Google Testing Huge Top Banner Ads For Branded Navigation Queries
Google has confirmed that they are testing incredibly large banner ad for specific branded queries. @SynrgyHQ posted an image on Twitter showing for the query [southwest airlines a huge “sponsored” ad at the top of the search results. A Google spokesperson confirmed this is a…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Google Changes AdWords Ad Rank Calculation, Now Factors In Ad Extensions And Formats
Today, Google announced a change to Ad Rank, its ad serving calculation in AdWords that determines where your ad shows and how much you’ll pay per click. In addition to max CPC bid and quality score, Ad Rank will now factor in the expected impact from ad extensions and formats. Ad Rank is…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
The Double Serving Myth: When One Company Monopolizes PPC Ad Results
Here are two scenarios that are currently keeping many PPC advertisers up at night — maybe you’re one of them: A parent company buys up a significant portion of the competitors in a sector, and with the backing of large budgets, advertises each site on AdWords and Bing Ads, shutting…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Google Launches Shopping Campaigns To Ease PLA Management
While Google’s switch to paid Product Listing Ads for Google Shopping has proven wildly successful, growth has likely been hindered by the fact that setting up and managing Product Listing Ad campaigns for Google Shopping has been plagued with complexity. Today, Google announced a new…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Bing Ads Accredited? Get Updated Badges And Certificates
You may have noticed, Microsoft rolled out new branding for Bing and Bing Ads over the past month. Now, that new look has carried over to the Bing Ads Accredited Professional program. Updated certificates and badges are available for use on your websit…
Why Account Structure Matters For Every AdWords Account
This week, I had planned to write an article entitled, “The Five AdWords Features You Should Be Using Daily But Probably Aren’t.” The post was going to expose some of the hidden, advanced features available in AdWords that were often overlooked by even the most senior AdWords…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Google Expands International Targeting In AdWords
Google has tweaked how location targeting works for international searches. It’s a change that allows ads to be seen across countries, not just within countries, when the search query has local intent. According to today’s announcement, advertisers that use either the…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Google Launches Expanded AdWords PLAs On Mobile Devices
Google rolled out product listing ads (PLAs) on mobile devices in March. Now the company has launched an updated display for PLAs on smartphones that allows more products to be displayed from the search results page. Users can swipe to see more PLAs fr…
Coping With Enhanced Campaigns & The Problem Of Modifier Stacking
As we predicted a few months back, Enhanced Campaigns and mobile modifiers have been a benefit to those companies that employ them wisely. We’re excited to fold Google’s cross-device and in-store tracking into this mix as well as our own system for understanding micro-conversions….
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Mobile Accounts For One-Third Of Google Paid Clicks In Q3, Yet CPCs Drop From Q2 [Report]
The Search Agency released its third quarter State of Paid Search Report, showing strong growth in mobile for Google since the completed roll-out of enhanced campaigns this summer. Mobile clicks accounted for one-third of Google’s click share. In contrast, Bing’s mobile click share…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Google AdWords Third-Party “Review Extensions” Start Rolling Out To All Accounts
In June, Google announced the beta release of Review Extensions which allow advertisers to append a quote of endorsement from a reputable publication in their AdWords ads. Today, these Review Extensions will begin to roll out to all AdWords accounts. Y…
Bing Ads Analysis Tools Go Live: Dimensions Tab, Performance Comparison Graph
Bing Ads launched two very handy tools today that make account analysis from within the web interface a reality. The Dimensions Tab provides a shortcut to performing campaign analysis and includes access the fantastic Distribution graph. If you’re not using the distribution graph already, do…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
AdWords Smartphone CPCs Drop Sharply After Enhanced Campaigns Transition [RKG Report]
With two months of enhanced campaigns behind us, RKG’s Q3 Digital Marketing Report offers a look at the near-term impact of the roll-out on its client set, which includes 40 of the top 500 online retailers. Most metrics remained relatively stable, however the effects were seen in smartphones…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
New Google AdWords Interface Design And Logo Starts Rolling Out
Google has started rolling out a new logo and web UI design. The logo is now integrated into the navigation bar and the green has been stripped away. Rick Galan tweeted this screenshot: The new AdWords logo and menu reflect the move toward flat design that Google recently adopted with its flagship…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
5 Ways PPC Can Make You A Smarter Marketer
I’ve come to the conclusion that search marketing makes you super smart when you use it to its full potential. Obviously, one doesn’t get smart by being lazy, complacent or having campaigns run on autopilot. PPC smarts come from rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty with…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Study Finds Small Businesses Waste 25 Percent Of Their PPC Budgets
While pay-per-click marketing has become an integral part of many small businesses’ marketing plans, most SMBs struggle to find the time and resources to manage their PPC campaigns. A new study finds that, due to managerial and strategic errors, SMBs inadvertently waste a quarter of their…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Local Google Shopping PLAs And Local Storefronts Roll Out To Limited Set Of Retailers
Today, Google is making public what several speakers at SMX East alluded to last week: local availability for Product Listing Ads. The latest iteration of Google’s wildly successful Product Listing Ads, which will be referred to simply “Local PLAs” in this article, are currently…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Paid Search And Marketing Grow Further & Further Apart
A few months back, I wrote an article for Marketing Land called “Is The Art Of Paid Search Marketing Dead?” in which I foolishly suggested there was still a small bit of art left in search marketing. Art? Are you kidding me? Ugh. I haven’t been so wrong or felt so foolish in a long […]
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
New Data Suggest AdWords Enhanced Campaigns Actually Work
Nearly two months after the forced roll-out of Enhanced Campaigns in AdWords, at least one key question remains unanswered: are we better off today than we were before? In my column this week, I’ll try to answer that question using some data-driven analysis — but first, I thought it…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Bing Ads Launches Its Own “Express” Program For Local Small Businesses
This week, Bing Ads unveiled Bing Ads Express, a pay-per-click program for small local businesses that is clearly modeled on Google’s AdWords Express program. Businesses can launch a single ad campaign tied to their Bing business listing and geo-target the ad to show in their locality. There…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.