SEM Ad Copy Tips That You May Find Scary

Trying new things can sometimes be frightening for paid search marketers, but columnist Brett Middleton argues that leaving your comfort zone is the key to differentiating your brand and obtaining qualified traffic.

Writing ad copy for your AdWords campaign typically is a process that unfolds something like this:

1. Identify keywords and user needs.
2. Write copy that speaks to both.
3. Make small tweaks and A/B test over time.

This is exactly how we end up with search results that look like this:

While these ads are not exactly the same, they’re similar enough to be more or less indistinguishable to the average searcher.

We are clearly creating problems for searchers with a process that leads to nearly identical search ads from every company. Consumers have no idea which resource is going to be the best for them.

Somewhere along the way, the process became more about getting all of the clicks rather than theright clicks. The result is that companies fail to differentiate themselves — and thus fail to attract the customers most likely to buy from them.

Here is what needs to be done to get SEM ad copy in a better place than where we find it today.

Search every time you write

Logging in to AdWords to check the recent performance of your ads, declaring a winner and making a new variation should not be done in a vacuum. Unfortunately, it’s extraordinarily easy to let this happen.

The process of A/B testing ad copy has, by necessity, become a very linear one in which we observe our own previous iterations and look for a new one that will provide better results than its predecessors; this is logical, but it is ultimately a flawed way to conduct our revisions. Without the context of real, live SERP results to inform our decisions, we lose out.

If I’m writing an ad for a web development company in Minneapolis, I would begin by performing the above search and seeing what I’m up against. After evaluating my competitors’ ad copy, here are a few tactics I could use.

Don’t use the keywords in your headline

Seriously. This isn’t a sabotage article trying to get you all to change your tactics and make my ads look better. It’s a serious recommendation.

The practice of keyword stuffing for organic traffic has fallen out of favor; it’s about time we paid search marketers get on board as well. Rather than including the keyword you’re targeting in both the headline and the ad copy, do something much more helpful to the searcher: answer a key question or describe defining aspects of the product or service you provide.

Relying on ad creative that doesn’t feature an explicit headline can feel like a terrible idea, because it’s outside of our comfort zone as paid search marketers. But by definition, A/B testing should include new material that hasn’t been seen in other variations by searchers to test for ideal performance.

Qualify searchers in your ad copy

The exact opposite of the approach you may be taking at this point, the choice to limit the number of clicks you receive on your ads, is absolutely something that will attract a fair amount of flak.

However, we use this exact mindset when conducting keyword research: focus on more specific, more targeted terms (rather than broader catch-all terms) in order to ensure qualified and relevant traffic. The fact that we fail to heed this same advice when constructing ads is a fundamental flaw of our SEM processes.

Keyword targeting and ad copy creation need to be treated similarly, instead of being viewed as entirely separate steps along the way to gaining a customer; we can begin this transition by viewing the A/B testing process the same as the transition from broad-match heavy traffic to phrase/exact-match keywords as traffic generators.

As you write variations of ad copy, begin to test (in one ad group; don’t go crazy and apply this everywhere) ad copy that addresses potential objections your sales team frequently receives with leads coming in.

For example, a run-of-the-mill ad for “Web Development Minneapolis” should be tested against ads that identify average price of a web build, project time, content management systems used and so on. Again, this is meant to do one thing: reduce the number of unqualified clicks coming in. CTR will drop, but so will cost per conversion, which is ultimately a much more important KPI.

Fail — we pretty much have to

Some of the above tactics may be things you have tested out before, or they may sound insane and destined to fail. But every ad we write fails at some point, and continuing to make small tweaks to the same ad structure — and failing to evolve the ideas and strategies behind them — is ultimately how we end up with six advertisers on page 1 of Google shouting the same message into the void while a searcher randomly chooses.

Source: http://searchengineland.com/sem-ad-copy-tips-may-find-scary-248651

Pull Google Maps traffic data into AdWords with this script library

Columnist Russell Savage shows how you can use the Google Maps Distance Matrix API to get traffic data and use this information to customize your paid search ads.

San Francisco is the third-worst city in the United States for traffic congestion, according to a study by the 2015 Urban Mobility Scorecard. Commuters in San Francisco spend an extra 78 hours a year delayed in traffic, and as far as I can tell, it won’t be getting better any time soon.

Now that traffic information is so easy to access from any smartphone, your customers are likely checking and changing their behavior because of it. And when your customers change their behavior, you should be able to react.

Today, I’m happy to share a library I wrote to access Google Maps traffic data to determine commute times. By entering an origin, destination and departure time, you can quickly see how long a normal drive takes and how long the drive takes with traffic. Using that data, you can change your bids and Ad schedules or enable a set of Ads targeted directly toward those commuters.

Please note that I’m not advocating for you to advertise to commuters while they’re driving, but folks definitely use their phones while on public transport and as passengers in carpools and taxis. Additionally, people who deal with onerous commutes might have special needs, and you can use your ad creative at any hour to show you are aware of and feel their pain.

Introducing the Google Maps Distance Matrix API

Google Maps traffic information is available via the Distance Matrix API, and to access it, the only thing you need to do is to get a developer key from Google. You can call the service up to 2,500 times in a 24-hour period for free, which should be fine for most advertisers. (For all the details about quotas and the rate for additional calls, check out the usage limits page.)

Follow the instructions on the Google help page to generate a server key to use with this library. You can keep all the defaults, since the only thing that really matters is the final 40-character key. That’s what we will be using to call the library.

Don’t worry, I know a shortcut

Now that we have the server key, let’s take a look at the library I put together to access the API. As always, I’ll explain and give an example of how to use the code below.

 The library is designed to work with all the parameters described in the documentation of the Distance Matrix API using the exact same names. The only required parameters are the key, the list of origins and the list of destinations, but if you want to get traffic estimates, you also need to pass in departure_time as per the documentation.

Keep in mind that you can add multiple origins or destinations, and Google will calculate the distances between each (hence the word “matrix” in the title). This is a good way to save on API calls. You can get the duration and the duration in traffic for any of the origins and destinations by using their index from the getOrigins and getDestinations function. Here’s an example of how to set up and use the library.

Accessing the Matrix

Here we are using multiple locations and accessing the results of Los Angeles, CA, to Palo Alto, CA, by passing in 1, 1 to the functions. If we wanted Los Angeles to Truckee, we would pass in 1, 0. Of course, if you are only passing in a single origin and destination, you can ignore those indices altogether, since they default to 0, 0. There is additional documentation in the library for each of the public functions.

Assuming you passed in a departure time, your response should have a duration and a duration in traffic, each with its own value. The difference between these two values indicates how delayed your customer is going to be on their way to or from their location.

Source: http://searchengineland.com/pull-google-maps-traffic-data-into-adwords-with-this-script-library-248934

AdWords Editor update: Frequency caps, review extensions, display app install campaigns

The latest update of AdWords Editor includes new capabilities for app marketers and a couple of goodies for everyone else.

Display app install campaigns are now available in Editor. You can create and edit a mobile app install campaign for Display from Editor.

App extensions are now available from the Shared Library in Editor and can be added and linked to text ads. App extensions can link to apps available in Google Play or the Apple App Store.

Review extensions — quotes or paraphrases of reviews from well-regarded organizations — are also available in the Shared Library in the latest Editor version.

And finally, Frequency capping is now a setting option for Display and Video campaigns in Editor. No more setting up a Display campaign in Editor and having to remember to go back into the UI to update this key setting. The Frequency capping setting is located under the setting for Enhanced CPC in the Campaign settings section. Clicking on “Edit” will bring up a window to enter impression caps for either campaign type. Display impression caps can be set at the campaign, ad group or ad level. Note that you may have to drag to expand this window to see all the options.

Source: http://searchengineland.com/adwords-editor-update-frequency-capping-display-app-install-campaigns-248733

AdWords Match Types: What Are Keyword Match Types & How Should You Use Them?

 When bidding on a keyword in your PPC campaigns, you need to choose a keyword match type, which tells Google how aggressively or restrictively you want it to match your advertisements to keyword searches. There are four different keyword match types to choose from when advertising with Google AdWords. In this tutorial, you’ll learn the four keyword match types and how they differ, as well as why keyword match types are important to the success of your PPC ad campaigns.

What Are The Google AdWords Match Types?

When creating a text ad in your AdWords PPC campaign, you can select broad match, modified broad match, phrase match, or exact match for your keyword match type. Each match type in your AdWords account has its advantages and disadvantages.

AdWords Broad Match Type

Broad match is the default match type and the one that reaches the widest audience. When using broad match, your ad is eligible to appear whenever a user’s search query includes any word in your key phrase, in any order. For example, if you use broad match on "luxury car," your ad might be displayed if a user types "luxury cars," "fast cars," or "luxury apartments." Google may also match your ad to queries using syllables – for example, your ad might display when someone searches for “expensive vehicles,” which doesn’t include any of the terms in your keyword.

Because broad matched ads are set up to reach the widest possible audience, searchers might see and click your ad when querying irrelevant topics, and these costs can add up surprisingly fast. Again, since broad match is the default match type, it’s important to be very careful. Broad match keywords are a great way to drive lots of clicks, but advertisers need to keep a close eye on their search query reports to ensure that they’re not paying for irrelevant traffic that doesn’t convert. For example, look at these Google ads triggered by a search on “piano benches”:

Two of the ads that displayed are for other kinds of benches, and one is for piano lamps. These don't match the intent of the search query well. You can set up negative keywords to help prevent your ad from showing on searches that aren’t related to your business. For more information on negative keywords, get our free Guide to Controlling Costs with Negative Keywords.

AdWords Modified Broad Match

Modified broad match can be viewed as a sort of middle ground between broad match and the more restrictive match types below. It allows you to reach a similarly wide audience, but better control who sees your ad by “locking” individual words in a key phrase using the “+” parameter. When you add the plus sign in front of a term in your keyword, you’re telling Google that the search query must include that term.

For instance, let’s say you enabled modified broad match in AdWords for the keyword “gel batteries.” If you append the “+” parameter to the word “gel,” Google can only match your ads to queries that include the word gel. If you append it to the word “batteries,” search queries must include that word before you ad can enter the auction.

AdWords Phrase Match Type

Phrase match offers some of the versatility of broad match, but like modified broad match, introduces a higher level of control. Your ad will only appear when a user queries your key phrase using your keywords in the exact order you enter them, but there might be other words either before or after that phrase.

For example, if your key phrase was "pet supplies," your ad could appear when a user searched for "pet supplies," "discount pet supplies," or "pet supplies wholesale," but not for searches like "pet food," "pet bird supplies," or "art supplies." Since the query can contain text before or after your keywords, there is some flexibility, but you are leaving a lot of potential traffic on the table.

AdWords Exact Match Type

Exact match is the most specific and restrictive of the keyword match types. With this match type, users can only see your ad when they type your exact keyword phrase by itself.

For example, if your keyword phrase was "black cocktail dress," your ad is only eligible to show up when a user searches for "black cocktail dress" (those words in that exact order) and not for "cocktail dress," "black dress" or "expensive black cocktail dress." On the plus side, users who click on your ad when searching for that exact phrase are more likely to be interested in your product or service, so using exact match can reduce unwanted costs and keep conversion rates high. On the down side, you will have less traffic as a result of your restrictions, because these more specific search queries have lower search volume, and you won’t get as many overall impressions.

How Do Match Types Affect Your AdWords Results?

Match types can have a major impact on your account’s performance: they’re the control you use to determine exactly which search queries you’re bidding on. As you determine which match types to use for each keyword, there are a few key components to consider:

·         Performance to Date — How a keyword or similar keywords have performed can give you insights into which match type will provide the best return on your investment.

·         Competitors — How your competitors bid on certain terms and structure their own accounts, as well as how their accounts have performed historically will all impact the return you see from certain match types.

·    Bids — Cost per click and cost per conversion are heavily impacted by bids – often advertisers employ various methodologies for manipulating bids and frequently bid more or less aggressively based on the match type – this can strongly influence which match type is most appropriate.

·         Ad Text & AdWords Account Structure — Many advertisers will break out a “money” keyword and run it on broad, phrase and exact match types – perhaps even segmenting those match types out and writing specific ads for each. The way an advertiser structures an account can also have a massive impact on performance for different match types.

Optimizing your use of AdWords match types is crucial because it allows you to reach your target audience while avoiding unnecessary spend on irrelevant clicks. Learn more about optimizing your match types in our AdWords Matching Options Guide.

Source: http://www.wordstream.com/keyword-match-types

Google confirms live demo of new AdWords redesign will happen on May 24

A new screen shot shows how ad scheduling data might be presented in the updated interface.

During Google’s annual Performance Summit this year, the company has announced, there will be a live demo of the overhaul of the AdWords interface that’s currently underway.

The most recent screen shot (above) shows an Ad Schedule window at the campaign level. It’s a bit hard to see, but the chart shows clicks by time of day for each day of the week when the ads are scheduled (excluded hours are in gray). More detail is provided in the table below.

Google teased the redesign at the end of March, explaining the goal of the new look, in part, is to provide an easier-to-navigate interface that translates across all devices. It is being built with Material Design, the design language Google uses for many of its consumer-facing apps like Gmail and Maps. The effort is being led by Paul Feng, AdWords product management director at Google. He has said the redesign process, including testing by big and small advertisers in multiple verticals, will take roughly 12 to 18 months.

source: http://searchengineland.com/google-adwords-redesign-live-demo-may24-248837

Google makes 2 ad updates that will affect local search marketers

Ads now appear in Local Finder results, plus ads display differently in Google Maps.

 

Google has made changes this week to local search results and Google Maps that will impact retailers and service providers with physical locations.

Ads in Local Finder results

Local SEO specialist Brian Barwig was among those who have noticed the ads appearing in the Local Finder results — reached after clicking “More places” from a local three-pack in the main Google search results.

The addition of the ads (more than one ad can display) in the Local Finder results means retailers and service providers that aren’t featured in the local three-pack have a new way of getting to the top of the results if users click through to see more listings. (It also means another haven for organic listings has been infiltrated with advertising.)

The ads in the Local Finder rely on AdWords location extensions just like Google Maps, which started featuring ads that used location extensions when Google updated Maps in 2013. Unlike the results in Maps, however, advertisers featured in Local Finder results do not get a pin on the map results.

A Google spokesperson didn’t offer further details other than to say, “We’re always testing out new formats for local businesses, but don’t have any additional details to share for now.”

  

Google Maps is no longer considered a Search Partner

Google has also announced changes to how ads display in Google Maps. Soon, Google will only show ads that include location extensions in Maps; regular text ads will not be featured. The other big change is that Google Maps is no longer considered part of Search Partners. Google has alerted advertisers, and Maps has been removed from the list of Google sites included in Search Partners in the AdWords help pages.

This change in Maps’ status means:

1. Advertisers that use location extensions but had opted out of Search Partners will now be able to have their ads shown in Maps and may see an increase in impressions and clicks as their ads start showing there.

2. Advertisers that don’t use location extensions but were opted into Search Partners could see a drop in impressions and clicks with ads no longer showing in Maps.

The move to include Maps as part of Google search inventory will mean more advertisers will be included in Maps ad auctions. The emphasis on location extensions is in line with Google’s increasing reliance on structured data and feeds, as retailers participating in Google Shopping can attest.

source: http://searchengineland.com/google-ads-local-finder-results-maps-not-search-partner-247779