A 0.05% click-through rate. Wow. That just sounds awful, doesn’t it?
But, what if you knew that your Google Display Ad was actually getting 3x the clicks as the other ads on that page? Well, that would completely change how you judged the campaign, wouldn’t it?
Now, with Relative CTR metrics, you can see how your online display ads are performing relative to other ads running in the same places on the Google Display Network. This can help tell you when your ad messaging may need adjustments, or let you know you’re doing great. Not from an ROI standpoint, mind you. Cost of campaign measured by the cost of conversions can help you judge the effectual worth of the campaign itself. But this metric is a simply invaluable addition for creatives looking to improve their messaging.
Search engine optimizers everywhere are feverishly working to understand exactly how Google +1 can benefit their site listings in search results. So, let’s give a run down.
Google +1 is a Facebook “like” equivalent. Similarly to how Bing search results incorporate Facebook “likes”, Google search results incorporate +1′s. If your friends, family or the aggregate Internet community has +1′d a page, you will see it in your search results, when signed in to Google. The idea is to screen Google’s search results before diving in. If a friend or the aggregate community have socially approved a site, there’s a tacit approval of the content that follows.
Google PPC ads will also incorporate +1 social approval when possible. Now, while Google Buzz, Google’s last attempt at social relevancy, was deemed a failure – due to non-use, there’s a legitimate fear that Google +1 may have the same fate. But, bottom line, this is a new ranking signal. Odds are that Google will prioritize it in order to promote it. Google is still 80% of the search market. Yeah, I’m going to start incorporating it. And it’s important to note that the Google +1 button is customizable for the technical Web programmers among us.
And Google continues to improve this functionality, to optimize both your ad spend and your conversion rate. For instance, desktop and mobile app distributor W3i is able to use this functionality within their third-party bid optimization tool and increase conversions by 19.7%, while decreasing their cost-per-action by 9.7%.
Google Adwords continues to improve its functionality, its depth and its ease of integration with third-party tools. And for that, we love Google Adwords. Keep up the great work, Google. And keep evolving to make our workday easier and more profitable.
Microsoft adCenter is looking to help Bing advertisers reach local users, with new features including radius targeting, local search attributes and something entitled “Bing Vision”. Many of these features are simply playing catch-up to Google AdWords.
For instance, the ability to target specific radiuses, 5-100 miles away from a city, listing the merchant’s address and phone number. “Bing Vision”, however, is the new one. Bing Vision helps customers already in store, further investigate product information, reviews and prices.
As Bing continues to chip away at Google’s market share, and more and more advertisers start to take notice, kudos to Microsoft AdCenter for not only catching up, but looking to innovate.
Let’s say you’re in the market for a new SUV. You type in 5-star safety rating SUVs. You see a lot of familiar brand names come up, along with a Google Adwords advertisement for the Cirun Navuve. Do you click on this link? Absolutely not. Because you’ve never heard of this company before.
That’s why search marketing can only do so much, and why branding is of such vital importance. Now, re-marketing on the other hand, search marketing that only shows up once the person has already visited your website, this can be the greatest single advertising decision you make. And for some commodity item companies, where brand doesn’t “really matter”, PPC can be your perfect advertising solution. Why? It’s immediate. It’s cheap. It’s hyper-targeted. It’s not interrupting people, but showing them options exactly when they’re looking for you.
It’s in Google’s best interest to make your PPC campaigns a success. And that’s why they’ve recently released their Ad Innovations site and this series of Adwords tips.
Here are a couple of quick highlights that we found the most interesting and are currently utilizing with our PPC clients here at Windy City Strategies. Ad Sitelinks through Google Adwords lets you provide specific landing page options within your PPC ad, up to four additional destination URLs. On average, advertisers see a 30% increase in click through rate with these Ad Sitelinks.
Also, Google AdWords now lets you incorporate your description line content in the headline, where it’s more likely to be noticed, when you have a “top ad”. This easy tweak results in a nice 6% increase in click through rate. Thanks for the new features, Google!
After a discouraging 2009, U.S. pay-per-click advertising made a huge comeback in 2010, with 18.5% year-over-year growth in paid search, according to a new report from SearchIgnite.
Especially within the 4th quarter, which saw major rebounding across all economic sectors. In the paid search world, the 4th quarter saw a 35.5% increase over the prior year, with a 44.8% December increase year-over-year.
What does this say about 2011? That it should be a good one for the search world and online advertising overall. With Google working harder and harder to get rid of spam, and Bing working harder and harder to get back in the game, users and advertisers alike should experience the best year of search to date.
U.S. retailers spent 37% more this year on PPC advertising ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, compared to last year according to SearchIgnite.
Along with increases in ad spend came increases in conversions, with a 28.7% increase in conversions after click and a 20.7% increase in average order value.
This is great news for search advertising in general. Because this shows that more and more consumers are looking to do their shopping online, and also that they’re becoming more and more trusting of companies who advertise through PPC campaigns. Along with the fact that consumers are spending more is a great economic indicator in general.
Investment bank Cowen and Company forecasts Facebook ad revenue in 2010 will exceed $1.6 billion. That combined with Facebook’s non-ad estimated revenue should bring Facebook’s overall sales to nearly $1.75 billion for the year.
A tidy sum. But that ad revenue is only half of the $3.2 billion Cowen and Company forecasts Facebook will make in 2011.
These are some big numbers. Google-scaring numbers. And probably why Google seems to be acquiring more and more social-friendly entities. So, what does this mean for a possible Facebook IPO? Well, it’s going to make investors desperate to get in on this action, that’s for sure. And to think that this is only the beginning. That the vast majority of online advertisers are still solely utilizing PPC campaigns through Google. If more and more advertisers start hitting up the power of Facebook, who knows where the profit ceiling is for this company?
The average online advertiser may not even be aware of Google’s Display Ad Network. But it’s a secret weapon for many professional SEO experts. A world where you can reach targeted traffic and get more efficiency on your CPC costs.
So, what is Google doing? Making it even better of course. Google’s recent blog post mentions automation. Just as they’re doing with their traditional search engine ads, Google is helping advertisers automate their strategy and take advantage of the best display ad sites and most efficient conversion possibilities.
Plus, display advertising is changing. From flashing banner ads to intuitive video and more. So, what’s the future look like? Google imagines it like this. You find a site you’d love your ad to be. You click on the display ad, upload yours, and it’s live within minutes. The ability to reach the right user and the right time with the right ad. I can’t wait.
