Knowledge is the Foundation To Success  

While searching the web for new, relevant information on paid search and PPC Management – I stumble across quite a few forums with people posting complaints and pleas for help regarding Google AdWords Account limits.  Whether you are an AdWords Editor novice or a pro, at some point you have probably gotten an error while trying to post your campaigns.  Usually there is not much explanation to the error, except something like this:

“AdWords Editor is unable to check or post some of your changes, because doing so would cause you to  exceed AdWords account limits. In order to complete your request, please revert some of your  unposted changes or delete some items, then retry your request. For more information about AdWords account limits, please contact AdWords Support. (Error number: 17)”

Typically this error only appears after working long and hard in your account adding new keywords, ad groups and ads, so seeing it is especially frustrating.  If you have received this error, check your campaigns, ad groups, keywords and ads to make sure you are within the Google AdWords Account limits:

Standard AdWords Account

* 25 campaigns
* 2,000 ad groups per campaign
* 2,000 keywords per ad group
* 50 ads per ad group (any format)
* Approximately 50,000 total keywords per account

If you find that you need more space in your account and you anticipate exceeding the Standard AdWords Account size limits, you can e-mail AdWords support and request your account be expanded:

Expanded AdWords Account

* 100 campaigns
* 10,000 ad groups per campaign
* 5,000 keywords per ad group
* 50 ads per ad group (any format)
* Approximately 100,000 keywords per account

Hopefully this information will help the next time you run into the dreaded AdWords Editor “Error number: 17”

According to the Google Public Policy Blog posted last week, Google received a “second request” from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for more information about the planned Google acquisition of mobile ad network AdMob.  Apparently there are several technology watchdog agencies and lobbyists that have expressed serious concerns about how this will affect the mobile advertising world.  The most obvious argument against this marriage of technology is that this merger will allow Google to dominate the mobile ad world and discourage competition.

While the Google AdMob acquisition could potentially allow Google and their PPC advertising division, Google AdWords, to become an even more dominant one-stop-shop for advertisers, this deal could also eventually lead to higher prices for advertising space.  We all took Economics in high school or college and we all know that anti-trust laws were put into place for a reason – to stop monopolies from forming.  However, on the opposite side, I haven’t seen anything newsworthy about Yahoo! or MSN (Bing) attempting to break into the mobile advertising sector to offering this service to their advertisers.  Why should Google be essentially punished for being innovative, thinking outside the box and wanting to make its shareholders AND advertising customers more profits?

While I completely and wholeheartedly believe in the spirit of free enterprise and competition and I do believe that the FTC should have some concerns about this, the issue that I am most concerned about regarding this proposed Google AdMob acquisition is privacy.  First of all, you should know that I am a Google Fanatic;  I personally use Gmail, Voice, Wave, Docs, iGoogle, Reader, Friend Connect, Mobile, Picasa, Talk, Checkout, etc and I a love each and every one of them in their own way.  That being said, my main concern is that if Google is allowed to acquire AdMob they will have access to entirely too much of my personal information.  Will every webpage I visit from my Droid be logged?  Will every song that I favorite be remembered?  Will the locations that I travel to using my GPS be saved?  Will the information I send via text messaging be scanned and analyzed?

In order to serve their searchers relevant ads, Google already gathers a tremendous amount of user data.  This data combined with AdMobs mobile behavioral, demographic, contextual and geographical targeting would give Google a TREMENDOUS amount of user information.  Having all of this personal information saved somewhere in Google-land will allow Google to serve me with more relevant advertising, but it makes me uncomfortable.  All I can do is hope that Google will not take unfair advantage of this potential information goldmine.

Only time will tell how this Google AdMob acquisition situation will play out.  One thing is for sure though:  Having a professional PPC Management Company in place during these tumultuous advertising times is KEY.

Earlier this fall, Google changed their alcohol policy regarding beer. For the first time, they allowed the U.S. AdWords advertisement of beer for sale. Monday, Google announced another update to the AdWords alcohol policy. Starting this week, Google now allows the advertisement of hard alcohol and liqueurs that target the U.S.

This is good news to hard alcohol and beer manufacturers who can now take advantage of the increased holiday traffic, as well as the new opportunities for branding in the online marketplace.

The biggest difference between the ability to market beer and that of hard alcohol, is that beer is allowed to be marketed for sale through PPC advertising, while hard alcohol and liqueurs must “promote the information about the hard alcohol and liqueur that their websites contain.” Any ads that directly promote the actual sale of hard alcohol or liqueur are still not allowed on AdWords. This means that the sale of hard alcohol and liqueur cannot be promoted in your Google AdWords ad copy or be the purpose of your website. Ads for the purpose of branding hard alcohol and liqueur are absolutely allowed to target the U.S.

In other words, you can sell beer with Google AdWords, however you can only brand or use the promotion of hard alcohol and liqueur for non-sales related websites.

Its important to note that Google considers beer, wine, champagne, hard alcohol, and liqueur to be products intended for sale to, and consumption by, adults. Therefore, any ads promoting these products will be given a Non-Family Safe status. From a PPC management aspect, this means that anybody who has activated their “Google SafeSearch filter” will not be able to see these ads.