachary Rodgers, for The ClickZ Network. hat tip: Google's New Behavioral Targeting For AdWords Reviewed, aussiewebmaster, Search Engine Watch Blog.] - How Merchants Can Recognize and Fight Affiliate Fraud
Quite helpful information here. In addition to discussing the importance of screening affiliates, this article covers types of click fraud: Fraudulent and Fake Transactions, Parasites, Typosquatting, Copycats, Spammers, Other Signs. Also provides several links to helpful resources. [Article/tutorial dated 08/10/2005, by Dana Escanaverino, for Web Marketing Today.] - Want That Top Ad Position On Google? The Rules Are About To Change
Excellent write-up about the change to occur within a few weeks (from 08 August 2007) that impact the top placement of your ad. The change: “instead of using the actual CPC, Google will use the advertiser's maximum CPC, in the overall equation.” Check out this post for a helpful explanation, screenshots, links, and more. [Article/tutorial dated 08/08/2007, by Barry Schwartz, for Search Engine Land.]
See also Internet Marketing, Online Marketing Articles and Tutorials for many more helpful marketing tips and tutorials here at WebsiteTips.com.
Optimizing AdWords
Straight from Google - Tips to Optimize AdWords
- AdWords Optimization Tips: Part 1 - Assessing Your Industry and Audience
Topics covered in Part 1: Know your industry, Know your audience. Includes using Google's Keyword Tool “to help understand how potential customers could be searching for your product or service” and Google Analytics to “gain a wealth of information and knowledge about your audience, from their geographic location to their referring links,” and more. [Article/tutorial dated 2/12/2007, by Feng, for Inside AdWords - Official Google AdWords Blog.] - AdWords Optimization Tips: Part 2 - Assessing Your Website and Goals
Topics covered in Part 2: Know YOur Website - site structure or sitemap, layout and design, ease of use. Know Your Goals - maximizing clicks, optimizing for ad performance, promoting brand awareness, maximizing ROI. [Article/tutorial dated 2/27/2007, by Feng, for Inside AdWords - Official Google AdWords Blog.] - AdWords Optimization Tips: Part 3 - Account Structure
Topics covered in Part 3: Deciding between campaigns and ad groups, Deciding how to organize campaigns and ad groups. Provides ideas for common groups, too, such as products and services, brand names, Websites, geographic location, seasonal products and services, themes or functions. [Article/tutorial dated 3/19/2007, by Feng, for Inside AdWords - Official Google AdWords Blog.] - AdWords Optimization Tips: Part 4 - Keyword Basics
Part 4 covers “how to use keywords to target your audience and how to stay competitive with others who are advertising in the same space. Specifically, she'll cover general keyword advice and formatting, core keywords, and keyword variations and modifiers.” [Article/tutorial dated 4/09/2007, by Feng, for Inside AdWords - Official Google AdWords Blog.] - AdWords Optimization Tips: Part 5 - Beyond Keyword Basics
Part 5 provides help to “refine and target the keywords in your AdWords account for even more effective performance.” Topics covered: Keyword Length, Negative Keywords, Deleting Keywords. [Article/tutorial dated 4/24/2007, by Feng, for Inside AdWords - Official Google AdWords Blog.] - AdWords Optimization Tips: Part 6 - Ad Text
Part 6 and the final tutorial in this series, provides suggestions on optimizing your ad text help achieve your campaign goals. Topics covered: Be descriptive; Use proper grammar, punctuation and capitalization; Let your account structure and keywords guide you; Filter out irrelevant or unqualified searches; Define a clear call to action; Test at least two versions of your ad text. [Article/tutorial dated 05/04/2007, by Feng, for Inside AdWords - Official Google AdWords Blog.] - If I'm opted into the content network, how do I prevent my ads from appearing on specific websites?
Google's explanation of how to go about this, including the use of the AdWords Site Exclusion Tool, What is the site exclusion feature?, and more. [Website section: Google AdWords Help Center.]
Tutorials, Articles on AdWords Optimizing
- 5 Steps to Increase the Efficiency of Your AdWords PPC Budget
The 5 steps discussed in this article/tutorial include: Run a Search Query Performance Report, Optimize your landing page, Track Your Conversions, Use the Website Optimizer tool, If advertising on the content network, be sure to run the Placement Performance report. Good tips here. [Article/tutorial dated 07/25/2007, by Helen Overland, for Search Engine Journal.] - The AdWords Ad Optimization Process - Little Changes Have a Big Effect
Terrific article that goes step-by-step through the process of how to optimize Google AdWords ads. Also provides screenshots along the way as he continues to tweak and improve the CTR, conversion rates, etc. [Article/tutorial dated 07/16/2007, by randfish, for SEOmoz.] - Overcoming Adwords Angst: the Amazing 5-Step Formula
How to overcome “hand-wringing and hair-pulling over actually writing an effective Google Pay-Per-Click Ad!” Article covers writing the headline, writing the description lines, entering the URL, and creating effective landing pages. [Article/tutorial dated 12/26/2006, by Laura Bergells, Internet Marketing in the Midwest.] - Lower Cost & Increase Conversion of Your AdWords Ads
Qualify your Google AdWords advertising leads to reduce click-through rate (CTR) and help direct only those most interested in your offer to your site with these insightful, helpful tips for optimizing Google AdWords ads, improving conversions, and reducing pay-per-click (PPC) advertising costs. [Article/tutorial by Karon Thackston, via WebsiteTips.com's Marketing Articles, Tutorials section.] - No Cost Help for Optimizing Your AdWords Campaign
Wilson's article explains Google's free service with an optimization specialist. “Google won't do the work for you, but its specialists will take the time with you on a one-on-one basis to help you understand important features of their system.” Especially helpful for those fairly new to AdWords. [Article/tutorial dated 05/01/2007, by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Web Marketing Today.] - Optimisation for AdWords
Discusses Google's Part 2 of their AdWords optimization article, Inside AdWords: AdWords Optimization Tips: Part 2 - Assessing Your Website and Goals, while bringing up the “the importance of a solid landing page with good calls to action and a straightforward enquiry / buying process” and three critical points to making that part successful. In other words, if you don't have great content, optimizing your AdWords ads may increase traffic but won't increase your sales or other goals. [Article/tutorial dated 02/28/2007, by Shane Quigley, for Search Marketing Blog, Epiphany Solutions.] - Top 12 Tips To Writing Effective Google AdWords Ads
The top twelve tips for creating effective Google AdWords ads. “These tips will help you create ads that generate higher click through rates, and lower cost per click.” [Article/tutorial dated 07/30/2007, by Michael Wong, GoDefy.com, via WebsiteTips.com's Marketing Articles, Tutorials section.] - Use Adwords as a Research Tool for 3 Big Advantages
Develop several keyword-targeted Adwords campaigns as a market research platform, thus unlocking “three very important online marketing secrets about your website that will greatly enhance your long term success.” Covers finding the best keywords to attract visitors for your specific site, ad copywriting techniques that generate higher click-throughs, and landing page design and copy elements to yield optimal results. Fabulous insight and tips here. [Article/tutorial dated 02/27/2007, by Laura Bergells, Internet Marketing in the Midwest.]
See also WebsiteTips.com's section, Marketing Copy, Content for Online Marketing: Tutorials, Articles on Writing, Editing for Marketing.
Google AdWords Arbitrage, AdWords Search Arbitrage
See also Google AdSense
What is “Arbitrage?” - Some Definitions
- Arbitrage
Helpful information and definition from Wikipedia. Topics include: Conditions for arbitrage; Examples; Price convergence; Risks; Types of arbitrage: Merger arbitrage, Municipal bond arbitrage, Convertible bond arbitrage, Depository receipts, Regulatory arbitrage, Telecom arbitrage, Online advertising arbitrage; The debacle of Long-Term Capital Management. [Article/tutorial continually updated by Wikipedia. hat tip: Affiliate Arbitrage - What Is It? Can I Make Money?, by Mark J. Welch.] - Arbitrage
Helpful information about arbitrage and how it applies to Google AdSense and AdWords. Links to resources and more info, too. [Article/tutorial by Marziah Karch, Your Guide to Google, About.com.] - Online Advertising Arbitrage
Section defining online advertising arbitrage via Wikipedia's Arbitrage definition. [Article/tutorial continually updated by Wikipedia.]
Articles, Tutorials on AdWords Arbitrage
See also Google AdSense
- Ads Quality and You
Google announces efforts to crack down on AdWords arbitrage. “Starting today, and over the coming weeks, we'll be implementing an ads quality change designed to show fewer ads on queries for which our users might prefer not to see them and more ads on queries for which ads are useful. The impact of this change will vary from advertiser to advertiser, so we wanted to give you a heads-up and suggest that you keep an eye on your keyword performance over the next few weeks.” See the blog post for details. [Article/tutorial dated 04/26/2006, by Blake, Inside AdWords crew, for Inside AdWords (Google's official AdWords blog).] - Google AdWords Broad Match To Act Differently For Commercial, Non-Commercial Terms
Danny's post help clarifies Google's blog post, Ads Quality and You. “Depending on broad match or phrase match to get listed on Google? A new tweak to Google AdWords means that in some cases, that might no longer get your ad listed as in the past.” Danny explains Google's change and what it means for AdWords advertisers. [Article/tutorial dated 04/27/2006, by Danny Sullivan, for Search Engine Watch Blog. hat tip: Killing Google AdWords Search Arbitrage, Aaron Wall, Aaron Wall's SEO Book[*note].] - Affiliate Arbitrage - What Is It? Can I Make Money?
Mark does an excellent job of explaining “Affiliate Arbitrage,” its strategies, why they will or won't work for you, and just as important - what's realistic. Delves into: Cost-Per-Click, Commission Rates, Conversion Rates, Average Order Size, Click-Through Rates (CTR) [Article/tutorial dated 06/2007, by Mark J. Welch, for MarkWelch.com.]
Several categories within Google AdWords have moved to their own pages (29 November, 2007):
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