Incoming Extensions Update For Mobile Devices

Ads that use sitelinks, callouts and structured snippets will be updated for mobile devices later this month.

Sitelinks

This extension, which allows you to send users to specific pages of interest on your site, will become tappable and scrollable.

According to Google's own blog, early test have shown this increases the chances users will visit your site two-fold.

Callouts, and structured snippets

These extensions provide additional copy underneath your ad to encourage visitors to engage with your site, by highlighting certain business areas or interesting content

Previously these appeared below your ad copy, but with the incoming changes these will appear in line in paragraph format, meaning they will appear more often and be more engaging.

We're hoping these changes will give a boost to those websites that rely heavily on mobile traffic, and give the end user a better experience to find the information they need - especially when out and about.

Google Adwords - Callout Extensions

Callouts are a new ad extension from Google AdWords that allows for additional text information, complementing the product or service, to be shown with an ad.

Callouts can be created using the Ad extensions tab in Adwords and can be added at either the account, campaign or adgroup level. For example, if you own a hairdresser’s and you are running a discounted service, at the campaign level you may wish to display a callout text that says “discount available” and then you can have more specific callout text information detailing your discount at the adgroup level, such as “25% off hair wash”.

Callouts can be up to 25 characters long and Google recommends that they should be kept “short”, “specific” and “unique” to the ad in question, so tailoring your callout text in this way can be an effective way to target potential customers and give them a greater insight into your services. Callouts, like site links, also now feed through to AdRank – used to determine where your ads appear in search results.

Mobile Ads Matter

A new study from Google conducted between March 2012 and April 2013 looked at mobile advertising via Adwords in the US.

The research focused on search terms that had an organic listing on the first page and adjusted data for factors like seasonality.

The results showed that a massive 88% of ad clicks from mobile searches were incremental to organic search results. This means that when ads were paused organic search didn’t make up the loss of traffic from paid ads.

New AdWords “Enhanced Campaigns” makes targeting mobile users easy allowing advertisers to reach consumers using mobile devices based upon contextual signals.

Over 51% of people in the UK now own a smartphone. In this constantly connected world, people use their phones to shop, socialize and find information. Now, more than ever, companies need to properly consider their mobile presence.

Launch of Adwords Sitelink Descriptions

With the rollout of Adwords Enhanced campaigns it became possible to set up sitelinks at both a campaign and AdGroup level.

Sitelinks at an AdGroup level give people more choice over what content to click through to - great for both increasing click through rates and conversion.

Google have now announced the rollout of sitelink descriptions. These enable you to control the description that appears under each sitelink. Implementation is easy - a new "description" field appears in the sitelink creation tool. Sitelinks cannot use keyword insertion and each link must point to different content.

Testing by Google found click through rates to be significantly higher than via the same ad with the traditional 2 or 3 line sitelinks.

Common PPC Terms

Not sure of the difference between your CTR and your average CPC? We’ve put together a brief guide to some of the common terms you are likely to come across whilst working with PPC.

A

adCenter The Microsoft pay-per-click (PPC) ad network that includes PPC traffic from the Bing and Yahoo search engines. In the UK adCenter has a smaller share of the PPC market than the more popular Google AdWords.

AdGroup A subset of a PPC campaign comprising an ad or group of advertisements that target a specific set of keywords. An AdGroup typically represents specific areas, themes or products being advertised.

Ad Scheduling Setting campaigns to target specific times and days in which your ads are to be shown.

Adwords Google’s advertising platform, which allows advertisers to target their ad’s audiences in various ad formats both on the Google Search Network and the Google Display Network.

Analytics The measurement, collection and analysis of web data with a view to tracking progress, gaining insight and improving performance.

Average Position The average position an advert appears in with #1 meaning it came first, #2 second and so on.

B

Bid The maximum price an advertiser is willing to pay for someone clicking on an advert for a given keyword.

Broad Match A keyword matching option that will show an ad for a wide variety of related terms to the original term.

C

Campaign A series of typically related AdGroups (adverts and associated keywords) with a shared budget on a PPC network

Click Fraud Any click that is made on a PPC ad with malicious intent, including the intentional depletion of a competitors pay per click advertising budget.

Content Network Websites that have agreed to show PPC ads on their site, served by an ad network, in exchange for a share of the revenue generated by those ads.

Conversion A conversion occurs when a web visitor takes an action that the advertiser judges to be valuable (usually a purchase, but it can also mean a visitor signing up to a newsletter or completing an enquiry form).

Conversion Rate The percentage of visitors who “convert” (i.e. make a purchase, register, request information, etc.).

Cost per Conversion The average cost required to achieve a conversion on a website.

CPA Acronym for Cost per Acquisition - an alternative pricing model that based fees on conversions rather than clicks

CPC Acronym for Cost-per-Click, the cost paid by an advertiser when someone clicks onto an advert on a PPC network.

CPM An alternative online advertising payment model that charges per impressions (the number of times an ad is shown) rather than per click. CPM is the cost per 1,000 impressions.

CTR The number of clicks on an ad divided by the number of times the ad is shown, expressed as a percentage.

D

Daily Budget The maximum amount of money you are willing to spend in one day for displaying your ad on a PPC network for a given campaign.

Display URL The web address (URL) shown to people when they see a PPC advert.

E

Exact Match A Keyword matching type used within PPC advertising. Exact match is the most targeted match type. Exact match will only show your ad to people who search for exactly how you entered the keyword.

G

Geotargeting A method of targeting visitors based upon their location, such as country, region/state, city, metro code/zip code etc.

K

Keyword Words or phrases commonly used by people to search for information via a search engine. Keyword selection is an essential part of any PPC campaign.

Keyword Insertion A tactic that enables the dynamic insertion of the actual keyword searched for into either the headline or description of your ad text. This will place the keyword in bold which can increase click through rates but which needs with care.

I

Impressions The number of time an advert is shown by a PPC network within a given period.

L

Landing Page The web page you direct people to when they click onto your advert. Generally the more tailored a Landing Page is to a specific query, the better the results.

N

Negative Keyword A word or phrase added to your campaign that will stop your advert being shown if it is included in a search term.

O

Organic Search Results The standard (non paid for) search results compiled by a search engine using complex algorithms to rank sites.

P

Phrase Match A keyword matching type that is more targeted than broad match but more forgiving than exact match. This option requires specific words to be included in the same order within a search term for your advert to show.

Position Where your advert appears in the list of adverts shown to someone performing a search.

PPC Acronym for Pay Per Click - An Internet advertising model used to direct traffic to websites, where advertisers only pay when someone actually clicks on an advert.

Q

Quality Score A numerical score assigned by Google AdWords which essentially measures how relevant a keyword is to its associated advert and the page you direct people to. When you set up a new keyword Google provides an estimate of its quality score which is later refined via real world click through data.

R

Reach The total number of people exposed to an ad.

ROI A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or to compare the efficiency of a number of different investments; calculated by dividing the benefit (return) of an investment by the cost of the investment; the result is expressed as a percentage or a ratio.

S

SEO An acronym for search engine optimisation – a series of strategies and tactics designed to improve your search engine ranking position in standard or organic search results.

Search Network A network of search engines that advertisers can opt in to advertise on through the Google AdWords platform.

Search Engine – A program typically available via a website such as Google or Yahoo, that enables you to search for information on the web. Search engines use complex algorithms to determine the ranking of websites within search results.

Sponsored Results PPC Adverts that are triggered as a result of a search for a specific keyword or search phrase.

U

Unique Visitor A statistic that counts each individual visitor to a site only once within a given time frame.

V

Visitor – An individual visit to a website. Visitor numbers are typically higher than unique visitor numbers as often people will visit a site more than once within a given time frame.

An Introduction to PPC Advertising

Pay Per Click – often abbreviated to "PPC" – is an internet advertising model used to direct people to websites. Unlike traditional advertising, where you are charged simply to display your advert, pay per click only costs you anything when somebody actively clicks your ad and visits your website.

PPC advertising appears on a wide range of websites, social media and on search engines such as Google or Yahoo. In the UK the most widely used PPC platform is Adwords – Google’s advertising program.

PPC and search results

PPC is most powerful when combined with search results.

Targeting specific keywords or search phrases means that your adverts are only shown when people search for them. PPC adverts usually appear to the right or above standard search results under a heading such as “Ads” or “Sponsored Links”.

Choose the right terms and your ad is assured a niche, qualified audience speaking directly to people who have already expressed an interest in your product via a search. For example - if you sell tennis shoes and you target the phrase "buy tennis shoes" - it's highly likely that visitors will be interested in what you have to offer.

Why use PPC?

Implemented well PPC can result in a reliable, measurable stream of sales or qualified leads for your business.

PPC also has a number of other unique advantages:

Accountability – detailed statistics show exactly how your budget was spent, show what happens when people click through to your website and provide valuable insight into the demand for your product or services. This ongoing feedback can most importantly be used to optimise your campaigns – identifying what tactics work and what need to be refined.

Affordability – PPC offers incredible control over your advertising spend. You can set a daily budget, adjust your spend for different campaigns and change the parameters at any point. This means that even smaller businesses can set themselves up and effectively use Pay Per Click.

Flexibility – Advertising platforms such as Adwords offer incredible control over your advertising. Geo-targeting for example can enable you to target people in a specific city, within a 30 mile radius of a postcode or even an entire continent. Additional options include mobile ads, scheduling your advertising to be shown at specific times of the day or posting ads to other websites and social media platforms such as YouTube.

Results in the short term – Unlike search engine optimisation (“SEO”), PPC can deliver in the short term. It's important to properly plan and manage campaigns but it's comparatively quick to set up a PPC campaign and once configured it can start driving traffic to your site within a matter of minutes.

Display advertising

You can also place adverts onto other websites using the PPC model - for example via the Google Display advertising network. This model of advertising is better suited to brand building campaigns.

Get in touch

For further information please contact us at info@andersanalytics.com.

6 Ways to Evaluate Your PPC Agency

Many agencies do a great job of managing PPC advertising but there are times when a change can be warranted. We’ve put together a list of 6 things to consider when appraising your current agency.

1. Are you getting measurable results?

A huge advantage of PPC is its accountability. Knowing your average cost per click (“CPC”) or conversion rate however isn’t enough.

What matters is how an agency influences your performance over time. If improvements to your key performance indicators have plateaued or are in decline then it may be time to get a second opinion.

2. How good is your business relationship?

The relationship you have with your PPC agency is critical.

A good agency should be commercially aware, take time to understand your business and establish key performance indicators. This should include an understanding of the competitive landscape you operate within.

Continuity, in terms of who manages your account on a day to day basis, is important. A named contact or dedicated team can get to know your business in far greater detail over time.Conversely pooled responsibility for a range of PPC campaigns can dilute expertise.

Your PPC team should be responsive to your needs and the services offered both flexible and adaptable over time. If your agency is failing to deliver on promises or you believe your relationship is otherwise sub-par then a re-evaluation may be required.

3. What value does your agency provide?

Ultimately the decision on any PPC agency comes down to the value they offer your business.

An agency charging higher rates but achieving great results may offer far greater value than another offering lower fees but whose advertising is largely ineffective.

Measuring your agency’s progress against intelligent performance metrics is key with ROI on your overall advertising spend being the most important factor to consider.

4. How innovative is your PPC agency?

PPC agencies are only as good as the staff that work on your campaign. A commitment to professional development and staying up to date with the ever changing world of the likes of Adwords and Bing Ads is thus essential.

Innovation goes beyond simply using the latest tools – it also matters how they are applied. Beyond best practice this also means thinking creatively about how PPC can best be applied to a client's benefit.

5. Reporting and Feedback

If you choose to outsource your PPC advertising it’s essential that you get regular and intelligent feedback on how things are going. Intelligent reporting should be actionable or offer insight rather just simply updating figures.

It’s important to agree key performance indicators at the outset and measure campaigns against these on an ongoing basis. Reports should be customised towards the needs of different stakeholders – it’s unlikely your CEO will require the same level of detail your marketing manager will.

A good working relationship goes a long way. Ongoing feedback and discussion between client and agency rather than reporting at arbitrary intervals is far more likely to get results.

6. How does the agency’s fee model influence their motivation?

The motivation of your PPC agency is an often overlooked consideration.

On the face of it certain pricing models may seem to promise a lot or offer to minimise risks. If as a result there is little to be gained by the agency it’s unlikely that you’ll get their full attention when it comes to maximising the potential of your PPC campaigns.