Adwords Recent Update

Recently released news from Google will definitely affect your Adwords campaign. If you aren’t familiar with Google Adwords, it is the paid advertisements that show at the top and bottom of the page when someone types in a search query. When an online shopper clicks on the ad, then the person that ran the ad gets charged, which is why it is also called pay-per-click.

The update has to do with exact match keywords and the use of close variants from those phrases. Misspellings were a big reason why Google started using close variants, but abbreviations and plurals were also exceptions. The original update happened in 2012, but Adwords users could opt out of allowing variants and only use exact match keywords.

The ability to opt out was taken away in 2014, and it was supposed to save time for anyone managing an Adwords account. Instead of having to research and build out a list of exact match keywords, Google was letting phrases like “SEO Company” and “Search Engine Optimization Companies” be close variants of each other. What this means is that when an online user typed in either phrase, your ad would potentially show.

Fast forward a couple more years with Google relying heavily on machine learning capabilities for online search, and now the game is changing even more. Not only will your ad show with the above example, but now the order of the words can vary. So, “Denver SEO Companies” and “Search Engine Optimization Company Denver” would also be close variants.

This post from Marketing Land echoes this update:

Google is making a big change to exact match keyword targeting in AdWords

Image Via Max Pixil

On Friday afternoon, Google announced another change to the way exact match keyword targeting works for search ads. Matching for close variants — plurals, typos, abbreviations, adverbs and so on —  will be broadened to include variations in word order and function words in the coming months. With this change, Google may ignore word order and function words when determining whether a search ad should trigger for an exact match keyword. In other words, exact truly no longer means exact.

Read more here:  Google is making a big change to exact match keyword targeting in AdWords

The other change that is mentioned above is with function words such as “a”, “the”, and “for” will be ignored.  Continuing with our previous example, “a Denver SEO Company” would also match. Google has enough confidence in their system of artificial intelligence that it will not allow phrases that don’t match, such as “John Denver Companies”.

The next video provides an excellent review of the different types of keyword choices when setting up an Adwords account:

Is Adwords recent update helpful to all users? My guess would be no. However, there are some businesses that will benefit from the change, and this is outlined in the WordStream post below:

Breaking: Exact Match Keywords No Longer Exact Match | WordStream

Image from Blue Diamond Gallery

Some small advertisers may benefit from this change. Local advertisers uniquely benefit from the simplicity of this new exact match. For instance, let’s say you were advertising your new hotel in Boston’s Copley Square. Previously, the exact match keyword [Hotel Copley Square] would only show your ad to that exact search query Hotel Copley Square. You’d have to create multiple keywords or experiment with other match types to get more traffic. Now that exact match keyword [Hotel Copley Square] will attract a lot more relevant searches that you might not immediately consider such as Copley Square Hotel, Hotel in Copley Square, Hotel on Copley Square, Hotel near Copley Square, Hotel by Copley Square, etc.

Read the original post here:  Breaking: Exact Match Keywords No Longer Exact Match | WordStream

With that said, Adwords users that include long-tail keywords in specific niches need to review their Adwords account, as do brand advertisers. The change allows less specific keyword phrases than what was intended be part of the query. One solution will be adding in as many negative keywords necessary to narrow the search back down so you aren’t paying for clicks that don’t produce results.

 See the original post here:  S&S Pro Blog

The New Adwords Click-To-Message Extension

When you choose Google Adwords as your marketing platform, you are randomly shown on search when someone types in the keywords you are targeting. Once your ad is clicked on, the user is taken to your website. However, if you use ad extensions, which is a way of adding more information to your paid ad such as specific web pages or in this case a click-to-text message, you chances of grabbing a users attention is increased.

Google has been experimenting with the click-to-text message extension for a few months, but it is finally live and available. This allows an interested online shopper to click the button and send a text message to the business. This article in Search Engine Land describes the newly released feature:

Google AdWords click-to-text message extension is coming out of beta

From Pixabay

When users click on a message extension or icon, their phone’s SMS app will launch automatically.

In the example provided by Google above, you’ll notice the call and message extensions are served in cards below the main ad. That’s a departure from showing just the icons to the right of the ad copy that we are used to seeing. For message extensions, this new format allows advertisers to include a call to action in the extension text.

Advertisers also set up an initial text that pre-populates in the messaging app after a user clicks the extension. Users are able to edit that message before sending, but it’s an opportunity for advertisers to help users save time by anticipating what they’re likely to be interested in. Advertisers that are able to get that right will likely see better engagement rates.

Clicks on message extensions are charged just like a regular click on a headline or extension. Message extensions can be set at the campaign and ad group levels, and they can be scheduled to appear during certain periods of the day. If you run message extensions after hours or on days when the business is closed, you can set expectations in the message text on those extensions. (It’s also possible to use an autoresponder to let users know when to expect a response.)

See the full post here:  Google AdWords click-to-text message extension is coming out of beta

If you haven’t used Adwords lately, you may be surprised at how complex setting up a campaign is. Most people hire a pay-per-click expert to manage the process because it is time consuming and can be expensive if you don’t monitor it closely. This video gives a short tutorial on how to use site-link extensions when setting up an Adwords ad, which are similar to the click-to-message extension:

There are some specific rules that have to be followed by Google when you use the new Adwords click-to-message extension. The requirements are fairly basic, asking that the business phone number be local and that you respond in a reasonable amount of time. Factors such as misusing personal information or inappropriate content are also included.

This is Google’s support page for this Adwords extension:

Click to message extension requirements – Advertising Policies Help

Click to message extensions allow your customers to contact you by text in response to an advertisement. Click to message extensions, including advertiser-provided message text, are subject to the standard AdWords policies. To ensure that your customers have the best experience when interacting with you by text, we also have additional requirements below.

Phone number requirements

From Wikimedia Commons

The following is not allowed:

*Phone numbers that are inaccurate, inactive, irrelevant, or that don’t connect to the advertised company

*Phone numbers that are not local or domestic for the targeted country

*Premium numbers, which are numbers that require users to pay additional charges to complete the text
Example: Using a United States phone number to reply to texts for an advertisement targeting Kenya

If your extension violates this policy, edit it to make it comply.

Unacceptable response

The following is not allowed:

*Slow or unreasonable response times to messages received from users
Examples: Failure to respond to the user, waiting an unreasonable period of time to respond to the user

*Irrelevant or unwanted messages sent to users who have responded to ads
Examples: Texting about a product or service unrelated to the original ad, repeated texting with no response

Read the full support page here:  Click to message extension requirements – Advertising Policies Help

This exciting new feature allows business owners who are advertising on Google the opportunity to connect with interested users in real time. You can catch them at the exact moment when they are searching for the product or service you are offering. Because some people may not like calling, leaving a message, or using a contact form, this seems to be a great way to link up with someone ready to purchase right now.

Originally seen on S&S Pro Blog

SEO vs Adwords – Which is Right for You?

As a business owner, deciding how to manage your next marketing campaign can be a tricky proposition. There are so many ways to drive traffic to your website or shop, that you have to narrow it down to the best option for your needs. Two of the most popular methods are pay-per-click and organic SEO. If you aren’t family with these concepts, this article explains the difference:

SEO vs Adwords: Which Works Better for Your Business? | Huffington Post

The Difference Between SEO and Adwords SEO makes use of certain techniques that is meant to tweak the Google algorithm so that a person’s website will have a good ranking on the search engine. These techniques include using relevant keywords, linking content to authority websites or other related websites and using meta descriptions.

Adwords makes use of paid advertising wherein website owners will pay a search engine like Google to place their website at the top of the search results. Adwords makes use of a pay-per-click type of system wherein you will have to pay every time a person clicks on your ad.

Comparison By Characteristics

1. Price

First of all, let’s talk about price. SEO may be initially free (apart from the time spent when you’re personally working on it) because you don’t have to pay for any program to help you with SEO techniques. You must just simply know the best SEO techniques for your website and apply them. However, as soon as your business grows, the competition along with many challenges may prove to take more time than it initially required you. You may have to opt for professional SEO services to further boost your page so you can stay relevant. Companies such LYFE Marketing, leading Atlanta SEO company, that specializes in the area and have insights from having been working in the same industry for many years can provide your business the attention and efforts it actually needs.

As for Google Adwords, I’ve mentioned above that it has a pay-per-click type of scheme. With this scheme, you will have a certain budget wherein you will pay every time someone clicks on your ad. With this payment scheme, the more people you can get, the more you will have to pay. Although it may seem a bit costly to some at first, it actually isn’t if you compare it to print ads and magazine ads.

Read the original article here:  SEO vs Adwords: Which Works Better for Your Business? | Huffington Post

In this short video, an explanation of SEO vs Adwords is given. In the video’s description, there is a more clarification as far as how the two work for creating more exposure for your website:

If you do choose a pay-per-click campaign, the next determination is how much to budget for this aspect of lead generation. Google Adwords is fairly complicated and there are a lot of factors to consider such as keyword considerations, what geographic location and Search vs the Display Network.  In this article from SearchEngineLand.com, the author, Brett Middleton, goes over his formula for setting your ad budget:

How should your ad budget impact campaign building?

If you take away one point from this, it’s that search impression share may be the most ignored primary metric for most PPC managers who are up against a budget. Search impression share is the number of impressions your ads actually received, compared to the potential number they could have received. For example, if there were 100 searches for keyword X, and you received 75 impressions, that would mean you have 75 percent search

Image From Flickr

impression share.

This is important to think about because you may be leaving valuable conversions on the table. In this article, I’ll show you a way to look at impression share and do your own calculation for how many potential conversions you are missing out on with your current campaign structure and budget. Those of you who don’t trust Keyword Planner, this is for you.

Deep PPC campaign building: Identifying your best performing campaigns and funneling the majority (or entirety) of your ad spend through them. This often requires not advertising for other products or services your company/client may offer that have lower ROAS (return on ad spend).

Wide PPC campaign building: After creating your initial campaigns, optimize in an attempt to elevate your underperforming campaigns to the level of your top-performing campaigns. Advertise for all of your products or services, even if they are slightly lower on ROAS.

If you have a budget that is smaller than the max ad spend possible for your keywords, you have decisions to make regarding budget allocation. This is a common problem for advertisers with many different products and services, especially when they don’t have much keyword overlap.

Read the original post here:  How should your ad budget impact campaign building?

There are many components to managing a solid SEO or Paid Advertising campaign. As a business, unless you have the capacity to hire someone in-house, you need to find an online marketing agency to administer the ongoing project. Because it is their main focus, they will be studying all of the updates and researching what works best for your particular niche.

Seen first on S&S Pro Blog