Articles
Google AdWords and GDPR Compliance: How GDPR affects AdWords tracking and targeting
Over the past month, we've talked a lot about how GDPR affects data collection. But what about online advertising? How big of an impact will GDPR have on AdWords users? The European Economic Area (EEA) is the second largest consumer…
Advanced Conversion Tracking in AdWords - Lead forms and third-party sites
Do you use forms to capture leads in Google AdWords? Forms are a great way to collect information from the people that engage with your PPC campaigns. Collecting email addresses, phone numbers, and other contact information can help you turn…
AdWords Quality Score Not Showing - What should you do?
Quality Scores are a vital part of maximizing your profit in AdWords. High Quality Scores can help you get cheaper clicks and increase your Ad Rank. But Quality Scores can be confusing. Especially, when your Quality Score is not showing for…
Google AdWords Certification Changes for 2018
2018 brought some big changes to the AdWords certification process. This past January, Google moved their certification resources from the Google Partners platform to the Academy for Ads. Today, we'll take a quick look at how these changes have affected…
AdWords Copywriting: Should you put price in your text ads?
A standard AdWords text ad only gives you 140 total characters to deliver a compelling message. Text space is at a premium. And you want to win clicks right? Well... Maybe. Keep in mind clicks cost you money. There are times…
AdWords Conversion Tracking - Are You Doing it Right?
What's the #1 goal of advertising on AdWords? - Conversions!! Conversions should be the main purpose of advertising anywhere, really. Whether it’s getting customers to make purchases, fill out lead forms, or opt-in to our emails campaigns… Conversions are why companies…
Our Top 10 Ten PPC Tools
A saw, a hammer, and a keyword tracker; What do these three things have in common? They are all tools. Now, if you work on AdWords accounts, you probably don't bring your power tools to the office. But, if you…
Do's and Don'ts of Crafting a PPC Contract
If you're going to work as a PPC consultant or a freelancer (or if you are on the hiring side), you're probably you should consider documenting your agreement in a contract. Contracts help both parties understand the terms of your…
How to use AdWords Customer Match
How many of your current customers do you think you can target using Google AdWords? Don't know? Good news! Google can tell you. Google will even tell you how many of your customers they can find on the Search Network,…
AdWords Limited by Budget - Not anymore! Learn the right way to optimize your AdWords budget
Just about anyone who has ever run a campaign in Adwords has seen a "limited by budget" message at some point in time. You have to hand it to Google, this message is both enticing and dangerous. Google's little red…
Why did AdWords kill the review extension?
It’s no secret that Google loves AdWords extensions. However, Google recently killed off one of the most confusing and difficult extensions to implement. Google has put an end to the AdWords review extension. Why did this happen, and what should…
Google Ad Grants Changes for 2018
Google recently announced some huge policy changes to the Google Ad Grants program. The changes will have a big impact on nonprofit advertising on Adwords. One of our PPC Mastery Course students, Seth, asked me to weigh in on the…
The anatomy of a successful AdWords text ad
There are a lot of essential components to focus on when you’re building an AdWords campaign - keywords, bidding strategies, quality scores, landing pages, conversions, etc. AdWords has so many moving parts and data points it’s easy to overlook one…
Google Closing Partners Certification Portal in 2018
For those of you who are certified with Google AdWords, or looking to obtain your certification, I wanted to call your attention to a new platform that Google will be rolling out on January 16, 2018. Google is moving certifications…
AdWords efficiency is more important than ever
Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, recently released their best quarterly earnings statement ever. Google amassed $27.5 billion in revenue in the third quarter of 2017. The majority of this revenue was the result of an increase in cost per click (CPC) prices.…
AdWords Promotion Extension
The holiday shopping season is here, and we all want to drive hordes of purchasers to our discounted offers. It's "Show me the money!" time if you're in the e-commerce or advertising business. So how can you use Adwords to make sure…
AdWords Budget Calculator
Today I am sharing one my favorite AdWords tools with you - the AdWords Budget calculator. The Budget calculator is known as my “Million Dollar Sales Tool,” because I have generated millions in revenue using this methodology to help people…
Conversion Linker and First-Party Conversion Tracking in Google AdWords?
The other day I noticed something new in my Google Tag Manager account A new tag template was available called "Conversion Linker" and there wasn't a lot of documentation available. So I dove into figuring out what it all meant.…
AdWords conversion tracking with GTM in 2017 - What's changed?
A new way to track Adwords conversions in Google Tag Manager Google recently made their new and improved AdWords interface available to all users, after 17 months of anticipation since their May 2016 keynote. Last week we shared our impressions,…
Do you like your new AdWords interface?
The new AdWords account interface officially rolled out to everyone last Wednesday. Have you logged in to check it out? [If you haven't yet, you should check it out!]. This is a very significant change for all advertisers. It’s newer,…
Your AdWords Budget? Google Just Declared War!
If you are managing Google AdWords, and you have a fixed budget for your campaigns, you will want to listen up to this week's PPC newsletter. Because Google just declared open season on every last penny of your budget. Late last week,…
Google Ad Updates for Videos and Phone Calls
This week we introduce you to some Google ad format updates, remind you that the holiday season is coming, and offer a new perspective on the Facebook ad targeting drama of last week. New Ways to Connect and Measure on…
Facebook lets you target by WHAT now?
You may have seen the news stories about some of Facebook's shocking ad-targeting options. If not, here is one of the many articles covering the topic. It turns out that while Facebook had the negative press, Google has some 'splainin to…
Google's Position in Attribution Modeling
The lead article from this week's newsletter is very timely, because we discussed Google's position in attribution in an upcoming podcast episode. That episode will feature Maddie Cary from Point It, who is a top 25 PPC influencer in 2017. You'll…
Do you de-dupe your audience? Well, you should!
Here's a list of PPC resources we found interesting last week: Obliterate Facebook Targeting Overlap! via "@AimClear - Step-by-Step Guide To Ditch Audience Duplication Google and Microsoft Can Use AI to Extract Many More Ad Dollars from Our Clicks via @wired -…
AdWords Filters and Landing Page Assessment
Hope you had a nice weekend. Let's start the week off right by checking out some announcements and tools from Google, along with a filter to save you money. Here's a list of PPC resources I found interesting last week: 3…
Analytics As A Humble AdWords Servant
This week I read more than one article about PPC victories one can achieve through Google Analytics. In addition to that there was an update to AW terms & conditions, plus Bing rolled out a new feature nationwide! Dynamic Search…
PPC Account: Check Yo Self
This week, in addition to a super-useful checklist, we have KW pricing info and an often overlooked trick for improving CTR. Enjoy! The PPC Puzzle: A Checklist by @Hanapin - As you set up your paid search campaign there are some areas…
Your Keywords Mean Something, Right?
This week we have some posts on keyword research, choosing a new agency and some advice directly from Google. Enjoy! Advanced New Tail Keyword Research by @dejanseo - Published last year, this article will remain fresh & actionable for many years to…
Integrating AdWords and Analytics
Here are a few PPC resources that caught my attention last week: The Definitive Guide to Optimizing AdWords with Google Analytics by Paul Koks aka @OnlineMetrics - You are familiar with running AdWords campaigns. This guide tells you how to get…
How Do You Target Locals With PPC?
Here are a few PPC resources that caught my attention last week: Google Maps Marketing: The best tool to target locals via @HuffPost - When we google a keyword, most often, we get Google Maps results in search results. POV: Snapchat…
Automate, Liberate, Dominate
Automate repetitive work, liberate your time and dominate with insights: Webinar on Google Sheets/Analytics Automation with Codingisforlosers.com by @dkrevitt On July 20, we hosted a webinar with David Krevitt. David shared some great tips on using Google Sheets for Google Analytics data analysis. Now…
New AdWords Editor Has Arrived
Here are a few resources for your reading leisure during this holiday week (in the US). AdWords Editor 12 offers a fresh look and new features by @adwords official blog, and a more loose take on the release by @smallbiztrends - The…
Beyond the Limits of Optimization
Here are a few resources that kept me thinking last week: Optimized the Hell Out of Your Client’s AdWords Account? Don’t Drive More Traffic, Do This Instead - very inspiring post by @phoenixorflame via @unbounce. What is the half-life of your agency resources? by…
Ad Blocking Coming to Chrome?
Google is an advertising company, first and foremost. So it feels oddly conflicting to see that they are blocking ads for better user experience in their Chrome browser. Will they be blocking the competition? The AdWords 2017 roadmap is loaded with artificial…
What the World Would Be Like If Adwords Rudders Didn't Exist?
Here are a few PPC resources that caught my eye last week: Google AdWords New Maximize Conversions Smart Bidding by @rustybrick - As the name suggests, Google will automatically set the right bids for each auction to help get you the most…
It's not what you do for clients, but...
Here are a few resources that kept me thinking last week: Learning Adwords Scripts by @Mel66 - Melissa Mackey: "I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t ever set up a single script." Outsource Everything! (And Why This Fails for Service Businesses)- It’s…
PPC Articles and Updates for January 31, 2016
Welcome to the triumphant return of our weekly PPC Articles and Updates newsletter. Here are some articles that we think you will find useful in your pursuit of PPC perfection. Tools and announcements: Google Consumer Barometer - New Tool from…
Diminishing Returns in PPC, Segmentation and Landing Page Tips
Another great week of PPC Content. Here are some of our favorite articles! Diminishing Returns in PPC – When Doubling Your Budget Doesn’t Mean Doubling Your Profits PPC Hero explains why you can't always expect double the revenue simply from…
Paid Search Best Practices, Stages of Learning PPC and Landing Page Checklist
Here are some of our favorite PPC related articles over the past week. Enjoy! Re-Examining The Top 10 Paid Search Best Practices, Part 1 Is following the conventional wisdom on search advertising actually wise? Contributor Josh Dreller asks tough questions…
Retargeting Tips, Brand Strategy & Conversion Factors
Use Google Analytics To Stop Wasting Remarketing Dollars On People That “Just Aren’t That Into You” By: Susan Waldes We usually share at least one article per week that pertains to utilizing remarketing within AdWords to capture sales/leads from visitors who…
PPC Hacks, Writing Ads & Missed Opportunities
16 OF THE MOST VALUABLE PPC POSTS FROM 2015 By: Elisa Silverman Hard to believe 2015 is already more than half done, I have no idea where the time goes these days. We are also already on the 15th installment of…
AdWords Disapprovals, PPC Scripts & VAT Settings
3 Common AdWords Ad Disapprovals That Have Nothing To Do With The Advertiser By: Navah Hopkins The AdWords team provides plenty of information on their rules, policies, and guidelines for advertisers to follow, but sometimes an ad is disapproved for…
PPC CRO Hacks, Data Update & AdWords Strategy
6 Insights to Maximize Your Google AdWords Strategy By: The Financial Brand The financial brand performs a yearly analysis on AdWords performance metrics from banking/financial brands from around the world in order to provide rich insights into PPC trends and…
AdWords Editor 11, Buy Button & the GDN
AdWords Editor 11 Adds Support For Labels, Call-Only Ads, Upgraded URLs & More By: Ginny Marvin Since our teacher, Jeff Sauer, loves the AdWords editor so much, I figured I had better include this brief announcement outlining the new features and…
AdWords Shortcuts, New Query Layout & PPC Settings - This Week in PPC Volume XI
Does Google AdWords Work? By: Margot da Cunha I thought this was a pretty interesting article title, but it is a valid point. We talk a lot about the benefits and possibilities with PPC, but how do we know it really…
PPC Copy Mistakes, New AdWords Reports & The Mobile Era
Google launches all-out assault on mobile advertising, cross-device conversion, and in-store ROI By: John Koetsier Following the anti-climactic "Mobilegeddon" on April 21st, Google has rolled out a multitude of new mobile features for AdWords. Some new features include: New ad units for mobile…
Mobile PPC Mistakes, Effective Ad Copy & the GDN
7 Ways to Write Super-Effective AdWords Ads (with Real Examples) By: Johnathan Dane Considering the low number of characters available for headlines, ad copy, and calls-to-action, actually writing your ads can be quite a daunting task. However, it's not something that…
Bad Keywords, PPC Philosophy & New Competitor Tool
Stop Bidding on These Brand Keywords in PPC By: Kirk Williams A controversial topic in pay-per-click advertising over the years has been whether or not it is appropriate/effective to bid on brand keywords. On one hand, bidding on branded keywords can…
PPC Account Restructure, Machine Learning & Innovations
Strategies for RLSA Success By: Lindsay Walker AdWords Remarketing for Search Lists Ads is a feature that allows for advertisers to serve search ads to people who have already visited their website. Utilizing this specific tactic comes with its own dependencies and strategies…
Decrease CPA, AdWords Glitch, & Future of PPC
3 Ways To Decrease CPA Without Tanking Volume By: Daniel Friscia In this post, Daniel tackles the tough topic of decreasing your cost per acquisition. In PPC, we often get stuck on the CPC and CTR numbers, when in reality all…
PPC Testing Myths, Targeting Options & Location Tracking
Improving targeting options in AdWords Express By: Jade Wang As we discussed in the course, beware of AdWords Express because it may lead you in an inefficient direction. But at least now they are allowing you to remove keywords that…
PPC Expectations, Bid management & Ad Rotation
The Inside Scoop On AdWords Ad Rotation By: Matt Lawson Ad rotation is a powerful campaign setting in AdWords. Columnist and Googler Matt Lawson explains why you might want to rethink your current strategy. Optimizing ad copy, calls-to-action, and bidding…
Trademark Bidding, PPC Stars & Ad Extensions
Looking For More Revenue? 7 Ways To Profitably Expand PPC Reach By: Cassie Oumedian Trying to maximize reach and profitability with paid search? At some point as a PPC manager, many will face a point of diminishing returns with larger…
Creative Campaigns, PPC Analysis and New Android App
Top 10 Most Creative PPC Campaigns of All Time! By: Matthew Stratford Ever wondered what's possible with pay-per-click advertising? Can you take advantage of your newfound knowledge to land a new job or find a date? What about thinking outside…
Customizing Campaigns, Pitfalls to Avoid and PPC Hacks
Customizing Your PPC Campaigns to Browsers, Shoppers, & Buyers By: Richard Stokes Understanding your customers' mindset as they move through the customer lifecycle is imperative to running successful campaigns. This is especially true in search marketing, where it's vital to…
Looking for current Google Analytics 4 material? Start with the Google Ads Course.