Date post: | 11-May-2015 |
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Technology |
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Do AdWords New Features Pass the Test?
Sarah Dahlin, Director of Client ServicesJaime Allyne, Client Manager
February 23, 2011
Presentation AgendaAbout Point It
• Launched in April 2002
• Seattle’s largest independent search marketing firm
• PPC & SEO
• $50 MM in managed media
• 17 team members, 40+ yrs of SEM experience
• Servicing clients across all verticals and revenue models
facebook.com/pointit twitter.com/point_it
Presentation AgendaAgenda
• AdWords New Ad Formats
• See the results of our head-to-head tests
• Automated Rules
• What we learned and what we would change
• Display Campaign Optimizer
• How to set it up and how to make it work for you
• Q&A
Presentation AgendaAdWords New Ad Formats
• New display URL format
• What is it?
• What did we test?
• What did we expect?
• Were we correct?
• New extended headline format
• What is it?
• What did we test?
• What did we expect?
• Were we correct?
Presentation AgendaDisplay URL Changes
Google’s Intent: to standardize the appearance of ads
Previous FormatAdWords.Google.com/Support
New Format adwords.google.com/Support
Presentation AgendaDisplay URL Test
• Organic listings entirely in lowercase display URL
• Does capitalization in paid search ads improve CTR?
Display URL with capitalization
in the subdirectory
Entirely lowercase
display URLVS
Presentation AgendaAnticipated Results
• In previous tests, capitalization has had a positive impact on CTR
• Our guess:
• Display URL using capitalization
Our pick:
Presentation AgendaActual Results
Our pick won…. But we also saw a few things that surprised us!
Presentation AgendaImpact on Metrics
• CTR results:• 3.61% with capitalization• 3.15% without capitalization
• Unexpected results:• Conversion Rate, CPA• Calls for more testing!
Presentation AgendaNew Headline Format
• Headline and description line 1 appearance
• Since February 3rd, Google has been testing a new headline format
• Ads must be in top positions
• Description line 1 must end in punctuation
• If your ad falls within these parameters, it will now look like this:
Presentation AgendaHeadline Test
• This new ad format is expected to have a higher CTR
• The longer headline allows for more information about the product or service
• Since Google anticipates that CTR will improve, we decided we would give it a try!
Presentation AgendaAnticipated Results
• We expected the extended headline to out-perform the short headline
Our pick:
Presentation AgendaActual Results
• Based on CTR alone… our pick did not win
• However, we did see some interesting trends that we will definitely continue to watch…
Presentation AgendaImpact on Metrics
• We saw slight improvement on our extended headline ad, 11.22% versus 10.51%
• The extended headline version had a much lower conversion rate, 3.37% versus 5.48%
Presentation AgendaAdWords Automated Rules
• What are automated rules?
• What can they be used for?
• How to set up automated rules
• What we tested
• Ad group rules
• Ad copy rules
• Keyword rules
• What to watch out for
• What we would change
Presentation AgendaWhat are Automated Rules?
• For day to day management and optimization
• Can be set on different levels:
• Campaign
• Ad group
• Ad copy
• Keyword
• Run at a time that you specify
• Email alerts
Presentation AgendaHow to Set Up Automated Rules
• From the Campaign, Ad Group, Ads or Keywords tab click on the drop down menu:
Presentation AgendaHow to Set Up Automated Rules
• Based on the type of rule you would like to set up, fill in the appropriate information
Presentation AgendaWhat We Tested
Automated Rules:
• On ad group, ad copy, and keyword levels
• Based on ad group names
• Based on text in ad copy
• Based on performance parameters
Presentation AgendaAd Group Rules
• Creating Ad Group Rules
• Example of Use: Product Discontinuation
• Product A, Version 2.0 3.0
• Our automated rule:
• Created for campaign “Bids”
• Paused all ad groups containing “ifb”
• Set to run at 2PM on February 15th
Presentation AgendaAd Copy Language Rules
• Creating Ad Copy Language Rules
• Example of Use: Promotional Ad Copy• Spring Clearance Sale, Free Gift with Purchase
• Our automated rule:• Created on Ads tab
• Paused all ads containing specified promotional language
• Set to run once on February 15th
Presentation AgendaAd Copy Performance Rules
• Creating Ad Copy Performance Rules
• Examples of Use:
• Controlling costs for ads
• Pause ad based on cost or CPA
• Optimizing for fluctuating volume
• Account with low volume on
weekends
• Set two separate rules for
pausing and enabling
Presentation AgendaAd Copy Performance Rules
• Our automated rule (for pausing):• Pause ads with less than
10 clicks
• Based on data from previous 24 hours
• Set to run every day at 2pm
• Our automated rule (for enabling):• Enable ads with more
than 100 clicks
• Based on data from last week
• Set to run every Monday at 5am
Presentation AgendaKeyword CPC Rules
• Creating Keyword CPC Rules
• Example of Use: Automatic Bid Optimization
• Our automated rule:
• Increase CPC bids 10% for keywords with:
• CPA less than $35.00
• Average position worse than 2.5
• Based on data from previous week
• Set to run every Monday
Presentation AgendaAutomated Rules Results
• To view your results, navigate to the “Manage Rules” section
• View details on all of your rules
Presentation AgendaWhat to Watch Out For!
• When setting up rules, start out slowly
• Set up a few test rules, to gauge performance
• Be careful with
• Time periods
• CPC rules
• Text-based rules
• Rules will not run during system down time
Presentation AgendaWhat to Watch Out For! (Continued)
• Don’t make too many changes
• Rules expire after 1 year
• Compatibility with other optimization tools
• Check in frequently
Presentation AgendaWhat We Would Change
• Ad group or ad copy pausing/enabling is best aspect
• We would allow the ability to do this… without using “rules”
Presentation AgendaAdWords Display Campaign Optimizer
• What is the display campaign optimizer?
• Are you eligible?
• How do you set it up?
• What we’ve seen
• Things to look out for
Presentation AgendaWhat is the Display Campaign Optimizer?
• The AdWords Display Campaign Optimizer (DCO) automatically optimizes bids and targeting
• Uses set CPA goal and budget
• You need only a CPA target and creative
• Creative can be text ads or image ads
Presentation AgendaDCO Requirements
• 15 display network conversions a day over the past 30 days
• Daily campaign-level budget that is equal to 20x your target CPA
• Let the campaign auto-optimize
Presentation AgendaDCO Setup
• First identify your target CPA and budget
• We selected a target CPA of $110
• This gave us a daily budget of $2,200 ($110*20)
• The next step is to create a new campaign that is set to target CPA bidding
Presentation AgendaDCO Setup
• Under advanced campaign settings, set targeting mode to “Automatic campaign optimization (Display Network only)”
• Then, simply create one ad group with text or image ads, and push live! No keywords or placements needed
Presentation AgendaWhat We’ve Seen with DCO
• Initial results have been favorable
• In the beginning, we saw CPAs as high as $475 (versus our target of $110)
• CPA has settled down to around $130
• Budget increases can cause CPA fluctuations
• Conversion volume has increased with budget
Presentation AgendaThings to Look Out for with DCO!
• Resist the urge to make manual optimizations!
• You may need to reach out to your AdWords rep for help
• Be careful when making placement optimizations across multiple campaign
Presentation AgendaSo, Which Features Passed the Test?
• AdWords New Ad Formats
• New display URL format
• We’re still stuck in the past, so we’re not entirely happy with this one. However, the ability to use capitalization in the subdirectory looks to still have a positive impact.
• New extended headline format
• So far, we’re not liking what we are seeing with conversion rate… but more testing is needed.
Presentation AgendaSo, Which Features Passed the Test?
• Automated Rules
• These are pretty tricky to set up, and they might cause you some unanticipated issues if you aren’t careful
• Bottom line, we’d love to see a simpler tool that would allow for pausing and enabling ads, ad groups and keywords!
• Display Campaign Optimizer
• So far, we think it’s great. However, you do need a sizeable budget and the self-control to sit back and let the tool do the work for you!