The pages under the 'My Account' tab will be temporarily unavailable this Saturday from 12:00 to 2:00 pm PDT and next Saturday, August 6th, from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm PDT due to maintenance. While you'll still be able to log into your accounts, you won't be able to view invoices, change your billing address, or update your credit card during this time. Don't worry, your campaigns will still be running normally while you're out enjoying the summer sun!
Friday, July 29, 2005
A quick note for this weekend
Straight from our tech team:
Best of the blog
As July rolls to a close, we're taking a quick breather and reflecting back on a few of our favorite posts. If you haven't seen them before, they're worth a look. And if you have read them, perhaps a second look...
- An in-depth report on some of our account management tools.
- How to make sure your ads are reviewed and approved the first time you submit them.
- What pre-qualified customers are, and how to make sure you're reaching them.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
A fireside chat on content targeting
You've sent in a lot of questions about content targeting, so we sat down with Bismarck L., a member of the product team, and grilled him (politely). Thought you all might find our discussion enlightening.
What value can Google content targeting add for advertisers? Our speciality is search, isn't it?
So how does content targeting work?
So what are the latest content targeting innovations?
If you want to make sure your campaigns are opted in to the content network, just click on the Campaign Settings link on your Campaign Summary page and make sure that you have checked the "content network" box. More questions about content targeting? Send them here, and we'll try to answer them.
What value can Google content targeting add for advertisers? Our speciality is search, isn't it?
Google does a good job directing people who are interested in your product or service – or need help getting direction to your site. But how can you afford to miss the users who are reading a product review on CNET - or reading about Machu Picchu in The New York Times? How do you reach them to tell them about your camera, or to inform them of the great fares to Peru? Well, you have two options: you can either go out and buy placements on all of those sites you think would drive relevant traffic to your site, or you can more simply use AdWords to target content sites in the Google advertising network. The network includes sites such as About.com, Lycos, The New York Times and many more.
So how does content targeting work?
Here's how it works: we take the words in your Ad Groups, decipher the overall meaning of the Ad Group, and make sure that the ads, represented by those keywords, show up next to relevant content.
For instance, there can be an advertiser who is advertising on terms like basketball, NBA, NBA finals, basketball tickets, and courtside tickets. (Screenshot below)
Because our system knows that the advertisers are looking for users who are interested in basketball, the ads will be displayed next to relevant content about basketball. Therefore, just like search, our targeting makes it so advertisers receive extremely targeted clicks.
So what are the latest content targeting innovations?
During the last year we have launched new features that have made the program even better:Our content network provides a really exciting opportunity for additional coverage. To get the most out of it, it's just important to understand how it works and then use it to your advantage.
- Smart Pricing automatically discounts the amount you pay for the clicks received from content sites based on the likelihood that the click will convert.
- Also, the Site Exclusion tool will allow you to prevent your ads from being served on the sites that you pre-select. You can add these sites to the Site Exclusion Tool in the same manner that you would add keyword negatives.
If you want to make sure your campaigns are opted in to the content network, just click on the Campaign Settings link on your Campaign Summary page and make sure that you have checked the "content network" box. More questions about content targeting? Send them here, and we'll try to answer them.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
'Dear Inside AdWords...'
Not too long ago, I suggested to the team that we start a new feature on Inside AdWords where we answer questions from you, our gentle readers. I was a little worried at first that we wouldn't get enough questions to answer, but after Jon's post on Friday, it seems that many of you still have unanswered questions. Today's post will be the first of a regular series I'd like to call 'Dear Inside AdWords...'. With that, let's go straight to your (email) letters!
Dear Stewart: "Avg. Pos." in AdWords stands for the "average position" in which your ad may display--with "1" being the top right-hand side position on a Google.com search results page. If you're wondering why the value may contain decimals, it's because your ad may be shown in different positions throughout the course of the day so the AdWords system gives you a calculation of the average. (See a quick explanation of how ads are ranked here.) For example, you may see "2.2" as your average position; that means your ad usually appears in positions 2 or 3.
Dear Jennifer: There are definitely many companies and individuals in the advertising and search engine marketing industries that could help you with your AdWords account. While searching for someone to manage your accounts, you may want to look for those who are "Qualified Google Advertising Professionals" -- you may remember my previous post about this program -- these qualified individuals and companies have met certain criteria set by Google in order to receive this distinction.
Dear Robert: Kudos to your organization! While we don't have any explicit discounts for charities, Google does have a Google Grants beta program which provides in-kind advertising with AdWords for non-profit organizations. You can find out more about the program details here.
That's all for this post. Keep those questions coming. We'll try to answer as many we can, but due to time and space limitations, we may have to focus on questions of widespread interest. For questions that apply specifically to your own AdWords account, it's best to contact our AdWords Support team here. P.S. If we post your question and it doesn't sound 100% like what you wrote, it's probably because we've had to edit it for clarity, and not because we didn't want to publish every word that you sent to us. :-)
What do the numbers in "Avg. Pos." mean? I found myself trying to explain what it meant to our marketing guy and realized that I didn't really know. - Stewart F.
Dear Stewart: "Avg. Pos." in AdWords stands for the "average position" in which your ad may display--with "1" being the top right-hand side position on a Google.com search results page. If you're wondering why the value may contain decimals, it's because your ad may be shown in different positions throughout the course of the day so the AdWords system gives you a calculation of the average. (See a quick explanation of how ads are ranked here.) For example, you may see "2.2" as your average position; that means your ad usually appears in positions 2 or 3.
Is there anyone I could hire to manage my AdWords account so that I don't have to do it myself? - Jennifer R.
Dear Jennifer: There are definitely many companies and individuals in the advertising and search engine marketing industries that could help you with your AdWords account. While searching for someone to manage your accounts, you may want to look for those who are "Qualified Google Advertising Professionals" -- you may remember my previous post about this program -- these qualified individuals and companies have met certain criteria set by Google in order to receive this distinction.
I am involved with a charity that sells baskets produced by third-world weavers. 100% of our profits are reinvested in the weavers’ communities and paid as wages to the weavers. All of our overhead is supported by donations. Is there a discount offered by AdWords to support charitable organizations? - Robert W.
Dear Robert: Kudos to your organization! While we don't have any explicit discounts for charities, Google does have a Google Grants beta program which provides in-kind advertising with AdWords for non-profit organizations. You can find out more about the program details here.
That's all for this post. Keep those questions coming. We'll try to answer as many we can, but due to time and space limitations, we may have to focus on questions of widespread interest. For questions that apply specifically to your own AdWords account, it's best to contact our AdWords Support team here. P.S. If we post your question and it doesn't sound 100% like what you wrote, it's probably because we've had to edit it for clarity, and not because we didn't want to publish every word that you sent to us. :-)
Monday, July 25, 2005
Blake's gem o' the week #3
I'm not even going to try to resist the temptation to say something mildly clever here: it's absolutely clear that keywords are, well, key to AdWords success.
Having worked with lots of newer advertisers, though, it's equally clear that building a good keyword list for cost-per-click advertising is not something that most of us will have learned in our respective school system. Nope, we've got to pick it up on our own.
Where to start? Well one of my favorite Hidden Gems is a pleasantly brief (but useful) overview of this very topic. To whet your appetite, this gem will tell you a simple, four-step process to building a successful keyword list. So, if you've ever found yourself wondering "What are the steps to creating a keyword list?", I have just the resource for you.
Having worked with lots of newer advertisers, though, it's equally clear that building a good keyword list for cost-per-click advertising is not something that most of us will have learned in our respective school system. Nope, we've got to pick it up on our own.
Where to start? Well one of my favorite Hidden Gems is a pleasantly brief (but useful) overview of this very topic. To whet your appetite, this gem will tell you a simple, four-step process to building a successful keyword list. So, if you've ever found yourself wondering "What are the steps to creating a keyword list?", I have just the resource for you.
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