Car Analogies for Google AdWords
I often find explaining things easier when comparing them to cars – something pretty much everyone understands, at least without the technical details, materials technology, laws of physics etc.
AdWords campaigns have stages, goals and timescales – you wouldn’t just get in a car and drive it without knowing where you were going and how long it would take, would you?
Or hire a cab with no clue how much it would cost and where you would end up?
(Not most of the time, anyway).
Yet it’s my belief that most users of AdWords do exactly this, and try to scale their campaigns up way too early, making them inefficient and difficult to manage.
Back in the day, you could do this without too much damage, but these days it can be lethal.
In this series I’m going to look at all the dials, gauges and controls inside an AdWords account and see what part of a car they relate to, starting with …
The gas tank: your range and how far you can go before running out – your AdWords Daily Budget.
Buying traffic on demand vs free traffic, and what Google really thinks about paid links
Are you (unknowingly or otherwise) violating Google's Webmaster Guidelines (think JC PenneyGate)?
Perry recently made an interesting and insightful comment (although I can't recall exactly where) about the difference between "free" traffic (from natural organic rankings as a result of getting SEO efforts right) and the ability to buy traffic on demand.
He said (paraphrasing) that "free traffic is a house built on quicksand – it's not going to last because the rules keep changing"…
The recent Panda update reiterates how true that is.
Google is constantly evolving Search, and this recent Webmaster Central post reminds us of some critically important things to focus on, namely
- Conversion rate
- Bounce rate
- Clickthrough rate (CTR)
(All three of those apply equally to your AdWords traffic, and performance, as well as Organic rankings).
But I was also very interested to see this last statement:
Buying or selling links for the purpose of passing PageRank violates our Webmaster Guidelines and is very likely to have negative consequences for your website…
I've always instinctively felt that link trading for money was profoundly dodgy, so if you're doing it – beware!
Google’s Groupon-killer: more people agree with me …
Fixing a broken AdWords account
I got a call from an AdWords advertiser whose account was behaving strangely, and who was anxiously trying to find out what was wrong and how to fix it.
Impressions, clicks and conversions had flatlined, and cost per click was erratic and high.
The campaign had been set to CPA bidding (which we like) but no conversions were being recorded.
This meant that the bid management was out of control, causing
- hardly any impressions
- cost per click all over the map
- positions way too low
- hardly any clicks
We reverted to CPC bidding (rather than CPA) and impressions immediately recovered.
Once the client had managed to reinstate conversion tracking, his impressions, clicks and conversions started to behave normally again.
The root cause of the problem?
- CPA bidding had been in control of bids and positions (which we agree with)
- Conversion events suddenly ceased back in December when the website had been updated
- Unknown to the client, his original conversion tracking code had been lost
- Reverting to CPC bidding revived the impressions and clicks
- Reinstating the original conversion tracking restored conversion events
More AdWords Case Studies
Proof that We Make AdWords Management Work
Google hits one billion visitors per month, and why Search eyeballs = income
An astonishing result and considered a first in the Internet industry.
In this game, more visitors = more eyeballs = more income opportunities.
What has this got to do with the Tao of Google?
Reach.
Reaching more people, wherever, whenever, whatever device they are using.
Original article:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/google/google-hits-one-billion-visitors-per-month/3023
“David is the only ‘insider’ resource on Google’s Conversion Optimizer that we know of” – Perry Marshall and Bryan Todd
"It was crystal clear the very first time I talked with David Rothwell about Google's Conversion Optimizerthat he had his finger on the pulse of something highly, highly significant.
He saw a new power and capability in Google's system that I had not previously seen. And he knew why it was important.
Every conversation with him since on this topic has reinforced that this is a game-changer, and that he is one of very few individuals in the know on it.
And, more importantly, the only individual I know of who's actually sharing this with the world in an understandable way.
I know that David's own use of GCO with clients has changed from the bottom up the way he manages their accounts. A paradigm shift.
I also was there to see the reaction in Maui when he shared this with our AdWords Elite Master's Summit audience for the first time, detailing what this feature within AdWords can actually do.
His presentation was a serious game-changer for a number of people literally starting that very day, and the barrage of questions, followed by the thunderous applause, at the end of his presentation were no accident.
David is the only 'insider' resource on the ins and outs of this that I know of.
At Perry Marshall and Associates we intend to make full use of his expertise on this in coming months and years."
Bryan Todd and Perry Marshall
“David Rothwell is one of my most reliable sources …” – Howie Jacobson | AdWords for Dummies
"David Rothwell is one of my most reliable sources for what's working in the AdWords trenches.
I can count on him for "AdWords Answers" without hype or fanfare – just the straight scoop that makes money for his clients – and my readers."
Howie Jacobson, PhD, Author, "AdWords For Dummies"
“David Rothwell knows AdWords inside and out” – Bryan Todd | Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords
"David Rothwell keeps me on my toes.
He knows AdWords inside and out, he knows what his clients need and want, and he's always on top of the latest news.
He asks the tough questions, and he's always got solid answers when I ask the tough questions of him.
I am always pleased to refer clients to him because he is a professional who serves his customers outstandingly well."
Bryan Todd, Co-Author "The Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords" (with Perry Marshall)
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4,802 Hotel Bookings
This leading European Hotel chain runs over 300 properties in 26 countries.
Operating in a competitive marketplace they have to reach their desired audience using many and varied search queries, including:
- destination countries and towns
- hotel names
- types of hotels
- hotels by star ratings
- their brand names
- seasonal promotions
This needs a carefully structured and dynamic approach which both preserves the account historical performance, yet remains flexible to new promotions in selected hotels and locations.
