PPC Secret

• Google Conversion Optimizer: The Best-Kept Secret in PPC?
  Google quietly added Conversion Optimizer to every advertiser's AdWords account a few months ago. In a nutshell, it regulates keyword-level bids, promising to deliver as many conversions as possible, at or below a cost-per-conversion you specify. That's right: automated bid management, available for free and using Google's proprietary data. Jan 23, 2009
• PPC Landing Pages: Surprising Examples
  It's time to kick off the New Year by looking at examples of good and bad combinations of PPC ads and their landing pages. We'll look at some real-world examples to see what they're doing right, and what they're doing wrong. Jan 9, 2009
• PPC Landing Pages: PPC Visitors Have ADD
  The first and most important objective of the landing page is to convince the visitor that they've come to the right place. If this crucial first step doesn't happen, most visitors will hit the back button and click on one of your competitor's ads. Dec 18, 2008
• PPC Landing Pages: The End of the Line -- Or the Beginning?
  Amateur PPC advertisers ignore the importance of landing pages entirely. Sophisticated advertisers know that PPC landing page design and testing is at least as important as building and optimizing great ad groups with great ads. Expert PPC advertisers realize that PPC landing pages have more impact on conversion rates and ROI than anything else they can do. Dec 4, 2008
• More from the Mailbag: Quality Score Mysteries and Great PPC Learning Resources
  David digs into the reader mailbag to discuss Google's quality score issues, and some good beginner resources for learning PPC advertising. Nov 20, 2008
• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Click-Through and Conversion Rates
  What's a good click-through rate? What's a good conversion rate? That's not an easy question to generalize on, but there are some guidelines that can help you see if yours is acceptable. Nov 13, 2008
• The Account Quality Score: Money Pit for the Uninformed
  In Google AdWords, an ad's Quality Score calculation is based on how well the account's campaigns have performed over time, especially in terms of CTR. So what happens with new accounts? Since there's no CTR data on which to base QS, how does Google determine minimum bids? Nov 6, 2008
• Those Mysterious Quality Scores: Fundamentally Simple
  The quality scoring system used for search engine ads is based on a complex group and series of calculations that take into consideration hundreds of factors that the search engines won't reveal. But you don't need to know what those factors are, as long as you create your campaigns correctly and make sure you're giving visitors what they're looking for. Oct 27, 2008
• Measuring a Text Ad's Effectiveness
  Testing and improving ad copy is essential to optimizing overall PPC campaign performance. Improving ad text leads to better CTR and quality score, which means it can help drive your CPC down, and/or let you buy more clicks per dollar. So it has a direct impact on your campaign's ability to increase the number of profitable sales. Oct 20, 2008
• Reading the Tea Leaves: Interpreting Keyword Reports
  Once enough data has accumulated, it's important to run reports and take action based on the data. But what do all those numbers mean, and how should we make adjustments to improve PPC campaign performance? Oct 13, 2008
• Judging PPC Performance: Focus on Conversions, Part 2
  Should you delete or pause under-performing keywords - or simply adjust their bid prices? The answer will vary by advertiser, but one thing is constant: decisions about keyword and ad performance should mainly depend on conversion performance. Oct 6, 2008
• Judging PPC Performance: Focus on Conversions
  Knowing how and when to make decisions about your PPC campaign's keyword and ad performance can make or break your campaign. Just remember that almost every action you take to improve your PPC ad campaign should be based on conversion data. Sep 29, 2008
• PPC Bidding Strategies: Prudence vs. Aggressiveness
  When it comes to PPC bids, should you start low and build up? Or start high and come down? As with many things, the right strategy for your company depends on your situation and objectives. Sep 22, 2008
• Show Me the Money: Bidding for Profitability
  How much should you bid? How do you know if your PPC campaign is working? Setting ad group bid prices at the beginning of a campaign is one of the more challenging tasks for many PPC advertisers. The answers are a snap once you know the fundamentals. Sep 15, 2008
• Killer PPC Ads: The Final Word
  These simple guidelines will pave the way to pay-per-click nirvana: double-digit click-through-rates. Sep 8, 2008
• Killer PPC Ads: The Fundamentals
  Writing small, punchy ads requires plenty of art and science. These guidelines will help get more clicks and stymie your competitors. Aug 25, 2008
• Tightly-Themed Ad Groups: The PPC Pro Advantage
  Small, tight ad groups are the key to getting double-digit click-through rates. See exactly how the pros break down long keyword lists into powerful ad group packages. Aug 18, 2008
• Dynamic Keyword Insertion: Friend or Foe?
  Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) can sometimes help improve ad campaign results. But you'd be surprised how often it's a bad move. Indiscriminate use of DKI can result in generic ad copy and diluted messages that fail to match the searcher's intent or need. Aug 11, 2008
• Awesome Ad Groups: Small is Good
  Trying to fit all your keywords in one ad group is not going to get you the results you want. Get those double-digit click-through rates with small, tightly-themed ad groups. Aug 4, 2008
• More Killer Keyword Techniques: Personas and Buckets
  Learn how to use personas and bucket lists to create huge killer keyword lists like the pros. Jul 28, 2008
• PPC Keyword Sets: Words to the Wise
  Keyword lists are the bedrock of a successful PPC ad campaign. Learn how to get started assembling lists that pack the most powerful advertising punch. Jul 21, 2008
• Creating PPC Campaigns: the 'Live or Die' Settings
  Think you know the right way to set up a new PPC campaign? Paying close attention to the details many advertisers miss can position you for success and help you avoid common pitfalls. Jul 14, 2008
• PPC Advertising: Art or Science?
  Pay-per-click advertising is 10 percent art, and 90 percent science. Learn the fundamentals and secrets of successful PPC advertising in this new weekly series. Jul 7, 2008
• Hot, Tiny Ads: Banner Ads for Mobile Screens
  Mobile content ads have to work especially hard, given their small size. The Content Advertising series winds up with a recap of best practices for designing small ads with big impact. Jun 23, 2008
• Google Mobile Advertising on the Content Network
  Creating a mobile ad campaign that displays banner ads on Google's mobile content network can be ideal for businesses that rely on phone calls to start or close a sale. And it won't require mobile Web site design, because clicks on the ad will be directed to a Google-supplied mobile-friendly page describing your business. Jun 16, 2008
• Google Mobile Advertising: Start Now!
  Mobile advertising revenue is expected to dwarf current ad spend on search and content networks. Understanding the dynamics of mobile search advertising is an essential starting point to creating great mobile content ad campaigns. Jun 9, 2008
• Google Mobile Advertising: It's Time to Start
  Now that you've mastered "traditional" content advertising, it's time to take on the category that Google says will deliver revenue that dwarfs search advertising: mobile. Jun 2, 2008
• Placement-Targeted Campaigns: Taming the Beast
  Having trouble with Google AdWords placement-targeted campaigns? Learn the secrets of getting those stalled campaigns off the ground, churning out conversions like the best search campaigns. May 19, 2008
• Google AdWords Editor a Great Tool for Content -- and for Yahoo/Microsoft!
  Time is money, and these two tips will free up many moneymaking hours for you. See how Google has created a tool that will increase ad revenue for itself, but for Yahoo and Microsoft as well. May 12, 2008
• Want to Double Conversions in One Month? Split Those Ad Groups
  Content Advertising strategy put to the test: Would your boss be happy if your campaign conversion rates doubled in 30 days? May 5, 2008
• Killer Site Targeting: PPC Content Scrape & Bake Tools
  Successful placement-targeted content campaigns depend on showing your ads on all the right sites. Here's a new tool and methodology for finding them all. Apr 28, 2008
• The Google Content Ad Fraud Lawsuit: Just the Facts, Ma'am
  Google's being sued for tricking advertisers into advertising on its content network – but the truth may be more damning than the lawsuit claims. Or is there a fatal mistake in the lawsuit filing? Apr 24, 2008
• B2B Advertising Brilliance: Word Frequency Techniques for Killer PPC Campaigns
  Easy step-by-step instructions for building killer B2B PPC "content ad group" keyword lists. Apr 21, 2008
• Content Ad Campaign Keyword Strategy Revisited - Part 2
  A keyword-targeted content ad group's keywords should describe the pages/sites where an ad should appear. The best keyword list is composed of words/phrases that appear most frequently on the target sites' pages. Apr 14, 2008
• A Look at Demographic Bidding for AdWords
  Google's new demographic bidding for content campaigns seems to promise much better control over where ads are served, and hence better ROI. While it does have its limitations, I consider it a "must try" tool for content advertisers. Apr 7, 2008
• Content Ad Campaign Keyword Strategy Revisited
  The keywords you choose for content ads play a different role than they do for search ads; a point that's often tough for search advertisers to grasp. By using a new method for building content keyword lists, you can gain ultimate control over the destinations for your ads. Mar 31, 2008
• Non-Text Contextual Ads: Quality Score and Bidding Strategy
  Running banner ad campaigns on Google's content networks requires different thinking than text ad campaigns -- thinking that's surprisingly counter-intuitive. Mar 24, 2008
• Tips for Google Site and Category Exclusion Tool
  The 100 worst sites on the Internet: would you want your company's ads shown there? Solution: Google Content Advertising Site and Category Exclusion Tool. Mar 17, 2008
• Every Picture Tells a Story: Non-text Contextual Ads
  Like contextual text ads, image ads must distract the user and sell a product quickly. See four examples of image ads that accomplish this with varying degrees of success. Mar 10, 2008
• Contextual Advertising Best Practices: Banners and Video Ads
  Google AdWords reinvented the text ad. Now: banners, video ads, animated banners. Mar 3, 2008
• Google AdWords Contextual Advertising Mystery Solved
  Google AdWords contextual advertising created one of the search world's greatest mysteries. Solved here. Feb 25, 2008
• Google AdWords Targeting: Expect More, Pay Less
  Google Contextual advertising offers placement targeting. How to expect more, pay less in Content Advertising. Feb 11, 2008
• Contextual Advertising: How to Target Sites in AdSense
  Forget Microsoft-Yahoo. Make more money in contextual advertising. Here's how to use site targeting in the Google Content Advertising network. Feb 4, 2008
• Inside AdWords and Contextual Advertising: The Tipping Point
  Once the ugly stepchild of online ads, contextual advertising has shed its "remnant inventory" reputation. Here's what you need to know now. Jan 28, 2008
• How To Use Google Site Exclusion Tool to Increase ROI
  Google Content Network Site Exclusion: Why it's the ultimate tool campaign profitability. Jan 14, 2008
• Increase ROI: Google Performance Placement Reports
  AdWords provides visibility and control of PPC campaigns. Now content advertising does. Jan 7, 2008
• B2B Marketing, Road Rules for Content Advertising
  A golden compass to find the secrets of B2B content advertising. Dec 17, 2007
• Content Advertising Best Practices in Action
  Dog collar, exotic, apparel, girl, exotic pets, wildlife: Content advertising keywords and other best practices. Dec 10, 2007
• How Google, Yahoo Content Ad Matching Really Works
  Search engine content ad networks: Google, Yahoo "secret sauce" algorithms. Look inside. Dec 3, 2007
• The Five Commandments of Content Advertising
  What do you get when you mix content ads with Britney Spears? This week in Content Advertising. Nov 26, 2007
• Content Advertising Explained - Part 3
  Content ad copywriting: The Good, The Bad and The Malthusian. Nov 19, 2007
• Content Advertising Explained - Part 2
  Content Advertising. It's the marketing strategy underlying GoogClick. Find out why it's so powerful. Nov 12, 2007
• Content Advertising Explained
  Consumptive. Confusing. Content advertising eats budget and baffles marketers. Solutions found here: weekly. Nov 5, 2007