Google Adwords Ad Placement Feature for Site Targeted Campaigns

Now you can place your ads where they work best for you

Publisher-defined placements are a new feature of AdWords site-targeted campaigns. Publishers now can offer specific ad positions to advertisers: a news site might offer a placement only on the upper half of its main sports page, for instance, or a spot in the right column of all movie pages. The result? You target not just the pages but the precise positions on the Google Content Network that work best for you.

Adwords New Feature: Conversion Optimizer

Use the Conversion Optimizer to save time and minimize conversion costs

Adwords rolled out conversion optimizer last week, which is capable of optimising your campaigns just like any other automated software based on CPA strategy. This is Adwords second release allowing advertiser to optimise campaign on CPA basis A) PPA and now B) Conversion Optimiser.

The Conversion Optimizer lets you specify a maximum cost-per-acquisition (CPA) bid for each ad group. Then, this feature continually adjusts your CPC bids to keep your conversion costs under your maximum CPA bid, showing your ads only when you're likely to get conversions. By using the Conversion Optimizer, you can save time while minimizing your conversion costs. Learn more

What is Conversion Optimizer?

Conversion Optimizer helps you meet your ROI objectives by automatically managing your bids according to a maximum CPA goal. By automating the bidding process, this feature helps you minimize your conversion costs while saving you time.

How it Works?
Conversion Optimizer uses historical information about your campaign and automatically generates optimal CPC bids for each auction. You still pay per click, but you no longer have to manually adjust your bids to reach your CPA goals. Since the Conversion Optimizer can choose a new bid for each auction, you're provided with the additional benefit of spending money only on the search queries and sites where your ads are likely to convert

Advantages

• Cost-effective and Intelligent Ad Serving (Most Awaited)Conversion Optimiser predicts a conversion rate for your ads every time they are eligible to appear. This prediction is based on various factors (search query, location of user, conversion history of site and their propensity to convert). Using real time performance data allows the Conversion Optimiser to adjust advertiser’s bids for better performance than one would get with manual bidding alone.
• Automated campaign management
• Works with both Search and Content Network

Limitations

• Conversion Optimizer can only be applied to campaign having at least 300 conversions in the last 30 days.
• Conversion Optimizer is not compatible with A) Position Preference B) Budget Optimizer C) Site Targeting D) Advanced Ad Targeting and E) Preferred Cost Bidding. If you are using any of the preceding features on your campaign then you cannot opt-in for Conversion Optimizer.
• Conversion Optimizer may not be modified currently through Adwords Editor and Adwords API.
• Actual CPA achieved may be higher than target CPA mentioned in CPA (your costs depend on factors outside Google's control, however AdWords system automatically adjusts your costs over time, with the goal of keeping your average CPA under the bid that you specified)

Microsoft AdCenter New Bulk Management Features

Microsoft adCenter would be upgrading with new features this weekend, that will save your time by allowing you to update multiple items simultaneously

New bulk management features:

• Manage budgets: Now you can update multiple campaign budgets simultaneously. If your advertising budgets are frequently changing, adCenter has made it easier to update multiple campaign budgets in a snap.
• Submit ad groups: When importing campaigns, will allow you to submit all of your Draft status ad groups to go live with just two clicks.

Preview how to use these improvements in our Feature Release Guide

Ad Text Ideas Beta Released For Adwords

Selected advertisers in the UK are now able to trial a new tool released from Google that aims to help provide advert ideas for those who have lost inspiration.

The 3 step process requires advertisers to input information about their business before the tool provides 4 suggested adverts.

From the tests I ran, the suggested adverts seem to be way off in terms of quality, so don’t expect this tool to do all the hard work for you. In fact the disclaimer at the end sums it up nicely.

Google Turn Up The Revenue Dial - Adwords Top Ad Placement Formula Change

Google have announced a change to how they rank the top placement adverts. Adverts outside the top positions work by a Ad rank = CPC bid X Quality Score forumla, while historically the top position formular has always been a little different, instead using actual CPC (rather than your bid price) x Quality Score.

Why was this method used originally?

It meant there was more weight on the quality of your advert within the formula which took into account the quality around you to achieve those top positions. Googles old guidelines can still be found and explain - “For the top positions above Google search results, we use a slightly different formula. First, only ads that exceed a certain Quality Score threshold may appear in these positions. Second, for ads that do surpass this Quality Score threshold, we use the actual CPC rather than the maximum CPC when determining their ranking in the top spots. This ensures that Quality Score plays an even more important role in determining the ads that show above the search results".

So why the change of tune now?

“Actual CPC is determined, in part, by the bidding behavior of the advertisers below you. This means that your ad’s chance of being promoted to a top spot could be constrained by a factor you cannot influence. By considering your ad’s maximum CPC, a value you set, you will have more control over achieving top ad placement". The actual CPC you pay, is directly affected by the competitor below you true. The actual cost per click calculation is determined by the ad rank of the advertiser directly below you, divided by your own Quality Score + 1p. So with the old forumla, your ad rank was directly affected by the competition. If your competitor (below you) ad rank was poor, it would directly affect your actual CPC (lower it) and hence your ad rank. But the main thing to remember is, this didn’t matter. You are all in the same bidding landscape once you have reached that quality threshold. It was same normalised, averaged landscape that looked at those in direct competition.

So what difference will the bid CPC forumla bring to top positions?
The bid will no longer be a reflection of the quality of competition around you to the same extent. Quite simply, it will make it easier to get into the top positions for those willing to pay a higher price. The top placement ad rank system will no longer take into account the quality of the bid landscape around you and normalise it in relation to each other.

Will these adverts actually be of better quality as Google have said?
“In addition to increasing control for advertisers, the improved formula increases the quality of our top ads for users. This is due to more high quality ads becoming eligible for top placement, thereby allowing our system to choose from a larger pool of high quality ads to show our users". Well, no. The system makes it easier to get into the top placements with more bearing on bid price than on quality in comparison to competition. Have Google upped the quality threshold to achieve the top positions to counteract this as SEL suggest? Thats hard to say. But what Google have done, is add another minimum bid into the equation. Aswell as having a minimum bid to be active for search, there is now also a minimum price for the top spots according to the Google FAQ.

“Your actual CPC will continue to be determined by the auction, but subject to a minimum price for top spots. The minimum price is based on the quality of your ad and is the minimum amount required for your ad to achieve top placement above Google search results. As always, the higher your ad’s quality, the less you will pay. And you will never be charged more than your maximum CPC bid".

Pay Per Click

Pay per click (PPC) is an advertising model used on search engines, advertising networks, and content websites/blogs, where advertisers only pay when a user actually clicks on an ad to visit the advertiser's website. Advertisers bid on keywords they believe their target market would type in the search bar when they are looking for a product or service. When a user types a keyword query matching the advertiser's keyword list, or views a page with relevant content, the advertiser's ad may be shown. These ads are called a "Sponsored link" or "sponsored ads" and appear next to, and sometimes, above the natural or organic results on search engine results pages, or anywhere a webmaster/blogger chooses on a content page. Pay per click advertising is a search engine marketing technique.

Pay per click ads may also appear on content network websites. In this case, ad networks such as Google Adsense and Yahoo! Publisher Network attempt to provide ads that are relevant to the content of the page where they appear, and no search function is involved.

While many companies exist in this space, Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, and MSN adCenter are the largest network operators as of 2007. Depending on the search engine, minimum prices per click start at US$0.01 (up to US$0.50). Very popular search terms can cost much more on popular engines.

PPC engines can be categorized into two major categories "Sponsored match" and "Content Match". Sponsored match display your listing on the search engine itself whereas content match features ads on publisher sites and in newsletters and emails.

Why pay for professional PPC management?
It's not just when you're too busy to manage your own campaigns that professional PPC management really begins to pay off.
Pay per Click management service ensures that your campaigns are targeted, affordable, and accountable. The best thing about paid search is you can see exactly what your return on advertising spend is at the click of a mouse, as well as building brand presence on leading search engines. We make sure your bids are strategic and the return is monitored on a 24/7 basis.

Beyond Text Adverts
Traditionally, Pay per Click has meant static text adverts on search engines. However, with the advent of AdSense, image adverts and even click-to-play video, the brand building options for Pay per Click is bigger than ever.

Content Networks
Search engines such as Google and Yahoo offer advertising across their content networks. These networks comprise of thousands of quality websites that have signed up to display targeted adverts on their pages. Campaigns on content networks expand your marketing reach to targeted audiences and are perfect for building brand awareness - as well as driving clicks and sales.
On the Google Content Network our clients have campaigns that take many formats - from image adverts to click to play videos which have provided excellent support to offline campaigns as well as driving an uplift in bookings from more traditional PPC campaigns.

Google Local Business Adverts
Local business ads enable you to target your products and services to customers per location . These ads appear as click-able components on Google Maps and in a text only format other sites in the Google network.