Archive for the ‘Paid Search’ Category

Measuring Sitelinks from your Google AdWords Campaigns

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Brittany Baeslack

PPC experts know how important the ability to test and measure results is.  Thankfully, we have the ability to do this with sitelinks as well.  The ‘Ad Extensions’ tab within the Google AdWords UI offers advertisers data that is specific to sitelink performance.  Also, keep in mind that all of this data is rolled up when viewing data for the campaign overall – there’s no need to add the numbers together to get the total, as AdWords already displays the campaign data in that way.

One question I get often, however, is how advertisers can view more detailed data for sitelinks, such as conversion data or performance for individual sitelinks.  While we don’t have the ability to view this data within the AdWords UI, we can see it within Google Analytics.

Set up Tracking Parameters

In order to track in Analytics, you’ll first need to attach tracking parameters onto the URL of the sitelinks you are using.  I usually set mine up as sitelink = [description of sitelink here], so for example:

www.CompanyA.com/contactus?sitelink =contactus

Remember, when attaching tracking parameters to any URL, use ‘?’ to separate the URL from the tagging if the URL does not already have a question mark in it; if the URL already contains a question mark, you’ll want to separate your URL from your parameter with ‘&’ (even if the URL already contains an ampersand).  SearchEngineLand offers a great article on how to set up parameters.

View the Content Report

Once the parameters are in place and you have confirmed the link still works correctly, you can view data for sitelinks within Google Analytics by clicking on Content, followed by Site Content and then Landing Pages.  Search for your designated parameter in the search box.  From here, you can drill down in the Google Analytics interface to determine additional information about the sitelinks, such as which campaigns triggered them, etc.

Custom Reports

Another way to view sitelink performance within Analytics is to set up a custom report that will be saved within the analytics profile for quick viewing in the future.  To do so, you’ll need to ensure that tracking parameters have been set up for the sitelink URLs (discussed above).

Within the Google Analytics profile you wish to track sitelinks in, click on Custom Reporting, then New Custom Report.  Name the report so that you will be able to easily identify it as the Sitelinks report when you view the Custom Reporting tab (I always name mine Sitelinks Report).  Since my sitelinks report usually only has one tab, I just name it “Sitelinks.”  I also prefer to view the data by Explorer as the type.

Choose the metrics you would like to view for your sitelinks – this can be limited to just visits, or as many metrics as you’d like, including bounce rates, time on site, etc.  Metrics can be combined into one metrics group or multiple metric groups.  Name your groups something easily identifiable.

Next, you’ll choose the dimensions for which you’d like to see the sitelink data.  I normally like to view campaigns, ad groups, keyword and landing page data at the very least.  Note: Landing Page (Listed under Content) must be chosen for the custom report filter to work!  The dimensions you choose can be basic like this, or contain more detailed data such as ad slot position, day of the week, medium, etc.

You’ll then need to add a filter for the custom report to pull data for.  Click Add Filter, then click Content, Landing Page.  Ensure the first box says “Include.”  Click the drop down box that says “Exact,” and click on “Regex.”  Then, in the box to the right of that, type in the tracking parameter that you would like use to filter for sitelinks.  I set my custom reports to filter for the word “sitelink” within the landing page, because my parameter contains that word.

Click save, and you now have a Custom Report you can use to view sitelink information quickly.  You will only have to make the sitelink report one time, but you can always update it to view more/less data.

Here is what your completed Custom Report page might look like, before clicking Save:

Implement sitelinks in your Paid Search campaigns, and use the AdWords UI and Google Analytics to track their performance.

View Comments (No Responses) | Categories: Paid Search, Web Analytics

Are You Really Standing Out?: Brand Keywords in PPC

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Brittany Baeslack

If there’s one PPC practice that should be instilled among all advertisers, it’s to make your brand stand out: not just physically or visually, but behind the scenes as well.

Of course, advertisers want their brands to stand out above the rest, that is a given; but it’s important to keep this same methodology in place when compiling your PPC campaigns (and I’m not just talking about writing an eye-catching ad).

Here’s an example: Imagine you work for an athletic shoe company. If a potential buyer searches “(Your Brand Here) women’s tennis shoes,” you don’t want your generic keyword “women’s tennis shoes” to battle with other brands’ generic keywords in order for your ad to appear. Sure, it’s possible that your generic keyword will trigger your ad as a result of this search, but chances are that any click captured in this way will be much more expensive than a click as a result of a branded keyword. You’re paying more for that click than you should have, and fighting for that click with more competitors than necessary; having brand keywords could have helped your ad show up in a better position while obtaining clicks at a lower price.

PPC gurus know that to develop a successful structure for Paid Search campaigns and accounts overall, product and services should be grouped tightly, in order to ensure potential customers are seeing ads that are relevant to their search queries and landing on site pages that take them where they need (and want) to go. You’d be surprised, however, by how many advertisers group their brand keywords with generic non-brand keywords, assuming that as long as the campaigns and ad groups are specific enough, brand and non-brand keywords will work the same. Moreover, you’d be surprised at how many advertisers don’t bid on brand keywords at all! Always make sure you have brand keywords throughout your account… always! I have seen VERY few instances where not bidding on brand keywords has been the better choice for an advertiser.

View Comments (No Responses) | Categories: Google Analytics, Paid Search

The Negatives of Google’s Changes to AdWords Location Targeting

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Brittany Baeslack

Over the years there have been both complaints and praises about Google’s approach to geo-targeting: while it provides advertisers with the ability to further refine their campaigns to increase conversion rates and other metrics, there were (and are) still a few things missing that AdWords marketers have been wishing for; unfortunately, Google’s recent update to its location targeting tool didn’t solve these issues.

Previous Location Targeting Downfalls

One major complaint of advertisers was that there was no real “zip code” targeting available.  While you could (previously) enter zip codes within the geo-targeting settings in the AdWords interface, Google did not translate this into a true equivalent area if you uploaded them via bulk, and instead converted them into the accompanying city.  In order to get a more precise “zip code” geographic area (but still not the true exact zip area), locations had to be entered manually, which for those marketers using zip codes to target, resulted in a plethora of extra work.  This brought many advertisers to use Custom Shape targeting, by looking up the vicinity of the actual zip code, then essentially “drawing” a geo-targeted shape where the zip code(s) (or other geographic areas) were located.

Issues with the Updated Location Targeting Tool

Recently, Google changed their location targeting tool, which in the minds of many advertisers, only made many of the above issues worse.  Some previously offered options were phased out with the update, only multiplying certain problems.

• Bulk Uploads: no longer does Google offer the option of essentially copying and pasting locations into the location targeting tool within the AdWords interface – yes, it’s gone altogether.  While Google may have good reason for this, all I can see are the negatives (and extra work) this is bringing upon campaign managers across the globe.  For all you advertisers out there who target a large amount of specific locations within your account, get ready to spend an incredibly large amount of time setting these locations.  While you still have the “option” of targeting to more than one location within your campaigns, each location needs to be added individually in the interface, or multiple locations can be chosen at once using the CTRL button within the Editor.

• Zip Codes: while Google’s previous “solution” to zip code targeting left much to be desired, it’s now gone  altogether as an option.  If you have a list of zip codes that need to be targeted, those will have to be converted into cities, or entered as coordinates.  Although the old targeting tool didn’t offer the best zip code targeting options, at least it offered something.

• Custom Shape Targeting: I’ve encountered many advertisers who have used this as a more precise solution to the previous zip code targeting, but it required a lot of extra work – looking up the shape of the zip code area itself and essentially “drawing” it as closely as possible within the AdWords interface.  It was also a great option for those marketers who didn’t want to necessarily target a specific country, city, state, region, etc. and instead saw success in more sporadic areas.  Custom Shape targeting was removed as an option in July of this year, and campaigns that already had custom shapes in place will only be able to maintain these settings until the end of this year.  Removal of this feature will cause advertisers to rely on other targeting options (that may not work as well for them), but the best option may be to target by radius, assuming you can obtain the coordinates necessary.  If you previously had custom shape targeting set up in any of your campaigns, you will now see the message “Feature removal planned” when viewing your campaigns’ location settings.  After 2011, your custom shapes will convert into available locations in AdWords or to a map point with a radius.

While Google’s new location targeting tool looks a lot sleeker and does offer some cool updates (‘Reach’ number, ‘Limited Reach’ messaging, and improved accuracy to name a few), the removal of many previous options will be leaving a lot of advertisers frustrated, and will result in additional time being spent on something that was previously done so quickly.  Maybe there’s a chance that Google will release a new and much improved location targeting tool in the near future (which would hopefully bring back the beloved bulk upload option), but until then, many advertisers will have to give their geo-targeting settings and strategies a facelift.

View Comments (2 Responses) | Categories: Paid Search

Google’s Quality Score Facelift

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Brittany Baeslack

It’s well known just how important (and robust) Google’s Quality Score is. It’s made up of multiple factors, including click-through rate, landing page quality, and numerous other relevancy factors, and in turn, it affects keywords’ CPCs, ad rank, and other indirect performance factors. While Click-through rate remains the strongest influencer of quality score, Google recently rolled out updates to its quality score calculation that will make the weight of landing page quality a stronger factor in quality score than it has been in the past.

This update definitely makes sense – the landing page a user arrives on after clicking an ad should be relevant to both the ad itself and the keyword that triggered it, and contain original, relevant content that is transparent and easily navigable. Therefore, it only makes sense that landing page quality should be a stronger indicator of quality score than it was in the past. Once the user clicks, it’s the landing page and overall user experience that needs to drive those conversions for your business.

Don’t Overlook Your Landing Pages

Keeping this update in mind, it’s time to revisit all of those landing pages you have set up in your AdWords account to make sure they’re relevant, transparent, and navigable.

• Make sure your ads, keywords, and landing pages contain the same content.  The message should be fluid, and the information being relayed in the ad should be relayed on the landing page, which of course, should be related to the keyword itself.
• Make sure your visitors know what they’ll get when they click on a link, if they enter information, or if they choose to download something off of your site.
• Visitors should be able to learn about your company and your site easily, without having to dig around too much.
• Make sure to keep the path to conversion short and quick.  Minimize clicks so that visitors can get where they want to go quickly, before dropping off the page.

If you want to keep your costs down as much as possible while holding a strong ad position on the SERP, all of these landing pages factors (and more) are necessary. Simply getting your visitors to your site won’t necessarily do the trick – spend time finding the best page possible on your site. Also, don’t be afraid to test out the creation of new pages for the purpose of maintaining quality landing pages throughout your AdWords campaigns. The effort will be worth it in the end.

While Important, Don’t Expect a Radical Change from the Update

Google is currently rolling out these changes to quality score globally. Initially, they expect variations to take place across campaigns in regard to quality score and ad position, but expect things to stabilize shortly after the changes take effect. While it is extremely important you ensure your landing pages are the best they can be, this update does not mean you should disregard the other factors that go into Google’s quality score. Also, you shouldn’t expect to see catastrophic changes in your ad positioning and quality scores within your account. Landing page quality is one piece of the Quality Score puzzle, and all pieces remain important and essential to your account’s success.

View Comments (No Responses) | Categories: Paid Search

Geo-Targeting vs. Geo-Modifying: Treat Them Differently

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Brittany Baeslack

Geo-targeting Paid Search campaigns to attract a specific geographical audience is a practice that is implemented by advertisers in a plethora of industries.  What many advertisers neglect doing, however, is separating geo-targeted campaigns from nationally targeted geo-modified campaigns.  It is important to understand the difference between the two, and treat them just that way: differently

• Geo-targeting (often referred to as “location targeting”): Campaigns target one or more specific locations, made up of keywords that do not contain location modifiers (e.g. “digital marketing agency” targeting the Pittsburgh area)
• Geo-modifying: Nationally targeted campaigns made up of keywords with location modifiers (e.g. “Pittsburgh digital marketing agency” targeting nationally)

Different Strategies, Different Campaigns

Always keep in mind that geo-targeting and geo-modifying are two different strategies, and therefore should always be separated out into different campaigns.  While advertisers may assume the search situation is the same, this is very often not the case.  Geo-targeting works by showing ads to users in a specified location at the time that they perform that search.  What if a user is currently performing searches while on business in Chicago, however, but interested in finding a digital marketing agency in the Pittsburgh area?  Let’s say the search is “Pittsburgh digital marketing agency.”  Your Pittsburgh geo-targeted campaigns will not trigger an ad to show, regardless of whether that campaign is made up of ad groups that contain geo-modified terms.  Your ad will be triggered, however, by the nationally targeted campaign that contains “Pittsburgh digital marketing agency” keywords.

Aside from the above reasoning, another key reason to separate geo-targeted campaigns vs. geo-modified campaigns is budget management.  As paid search professionals know, the more specific, transparent, and closely targeted your campaigns, ad groups, and keywords are, the more successful account management will be.  Ensuring a handful of keywords doesn’t gobble up an entire campaign’s budget is an ongoing task for advertisers, and separating geo-targeted and geo-modified campaigns helps to alleviate this issue.  Depending on your account and the locations you are targeting, either geo-modified campaigns or geo-targeted campaigns can pull in more traffic than the other, although the majority of the time, geo-modified campaigns will receive less traffic.  It is an advertiser’s job to ensure both sets of keywords get a fair chance in the engines, and are not missing opportunities due to the other keywords using the majority of the budget.  Separating geo-targeted and geo-modified campaigns allows for a more efficient method of budget management, and provides better indications of trends, search intent, etc.

Geo-Testing

In my post last week, The Many Faces of Negative Keywords, I detailed why every Paid Search account should utilize negative keywords, and how this match type can be used to manipulate your account to your liking.  Geo-modifying and geo-targeting are a perfect example of how to use this negative keyword manipulation.  While it is best to target geo-modified campaigns nationally, there will always be instances of searchers in a certain location including that location name in their search query; therefore, we run into the situation where an ad could be triggered by both the geo-targeted or the geo-modified campaign (depending on which match types are set up within the ad groups).  While many advertisers will choose to let this be the case and allow the engine to decide which keyword/ad is best to match it to, I recommend testing out this scenario.  Try adding, for example, “Pittsburgh” as a negative keyword within the geo-targeted campaign to allow the nationally targeted campaign to trigger “Pittsburgh digital marketing agency.”  After sufficient data is gathered, remove the negative keywords to determine how the performance of each campaign changes, and which method is best for your account.

View Comments (2 Responses) | Categories: Paid Search, Web Analytics

The Many Faces of Negative Keywords

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Brittany Baeslack

Many advertisers who may be unfamiliar with all of the positive effects that come as a result of negative keywords tend to shy away from implementing negative keywords within their account altogether; other advertisers may sporadically add negative keywords to their account, but not take enough advantage of just how much a little manipulation of these keywords can boost an account’s performance.

Regardless of Clicks, Get Rid of Those Irrelevant Searches

First and foremost, negative keyword “audits” should be performed on a regular basis, regardless of your industry, your results, or your budget.  Discovering negative keywords is easy, and adding negative keywords is even easier.  While some advertisers may not see the harm in appearing for irrelevant searches every so often, it is essential to recognize the negative effects this will have on your account in both the long and short term.  The obvious is wasted spend – no one wants to waste clicks and money on visitors who were searching for something completely different than your ad is offering.  Often I find myself answering the following question, however: “So what if my ad shows up, but no one clicks it?  No money wasted, no harm done, right?”  Wrong.  It is an absolute must that any advertisers understand the harm that irrelevant ads can have on an account even when they are not clicked.  Click-through rate is the largest (but not only) determinant of quality score, and your quality score is a large (but not only) determinant of your CPCs; therefore, negative keywords help us maintain a strong click-through rate, resulting in higher quality scores, and therefore lower CPCs (and more money to spend on the clicks that will convert!)

Negative Keywords Don’t Just “Block” Searches

The key element of adding this match type throughout the campaigns and ad groups in your account is not only ensuring your ads aren’t showing up for irrelevant searches, but also ensuring that the best and most relevant ad available in your account is triggered over another.  Many people ignore this use of the negative match type, and focus solely on excluding irrelevant searches, when in reality one of the best uses of this match type is the ability to manipulate your account with makeshift “filters,” which are useful for virtually every advertiser.

Let’s say you have a generic campaigns set up for Vacuums, containing the broad match term “bagless vacuums,” while you have another campaign set up for specific vacuum brands containing the broad match keyword “bagless ABC vacuums.”  Although these keywords are not identical, it is possible for either one of them to be triggered by the search “bagless ABC vacuums.”  While many advertisers do not see any harm in a generic ad showing up for the search term “bagless ABC vacuums,” it is essential that you ensure a relevant ad containing the brand ABC is shown, vs. a generic one.  This is where negative keywords come into play, filtering the keywords in our account to ensure the best ad is triggered.  It’s simple – make sure the negative keyword “ABC” is added throughout all generic campaigns, ensuring that generic ads won’t be triggered by this branded search.  Repeat this process through all of your campaigns, using the same rules to exclude generic search queries from triggering brand-specific ads and to set filters for the various vacuum-type keywords and ads.  While this can be a lengthy process, it will pay off with higher click-through rates, higher quality scores, and lower CPCs.  Don’t be afraid to add negative keywords on a regular basis, or fear that you’re limiting your traffic – remember the traffic that matters is traffic that’s relevant, no exceptions.

View Comments (No Responses) | Categories: Paid Search

4 Steps to Better Campaign Data in Google Analytics

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Dorcas Alexander

A Cure for Campaign Tag Soup

It’s so easy to tag your campaigns for Google Analytics that you can quickly fill your reports with a mishmash of labels and end up with campaign tag soup! But what’s the best way to get organized? Even if you know what medium and source mean, it’s not always obvious how you should fit campaign info into those slots. And what about the extra slots we get for campaign tags like campaign and content and term?

Take these 4 steps to develop a coherent campaign tagging plan and start improving your data today:

1. Build On the Default Labels

Google Analytics already fills your Traffic Reports with values (labels) for medium and source. Any new labels you create for your campaign data will fill the same reports, so think about what you want to see together in the list of mediums or sources. Making old and new labels look like part of the same family is a good way to get organized.

Medium has four default labels: referral, organic, cpc for paid search, and (none) for direct traffic. Think of these as the big buckets of traffic, the highest level marketing channels. Create new channels at the same high level and don’t get too specific. For example:

email
social
banner (or display)
print
direct-mail

Source has three types of labels by default: website names for referrals, search engines, and (direct). Think of these as your target audiences – the users of specific websites or search engines, or people who already knew you and came directly. Describe who’s viewing your campaign content with source labels like:

newsletter-subscribers
facebook
partner.com = the website where you put your banner ad
industry-today = the name of a publication where you advertise
postcard-list = the name of the mailing list

Remember the default labels also make lots of tagging unnecessary. Turn auto-tagging on in AdWords and you automatically get medium=google and source=cpc along with all the other AdWords dimensions including your campaign names. You have to tag other paid search campaigns, but you don’t have to tag things like links from affiliate sites. They’re already in the Referrals report with medium=referral and source=your-affiliate-site-name.

2. Make Labels Answer Questions

Creating labels for campaign and content and term is easier if you think of them as answers to questions, following the same lines as medium and source.

• Medium = What broad marketing channels are you using?
• Source = Who is viewing your content or delivering the viewers?
• Campaign = Why are you targeting these sources and (optional) when?
• Content = Which marketing effort performs better?
• Term = Which keywords perform better?

Campaign labels pull all the other labels together, identifying all the different mediums and sources you used for a particular purpose. Think about why you are targeting these audiences. It could be a product launch, a fundraising event, or an ongoing promotion. You might want to indicate the date or time of year here as well, since campaigns usually occur over some limited period of time.

product-launch-2011-july
community-event-2011-09-08
summer-rewards-program

Content labels help you compare how well different links perform within the same source, medium, or campaign. Which type of link persuades more people to click? Top or bottom of email? Different target text, maybe using different offers to see which is more attractive (free shipping or 20 percent off)? Text link or photo link? Or even a QR code!

Term looks like an extra slot for email or banner info, but should be used only for your paid search keywords. Whatever you tag with utm_term will end up in your Keywords reports! So let AdWords auto-tagging automatically capture your keywords, and work with any other paid search vendors to fill in utm_term with actual keywords as well.

3. Don’t Mix and Match

Consistency is everything. If you’re going to use email as a medium, don’t also use it as a source. Don’t put dates or seasonal info in any slot that seems convenient, pick one (like the campaign slot) and stick to it. When you need more granularity, consider adding it in the same slot like this example for sources:

newsletter-subscribers
newsletter-prospects

This still describes my target audience, so I think it makes sense to include it in the source label rather than bump it into the content label simply because that slot happens to be available. And being consistent has other benefits.

Using the same label across tags in the same slot also allows you to roll up data more easily. In the above example, I can search All Traffic sources for newsletter and see how the newsletter did overall as well as compare data for the two groups who received it. You can also compare performance across campaigns that had the same purpose but ran at different times, if you can search your Campaigns report for the label they have in common.

4. Document and Share

For best results, record everything in a campaign worksheet. Not only will it help you remember how you tagged prior campaigns to keep descriptions consistent, it’s absolutely essential as a guide for spelling and punctuation when more than one person is creating tags. Keep the worksheet in a shared space like Google Docs.

Another good thing about using a spreadsheet is that a formula can pull all your labels together into a campaign-tagged URL. Just make sure that utm_source comes first.

What’s your approach to campaign tagging? Have you developed a system that works for you? Please share in the comments.

View Comments (7 Responses) | Categories: Email, Google Analytics, Paid Search, Social Media

My Knee Jerk Reactions to Google Instant

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Christina Keffer

Well. Today certainly has been a day. And it’s only 2:00 PM

Google rolled out Google Instant which modifies the SERPS as users type in their search terms.

My first impression was negative, and I admit it’s because I don’t like change. But it’s also because in a few minutes my brain went all haywire and I realized the ramifications for my industry. If this type of user interface catches on, there will have to be some serious changes in the way I think about keyword choice and optimization for my clients.

“But wait!” you say. “Google said the actual RANKINGS won’t change, just the way in which they’re presented.”
(http://www.google.com/instant/ :
Q: Does this change impact the ranking of search results?
A: No, this change does not impact the ranking of search results.)

While this may be totally true, it doesn’t really matter.

Say, for instance, that my client’s biggest money making keyphrase is “blue widgets from outer space.” It’s the key phrase that brings them the most targeted, conversion-oriented traffic. They were ranking number one for this term (thank you very much) and they were happy as a clam.

Now, with Google Instant, searchers may not be getting past the key phrase “blue widgets” before they are distracted by the shiny changing results parading around in front of them. The kicker is, they might end up clicking on a bunch of these less-focused pages and searching longer on those sites for what they want.

Am I whining because my long-tail, less competitive keyword might not matter as much? Sure. But I also feel like the user’s experience won’t be as enriched by constantly changing SERPS as the big G would like to think. Mostly, though, I feel bad for my client that spent a long time refining their product landing page to exactly fit what the user was looking for only to have it languish, unnoticed (potentially.)

Organic Results Below the Fold.

I’m using my super dorky big monitor right now, so the suggested search box, which used to simply overlay the search engine results but now actually pushes them down the page, allowed three of the organic results to remain above the fold. However, were I on my puny but awesome netbook, those organic results would be buried quite nicely under the paid search results. Sadness pile.

PPC? Impressions? Clickthrough Rates?

I wonder how long it will take before Adwords charges by impression? Hah. The user only has to pause for three seconds in order to trigger a new set of paid search results. Sheesh. Also, consider clickthrough rate as it pertains to quality score. If your impressions skyrocket because someone paused, then finished their search and your add appeared twice, but the quantity of clickthroughs stay the same, that is going to stink.

On the OTHER Hand

Maybe it’s not longtail but short tail keywords that are in for it. I just did a search for Distilled (the brand name of a SEO giant) and came up with a lot of distilled water pages where previously said company used to rank first. I had to search for “Distilled SEO” to get the site I wanted. I also just did a search for blue widgets from outer space. Just for funsies.

What I KNOW Will Change.

The way I include search terms in title tags will definitely change since the title tags (as i see it right now) will be increasingly important.

The way I research keywords and how I construct user behavior models will change. Maybe a little, maybe a lot.

The way I explain the SERPS to clients will change a lot, obviously. Also, I see a further decreased focus on rankings and a stronger focus on traffic metrics used as benchmarks for success.

View Comments (10 Responses) | Categories: Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, Writing for the web

The new AdWords reports

Posted on May 10, 2010 by Jonathan Weber

If you don’t see them yet, you will over the next couple of weeks as they get rolled out: new AdWords reports in Google Analytics.

What’s so new and great about them?

What’s still there

They’re still under Traffic Sources, which now shows the (rearranged) AdWords section with the new reports. They’re not all new though: the Campaigns report (the mainstay of AdWords reporting) is still around, and so are Keyword Positions (which helps you see the distribution of your ads in various positions on the page) and TV Campaigns (for use with AdWords TV ads).

What’s old is new

The layout of those reports is basically the same (the Site Usage, Goal Sets, Ecommerce, and Clicks tabs are still there). But hidden in the dimension drop-down menus, you’ll find a variety of new options.

• Ad Distribution Network — did the ad appear on Google Search, Search Partners, or the Content Network?
• Match Type — was it a broad, phrase, or exact match keyword?
• Matched Search Query — what was the actual search query the user entered that triggered the ad?
• Placement Domain and URL — for Content Network ads, what sites/pages did they appear on?
• Ad Format — text or display ads
• Targeting Type — keyword or placement
• Display and Destination URLs

“Matched Search Query” alone is worth a pile of gold. No more kludges to figure out the search terms your broad match keywords matched! Now it’s easy as pie to find potential negative keywords and untapped potential for related keywords and phrases.

With “Placement Domain” and “Placement URL”, we now also have much better data right within Google Analytics about Content Network ads and where they are shown.

Shiny and new

There are also a variety of brand-new reports. First of all, there’s an Overview report for the AdWords section which gives a nice summary.

The Keywords and Placements reports simply show all the keywords and placements across all your campaigns, which is handy.

Day Parts gives you data about your ads by day of the week or hour of the day. This is useful to see if you want to pause your ads during certain times when they don’t perform as well as you’d like.

And finally, the Destination URLs report is a great way to see if certain landing pages work better than others. Think of it as the “Top Landing Pages” report but just for your AdWords ads. It’s easy to see which destination URLs lead to more conversions or lower bounce rates.

So, that’s it. The changes are simple, but there’s a lot of power there with the new options. Take a look… If you don’t see these reports, you will soon — access is being rolled out to all accounts over the next few weeks.

View Comments (4 Responses) | Categories: Google Analytics, Paid Search

Is your vendor sharing your data with you?

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Robbin Steif

“But our paid search vendor won’t give me access to our keywords and ads,” complained an attendee at our GA training in DC.  (I promised her that I wouldn’t use her name.)

“Hmm,” said I, “That seems a little awful.  You would think they would keep you locked up as a customer based on how wonderful they are, not based on your inability to get at your own data.”  In fact, I mused out loud to her, I wonder if that is a violation of the paid search terms and conditions….

…. so I did a search for Google AdWords Terms of Service, and I found this:

6     Agency. Customer represents and warrants that (a) it is authorized to act on behalf of and has bound to this Agreement any third party for which Customer advertises (a “Principal“), (b) as between Principal and Customer, the Principal owns any rights to Program information in connection with those ads, and (c) Customer shall not disclose Principal’s Program information to any other party without Principal’s consent.

So, I’m not a lawyer, but it seems to me that if the customer is an agency and advertises on behalf of a Principal (a real company), then the Principal owns the data. I don’t see that it says, the Principal must have access to the data, but hey, if you own it, you should be able to look at it, no?

And before I close — if you are in the NY Metro area and are interested in learning some actionable insights for your Google Analytics (techie or marketing), come to our GA Training Day, June 2 in Manhattan ($285 per person.) Learn more here.

Robbin

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