by mtraphagen | Aug 16, 2010 | Google, Paid Search
Google’s AdWords advertising division has announced that it will be tightening up reporting requirements for “partners” (i.e., third-party agencies that manage AdWords accounts for their clients) beginning February 2011. The new requirements will...
by mtraphagen | Aug 2, 2010 | Google, Paid Search
In July of 2010, Google AdWords announced a global rollout of a new broad match keyword modifier feature. This new feature is supposed to create keywords with “greater reach than phrase match and more control than broad match.” Simply put, modified broad...
by mtraphagen | Jun 28, 2010 | Google, Paid Search
If you’ve spent any time doing pay-per-click advertising, you’re probably familiar with the technique known as “peel and stick,” popularized by AdWords guru Perry Marshall. If not (or if you need a refresher), read the blue paragraph below. If...
by mtraphagen | Jan 18, 2010 | Paid Search
Among the most rudimentary, yet important, regular optimization tasks you should be doing for your pay-per-click advertising account is ad split testing. It is a fact that, in most cases, no two ads for the same keyword(s) will perform the same. It’s not enough...
by mtraphagen | Jan 18, 2010 | Paid Search
If you’re a beginner at Internet advertising, or just someone who knows “I ought to be promoting my site…”, Search Engine Land offers Five Most Frequently Asked Questions About Paid Search. It’s a concise article that explains some of...
by mtraphagen | Nov 3, 2009 | Paid Search
For those of us who have been immersed in the highly-complex world of Google’s AdWords for some time, it may be difficult to remember how overwhelming and confusing (and often irrational!) it seemed when we were starting out. It’s hard enough just to learn...
by mtraphagen | Oct 29, 2009 | Google, Paid Search
If you’ve got some experience managing cost-per-click (Google’s term for pay-per-click) advertising using Google AdWords, you surely by now realize the high importance of optimizing for Quality Score. Either that, or you enjoy throwing away your or your...
by mtraphagen | Oct 1, 2009 | Paid Search
From a search on Google for the keyword “ball cancer” (in the Sponsored Results column): Next time I’m looking to buy cancer balls, I’ll know where to go for the best deal! How does this happen? How could Google be showing me an ad for...
by mtraphagen | Sep 2, 2009 | Paid Search
If you’ve been using Google’s AdWords and/or Analytics products for any length of time, you must be aware that the numbers don’t always add up. In fact, they don’t add up at a sometimes alarming frequency. That is to say, the reported numbers...
by mtraphagen | Sep 1, 2009 | Paid Search
(Reading hint: If you’re already familiar with the value of negative keywords in PPC advertising, skip to my last paragraph for my new suggestion.)Your mother and your favorite motivational coach will both tell you: negativity is a bad thing. However, when it...
by mtraphagen | Aug 13, 2009 | Paid Search
We noticed yesterday a subtle change in the layout of Google search: the column of paid ads has been shifted into a fixed space, more to the left than they were before. Whereas previously the ads were aligned with the right edge of a fixed-width page, they now float...
by mtraphagen | Jul 10, 2009 | Paid Search
Tested two ads for a client recently. One offered a stay at a resort for $19.95. The other offered it for free. $19.95 was the convincing winner. Go figure.Lesson learned: Don’t assume that giving something away will attract more people than selling it at a good...
