I think its a good move as we all know those sites that somehow (miraculously) seem to fall under the radar and don’t get touched by the major updated like Penguin. So Google decided to ask, what have we missed?

This could open up a load of floodgates and nasty submissions but the logic behind it is good and unlike previous attempts where people wanted to get off the spam list, this is a new approach looking at getting people to let Google know what they think should be on it!

I’m interested to know whether this would be a manual review or whether its going to be a submission to a search bot/spyder who will crawl sites again to see whether they should be on the spam list or not.

You can check out the tool here.. but be good.

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But not everyone is convinced or think its was that big of a deal. Matt Cutts did state that this latest updated was going to be something that would truly shake up the order and weed out the spam sites. However, when I look at some sites that are ranking against my competitors, who should by all means been slapped years ago by Penguin, they have barely moved. In fact some have improved?!

Did Google not get the result from this update that they originally expected? Did they, like us expect a lot more from the latest version of Penguin? Or did they not want to rock the boat too much?

I’m keeping my eye on updated and the general consensus but was the fear mongering justified or was it a ploy to scare webmasters into sorting their sites out. If so.. very clever.

Read more about Penguin 2.0 here:

http://www.seroundtable.com/google-penguin-four-live-16830.html

http://searchengineland.com/penguin-2-0-losers-porn-sites-game-sites-big-brands-like-dish-com-the-salvation-army-160744

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With the keyword planner, you can now get more in depth keyword and industry data, with clearer CPC and estimated volumes. There is also the ability to easily import the additional adgroups and keywords right into your campaign.

You can find the keyword planner within your Adwords interface. In the Tools and Analysis tab, you will see the Keyword Planner option in the dropdown menu:

Then you will be taken to the Keyword planner options. Here you can select how you want to use the planner. Remember this is a few tools (and a few cool new features) bunched into one so this step is necessary:

If you select the first two options then, just like the old keyword tool, you can manually input your keywords as well as search for keywords. This time however you can go a bit deeper with traffic selection and can finally choose to get search volume by city, not just state. From there you have the option of adding the select adgroups to a plan like this.

The column on the right hand side allows you to select that group and add it to a plan. After you have added your groups you can select the ‘get estimates and review plan’. This is where the tool gets really interesting.

I have used an example of a florist and search terms around searching for a florist in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. The review plan looks like this. You need to remember to put in your Avg big data as well as your budget per day in order to get the information you need.

Now we have some valuable keyword CPC and budget estimates for these adgroups and keywords which give us an indication of what we should expect from a campaign.

If you are happy with this then you can click ‘Save to account’ which is missing from the above picture but is located on the top right. You can then choose a new campaign to name it under or use add it to an existing campaign.

In the keyword planner menu, there is another option, third down the list, called multiply keyword lists to get estimates. This is where you can take this tool to the next level. This is especially good if you have a business servicing multiple locations or you need to add words before or after a core term.

For example if you are a florist in the eastern suburbs you may want to have the word ‘florist’ and target Bondi, Bronte, Rose Bay.. all the way to Maroubra and everywhere in between. Typing each variation is time consuming especially if your excel skills are not up to scratch. This tool makes it super easy, just add your core term in one column and the variances in the other and Google will do the rest for you.

You can then get ideas for these keywords and start the process of analysing the data and easily importing it to your campaign.

Google seems to be making the ability to run additional campaigns and add keywords quicker and easier with every update they make. At the same time however, they have successfully managed to improve the user experience significantly along the way. The grouping of keywords into group themes is a great way to set up fast and granular campaigns while taking the legwork out of building keywords lists and grouping them.

We will definitely be using this tool moving forward as it provides great insight as well as allows us to easily add groups and keywords to existing and new campaigns. It still does not provide the granularity that we ask for from our campaigns, but we have not tested the tool to its fullest but I can see it being part of our process to some degree.

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Mobile in fact is very highly responsive, a little cheaper (currently) than desktop/tablet PPC but also has a load of traffic that you can tap into. And guess what? If you don’t tap into it, your competitors will do so and in most cases, are doing so as I’m writing this.

What I am going to talk about now is how to find out the best performing ads for mobile and choose that particular adcopy show when you there are mobile impressions.

If you have not set your ads to enhanced campaigns then you won’t be able to select specific mobile ads however keep a note of this article when the new system is forced upon you as it will prove extremely valuable to your campaigns moving forward.

First you need to go to a campaign where you have opted into Google’s Enhanced Campaigns. Now within an Adgroup, go to the Ads Tab. Now what you want to do once you see the ads is Segment by Device. You can see this in the image below:

Once you click on device you will notice some more data appear for each ad. Here you are able to determine what ads perform best for that particular campaign. In this example i’m going to use CTR as our metrics of performance but sometimes, especially if you are running conversions, this may not be the metrics you want to use. In this example though and for simplicity purposes, I’m using CTR:

You can see the data separated into 3 devices. Interesting that Google only allows a bid adjuster for Mobile devices with full browsers as it considers Tablets and Computer to be the same (odd I know).

Looking at the information we have one ad for mobile performing at a CTR of 8.93% and another ad where mobile CTR was 1.40%. In this scenario the obvious choice is to make the first ad the one to display for mobile.

Once we have made a decision as to what Ad we want to show for mobiles the rest is easy.

You can choose to create a New Ad or we can edit the existing ad. Remember however, editing the existing ad WILL mean you lose all the data associated with it. So I would recommend you create a new identical ad and pause, not delete, the old one.

There will be a little checkbox at the bottom when creating/editing your ad which says ‘Mobile’. Check that box and this ad will then be used for mobile.

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We have always been wary of bidding on competitor keywords due to Google’s Australia policy that prevents businesses from bidding on Trademarks, as well as using trademarked competition brand names in the headlines or the adcopy.

But it appears a recent ACCC ruling regarding use of trademark and Google was the start of a much bigger change in Google’s advertisers policy. The US, Canada, UK and Ireland have been able to bid on competitor terms for a while now as stated in Google’s TOS:

Ad campaigns targeting the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom or Ireland may use a trademark in ad text if the ad is in compliance with our policy on resellers and informational sites.

Now let’s ad Australia to that list (finally!). In fact, the new trademark policy has been given its own section! To save you time and direct from Google’s mouth:

Starting 23 April 2013, keywords that were restricted as a result of a trademark investigation will no longer be restricted in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Brazil.

However, just like the ACCC case I mentioned above, its not easy street when it comes to using competition trademark and this is what I think most advertisers need to understand before going all out and taking advantage of this change. Google does say this in their new policy:

While we will not prevent use of trademarks as keywords in the affected regions, trademark owners will still be able to complain about the use of their trademark in ad text.

Even though Google says ‘go ahead, bid away’, the onus is STILL on the advertiser to tread carefully. Just like any other means, if you go out and slag a competitor, or use their copyright and trademark questionably, then you need to be prepared to accept virtually inevitable consequences.

Another element that has not changed, is using a competitors trademark term in the actual adcopy. This you still cannot do this. You can use their keyword to bid on, but you definitely should not be using their trademark in your adcopy.

There are some people getting sneaky but I as an example:

So in the example above, bidding on GHD is now ok, but using there name in the adcopy.. no so cool. There is a fine line and its up to you to stay as close or as far from it as comfortably possible.

Google puts the reasoning behind this change to offering users more choice. Previously if you search for a brand generally no ads will appear, meaning there is no choice. Allowing companies to bid on trademark terms will give users choice and options.

It will also make Google a whole lot of extra cash! Think about it this way, if you are bidding on a competitor you are spending money on keywords that you weren’t spending money on before. This provides an additional untapped stream of CPC revenue. On top of this, advertisers will also pay more per click as your adcopy and landing page won’t be relevant.(you can’t use their trademark in the adcopy). For example, Reebok could effectively bid on the word ‘Nike’. But since they cannot use the word ‘Nike’ in the Ad, the Ad will be less relevant to the user. Include the fact that the landing page will be about Reebok, not Nike and you’ve got a great recipe for a low quality score which means higher CPCs! Yay!

Some things to note:

• From 23rd of April, Ads that didn’t work due to trademark restrictions may currently be working.
• Advertisers can still submit complaints to Google
• You cannot use trademark terms in your adcopy (sorry)
• You will probably pay a load more per click due to low quality scores for trademark terms (due to relevancy)
• Don’t use misleading or deceptive practices or pass off being the advertisers.
• If unsure, consult your legal representative (we are not lawyers!)

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1. Automatic Social Annotations

Google is not giving up on their Google+ social network by any means. Now if you have a Google+ page linked to your website (and vice versa) plus a ‘significant’ number of followers. What ‘significant’ actually is I’m not sure but Google does state that search ads that use Social Annotations have a 5-10% higher click-through rate.  So if its free, takes up more real estate and can supposedly lead to more click-throughs then why not?

2. Tap into mobile app traffic.

We know mobile is a big deal and so too are mobile apps. Google Enhanced campaigns now allows advertisers to target mobile app users time of day, location and device. Bid adjusters can then be used to target certain demographics at an adgroup level.

3. Adgroup Bid Adjusters

A great change here, with bid adjusters now allowed within an adgroup as opposed to being campaign level specific. This provides advertisers more control over their bids and better optimisations practices.

4. Opting out of Desktop Targeting

No not really.. but I’m waiting for it! Hopefully soon but not holding my breath on this one.

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I know the next question.. who would have a Panda AND a Penguin? And why Venice? Chances are if you have been in the online world whether it be SEO, SEM, IM or on any part of the eCommerce food chain, from development to sales, you would have probably heard of at least one of these Google updates. If you are like me the first sentence makes perfect sense but not many of you live and breath this stuff so I’m going to put down in clear writing the big updates, the reasoning behind them and what they mean for your online business.

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Well Cavario recently released some Q1 stats which support the theory that enhanced Adwords, among other elements, may have actually worked in increasing the avg CPC costs. The standout statement for me is this:

As for global keyword pricing, the report suggests that cost-per-click trends experienced over the last six quarters have reversed with CPC prices rising 7 percent.

Considering that enhanced campaigns are yet to be rolled out completely, with many advertisers still using their original Legacy settings, it remains to be seen how much of an effect the complete rollout will have on average CPCs. Based on this initial data I’m expecting some big numbers over the next 6 months.

The post Enhanced Adwords Result in Q1 Increase Avg CPC for Google? appeared first on Adwords Management and SEO Services Sydney, Australia.

Well here are 5 statistics you probably were not aware of:

1. 77% of mobile searches are done at home or work. Only 17% is done on the road, whether it be on a train, bus or in a car.

2. 55% of conversions on mobile happen within an hour of browsing. A conversion could be a call, a website lead, purchase or store visit.

3. 3 out of 4 mobile searches lead to a follow up action. The follow up action could be sharing the information, visiting a store or calling the business.

4. The point 3 follow up is done twice. So when there is a follow up from a mobile search, the average number of these follow ups is 2. The industries with the most follow up based searches and actions include Beauty, Auto and Travel in the order of highest to lowest.

To read Google’s release on Mobile search stats you can visit http://www.google.com/think/ or view the interesting PDF infographic by clicking the snapshot below:

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For example the first image below is basic keyword research without logging into your Adwords account and the second version is being logged in.

Now Logged in:

This is truly a great development in the way the keyword tool works. This means no more siphoning through hundreds of keywords and selecting the ones of interest. Google now gives you keywords in group themes, allowing you not only to determine whether a particular theme is of interest but also when it is, easily and tens of keywords to that group.

Something else to think about is that if we know Google deems these themes as quality groupings, then would using their ‘guide’ in your Adwords set up improve the quality score of that campaign? Is it now worth going back to old campaigns that are struggling with a QS issue, and implement these groups for your keyword themes?

It seems logical that if Google gives you these keyword themes then wouldnt these be the ideal themes and keywords to use for optimum campaign setup? Personally I don’t think they are granular enough however I will be testing it on a few older campaigns to see how it affects overall performance.

This will definitely make campaign setup and keyword research more streamlined and hopefully more effective regardless of how you are currently doing it. If you havn’t seen or used the new keyword tool then login to your Adwords account, visit https://adwords.google.com.au/o/KeywordTool and get started. It’s still in Beta but it looks pretty comprehensive from what I can see.

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