Does this look familiar?

Google First Page Bid Estimate and Actual Position

This inspiring sight is almost inevitable to anyone working in AdWords. Google takes care to inform you, in no uncertain terms, that your bid isn’t high enough to make the first page, and yet, when you look closer, your average position is still pretty good. Usually third or fourth. Definitely not on the second page.

Which just leaves all of us, search marketer and client alike, perplexed. What gives?

Anyone working in AdWords also figured out pretty quickly that it’s a mercurial creature, and often contradictory. Just because Google says something doesn’t necessarily mean that it means it, and the “below first page bid” situation is a prime example. In this case, a first page bid estimate does not equal the cost per click.

So just because Google says your bid is below the first page doesn’t mean that it actually is, and there are a few reasons why. Besides AdWords deciding to be contrary.

One, the first page bid estimate is just an estimate. That’s all. It’s an indication of how much you might have to pay to get on the first page, and not how much you actually will pay. In fact, you’ll often find that you pay less per click than your maximum CPC gives you room for. This is due to AdWord’s quality-based price system, which is a whole new beast of burden in and of itself.

Second, first page bid estimates only really work when a search query exactly matches the keywords that first page bid estimate is for. So if you’re using a broad or phrase match keyword, then forget about it; variations that trigger your exact keyword don’t make any difference in determining a first page bid estimate.

Third, Google search and the Google Search Network use different factors in determining pricing, ad position, and all that fun stuff. So that first page bid estimate you’re seeing? Only comes from Google search, not the Search Network, which is why you might be scratching your head at the huge disparity between the first page bid estimate that applies just to Google and the average CPC that applies to Google and the entire Search Network.

Finally, if you’re throwing your campaign around in more than one country, then the first page bid estimate comes from data from the country with the highest search volume for that specific keyword. Google does much better when you’re only targeting one country, so campaigns spanning multiple ones produce much less accurate first page bid estimates.

So the next time Google informs you that you’re below the first page bid in spite of all evidence on the contrary, that’s what gives.

Or AdWords just decided to be contrary.

Adwords, Bidding Strategies, Google, Google AdWords, Keyword Opportunities, PPC, search marketing

In the quest to create a truly epic pay per click campaign, our intrepid search marketer often runs the gamut of keywords, from the obvious to the creative to the downright silly.

But no matter how stupid “paper click” might sound as a keyword, there’s at least one person out there who’s going to search that exact phrase, right?

Right?

Oftentimes, depending on how enthusiastic the search marketer might be, an account can accumulate hundreds of keywords that never get any impressions at all, leaving one to wonder: is it really worth it, keeping all these zero impression keywords?

Maybe.

Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to cull any non-performing keywords, especially since a large number of them make it more difficult to manage your account. For the most part, they’re really not adding anything of value, since their click through rate is technically at zero percent.

On the other hand, a CTR of zero percent doesn’t necessarily lower your Quality Score, at least according to our Google sources. While CTR plays a major role in determining a keyword’s Quality Score, it’s not the only factor, not by a long shot. The historical performance of the keyword across Google’s entire system, the past performance of your display URL, the overall performance of your account—all of these go into the equation that churns out your Quality Score.

So while it’s safe to assume that most zero impression keywords are clogging up your account, it’s the Quality Score that ultimately decides whether a keyword is worth keeping or not. If the Quality Score is less than five, or otherwise significantly lower than the rest, your best course of action is to delete the keyword.

And if the Quality Score is good? It definitely doesn’t hurt to let it hang around a little while longer. A high quality keyword is better than nothing, right?

Right.

Ad Quality, Adwords, Google, Google AdWords, negative keywords, PPC, Quality Score

Operation Camouflage: Redux

There is a little talked about feature in Google AdWords listed under the Tools section called IP Exclusion.  This feature allows you to block your ads on Google from being seen by a specific computer.  You are allowed a maximum of 20 IP’s per campaign.

Many SEM analysts focus more on Search Phrases, Demographics, Referring URLs, etc… But what about the visitors IP address?  Provided that the visitor has a Static IP, we can assume that each visit under the same IP address is a unique visitor.  One known exception would be any visitor which has AOL.com as their Host Domain.

If you are using a Website Analytics product which allows for custom reports to be exported (including the visitors IP address), you are in luck.  If you are only using Google Analytics, you are out of luck as they do not capture this information – although there is another way…

Export the largest data sample you can and open it in Excel.  Select the IP address column and perform a Pivot Table. (See Instructions)

·          Save the file to your Hard Drive (Any Name)

·          Select the IP Address Column

·          Select the <Insert> tab

·          Under the <Tables> ribbon you will see PivotTable

·          Select <OK>

·          A New Sheet will open and on the right hand side of the screen you will see “IP” with a check Box

·          Select the Check Box

·          Drag the “IP” and Checkbox while holding the left mouse button down into the Values Field directly below.

·          Now Select the 1^st value under “Count of IP” in the cells to the left

·          Right Click >> Sort >> Sort Largest to Smallest

What this action has done is show you the number of times a unique IP address has visited your site.  Typically the 1^st IP address is your own, but what about the others?  You can blindly add the top 20 IP address to your AdWords campaign immediately if you would like, but I highly suggest you investigate further… Who are these visitors?  Are they Organic visits or PPC? Are they returning customers who have bought in the past or are they a possible competitor who has clicked your ad 20 times off of your most expensive keyword?  There are many questions a data analyst should ask before ultimatly using this information in Google.  The better the filtering capabilities of your analytics, the greater the chance that you are isolating your competitors and avoid blocking your best customers.

There are many benefits to blocking your ad from competitors.  If you are both competing for the top position, you will be less inclined to increase your bid if you see yourself in the 1^st position (meanwhile the rest of the world sees you in the 2^nd).  You will also decrease the number of impressions which will ultimatly help your CTR.  And most obviously, you will limit the number of poor quality/fraudulent clicks.

Worst case scenario is that 20 people in the world may not see your ads but the best case is that you will save money on bad clicks, keep competition down, and increase your CTR. 

If you do not have an analytics package which allows you to see the IP address, there is a black-hat method of discovering your competitions IP address.  This method is by no means perfect, although I would venture to say that this stratagy has a 90% chance of being effective.  But you will need to ask me directly to find out.  This one is private ;)

Analytics, Excel, Google AdWords, IP Exclusion

Google Checkout Promotion to End

Starting on May 6^th, 2009 – Google checkout will be suspending their Adwords/Checkout promotion for advertisers. Currently any advertiser earning 0%-1000% ROAS (Revenue/Spend) from Google PPC, the use of the Checkout has been Free.  “For every $1 you spend on AdWords each month, you can process $10 in sales the following month for free through Google Checkout.” 

This was an amazing deal when you consider the cost for Credit Card Processing.  After May 5^th, the following fee structure will go into effect:

“Any AdWords transaction processing credits accrued during April 2009 will be applied towards transactions that occur on May 1-4, 2009”
(http://checkout.google.com/seller/fees.html) 

How will this affect the bottom line of an ecommerce store?  Let’s say an advertiser gets 100 sales, which are $100 each, and spends $1,000 in AdWords advertising (1000% ROAS.) 

What was once free will now cost the advertiser…
100 sales * $0.30 = $30.00
($100 per sale * 2.9%) * 100 Sales = $290.00
Total Due to Google Checkout = $320.00

I’m sure that Google has been waiting anxiously for this day when they can start really monetizing this service.  I also doubt that many advertisers would walk away from this new fee structure (which is comparable to most credit card companies) and loose the Google Checkout Badge in their AdWords ads; a benefit we have as we’ve seen with our clients.

What has your experience been?  Did the checkout badge influence your CTR or Conversion Rate?

Google AdWords, Google Checkout