Knowledge is the Foundation To Success  

Google’s updated search query report provides even more insight into Google AdWords PPC advertising campaigns. Here at JumpFly, we have been asking for this for a LONG time and are excited it is finally here!

In May, Google announced an enhancement to their search query report.

The search query report is a great PPC management tool that we use to fine tune an account.  It allows us to see, for phrase and broad match search terms, what the actual term was that the visitor typed in.  It shows only those terms that resulted in a click-through so you can focus your efforts on your cost areas.

Since inception, this report had a flaw.  For all the low volume terms, Google would lump them into “Other Unique Queries”.  Sometimes the majority of the traffic seemed to fall into this field which could be very frustrating.

Now, Google removed this field all together and we can see all terms that were actually searched for going forward.

Here is how I use the Search Query Report.  You can do this on a weekly or monthly basis. I choose weekly to be sure to catch all the terms possible.

Keep in mind that this information is also now available in the new interface.  However, I am finding that for large campaigns with many ad groups, I can still save some time with using the report itself.  The actionable report within the interface is good for quick spot checks and focusing on the highest spending ad groups, though.

1. Generate a Search Query Report – in fact, create a report that is generated automatically on a weekly basis so it is already there when you are ready to work on it.
2. Download the report into a CSV file and Open it in excel
3. Sort largest to smallest on the cost column (this keeps you focused on the keywords of most importance if you are short on time).  Don’t feel compelled to go through every single one.  Stick to the top 20 every week.
4. Create a list of negative keywords to add and a list of new keywords to add.
5. Import the list into Adwords Editor and Post.

Quick.  easy. and it really tunes up the account and can save big $ for your business.

For more information on the enhancement, See Google’s Search Query Enhancement Announcement.

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One of my favorite Google tools has recently had an upgrade and is now available for download, AdWords Editor 7.0. The previous version of AdWords editor was 6.5.1. You can find out which version of AdWords editor you are currently using by opening AdWords Editor, then view Help/About AdWords Editor. AdWords Editor 7.0 is about 16.6 Megs in size and should take about 2-5 minutes to download over any high speed internet connection.

When you open AdWords Editor you should be prompted with the upgrade screen automatically.

Now before you upgrade, there are some important things to consider. If you have comments or unposted changes, I would recommend you click “Backup then Update” when you see the automatic prompt to upgrade. This allows AdWords Editor to create a backup file that includes any unposted changes and/or comments. Once you have installed the new version you can simply import the backup file. Google Help has a great article on the steps needed to correctly import a backup file (AEA). Personally, I always recommend backing up any files before upgrading any software.

It’s also important to note that after you upgrade to AdWords Editor 7.0, you will need to download your account(s) again.

There are some notable improvements to AdWords Editor 7.0.

First page bid estimates are now shown for keywords. The first page bid estimate is the approximate max CPC bid it would allegedly take for your ad to be shown on the first page of Google results. Previously minimum cost-per-click bids were displayed.

Keyword Quality Scores are now displayed in the Keywords tab. This column will display a number from 1 through 10, with 1 through 4 being poor, 5 through 7 being OK, and 8 through 10 being Great. There is a great help article on how AdWords calculates Quality Score, for those interested in jumping down the rabbit hole.

The Keyword Opportunities Tool, still in BETA, now uses your AdWords Editor 7.0 language and location settings. You can change the Keyword Opportunities locale used for the results by clicking the very small blue “Edit” link that appears at the very upper right of the Keyword Opportunities tool window. The sentence will read “Results are tailored to…” There is also a great help article with more information on how to change the Keyword Opportunities Tool’s language and location targeting.

Speaking of Language and Location settings, you can now view your campaigns targeting settings on the Campaigns tab. Now, these columns are hidden by default, however you can select them with the column chooser.

The Keyword Expansion tab now shows “absolute numbers” instead of the odd scaled values previously seen. The numbers supposedly reflect the traffic for the last month.

Adwords Editor 7.0 now has optional usage tracking. This allows Google to collect completely anonymous statistics about how you use the different features. The statistics do not include personal information or any of the contents for your AdWords account. The idea here is that the information gathered will help the design team further understand what needs improvement. This feature is turned off by default, and can be enabled, or disabled, by going to Tools menu/Settings, and then select “improve AdWords Editor by enabling usage tracking.”

When it comes to PPC management, Adwords Editor 7.0 is truly a must have tool. It could very well be the most popular software on my machine. It’s great to see the AdWords Editor design team continue to release new improvements on a regular basis. In a recent meeting with Google, I also submitted my personal AdWords Editor wish list that included separate data for Content and Search, as well as the ability to compare data from different time periods, along with graphical representations, as seen in the Account Snapshot tool. Considering the recent improvements, perhaps my wish list is not too far off in the future.

I recommend you download AdWords Editor 7.0 today.

Google just announced yesterday a new keyword tool they released in beta called the Search-based Keyword Tool.  Before further exploring this new tool, I would first like to revisit the regular Google Keyword Tool and its recent improvements.

The Keyword Tool at Google AdWords

I use Google’s Keyword Tool for a large majority of keyword research now.  Yes, services like Keyword Discovery or Word Butler will give us a longer list of long-tail keywords, but according to Google, bigger is not always better in a new campaign.

Google’s Keyword Tool has been improved greatly over the last few months.  We now get very detailed search volume numbers – be sure to change the match type of your results to “Exact” before taking those numbers seriously.

They have also fixed a problem they were having a couple of months ago where they were randomly presenting terms that were not as relevant (called “Additional Keywords to Consider”) before the relevant terms.  That has been fixed and we now see the Related Keywords first on every search.  They have also fixed little annoyances like the scrolling and the ability to download all the terms at once.

So, how is the new Search-based Keyword Tool different?

It’s main difference is that instead of taking your suggested words, Google will now go look at your website and provide suggested keywords based on its content. 

There are  a few new features that make this tool an interesting addition to our arsenal of research tools here at JumpFly:

1. A magnifying glass icon takes you straight to Google Insights for that term.

2. Ad/Search Share tells you how your ad is showing up for that search term

3. We can filter the results by search volume, competition and suggested bid.

I am disappointed that the search volume numbers are apparently from the broad match search volume – not nearly as useful as the existing keyword tool that allows you to change that to exact match for more accuracy.  I also feel that I get a much larger and comprehensive list when I use the Google Keyword Tool.  However, if we are looking for a single term or set of terms, this tool lets us narrow things down quite a bit and may help uncover some valuable new keywords.

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