Optimize your campaigns for mobile in time for the holidays

Shoppers increasingly use their smartphones to search the internet, and we typically see an increase in shopping-related queries on Android, iPhone and Palm WebOS devices during the holiday season.

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Ensure that your online campaigns perform well on mobile devices with full internet browsers by viewing device statistics on your Campaign Summary, Ad Groups, or Keyword reports within AdWords. Just select the "Device" segment option under the “Filter and Views” drop down.

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You can now compare clicks, impressions, CTR and other performance metrics for desktop vs. high-end mobile devices. Note that this data only dates back to June 3, 2009.

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Now is the perfect time to optimize how you target consumers on-the-go. Here are a few best practices we think you'll find helpful:

• Create separate campaigns and ad groups for your ads that appear on mobile devices. This makes it easier to customize ads, keywords and bids to optimize performance.
• Put your call to action in a spot on your landing page that's easy to find. Keep in mind that it's a bit more difficult to navigate websites on a mobile device, so consider shortening your checkout process.
• Most mobile phones don't support flash, so make sure your landing page is written in HTML and contains little or no Flash.
  

We hope these tips help you create great campaigns both for desktops and mobile devices this holiday season.

Posted by Miles Johnson, Inside AdWords crew

St. Patrick's day display ad templates now available

If you're looking to add a bit of luck to an upcoming campaign, you might want to try out one of our two new St. Patrick's Day display ad templates, which are available in the "Seasonal" category of the display ad builder. We're excited to offer template ads for another holiday, after debuting the feature with Valentine's Day and President's Day in the U.S.

To show you these templates and how you can use them, we have a short tutorial video:

To access the display ad builder, log in to your AdWords account, and choose the "Display ad builder" ad format option within any ad group. This video can also show you how to access the feature.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

Cyber Monday is next Monday

You may not know it, but the busiest shopping day of the year, Black Friday, is shortly followed by the biggest online shopping day of the year, Cyber Monday. This year Cyber Monday falls on December 1st, and a little preparation can help you make the most of the day.

Here's a few tips to help you prepare:

• Check your budgets, and consider increasing them. You're likely to see increased traffic and you won't want to exhaust your budget early on a day when there are so many potential buyers.
  
  
• Give customers peace of mind about shipping times. One of the most stressful parts of online holiday shipping is not knowing if a present will make it in time. Be up front about delivery dates and let customers know ordering deadlines for gifts to make it in time for the holidays.
  
  
• Promote any special offerings in your ad text. If you have a holiday special that differentiates you from the competition, be sure to showcase it in your ad.
  

The holiday shopping season continues beyond Cyber Monday, and we hope all these tips can help you attract more customers this winter.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Inside AdWords crew

Happy Halloween (and a tip, too)

We know that many advertisers set up seasonal campaigns for specific holidays and occasions. Well, if you didn't set an end date for your Halloween campaign yet, here's a quick reminder to log in to your account and pause it. (You can always use it again next year.)

And of course, Happy Halloween from the Inside AdWords crew!


Posted by Vivian Leung, Inside AdWords crew

Clicks, conversions, and Christmas 2008

One of our favorite and most useful posts from last year was an in-depth look at cost-per-click behavior during the 2006 holiday season by none other than Google's Chief Economist, Hal Varian. In the post Hal explained how CPC's and CPA's (cost-per-actions) vary over time to affect advertisers' ROI.

This year we have two new posts about CPC's and holiday trends over at the newly launched Google Retail Advertising Blog, a great source of information tailored to the needs of retail advertisers. The first post is Hal's updated look at the new data from the 2007 holiday season. The second has some tips regarding scheduling and consumer behavior specifically for your campaigns this winter. Remember, it's never too early to start your holiday planning.

Posted by Christian Yee, Inside AdWords crew

Retailer tips and tools for maximizing holiday sales

Many of our retail advertisers are busy preparing their stores for the busiest shopping season of the year, so we've compiled some tips and tools that can help you optimize your ad campaigns, marketing channels, and website.

Here's an example tip you'll find: specifically mentioning any special holiday promotions you are running in your ad text drives additional interest from consumers. Clear and compelling ads with season-specific text is a good way to generate more clicks.

As for tools, Google has several offerings that retailers can use to help drive additional traffic and sales this holiday season such as Google Product Search, which allows shoppers to search for and find things they want to buy online. You can use Product Search to promote your goods and drive holiday traffic to your store for free.

With the holidays just around the corner, now is a good time to make sure that your site is in the best shape for maximizing your traffic and revenue. Please visit the Holiday tips page for more information, and remember - it's never too early to start preparing for the season.

Update: Corrected tips page link. As a reminder, Google Checkout is currently available only to merchants in the US and UK, and Google Product Search is currently available only to merchants in the US, UK, and Germany.

Posted by Christian Yee, Inside AdWords crew

Upcoming traditional media webinars

In preparation for the upcoming back-to-school season, our Traditional Media team will host two free webinars specifically for retailers gearing up for the Fall shopping rush. During the sessions, we will provide some insight into who is shopping, and how you can target back-to-school consumers with any of our three traditional media products: Print Ads, Audio Ads, and TV Ads. For more detailed information on the webinars, you can visit the Traditional Media blog.

The first session will be this Thursday, July 10th, at 10:00AM PDT, and the second will take place Wednesday, July 23rd -- also at 10:00AM PDT. To sign up for either session, visit the webinar registration page.

Posted by Heather Lane, Inside AdWords crew

Brides, Dads, and Grads

Now that Memorial Day has come and gone, we've officially entered the season of Brides, Dads, and Grads. And you know what that means -- a summer full of planning parties and giving gifts! Whether you are in the travel industry, or you sell household items through your online store, or you offer catering services, there's a great opportunity for everyone to gain new customers this summer.

Right around this time last year, we shared some ways to make the most out of summer gift-giving. Take a look at these extensive suggestions for ideas on how you can reach gift-givers and party planners this summer.

You may also want to check out demographic bidding when you set up your summer gift-giving and party planning campaigns. Demographic bidding is a way to help your ad reach audiences of a certain age or gender. For example, if you want your ads to be seen by young brides-to-be who might be planning a honeymoon, you could target women aged 25-35. Learn more about how demographic bidding can help you reach new customers.

We hope you'll enjoy these tips -- happy start-of-summer!

Posted by Heather Lane, Inside AdWords crew

Tips on converting last-minute Mother's Day shoppers to customers

Mother's Day is only 5 days away! And this holiday is surely no exception to the rule that many shoppers procrastinate. Below are some tips to capture a bigger share of the 'late-shopper pie' -- both on Mother's Day this year, and next!

• Create ad groups containing keywords and ad text geared specifically toward Mother's Day, with keywords like 'mother's day gifts' and 'mother's day gift ideas'. You can then pause this ad group and re-use it with minor tweaks next year. You can find detailed suggestions on creating effective keyword lists in our Keyword Basics and Beyond Keyword Basics blog posts.

• Write compelling ad text that features the products you offer on your web site. This invites shoppers interested in those products to click through, and prevents clicks from shoppers who aren't interested. You might also find our previous post on ad text optimization helpful.

• Highlight gift cards as an alternative. This year, almost 40% of shoppers will buy a gift certificate for mom.* If you offer gift cards, highlight them as another option to last-minute shoppers, as gift cards are delivered more quickly than standard packages.

• Extend shipping deadlines. You can convert more last-minute shoppers into customers by offering delivery options, such as overnight delivery, and free or discounted shipping. Also, it's important to clearly inform buyers of delivery deadlines on your home page as well as on specific product pages.

• If you offer gift wrapping, highlight this option along with shipping directly to the recipient.

• Many last-minute shoppers turn to the Internet, but are hesitant to use their credit card on websites. Cater to these shoppers by offering other payment options, like Google Checkout.
  

As you read this, late shoppers are busy searching for the perfect last-minute gift to buy mom. This is your opportunity to persuade them to buy from you.

* National Retail Federation 2008 Mother’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey (PDF)

Posted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

Green tips for the office

In celebration of Earth Day, we've decided to take a brief break from AdWords news and tips to share our favorite "green" tips for the office.

1) Turn off the lights in conference rooms after you're finished with a meeting.

2) Turn off computers when you leave for the day.

3) Bring your own reusable water bottles and coffee mugs to work.

4) Carpool with your co-workers.

5) Try duplex printing -- save paper by printing on both sides.

We hope you'll take some time today (and every day) to think about how to make your workplace more Earth-friendly!

Posted by Vivian, Inside AdWords crew

Introducing FrankRank, a new ad ranking algorithm

We're proud to announce a new member of the AdWords family -- Frank the hand turkey. You may remember Frank from previous blog posts, and as of today, Frank will be the official mascot of Google AdWords. As part of our continuing efforts to improve the quality of online advertising, we're also introducing FrankRank(TM), a new ad ranking technology and algorithm inspired by our new mascot.

To learn more about Frank and FrankRank, we sat down with the new mascot for a quick interview:

I see you're sporting a new look.
Frank: Oh? What? Oh yes, the bow tie. Well, I'm a big corporate mascot now. I need to look the part. Plus, I hear they have big plans for me, so I've got to look sharp.

Tell us about FrankRank.
F: I'd be happy to. Well, as you might know, AdWords rankings are now based on how well a particular ad goes with mashed potatoes and gravy... and quite frankly, how much I like the ad. Some people thought this connection between mashed potatoes and bids was confusing, but since it's really all about what I like, I figured we'd just name it after me.

We've done some usability studies with it, and you wouldn't believe the results. People are like, "Who's Frank?" and the User Experience Researcher is like, "He's a hand turkey," and then the people are like, "Woah, I get it now." Truly fascinating stuff.

How did you become the AdWords mascot? Were there others competing for the title?
F: I did have to beat out a snowman and his girlfriend for the title, but fortunately I received a travel hair dryer in my office's Secret Santa last year. That certainly heated up the competition, if you know what I mean.

Any concerns that you might be eaten?
F: Well, not in particular, I mean I'm a hand turkey, not the real thing. Now I could see that someone could be enjoying some mashed potatoes and gravy while managing their AdWords account, and then see me, think I am delicious turkey, and try to devour me, but I mean what are the odds?

What else do you have lined up for the future?
F: I've got big plans! First off, I'm going to learn 42 new languages so I can speak to all of our AdWords customers. I also hear that the AdSense folks are looking for a mascot. After that, I'm off to Mars with Project Virgle.

Posted by Trevor & Vivian, Inside AdWords crew

Roses are red...

For Valentine's Day, we wanted to write you a sonnet but we've found that it isn't as easy as Shakespeare made it look. So instead, we took the traditional approach. Here's a Valentine's day poem from each of us...enjoy!

Roses are red

Violets are blue

We love our readers
...Yes, we mean you. :) (Vivian)

Roses are red
Violets are purple
Our readers are as sweet
As fine maple syrple. (Blake)

Roses are red
violets are mauve
Inside AdWords readers
Are pretty darn suave. (Trevor)

Roses are red
So are your lips
We're glad you read
our AdWords news and tips. (Feng)

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Sugar is sweet
Google offers a number of business solutions that help advertisers increase their ROI, most of which are free. Check them out here. (Christian)

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Happy Heart Day...
From the Inside AdWords crew. (Heather)

Posted by Vivian, Inside AdWords crew

Groundhogs, Seasonality, and Trends

Tomorrow, February 2nd, is Groundhog Day, and Punxsutawney Phil will soon emerge from his burrow and give his prediction for how much longer winter will last. While working with a prognosticating woodchuck to predict seasons is great, we have our own tool for determining seasonality: Google Trends.

Google Trends shows you what the world is searching for. Using Google Trends you can see when searches for a particular keyword are most popular as well as the top geographic regions and cities for that keyword. You can even perform comparisons between keywords.

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Here we have a trends graph for the searches performed in the United States in 2007 for the keywords flowers, roses, and chocolate. We can see that flowers is more popular around Valentine's Day and most popular around Mother's Day. Roses, on the other hand, sees the biggest surge around Valentine's Day, and just a small bump for Mother's Day. And chocolate has jumps for Valentine's Day and Easter and then starts climbing around Halloween, peaking around Christmas. You can also look at a monthly view to see which days have the most traffic. Knowing this information can help you prepare your campaigns for the additional interest.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Posted by Trevor, Inside AdWords crew

Latest Retail and TechB2C Industry Newsletters

Just because the December holidays are over doesn't mean we're taking a break from our industry trends and seasonal highlights. Get a head start on preparing for winter sales opportunities (including Valentine's Day) with our latest Retail and Tech B2C newsletters.

Retailers can find tips for driving more conversions in the AdWords Retail Industry Newsletter. Advertisers selling consumer electronics, and telecommunications and technology products or services can check out the AdWords Tech B2C Industry Newsletter for advice on reaching more customers.

You can sign up to receive AdWords newsletters via email through your AdWords account.

Posted by Feng, Inside AdWords crew

Our top 10 of 2007

The Time Square ball has dropped for the 100th time and the New Year is officially underway, but before we say goodbye to 2007, we'd like to continue the annual tradition of reminiscing about our top 10 favorite blog moments of 2007. Whether you're a newcomer to the blog or an old-time fan, we think you'll find at least a few posts in this list worth reviewing again:

10. Complimentary optimizations make it easy (and free!) for you to get some expert help with your campaigns.

9. We made a change to the formula that determines which ads get top placement.

8. Meet the Click Quality Team and learn all about invalid clicks.

7. Find out why some websites may merit low landing page quality scores.

6. Turkeys (lots of them!), snowpeople, and a few Inside AdWords bloggers, too... we celebrate the holidays with a touch of whimsy and fun.

5. Google's Chief Economist Hal Varian explains how the holidays may affect clicks, conversions, and CPAs.

4. The content network series takes you deeper inside the world of content ads, and how they can work for you...

3. ...while Placement Performance reports help you better understand where your ads are showing, and how they are performing on the content network.

2. The Optimization tips series offers helpful advice on how to make your ads more effective.

1. Learn more about return-on-investment and why it's important with our ROI series.

With that, we're off to work on our resolutions for 2008. We hope you had a restful holiday, and wish you all the best for a Happy New Year!

Posted by Vivian, Inside AdWords crew

Season's greetings

As 2007 wraps up, we'd like to take a moment to send you our warmest wishes for the holiday season. We'll be taking the next week off, but look for us again in January when we'll countdown our annual top 10 must-read posts from the past year. And before we go, here's this year's holiday doodle, featuring someone you may recognize along with his new friend:


Have a warm and wonderful holiday!

Posted by Vivian, Inside AdWords crew

Latest Tech B2B Industry Newsletter

Before the ball drops on 2007, we've got one more AdWords Industry Newsletter to share. The latest issue of the Tech B2B Industry Newsletter has tips and resources to help you prepare your campaigns for the new year. You'll find the latest Tech B2B tips from an AdWords optimization specialist and learn how the content network can help you meet your marketing goals.

You can sign up to receive AdWords newsletters via email through your AdWords account.

Posted by Feng, Inside AdWords crew

On turkeys and giving thanks

It's that time of year again. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the US, and we'd like to take a moment to thank you for your continuous support and readership. Before we take the next couple of days off, we'd like to share with you our latest blog doodle -- you may even notice a cameo appearance by a certain hand turkey from last year!

We hope you'll have a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!


Posted by Vivian, Inside AdWords crew

Industry newsletters for the holiday season

The holiday season is underway, and people are on the lookout for the perfect presents. If you're hoping to take advantage of this shopping season, you won't want to miss out on our AdWords holiday campaign tips in the latest Retail, Entertainment & Media, and Automotive industry newsletters.

We also invite you to check out the brand new Tech B2C Industry Newsletter, designed for advertisers selling consumer electronics as well as telecommunications and technology products and services.

Remember, you can sign up to receive AdWords Industry Newsletters via email through your AdWords account.

Posted by Feng, Inside AdWords crew

Clicks, conversions, and Christmas

Online advertisers have noticed that CPCs tend to increase during the holiday season and have asked us why. We turned to Hal Varian, Google’s Chief Economist, for an explanation:

Many advertisers track their average cost-per-click (CPC), but what really matters for the bottom line is the average cost-per-acquisition (CPA): how much you have to spend on advertising to make a sale. The third factor to watch is the conversion rate, which is defined as conversions (sales) per click.

Note that these numbers are neatly tied together by the convenient formula:

CPA = CPC/Conversion rate = (cost/click)/(conversions/click).

Clicks, cost, and conversions all go up during the holidays. As it happens, conversions increase more than clicks, so conversion rates tend to rise. This makes the clicks more valuable, so advertisers raise their bids to reach more consumers. As a result CPCs get pushed up.

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The plot above shows the median CPC, the median conversion rate, and the median CPA during the 2006 holiday season for those Google AdWords advertisers who use conversion tracking. The series have been normalized so they all start at the same point on November 1.

Last year, Thanksgiving fell on November 23. Note how the conversion rate (green) and the CPC (blue) both dropped on that day which means CPA (red) went up. Perhaps watching football and eating turkey trumped online shopping on Thanksgiving?

Right after Turkey Day, people started on their Christmas shopping so conversion rates started to rise. During this period, advertisers raised their bids in order to get more prominent positions in the ad auctions so they could attract those shoppers. That increased the median CPC (blue). But the conversion rate rose more than the CPC, which pushed CPA (red) down. Even though the clicks cost more, the conversions -- what really matter -- cost less.

The conversion rate peaked on December 11, somewhat before the peak of overall retail sales, since it takes time to process and ship the online orders. By December 23, things were pretty much back to normal. Once Christmas Day arrived, conversion rates dropped to their lowest point of the year -- people were just too busy opening presents to think about buying more things… at least for the next few days.

The bottom line is that is that the cost of clicks does tend to rise during the holidays. But since those clicks are more likely to turn into sales, the CPA goes down, making those seemingly expensive clicks quite a bargain. If you are interested in tracking how your own conversion rates and CPAs change during the holiday season, you can set up AdWords Conversion Tracking on your ads and see how these metrics work for you.

Thanks to Hal for his explanation on how the holiday season can affect the ROI for an AdWords campaign. And remember, you can always visit the AdWords Help Center year-round to read up on tips on how to improve your ad performance.

Posted by Christina, Inside AdWords crew