Where's Waldo (Enhanced Campaigns) In Google AdWords Updates

Navigating through Google AdWords to create optimized, ROI producing campaigns can be an extensive process. Especially with all the new features, best practices, and changes that the Google brand grows to encompass.

With Google's full transition into "enhanced" campaigns, there are a lot of new features with some interesting benefits to advertisers. The most interesting improved features of this update are within the site link extensions. From general campaign extensions to specific ad group level extensions, there is a lot more data, and room for optimization. For a broader view on the "enhanced" changes check out this article.


Where's Waldo?

In a picture of grayed out tabs with the same type font, size, and coloring, you can find "Waldo" in the Ad Extensions tab in Google AdWords. As a digital media manager, I worry about losing data but thankfully, Google seems to have recognized that and provided an "upgraded" view or "not upgraded" to see the data history of your extensions. The data history view lets me know I can find Waldo on any time frame. This is especially important as your campaigns grow and become more extensive. For basic, limited budget campaigns, simply creating campaign level extensions may be sufficient, however for those decently budget accounts, utilizing the specific ad group level extensions will help you create the most targeted, relevant, and potentially money-making ads; or in other words, a massive version of Where's Waldo.


Red/White Striped Shirt (check), Glasses (check), Jeans (check)...

1. Create more granular extensions at the ad group level, for targeted, direct, and correlated links. Pair complementary shopping items, geographically correlated items, or any other method of grouping to help improve ROI.
   
   
2. Set a schedule for your extensions, use the most profit driven times of the day or days of the week. Segment by day of the week, time of day, monthly, etc. to maximize the most profitable times.
   
   
3. Create mobile specific site-link extensions; speak to mobile users through location text or other mobile targeting terms. Setting different extensions for different devices will maximize your efforts with optimal text.
   
   
4. Each extension is now singular rather than as a group, much easier for reviewing for eligibility and changes across all ad groups that include that site link.
   
   
5. Hold on to you data history for comparisons and optimization. Review data based on all devices, and targeting methods over time to infer which methods will bring the most profitable business.
   
   
6. Optimize on an individual basis for performance, ROI, CTR, etc.

Enhanced site-link extensions allow advertisers to move away from 1 set of site-link extensions per campaign to a much more targeted, in depth strategy. Having the ability to customize at an ad group level and display extensions that have specific, relevant information on each service, function, product, etc. allows for cross selling and potential profit. With any AdWords extension, research, testing, and optimization are the keys to succeeding. It is never a one stop shop but a continual service in need of constant monitoring to achieve the best possible outcome for your paid search tactics.

Now that this upgrade has officially been upgraded, it's very important to customize your account and make sure your ads are the best in your industry. Research your competition and the industry you work in to maximize your efforts. For more optimization information check out this article on generating ROI from your PPC text ads.

Google has also announced several more upgrades that will be coming soon, including Google Maps Ads and updates to the Analytics user-face. So keep an eye out for my next article about how to use these upgrades to your advantage.


Did you find this article helpful? Please let me know by leaving me your valued comments in the comments section below.

Related articles:
Common Google AdWords Mistakes And How To Avoid Them


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© 2013. This article is DMCA protected. Republication is prohibited.

Common Google AdWords Mistakes And How To Avoid Them

Google AdWords is a great way to target the right audience and drive them to the right sources to generate the most income. Unfortunately, many companies (both large and small) try to use the service with little to no knowledge of how it actually works. Fortunately, here are 5 of the most common mistakes marketers make when using Google AdWords and how to avoid them:


1. Directing the advertisements to your homepage

A major mistake that many companies make is that they direct advertisements back to their homepage. This can be costly since customers will typically leave the site if they do not instantly see what they are looking for. Whenever possible, you need to ensure that the advertisements go to a specific page that is relevant to the customer.

For example, if a customer is looking for "kitchen faucets," you need to ensure that the advertisements direct the customer to a specific page on your website about kitchen faucets. If you direct them to your homepage, it is very likely that the customer will only go straight back to Google to do another search. Unfortunately, such an action means that you will likely lose the customer to your competition.


2. Accepting all of the suggested words

If you accept all of the suggested words supplied by the Google AdWords Keyword Generator, you will run into a lot of trouble. Unfortunately, the list that you receive will have a lot of unrelated and generic terms that will not benefit your business. By accepting all of the keywords, you will not target the right audience that will ensure engagement and sales.

For example, if you are a chef, very generic words such as "cooking" or "chef" may not greatly benefit you. Instead, you should focus on narrower keywords with true buying potential.


3. Not using negative keywords

A good thing about using a Google AdWords campaign is that you are able to choose negative keywords to filter out unwanted clicks. Unfortunately, many people do not use the feature and learn a very expensive lesson the hard way.

For example, if you sell computer equipment or software, you may want to use negative keywords such as "panels" or "treatments" to avoid being confused with the home improvement industry.


4. Not localizing the campaign

If you have a local business, it is crucial that you localize your campaign by setting up specific ads for searchers in a specific area. By providing your zip or area code, you will be able to target people living in your area that will be more likely to visit your business. Unfortunately, a lot of money can be wasted if you do not specify this and instead try to entice people from halfway across the world.


5. Failing to test the advertisements

When you have a campaign in place, it is an absolute must that you test your advertisements to see what works best. You will need to track every aspect of your campaign to determine what is working and what is not. Once you have the information handy, you will be able to tailor your advertisements to generate the most success.

When breaking down your advertisements, just some of the factors you need to consider include:

• Font sizes, styles, and colors
• Wording
• Images
• Overall advertisement composition
• Call to actions
• Offers
• Placement locations
• Prices

As you can see, there are many things to take into consideration when you undergo a Google AdWords campaign. By knowing the common mistakes to avoid, you will better situate yourself to achieve success.


About The Author: Lorraine Gray has spent a lot of time using Adwords in her clients advertising campaigns. She likes to blog about her experiences on various marketing websites.

Did you find this article helpful? Please let me know by leaving me your valued comments in the comments section below.


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Until my next post on Monday on Google AdWords Enhanced Site Link Extensions, enjoy the rest of the week and have a fabulous weekend! See you back here on Monday.

© 2013. This article is DMCA protected. Republication is prohibited.

A Beginner's Guide To Online Marketing

If you're a small business owner, you've probably heard a lot about how advertising online could benefit you. Online advertising is certainly an effective way of attracting new customers, and, if done correctly, it can be an inexpensive promotion method too. However, for newcomers to the world of Internet marketing, there are a lot of pitfalls.

This guide will help you to get started with online marketing, and help you avoid the most common mistakes.


Why Market Online?

The first thing you need to ask yourself is why you want to market online. If your answer is "I got a letter from an online marketing company and the prospect of reaching millions of customers sounds cool", then maybe you should re-examine your reasons. Online marketing works really well for mail order companies, companies that offer virtual goods, and people that sell a service that can be delivered remotely. It can also work well for events, if you start marketing early enough, but it's not a magical answer for every single business.

Do you know which customers you want to reach? Does it matter whether those customers are local to you? Can you serve people in the same country? Can you ship your product abroad? Figure out who you want to reach and where they need to be located before you start working on advertisements.


Choosing Who To Advertise With

For your first foray into online advertising, there are two companies that are safe bets. One is Facebook, and the other is Google. Facebook advertising is a good option if you're advertising games, music, entertainment, or anything aimed at people in the teenage and twenty-something range.

Google Adwords can reach a wider range of people than Facebook ads, and there are lots of Google Adwords consultants that can offer advice to novices, and even manage campaigns for you. Adwords are context sensitive, so if you set up a campaign promoting a personal training business, your ad will automatically appear on sites that promote personal training. This makes sure that your ad will reach the right people.

There are other companies that offer advertising, and a good online marketing company may be able to advise you about advertising companies that are aimed specifically at your niche, but Facebook and Google are good bets for most people.


Running Your Campaign

There's more to running a campaign than just picking a few keywords, writing the ad, and funding your account. The Google adwords interface allows you to set up "negative campaigns", for example. This feature allows you to ensure that your advertisement for a personal training business won't appear when someone searches for "How to become a personal trainer", it will only appear to people who are looking to hire one.

Another useful feature is geo-targeting. This allows you to restrict the countries that will see your advertisement. This means that if you know you can ship to the USA, Canada, and America, but can't ship to Iceland or Japan, you can prevent the advertisement from being shown to the later two countries.

If you aren't confident in setting up those features, then there are lots of Google Adwords consultants that would be happy to help you get started.


This post was written by James Harper of Boom Online Marketing. James enjoys working in the busy environment of an online marketing company.

Do you like this article? Please let me know by using the comments section below.


If you found this or any of my other posts helpful, don't forget to +1 or share the posts to your favourite networks using the toolbar below or by using the "+1" and "Share" buttons located at the bottom of each post.

As ever, if you want to stay up to date with the latest blog posts, don't forget to follow via Google Friend Connect (button on sidebar), on NetworkedBlogs, via Email (maximum of one email per day), on Facebook and Google+ or by subscribing to our blog feed at:
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Until my next post, have a wonderful Easter!