If you’re not familiar with Engine Ready’s free software suite, Conversion Critic, you may want to take a moment to utilize some handy online marketing tools.  Conversion Critic can be used to evaluate your landing pages, check for broken destination URLs in your pay per click campaigns, and to forecast the performance of your PPC marketing efforts.

The calculator is perfect for computing expectations for a new campaign.  Many marketers and business owners want to calculate the risk associated with a new campaign.  Accurately forecasting return on ad spend is a challenge shared by all marketers, which the PPC Calculator attempts to relieve.

The free tool will also illustrate how slight changes in the conversion rate or cost per click can significantly impact your bottom line.  In the example below we can see that a 0.5% increase in conversion rate (everything else being equal) equates to thousands of more dollars in revenue.

Example:

Slide the button, or manually input your ad spend.

Forecast snapshot of performance.

conversion rate, cpa, EngineReady, Internet Marketing, Keyword Opportunities, Online Marketing, PPC, search marketing, Software, Tools

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

A new version of Google’s campaign management software “AdWords Editor”, has been released today.  The changes to the interface are welcomed additions:

‘Horizontal Scrolling’ in the data view now allows you to see all metrics at once. Combined with the addition of the ‘Auto-Sizing Columns’ feature, you can say Good-Bye to the days of sliding columns in an effort to see a specific metric.  This simple addition does wonders for the UI’s usability.

The ‘Keyword Opportunities’ feature is comprised of two new tools:

The ‘Get Keywords’ feature is based off of Google’s online Keyword Tool.  By clicking the “Get Keywords” button, relevant keyword are displayed which can be added to the account.

The ‘Keyword Multiplier’ feature is a handy tool that will allow you to instantly create all permutations of the keywords you enter into the 3 columns.

We did discover a bug with the new update when you try to use the ‘Keyword Opportunities’ feature: If you are using an MCC account to access various accounts with one login, you will get an “Authentication Failed” error box.  The only solution is to completely remove the account and add it with the account original login information.  For those who have numerous accounts, this can be quite a hassle.

All in all, another great update to this robust marketing tool.  We hope that Google is able to address this bug and continue to deliver a quality product. 

If you have not started using the Google AdWords Editor, visit this link and get started: http://www.google.com/intl/en/adwordseditor/

AdWords Editor, Authentication Failed, Google, Keyword Opportunities