Have You Tried Seasonal Ad Testing?
In this industry it is easy to get caught up in the latest and newest techniques and strategies.
How to Optimize Google PPC Ads
If you’ve ever ran a pay-per-click campaign on any of the search engines, you’ve probably asked yourself, “How do I optimize my Google PPC ads?” Doing PPC Management here at GFF I ask myself that question everyday! Today I stumbled upon the perfect resource for that, Google’s Optimization Center. Here’s what they say about themself:
“Want to attract more customers to your business with AdWords, but need some inspiration? We’ve gathered together some of the top tips and strategies used by our AdWords specialists who have worked with advertisers of all sizes. Now you can take advantage of these same tips to make your search advertising more effective.”
They offer three ways of viewing tips: by level of expertise, by account feature(ads, keywords, etc), and by advertising goal(ROI, ad position, etc).
MY OPINION: I can’t see how long it’s been around but it looks like a good resource for most PPC managers. I say “Most” because the tips and suggestions are for beginner to intermediate PPC managers. I thought by reading the “Advanced” tips that I would find out some things I didn’t know about, however they were tips that I started using after only managing PPC for less than a year.
I would add one tip that they did not suggest; as far as the SERP goes, look at what everyone else is doing and do something different. On competitive verticals usually the ads all look the same with DKI in the title, keywords stuffed, calls to action, and similar offers(often something free). Make yourself stand out by being the odd man out. More often than not you’ll find yourself with great click thru rates and high quality scores.
-Luke
Google Engage Visit
On April 26th I had the chance to visit Google at their Mountain View headquarters and give feedback on their new Adwords tool called
“Google Engage”. It is a program that helps ad agencies learn how to better use Adwords and sell it to potential clients. Google invited out a few dozen reps from agencies across the country and we were trained, consulted on their platform, and discussed the ins and outs of Adwords and using Engage within an agency. I met smart and motivated owners from other ad agencies, and the people within Google who are making Engage and Adwords a success. Google has a great team built around it’s PPC platform and along with the success it has had thus far, it is positioned to have even more success in the future!
Initially I signed up for Engage for the 20 vouchers of $100 in free clicks, which in and of itself rocks, but as I’ve used and become more familiar with the program there is so much more. Here’s everything it offers:
- Free Adwords Vouchers- These are great to attract new clients to try Adwords. Who wouldn’t want $100 in free advertising? At Google we discussed a few ways to use these such as running contests on your blog or Facebook.
- Loads of Great Educational Videos- If you are overwhelmed with the complexity of Adwords, these videos, webinars, and online tutorials make it easy to understand.
- Marketing Materials- Google wants us agencies to be able to sell this program so they provide materials to “get clients informed and excited”.
- Free Vouchers to become Google Certified- Rather than pay the $50 to take the exams and become Certified, they provide vouchers for you.
- Keep Up with Updates- Adwords and PPC are constantly changing. With Engage you can keep up with all the new features that are being rolled out.
When I visited Google at their Mountain View headquarters I was able to glean even more reason to use Engage. These are a few takeaways I got from the trip:
- Advertising with Small Businesses is a Huge Opportunity- According to SBA.gov there were 29.6 million small businesses in the U.S. That is huge! Engage helps you convince those businesses you and Google are the right fit for them.
- Engage Will Help You Sell Adwords- One of the presenters commented, “If I were in the Engage program I would get my hands on as much material as possible.” The more you are armed with when you start talking to a potential customer, the better you will be able to address their concerns. Engage does this.
- Google has the Tools to Make Your Business Grow- Along with Adwords, Google has dozens of tools to help you market online. To name a few: Places, Blogger, Tags, Boost, Webmaster Central, Analytics, Website Optimizer, and Checkout.
If you aren’t signed up yet, visit https://google-engage.appspot.com/us/ and apply to see if you qualify. According to their terms and conditions any business can qualify, even if they aren’t using Adwords. Keep watching the GFF blog as we will keep you posted on new updates for Engage for Agencies
-Luke
Get Found First is now on the BBB
In case you haven’t watched any T.V. lately or been to CNN.com or BBC, you may not know that Get Found First is now an accredited member of the Better Business Bureau. Go ahead, check out our home page. You’ll see our BBB link on the right side bar, just waiting to be clicked. Should you so choose to verify our claimed accreditation, you will find that we have an A- rating. Yes, we have only been accredited since April 1st and no, it is not an April fools day joke by the BBB. We are applied recently for the accreditation and April 1st just happens to be the day they approved us. At least they have a sense of humor over there.
