2 Big Wins With Enhanced AdWords Campaigns
Yes, there are drawbacks to the loss of some granularity in Enhanced Campaigns, but right now, I’m finding more wins than losses. Your AdWords campaign is now spending about $50,000 a month. Not pocket change, but still modest. Google hasn’t treated you to Lobster Thermidor lately, or comped you Bublé tickets. You ask Ricky, your […]
The Great Enhanced Campaigns War of 2013: The Surprising Winner
As Google rolls out Enhanced Campaigns, many advertisers are petrified that prices will rise. Like all great rulers, Google has grand ambitions and a continuing need to finance them. While it has no shortage of cash on hand, its continuing source of cash – targeted clicks – has faced downward pricing pressure of late. Wall […]
Building the Anti-Fragile PPC Campaign
Learning better decision-making by understanding basic statistics. Part one in a two-part series. Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of “The Black Swan,” has been an unexpected and much-appreciated influence on my view of the complex world of PPC keyword advertising. I’ve searched somewhat in vain for analogies in our field that map well to the scenarios […]
PPC: Fast and Slow
There might be pressure on you to hop into your PPC accounts and “drive them hard” at this time of year, but if you’re ready for the season, there should be no need for that. At our house, “Canada’s Worst Driver” is a huge hit. The show is so popular nationwide that it’s into its […]
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 […]