Your Holiday PPC Strategy for 2012: Yes, It’s Changed
There is still some time left to adapt to some of the major upheavals that have rocked the PPC world in the past year or two. Most online marketers spend the year quietly preparing for this make-or-break time of year, when searches, conversion rates, and sales surge. Some companies (for example, selling expensive equipment or […]
Remarketing for Search Ads: Your Peeps, Less Creep
Every so often it pays to ask yourself if you’re using remarketing judiciously, or excessively. The most exciting AdWords feature to be rolled out in some time is Remarketing for Search Ads (RFSA). The “audiences” for this feature work exactly as they do with classic remarketing; the difference is that the ads may now appear […]
Five Things Google Gives Away for Free
I’ve developed a slightly mystical belief: there is no free lunch. Or call it instead the Free Stuff Karma Syndrome. Better yet: Maybe You’ll Do Me a Favor Sometime. To sum it up, if you’re an end user, and you cherry-pick all the best online content and services without ever paying a penny for them, […]
The Big Secret to Google’s Quality Score
Quality Scores on tough keywords are not a judgment that you’ve failed, they’re simply benchmarks of intent matching. Part two in a two-part series. In Part 1 we discussed what Quality Score does to your business performance. Now I will reveal the big secret to Quality Score. Google’s New Disclosure Unless you’ve been living under […]
The New, New Quality Score: 1 Incredible Secret Revealed
Google’s definition of Quality Score, the importance of CTR, and writing winning ads. Part one in a two-part series. OMG. It’s been over two years since I wrote a full column here about Quality Score. It’s important to refocus on this issue from time to time – as I will in this two-part series – […]
Are You Addicted to Negative Keywords?
If you’re emphasizing negative keywords for the wrong reasons you may need to admit you have a problem and start taking steps toward recovery. I know you can’t go cold turkey. But is it time to cut down on your use of negative keywords? It might be. Telltale signs include Pop-Tarts crumbs scattered around your […]
Breaking Out of the “+1” Mindset (SES Magazine)
Canada has weathered the economic downturn better than any other G7 nation. With a high level of economic, cultural, and technological development and a favorable trading relationship and cultural integration with the US, it can hardly be described as hurting. Since nothing’s terribly broken, creating a sense of urgency around living up to our […]
After Recent Revenue Grabs, Won’t Google Be Right Back Where It Started?
The problem Google faces is that, at the end of the day, it’s running an auction. It’s been a long while since anyone fully believed in the old, innocent “Don’t be evil” image of Google. The last 28 or so times I checked its quarterly financials, it appears to be running a business. And how! […]
Match Type Mayhem: Did AdWords Just Exit the High Road?
Yet another AdWords setting you should consider opting out of: “improved” phrase and exact match. Keyword match types have long been a cornerstone of keyword-triggered advertising. Starting early on, Google AdWords offered three types: broad, phrase, and exact. Over the years, there have been significant additions and modifications to the lineup, but one thing was […]
Managing to Metrics: 3 Pitfalls
How campaign managers are tackling bid automation today. I spend a lot of time trying to convince people that of all the actions we can take to improve performance in the keyword auction, bid management is possibly the most routine and non-subjective part of the job. As such, your organization (or you, as a professional) […]