Landing page load time now available on the Keyword Analysis Page

In early March, we announced that we'd soon incorporate an additional factor into Quality Score, namely landing page load time -- where load time is defined as the amount of time it takes for a user to see the landing page after clicking an ad. Now, we'd like to post with an update.

Starting today, load time evaluations will be displayed on the Keyword Analysis page, for your review. We suggest taking some time to evaluate and understand this information because, starting mid-June, landing page load time will be incorporated into your Quality Score.

Once you've had the chance to review and evaluate this information, you may wish to make changes to improve your landing page load time. People who click your ads may well thank you for it, by becoming your satisfied customer.

To learn more about load time and landing page quality, please see this article in the AdWords Help Center.

Posted by Blake Wharton, Inside AdWords crew

Thursday, May 08, 2008 at 12:35 PM

More Analytics Seminars coming your way

Based on the positive response to our new Analytics Seminars for Success, we've added 6 additional sessions in Boston, Chicago, and Orlando. Industry experts will teach you how to use and apply Analytics knowledge to make smarter marketing decisions.

Sign up seven days before the seminar date and we'll even throw in a $50 AdWords advertising credit. (View the terms and conditions of advertising credits.) You'll find more information about these seminars, including dates, locations, course outlines and registration instructions, at http://www.google.com/awseminars.

And of course, if you'd like to be informed when AdWords and Analytics Seminars become available in your area, simply fill out this form.

Posted by Vivian Leung, Inside AdWords crew

Additional TV Ads webinar now available for sign up

Due to overwhelming demand for the Google TV Ads webinar, we've added an additional session. If you're interested in learning more about Google TV Ads, we'll be hosting another free webinar next week.

Our online webinars are led by AdWords and TV advertising specialists and cover tips on how Google TV Ads can help drive more web traffic and increase your sales volume, turning TV viewers into your customers.

The 1-hour webinar is being held on Tuesday, May 13th at 10am PDT. Please visit the sign-up page to register.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Inside AdWords crew

Tuesday, May 06, 2008 at 2:21 PM

Tips on converting last-minute Mother's Day shoppers to customers

Mother's Day is only 5 days away! And this holiday is surely no exception to the rule that many shoppers procrastinate. Below are some tips to capture a bigger share of the 'late-shopper pie' -- both on Mother's Day this year, and next!

• Create ad groups containing keywords and ad text geared specifically toward Mother's Day, with keywords like 'mother's day gifts' and 'mother's day gift ideas'. You can then pause this ad group and re-use it with minor tweaks next year. You can find detailed suggestions on creating effective keyword lists in our Keyword Basics and Beyond Keyword Basics blog posts.

• Write compelling ad text that features the products you offer on your web site. This invites shoppers interested in those products to click through, and prevents clicks from shoppers who aren't interested. You might also find our previous post on ad text optimization helpful.

• Highlight gift cards as an alternative. This year, almost 40% of shoppers will buy a gift certificate for mom.* If you offer gift cards, highlight them as another option to last-minute shoppers, as gift cards are delivered more quickly than standard packages.

• Extend shipping deadlines. You can convert more last-minute shoppers into customers by offering delivery options, such as overnight delivery, and free or discounted shipping. Also, it's important to clearly inform buyers of delivery deadlines on your home page as well as on specific product pages.

• If you offer gift wrapping, highlight this option along with shipping directly to the recipient.

• Many last-minute shoppers turn to the Internet, but are hesitant to use their credit card on websites. Cater to these shoppers by offering other payment options, like Google Checkout.
  

As you read this, late shoppers are busy searching for the perfect last-minute gift to buy mom. This is your opportunity to persuade them to buy from you.

* National Retail Federation 2008 Mother’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey (PDF)

Posted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

Audio, and Video, and Print, oh my!

Google AdWords has come a long way since its launch in 2000 -- gone are the days of only serving simple text ads on search results and various pages across the Internet. Over the years, we've introduced a number of creative formats for advertising online, and now you can even use your AdWords account to create campaigns that will reach customers when they aren't online.

Here's a quick overview of all the AdWords ad types available:

Online

Text ads: When displayed on Google, text ads are four lines of text: a title (25 characters), two lines of ad text (35 characters each), and a URL line. The format of text ads on partner sites may differ. For example, your ad text may appear on a single line, or it may look like the ads on this page.

Image ads: Appearing on select content sites in the Google network, images ads are just that -- graphical AdWords ads. Unlike traditional online graphical ads, image ads can be matched to a page's content. See examples of image ads and placement options.

Video ads: Like image ads, video ads appear on content sites in the Google network, but are user-initiated. That means a user must click "play" to watch your ad. Think of video ads as a type of commercial on the Internet. Watch examples of video ads.

Mobile ads: Available as text or image ads, mobile ads appear on mobile websites, and direct users to your mobile website. Mobile text ads can also appear when users search Google from a mobile device. If you'd like to run mobile ads, you'll need a mobile website. Learn more about where mobile ads are available.

Offline

TV ads: That's right -- TV ads! Through your AdWords account, you can launch a television campaign in minutes. Google TV Ads is available to advertisers located in the United States, billed in U.S. dollars. Watch a demo to learn more.

Print ads: Place your ads in newspapers across the United States. In fact, you can choose from more than 750 newspapers, and set a price that matches your budget. Learn how other advertisers have used Print Ads by reading our success stories. Google Print Ads is available to advertisers located in the United States, billed on credit card postpay.

Audio ads: Broadcast you message on over 1,600 radio stations across the U.S. Audio ads are just like traditional radio commercials, but they're easier to buy and manage. Google Audio Ads are available to advertisers located in the United States, billed on credit card postpay. Listen to examples of audio ads, all of which were created using the Google Ad Creation Marketplace.

We invite you to experiment with the various ad formats available -- advertisers often find that offline ad formats are a great complement to their online campaigns, helping them reach new customers. You can find more information about each ad type in the help center.

Posted by Heather Lane, Inside AdWords crew

Friday, May 02, 2008 at 1:24 PM

Place ads on television with Google TV Ads

We'd like to introduce Google TV Ads, a flexible, all-digital system for easily and efficiently buying more accountable and measurable TV advertising. The program, which has been an invitation-only beta test since June 2007, is now available to all US-based advertisers.

Television is a great way to reach new customers who might not be familiar with your product or service. Research shows that 37% of online search users were prompted to perform a search as a result of exposure to television advertising.* Now, you can launch a national television ad campaign right from your existing AdWords account.

How does it work?
First, you'll need a TV commercial. If you don't have one yet, check out Google's Ad Creation Marketplace, where you can connect with industry professionals who provide script writing, editing, production, and voice-over talent at an affordable package cost. It's free to search for specialists and send them requests for project bids, and you aren't under any obligation to work with them until you accept a bid. To celebrate our launch, for a limited time Google will cover the cost of creating your TV ad through our Ad Creation Marketplace, up to $2,000. Learn more about this special offer.

Next, you're ready to create your campaign. You can choose the networks and dayparts on which you'd like your ad to run. If you're looking for guidance on how to best reach your target audience, TV Ads offers recommendations based on audience demographics, or you can request a free customized campaign proposal. You can also run your ads during specific television programs that are relevant to your product or service. If you search for program content such as "home improvement," TV Ads suggests programs based on matches with the title, program description, cast, genre, episode information and networks.

With Google TV Ads' auction model, you choose the maximum cost-per-thousand impressions that you're willing to pay, and only pay when your ad airs.

Ready to learn more?
We'll be holding online webinars led by AdWords and TV advertising specialists covering tips on how Google TV Ads can help drive more web traffic and increase your sales volume, turning TV viewers into your customers. Sign up here for the upcoming webinar.

You can also read about how other advertisers are finding success with Google TV Ads, and check out our product demo to learn how to create a campaign step-by-step. Click on the image below to be taken to the demo.

(click the image to go to the demo)

* iProspect Offline Channel Influence on Online Search Behavior, August 2007 (PDF)

Posted by Christian Yee, Inside AdWords crew

Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at 5:16 PM

Tips on online safety and preventing phishing

At Google, we're committed to the online safety and security of our advertisers and users. Recently, Google's Security Team has put together a list of tips on our Official Google Blog regarding phishing and how you can protect yourself and your sensitive information online. We encourage you to read the post, and feel free to contact the AdWords Support Team if you have any questions.

Posted by Vivian Leung, Inside AdWords crew

Green tips for the office

In celebration of Earth Day, we've decided to take a brief break from AdWords news and tips to share our favorite "green" tips for the office.

1) Turn off the lights in conference rooms after you're finished with a meeting.

2) Turn off computers when you leave for the day.

3) Bring your own reusable water bottles and coffee mugs to work.

4) Carpool with your co-workers.

5) Try duplex printing -- save paper by printing on both sides.

We hope you'll take some time today (and every day) to think about how to make your workplace more Earth-friendly!

Posted by Vivian, Inside AdWords crew

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 3:31 PM

Improvements to AdWords Conversion Tracking

AdWords conversion tracking is a free AdWords tool to help you understand what happens after a user clicks on your ad. By knowing which clicks most often lead to conversions, you can spend your money most effectively – on the clicks most likely to lead to a conversion.

We've recently improved conversion tracking. You can now define the actions that are most important to your business and track conversions on each of those actions independently.

Why is conversion tracking important?
Clicks on different keywords can lead to different types of conversions and in different frequencies, so it’s important to know how well a particular keyword performs when deciding how much to bid. Most advertisers will want to bid higher on keywords which convert well for them and lower on the others. In this way, conversion tracking helps you improve your ROI.

How does it work?
Using conversion tracking involves inserting a small snippet of code into specific pages on your website that indicate an important event has occurred, for example, the order confirmation page you show after a purchase. When a visitor clicks on your ad and eventually reaches this page, AdWords will register a conversion. You can then view this data as part of your account statistics and reports.

Please note that Quality Score does not consider data from AdWords conversion tracking. However, your conversion rates are taken into account by the Conversion Optimizer when determining whether ads have high enough bids to show.

What's new?
You can now define and track your own conversion types that are important to your business. For instance, if you are selling flowers online, you might have one conversion type for Mother's Day bouquets, and another for graduation bouquets to differentiate between your two best-selling products.

Defining and tracking several types of conversions will give you more detail about how conversions occur on your website. Using AdWords Conversion Tracking is also the first step towards qualifying for the Conversion Optimizer, AdWords' CPA bidding feature which has helped many advertisers save time and money.

You can start using AdWords conversion tracking by clicking on “Conversion Tracking” in your AdWords account. If you are using AdWords Starter Edition, you will need to graduate to Standard Edition before using conversion tracking. For more information and help getting started, take a look at these articles in the AdWords Help Center.

Posted by Trevor, Inside AdWords crew

Friday, April 18, 2008 at 9:35 AM

Website Optimizer Now Out of Beta

Today, we're announcing that Google Website Optimizer is officially out of beta. For those unfamiliar with it, Website Optimizer is Google's free content testing and optimization tool. It allows you to test different variations of your site content and design to determine what will be most effective at converting your visitors into customers.

Based on advertiser and agency feedback, we've released several updates to make the product even more accessible and effective for users:

• We've made it easier for you to sign up and use Website Optimizer. In addition to accessing the tool through your AdWords account, you'll now be able to sign up for and access the tool without having to first sign into your AdWords account. Also, you can now use Website Optimizer even if you are not an AdWords advertiser.
  

• You'll experience an improved setup flow for multivariate experiments, with more straightforward tagging instructions and a sample tagged page for you to examine.

• The Website Optimizer microsite has been updated to include more educational information, including archived webinars, articles on optimization, testing strategies, and best practices.

You can keep up with Website Optimizer at the new Website Optimizer blog where you'll find the latest product news, industry insights, and testing recipes straight from the Website Optimizer team.

Posted by Trevor, Inside AdWords crew

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 10:09 AM