Smart Insights Alert: The new tools include a single multi-country feed

If you've ever run an AdWords campaign you'll be familiar with the process, but now the AdWords platform has introduced new Merchant Centre tools: Adding or overriding product data with supplemental feeds A single multi-country feed modification of your product data from the content API with Feed Rules Driving more clicks via opportunities Add your entire team The new features have been implemented before the holiday season and well benefit retailers that advertize on Google Shopping. [si_guide_block id="5739" title="Download our Google AdWords Guide – How to get better ROI from your Google AdWords campaigns" description="All the questions you need to ask to audit and optimize your Google AdWords campaigns"/]

Supplemental feeds

Instead of relying on one feed for product data, it is now possible to change your data from multiple sources - giving…

Get your Adwords campaign in front of your competitors with a limited budget

As a website owner, you want to be successful online and get your website found on the internet. There are many ways to promote your website. One of them could be social media. You might also use search engine optimization (SEO) services, or you can simply set up a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign (also known as an AdWords campaign). For many small businesses, an AdWords campaign can become expensive. For example, depending on the keywords used, some clicks to your ads might cost $7 each, and others only 20 cents each. If your PPC campaign is set up correctly and optimized, you might reduce your costs even more! That’s why it is essential to set up your campaign for the most effective results.

Setting up your account

To set up an AdWords account, you will need a Google account. All you need…

Chart of the Day: Google's share of US paid search clicks by device

As of April 2017, the global marketing share percentage, in terms of the use of search engines (on desktop), heavily favours Google with over 78%. Now, in Merkle's Q3 2017 Digital Marketing Report, they also have a share of 97% for US paid search clicks on mobile. Google search ad spending growth remained strong in Q3 2017, rising to 24% year over year (Y/Y) in the US, while dipping slightly to 13% growth in the UK. Mobile and Google Shopping continued to drive growth, but desktop spending remained resurgent following a late 2016 change by Google to allow advertisers to segment…

New research shows that web users do not always know when they are viewing a paid ad

With growing concern over the authenticity of online news, a study carried out by content marketing agency Ad-Rank Media revealed some interesting insights into users’ understanding and trust of the internet. [caption id="attachment_98079" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Source: Internet Live Stats[/caption] Out of the 2,000 surveyed, 1 in 10 admitted to browsing upwards of 50 websites a day, tying in with the rising trend of worldwide internet usage. Yet it would seem that the technology doesn’t result in a particularly deep understanding of it. Of those surveyed, a surprising 60% of respondents said they don’t know the difference between Google sponsored ads and organic results - a higher than expected figure considering the regulation where paid-for listings must be marked accordingly.

Do you know which search…

While AdWords and Facebook both work on a PPC (pay-per-click) basis, that’s pretty much where the comparison ends.

If your business uses paid search, then you’re no doubt familiar with Google’s AdWords platform. But if you’re thinking about dabbling in Facebooks ads, then there are a few crucial differences that you should know about.

[si_guide_block id="53829" title="Download Premium Member Resource – Facebook Advertising guide" description="Brands can still set up Facebook Pages and enjoy some organic exposure free of charge, but as a platform, Facebook is now very much “pay to play”."/]

Many advertisers make the mistake of seeing Facebook ads and AdWords in a binary, one-or-the-other sort of way, which is really a case of comparing apples and oranges; each platform has its own benefits and drawbacks, and if you exclude one of them from your marketing mix, then you’re missing out.

The targeting

The key difference between AdWords and Facebook is the way you…

How much your cost per click should be for a #1 advert position, according to your industry

A question that is becoming increasingly common for business owners. “How much does it cost to advertise on Google?” A perfectly simple question with a not so simple answer. As you’re probably aware, the keywords you use in your campaign have various costs associated with each click. So when estimating a sensible Adwords budget for your new campaign, without using Google’s Keyword Planner as a rough guide, (emphasis on rough), you may not know where to begin. In this post we’re going to focus on the Google Search Network as this is often the starting point for businesses when they begin digital advertising. We’re going to look at Google’s estimates for what the average cost per click is for the top 10 online industries in the UK and how you can reduce these costs significantly.

What does…

PPC tips and strategy to enhance your AdWords campaign

What comes to your mind when you think about AdWords? Perhaps, a lot of data, excel sheets, and analysis. When I think about AdWords, I usually think about a customer’s choice and their range of options, as if they were buying a burger at McDonalds. Economists put goods that are likely to sell well together and called them complementary goods. McDonalds uses this approach to sell burgers and chips as great complements. How many times have you bought a burger without chips at McDonalds? Probably never.  The same theory applies to AdWords search and display ads. If you have search you should have some sort of display advertising. These are ideal components of advertising that complement each other so well and almost guarantee a great outcome.  However, I won’t be able to go too far with my food theory on AdWords advertising so…

Chart of the Day: Consumers prefer to compare and switch on desktop

The need for businesses of all industries to perfect their mobile experience has never been more important than it is in 2017. Google promoting Accelerated Mobile Pages and their announcement of a Mobile First Index mean that we need to optimise our websites for mobile and desktop to remain relevant in the coming years. As marketers, it is vitally important that we create a great online experience for our customers and potential customers no matter which device they choose to use. To help deliver the best experiences across the purchasing funnel, you need to have actionable data to guide you in the right direction for each of the marketing channels including Search, Social, Email, Display etc. This is where recent research from Hitwise will come in useful. It shows the distinction between an industry pushing towards mobile and a consumer still using…

Those using automated bid strategies should expect an increase in campaign spend and bids

We've spoken time and time again about how the shift to mobile is impacting ecommerce purchase behavior. Google has been banging the 'Mobile First' drum for some time now, but we still see the vast majority of conversions taking place on desktop despite the fact mobile now makes up a majority of ecommerce traffic. What is happening is that consumers are browsing on mobile devices, making crucial decisions about their purchase, and then switching to desktop to convert. This makes perfect sense. Mobile browsing is great for getting ideas, but when you find something you want, you need something with a proper keyboard to input fiddly payment details rather than attempting to do it on a small screen. Now that discovering and researching products on mobile and converting on desktop has become an extremely common purchase journey, cross-device journey…

A detailed tutorial on how to research your AdWords target keyword list to improve your ROI from PPC

Keywords trigger your ads. Building and maintaining the right list of keywords is vital to getting the best return on your paid search spend. Keywords are organised into ad groups. You assign ad creatives (ad text) to these ad groups, which appear when triggered by these keywords. Therefore, knowing which keywords will perform best is important. Keyword research is the process of building keyword lists, based on the frequency at which consumers search for these words and phrases.

Why Is Keyword Research Important?

Keywords are the nuts and bolts of your AdWords campaigns. They let you control your visibility in search results, as well as affecting the amount you spend. If you’re setting up an account for the first time, it’s essential to build a robust keyword list as soon as you can. The quality of this list will…