Here is a great article outlining some of the things the FTC is going after Google about.  We hope that in the least we will  get a glimpse beneath Google’s Shroud of secrecy surrounding their Quality Score rating system.

Jump over to ClickZ for the article: http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2086712/ftc-regulation-google

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If you are not leveraging Google’s Ad Extensions in AdWord’s, you should take a look at why you should.

What are Ad Extensions?

“Ad extensions expand a standard text ad with one or more lines that provide additional information such as an address and phone number (location extensions and call extensions), more page links (ad sitelinks), and product images (product extensions). Sitelinks allow advertisers to include additional page links on qualifying text ads that appear on Google.com and Google Search Network partners. This extension is available globally on ads that meet our quality requirements. The most common campaigns to qualify for the Sitelinks feature are high-quality campaigns that contain keywords and ads specific to your brands.” – Google,  https://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=141826

To access Ad Extension go to your drop-down arrow at the far end of your Adwords tabs  (which include Campaign, Adgroups, Keywords, Ads, Networks, etc..) and select Ad Extension from the 2nd check-box.

With this new tab you now have access to Phone Extensions & Site-link Extensions as well as being able to link your AdWord’s account to to your Google places (Location Extensions), Google Merchant Center/Products (Product Extensions)

For the sake of this post, we will only be focusing on Sitelinks.

Select a campaign and add a new sitelink.  You are allowed 1-10 additional links which may appear below your ad.

For Example:

(Names have been replaced with XYZ for privacy reasons)

Notice how this ad “pops” with the additional line of text and also encourages the searcher to refine their results through your ad & show direct-link related offerings.

Does it work?  You be the judge:

(May 2011)

Those are some fantastic CTR results with very little effort to create – You can even add them in the Google AdWords Editor.

Other sitelink ideas:

• Services > Specials > Contact Us
• Men’s > Women’s > Children’s
• Brands > Part# Search > RFQ
• Debt Calculator > Programs >Testimonials

ad extensions, Google AdWords, sitelinks

Google is offering a $100 advertising credit for exisiting customers for the Holidays.  This is in effort to encourage people to install conversion tracking on their account.  But fear not, if you already have this installed on your site Google is still extending the offer (Until Feb. 15th 2011) to all customers.

Sign up at on this link: https://services.google.com/fb/forms/holidaypromo2010

Adwords, credit, free, promo code

Engine Ready and SEOmoz will be hosting an SEO meetup in downtown San Diego on Tuesday night, December 21st.  Come on out to learn about the latest developments in the SEO world, and to see some short presentations.  SEOmoz CEO, Rand Fishkin, and Engine Ready CEO, Jamie Smith, will be there among other professionals to network with.

The event will be held at the San Diego Beer Company, located at Broadway and 6th Ave.  For more information check out the SEOmoz event calendar or Eventbrite. And by the way, if for some reason you need more incentive to come, the first two drinks are complimentary.

*Update:  The event is listed as sold out on Eventbrite, but please register for the wait list as more spots will be opening up.

Engine Ready, Industry Events, search marketing, SEO, SEOmoz