Posted on: January 31st, 2011 by Miranda Rutkowski
In their constant effort to update and improve tools available to advertisers, Google recently announced their new and improved Ad Preview Tool. If you are an AdWords advertiser and you do not know what the Ad Preview Tool is, you definitely should. This is an important tool that allows advertisers and PPC management companies to check the position of their Google AdWords ads without having a negative impact on the click-through-rate (CTR) of their campaigns. Here at JumpFly, we use this tool daily to ensure that our clients’ ads are showing where we want them to be, so we are excited to see more new features available.
The first thing I noticed when using the new Ad Preview Tool is the updated, sleek user interface (UI). The new UI boasts new fields and a new look that makes it feel more simple to understand and user friendly.
Aside from the tool’s face-lift, the first big change I found was that when you are using the tool while signed into your AdWords account, the new Ad Preview will tell you whether or not your ad is showing and which ad group the keyword is being mapped to. This is a fantastic update because it allows you to see if your keywords are being mapped to the most highly targeted and specific ad groups. This will be especially helpful for adding negative keywords to ad groups to ensure that the proper ads are being shown for each keyword search. If your ad is not showing for some reason, the new Ad Preview Tool will tell you why and help you understand whether you need to raise your bids, update your location targeting, increase your daily budget or optimize your account.
The next big Google Ad Preview Tool change worth noting is the new Device setting option. This feature allows AdWords advertisers to view and diagnose their ads for high-end mobile devices and provides previews of ads based on the type of device and cell phone carrier. This is a much needed update that seems to go hand in hand with the new keyword tool that helps create mobile targeted campaigns. With more and more advertisers dedicating a portion of their budget to target Smartphone users, the ability to see what the ads look like on Android, iPhone/iPod/iPad and Palm OS devices is growing exponentially.
These updates to the Ad Preview are certainly appreciated and much needed. Thanks Google!
Posted on: January 18th, 2011 by Miranda Rutkowski
If you are one of the estimated 61.5 million people in the US who own a smartphone, you probably do at least a small percentage of your online searches from your device. With Verizon announcing both their partnership with iPhone and the release of brand new Verizon 4G smartphones, the number of people who search from their mobile devices is going to keep rising. Google says that their mobile searches have grown by more than five times over the last 2 years! This increase in mobile searches is going to encourage smart advertisers to allocate a portion of their online advertising budget to people searching from mobile devices.
But how will advertisers and professional PPC management companies like JumpFly know what keywords mobile searchers are looking for? As usual, Google is two steps ahead with their new Keyword Tool. In September, Google announced that it was officially launching the latest version of their Keyword Tool within AdWords. Since then, there have been several notable improvements to the tool including the addition of new ways to filter and refine the keyword list, starring keywords and the ‘view as text’ button.
The latest improvement to the Google AdWords Keyword Tool is the ability to create keyword lists targeted to mobile users. Underneath the box where you type in the keywords you wish to research, there is a ‘+’ button next to ‘Advanced options.’ Click on this ‘+’ and you will see a dropdown menu to show ideas for all mobile devices, mobile WAP devices and mobile devices with full internet browsers (like iPhone and Andriod phones). This enhancement to the already great Keyword Tool will allow AdWords advertisers to create better, more highly targeted campaigns for mobile users.
As an avid smartphone user, I can honestly say that I browse the internet more from my phone that I do from any desktop or laptop computer. I am excited to see what new, more highly targeted advertisements are shown to me in the next few months. It should be interesting to see how this new feature can help mobile search evolve. Stay tuned!
Posted on: December 9th, 2010 by Miranda Rutkowski
The team at Google Ad Innovations that brought you Call Metrics, Seller Star Ratings Extensions, Broad Match Modifier and more has recently announced AdWords Automated Rules. This exciting new innovation allows advertisers to schedule automatic updates and changes to their AdWords account based on specific criteria. Advertisers can now schedule automatic changes on the Campaign, Ad Group, Ad and Keyword level without having to manually log into their AdWords account. Automated Rules has been designed to help save advertisers time by allowing them to manage their AdWords account more efficiently.
What does this mean for you, as a Google AdWords advertiser? Here are some practical examples:
* You have a post-holiday super sale that you want to make sure to advertise on starting on December 26th, but you are out of town with limited access to email or technology. No problem! Simply write the ads, set the Automated Rule to turn them on at midnight on December 26th then sit back and relax knowing that they will be taken care of for you.
* You have done extensive research that shows that your peak shopping days are Monday, Friday and Saturday. You have also found that your least productive sales day is Tuesday. Using AdWords Automated Rules, you can create a rule to automatically increase your budget on your peak days and automatically decrease it on Tuesday. This ensures that your visibility is improved on days when you know people are most likely to purchase.
* You know that your keywords convert best when they are in position 3 or higher. AdWords Automated Rules allows you to create a rule in your PPC campaign or ad group that will automatically increase the maximum CPC (cost-per-click) bids for all keywords with a position below 3. You can choose to increase the bids either by a percentage or by a static amount. Automated Rules will look at the data for the timing parameter that you determine in order to make the adjustments that you require.
Another important feature of AdWords Automated Rules is that you are encouraged to preview the results of the rules that you create. This preview function allows you see a list of the changes before they are actually implemented so that you can make sure that you are making the most beneficial changes to your account. Automated Rules are also easily managed within the Google AdWords interface using the Control Panel and Library section. There, you are able to view, pause and keep track of the changes that are being made automatically to your account every day.
With Google AdWords and their plethora of available tools, anyone can advertise online. However, a professional PPC Management Company like JumpFly is highly recommended. Professional account managers know the tricks of the trade to keep your PPC accounts optimized and running smoothly. Contact us today to see how we can help increase your ROI.
