Keep Thinking Mobile

Last week we brought together top marketing executives, industry visionaries and agency leaders to discuss all things mobile at Google’s Think Mobile event.

Speaking to a room full of excited marketers, Google’s Dennis Woodside, President Americas, Mary Meeker, Partner at Kleiner Perkins, and Jason Spero, Head of Americas Mobile Advertising gave their thoughts on the future of mobile and what advertisers can do to better connect with today’s mobilized consumers.

In order to share these innovative perspectives with as many people as possible, the event was live streamed to desktop and Android and iPhone mobile devices. If you missed the live stream, you can watch the recorded session on the Google Mobile Ads YouTube channel. Additionally, be sure to visit our Think Mobile Live Stream page where you can view presentations and videos from the event.

Originally posted to the Google Mobile Ads Blog

Posted by Suzanne Mumford, Google Mobile Ads Marketing Team

Webinar Alert - Contextual targeting: performance at scale

We'd like to remind you about an upcoming webinar on how to drive results with contextual targeting. The event is on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 11:00am PST / 1:00pm CST / 2:00pm EST.

In this webinar, learn more about how contextual targeting can drive results for your clients - e.g.:

• Contextual targeting strategies for specific marketing objectives
• The Contextual Targeting Tool, build and optimize better-performing campaigns in minutes
• Tips for boosting performance of contextually-targeted campaigns

For more details on the content being covered, visit last month's blog post. To register for the webinar, click here.

Posted by Agency Ad Solutions Blog Team

Upcoming webinars - Remarketing strategies and reaching Hispanics

Remarketing on the Google Display Network: Optimizing & Maximizing your Current Strategies
Tuesday, February 15th at 11amPST / 1pmCST / 2pmEST
The Google Remarketing Team invites you to our next optimization webinar: Optimizing & Maximizing your Current Strategies. Building on the strategies discussed during our Remarketing Optimization and Advanced Strategies webinar, this session will expand into 'maximization'--how to ensure you're reaching as many people as possible and taking full advantage of your web traffic.

Features of the webinar will include:

• Maximization: Ensure you're reaching all of the users on your lists.
• Optimization: Learn how to ensure you are getting the most effective ROI from your campaigns.
• Case Studies/List Strategies: Hear how others in your industry are achieving great results from remarketing.

Click here to register. As a refresher or if you missed the Advanced Strategies webinar, you can view it here.

Connecting with US Hispanics Online
Wednesday, February 16th at 10am PST / 12pmCST / 1pmEST
Google is pleased to present "Connecting with US Hispanics Online," which will explore how marketers can reach US Hispanics online in culturally relevant ways. You'll gain insights to help you plan search, social, video and mobile marketing programs to directly connect with this vibrant demographic. The webinar will include:

• Highlights from Google's new primary research report: The 4 Truths about US Hispanics & Digital
• Specific strategies you can implement immediate to target the US Hispanic audience online

Click here to register.

Posted by Agency Ad Solutions Blog Team

Join us on February 10, 2011 at 1:05pm EST for Google’s Think Mobile Event Live Stream

The rise of the mobile web is driving one of the most dramatic consumer behavior transformations in history. Billions of people are using their smartphones to search for information, consume news, watch video, interact through social networks and engage with advertising every day. So, what does this mean for mobile marketing?

Tune in and find out what Mary Meeker, Partner at Kleiner Perkins, Google’s Dennis Woodside, SVP of Americas Operations, and Jason Spero, Head of Americas Mobile Advertising have to say about the future of mobile and what marketers can do to better connect with the mobilized, modern consumer.

The live stream will start on February 10, 2011 at 1:05pm EST and you’ll be able to watch from your desktop computer or from your mobile device. Please register for this virtual event by visiting the Think Mobile Live Stream page.

Following us on Twitter? Use the #thinkmobile hashtag as you are watching the event.

Posted by Suzanne Mumford, Product Marketing Manger

Upcoming webinar - Contextual targeting: Strategies for performance at scale

Every day, Google’s contextual engine scans billions of web pages to show users relevant ads, in real time, about the things they care about. Contextual targeting remains one of the most powerful ways agencies and advertisers can reach their audiences - precisely in the moment of relevance. It continues to deliver great campaign performance, but it’s also seeing renewed interest as a powerful complement to audience targeting.

Please join Google for an upcoming webinar to learn more about how contextual targeting can drive results for your clients. Specifically, we’ll cover:

• Contextual targeting strategies for specific marketing objectives
• The Contextual Targeting Tool, which helps you build and optimize better-performing campaigns in minutes, not hours
• Best practices and tips for boosting performance of contextually-targeted campaigns

Register here for the webinar to be held on February 23, 2011 at 11:00am PST / 1:00pm CST / 2:00pm EST.

Posted by Emel Mutlu, Marketing Manager, Google Display Network

New features to help you manage your Google AdWords Certification Program account

In 2010 we introduced a new Google AdWords Certification program to equip you and your companies with more up-to-date, comprehensive, strategy-focused training and certification on the latest tools and best practices for managing AdWords accounts. Along with the revised certification program, we launched Google Partner Search, an opt-in online, searchable directory that helps advertisers identify Certified Partners to help them manage their AdWords accounts.

Over the last few months, you’ve shared feedback with us that you’d like features which make it easier to associate your individual certification with a company and more intuitive to add users to your company profile. We’re pleased to share that we’ve now released features to address each of these points of feedback.

Request to link your individual qualification to a company
Historically, to join a company in the Google Certification Program, you would need to be invited by an Administrator on your company’s account, making it difficult to join if you do not know the Administrator. To fix this challenge, we now offer a feature enabling you to search for your company and request to join yourself. If you would like to contribute your individual qualification to a company account, you may now do so by clicking on the “My Company” link and searching for the company you wish to join. Be sure to type in at least one complete word that matches the company’s name.


Companies -- easily manage Professionals and Administrators
We’ve made it more intuitive for your company to manage the Professionals and Administrators within the Company account, as well as to review requests from users requesting to join the company, with the updated Account Access page.

On the “Users” tab, account administrators can change a user’s status to either Administrator or Professional, as well as revoke access:



The “Incoming requests” tab allows account administrators to see all requests to join from individuals, and either accept or reject them. Finally, the “Invitations sent” tab can be used to directly send invitations to qualified individuals.

Add or update Google Accounts associated with your profile
We know that qualified individuals may change companies, or use multiple email addresses throughout the day. We’ve therefore made it possible for you to add multiple Google Accounts to your account, as well as to change the primary email to which you receive communication for the Google Certification Program.


For more information on the new Google Certification Program feature changes, visit the Help Center.

Posted by Katie Wasilenko, Agency Team

Update - Agency Help Center now available in 44 languages

Late last year we announced the launch of the Agency Help Center, a new section of the AdWords Help Center designed to provide you with easy access to answers for your most common questions, as well as useful resources to help you strategically manage your businesses.

We're pleased to share that the Agency Help Center is now available in 44 languages covering all major geographic regions, including Spanish (for Latin America and Spain), Russian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Tagalog, Turkish, Greek and Czech.

To see a complete list of languages, use the drop-down tab at the bottom of the page:

Click to view larger image

We hope this site continues to offer you the support you need for account management, product adoption, media planning, and identifying best-in-class examples.

Posted by Katie Wasilenko, Agency Team

Introducing Google Engage for Agencies in the US and UK

Are you a US or UK-based Webmaster? Web designer? SEO? Marketing consultant? Freelancer? or offer web related services to small and medium businesses? then keep on reading...

At Google, we’re committed to the success of the digital economy and we believe that helping small business get online and thrive is fundamental to that success.

We recognize that many SMBs rely on freelancers and small agencies to create and manage their online presence as well as help them with their online marketing. To make the jobs of these agencies easier, we’ve launched a new training and incentives program called Google Engage for Agencies.



Google Engage participants will receive free access to educational resources dedicated for them and more incentives to grow their own and their clients’ businesses.

If you’re a webmaster, web-designer, digital agency, freelancer, SEO, IT consultant, or provide any other web services to US or UK-based small businesses, you can apply to join the program starting today. Please see links below for information on participation for US and UK-based agencies:
Google Engage for US Businesses
Google Engage for UK Businesses

Note: if you are an established search engine marketing firm, media agency or digital agency with a strong foundation in Google media solutions, please visit the Google Certification Program homepage to learn more about training and certification programs designed for larger agency partners.

Check out Google Engage today and learn about the benefits the program can offer your business and the SMBs you support.

Posted by Alon Chen and Esra Guler, Product Marketing

There’s still time to meet your 2010 resolution to become Google AdWords certified

Long lines at the shops got you down? Dreading yet another ugly sweater party or family cookie exchange? Kicking yourself for not becoming Google AdWords certified in 2010?

No need to fret, there’s still plenty of time left in the year. To become Google AdWords certified, you simply need to pass the Google Advertising Fundamentals Exam plus one of the three advanced exams (offered for Search Advertising, Reporting and Analysis, and Display). You can register for exams here, and take them from the comfort of your own office or home -- the perfect activity to do while sitting in front of a cozy fire waiting for mysterious, magical home invaders to bring you gifts. As an added bonus, you’ll be able to give your company the holiday gift of an additional certified individual to add to its profile page!

In addition, we’ve made it easy for you to prepare for the exams. The AdWords Learning Center offers text lessons (some with interactive modules) for each topic on the exam, which you can review at your own pace. In addition, if you can’t quite squeeze in training this year, we have AdWords Seminars for Success in early 2011 in a number of major cities throughout the US.

For more information, please visit the Google AdWords Certification Program homepage.

Posted by Katie Wasilenko, Agency Team

Live webcast: 5 Tips to Turbo-Charge Your Online Marketing Campaign With YouTube

YouTube provides a creative canvas for anyone with the gumption and a video camera to build an online marketing campaign that can reach millions. Orabrush is a company founded by a dentist to sell a tongue brush that would fight bad breath. After attempts to use traditional marketing channels failed, Jeffrey Harmon thought up a marketing campaign built around a YouTube video to spread the word about this new product. That first video cost $500 and has since earned the company over 13 million views, setting it on the path as an innovator in online video marketing.

Join a live Webcast with AdAge on Tuesday, November 16th at 11amPST / 2pmEST to hear Jeffrey Harmon and Abe Neiderhauser share their thoughts about what works and what doesn’t with online video advertising.

Posted by Serena Satyasai, YouTube Marketing

New resource launch - Agency Help Center

As agencies, you face the unique challenges of mastering the suite of Google media solutions and account management tasks across many accounts. Knowing that you often have questions specific to managing multiple client accounts at scale, we've created an Agency Help Center to provide you with easy access to answers for your most common questions, as well as useful resources to help you strategically manage your businesses.

(click here for larger image)

We also know that many different sites exist that offer support to agencies for account management, product adoption, media planning, and identifying best-in-class examples. To make life a little easier, we've added links to the Agency Help Center for the most frequently used resources -- including Google AgencyLand, the Agency Toolkit and the Google AdWords Certification Program -- so that you only need to go one place to find everything you need.

(click here for larger image)

To date, the Agency Help Center is available for the US and UK. Over the course of Q4'2010, we'll be localizing this resource across multiple languages, as well as continuing to incorporate new agency-centric resources into the site.

Posted by Katie Wasilenko, Agency Team

Upcoming webinars - YouTube holiday planning & mobile best practices

We would like to invite you to 3 upcoming webinars targeted towards retail clients and the agencies that support them -- YouTube Holiday Planning, Intro to Mobile Ads and Mobile Best Practice. These sessions are designed to help you incorporate video and mobile ad strategies into clients' holiday campaigns and beyond.

YouTube Holiday Webinar
Thursday, November 11, 2010, 10amPST / 12pmCST / 1pmEST
During this session you'll learn how to capitalize on holiday shoppers browsing video content, including customization tips for your YouTube Channel, innovative strategies for sales focused YouTube campaigns and more.
Register here

Introduction to Mobile Ads
Friday, November 12, 2010, 11amPST / 1pmCST / 2pmEST
Learn about the opportunity mobile presents to your business, the mobile advertising products offered by Google and how you can get started.
Register here

Mobile Best Practices
Thursday, November 18, 2010, 11amPST / 1pmCST / 2pmEST
Learn how to measure and optimize your mobile campaigns to increase your mobile ROI.
Register here

Posted by Agency Ad Solutions Blog Team

Webinar tomorrow - The Four Truths About Boomers and Media

Close your eyes. Envision a US boomer. What comes to mind? How old is he/she? Are you having trouble envisioning what a boomer looks like? Now think about the last advertisement you may have seen targeted to a boomer. Having trouble thinking of one?

Boomers are defined as adults aged 46-64. 1 in 3 US adults is a boomer. When asked "how old do you feel?", at least 1 in 5 boomers responded that they feel at least 10 years younger than their age. 30% of them say they feel at least 5-9 years younger. More than 74% of boomers say that advertising these days are intended for someone younger than them.

Can advertisers really be missing the mark on hitting America's largest and most wealthy demographic?

Join Google and Nielsen on Tuesday, October 26th at 3pm EST for an eye opening webinar that will change the way marketers think about boomers forever.

Through clickstream, survey data and online testimonials, we will learn The Four Truths about Boomers and Media:

• Boomers are sponges for content and media. Even more so than the younger generations.
• Boomers sit on an aided adoption curve with technology. With the help of family and friends, they have the ability to ramp up on technology quickly and proficiently.
• Boomers are most comfortable straddling what's familiar and what's new. We'll see where they are traditional in their behaviors versus where they are open to new ways.
• Boomers are a curious and thoughtful group that value quality and family.

Date:
Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Time:
3pm EST/2pm CST/12pm PST

Register for this webinar today.

Posted by Jenny Liu, CPG Marketing

Upcoming webinars - Reporting in My Client Center and Remarketing

Please join us for two upcoming webinars:

• My Client Center (MCC) Reporting
  Friday, October 22nd, 8amPST / 10amCST / 11amEST
  Learn more about updates to the MCC Client Reporting interface. Topics to be covered include: Why this change to MCC Reporting? What exactly is changing? How do I create a report in the new interface? Where did my templates go? What are email-only users?
  Register here
  

• Remarketing optimization and advanced strategies
  Wednesday, October 27th, 11amPST / 1pmCST / 2pmEST
  Features of the webinar will include:

List Strategies: Does your current remarketing campaign consist of just a list of all site visitors? Or all site visitors excluding purchasers? By segmenting your lists and tailoring your messages, you can get much better results. We’ll discuss some creative list strategies that will help you think outside the box to expand and improve your remarketing campaigns.

Case Studies: Green Mountain Coffee, InterContinental Hotels Group, and BidCactus used smart remarketing strategies and saw big success. Hear about these case studies to gain insights for your own campaigns.

Implementation: We’ll review how to set up remarketing in your account by placing pixels on relevant pages and using simple commands to create custom audience segments.

Register here

Posted by Agency Ad Solutions Blog Team

An early holiday gift - October Think with Google webinars

If you're like me, you hate the anticipation of waiting for the holidays to get presents. Well, today's your lucky day, as we have 2 gifts you can use this month -- Think with Google webinars from Consumer Packaged Goods and Consumer Electronics. Enjoy!

• ThinkCPG Webinar - Dig Into Data with Ali: Holiday Recipes
  Thursday, October 14th, 11amPST/ 1pmCST / 2pmEST
  During this webinar we dig deep into Google's search data and uncover the latest recipe search trends, the most searched for recipes during the holidays, how much of this search is coming from meal planners, researchers, and last minute shoppers, examples of brands doing it right, and the huge opportunity to help America dig in this holiday season.
  Register here

• Think Holiday 2010 Webinar: Consumer Shopping Intentions
  Wednesday, October 20th, 11amPST/ 1pmCST / 2pmEST
  During this webinar we will discuss consumers' holiday shopping plans (what, where and when will they purchase?), key shopping dates you don't want to miss, and new strategies for holiday 2010. This webinar is most appropriate for Tech / Consumer Electronic Retail clients, but is open to attendees from all industries.
  Register here
  

Posted by Agency Ad Solutions Blog Team

Update your Google Advertising Professionals Qualification to the Google Certification Program by October 31

We recently launched the Google Certification Program and we’re glad that thousands of you all over the world have taken the new exams and joined the program. This certification program replaces the Google Advertising Professionals program. To provide you with time to make the transition, we’ve run both programs side by side during a six month grace period which ends in October. To retain certified status and continue using the badge within your marketing collateral, you’ll need to meet the requirements of the new program.

What’s the difference between the two programs? With the Google Certification Program, we’re offering updated learning materials written by Google experts. We’ve developed four in-depth exams on AdWords management called Fundamentals, Advanced Search, Advanced Display and Advanced Reporting & Analysis. The exams are designed to prove proficiency in these areas and are being widely adopted by employees of search marketing agencies. In addition to this, we launched Google Partner Search, a directory to help advertisers find agencies to manage their campaigns. Currently, all Google Advertising Professionals who have opted in are part of Google Partner Search, but this will not be the case by the end of October.

We’re informing all of you who have qualified under the old Google Advertising Professionals program to update to the Google Certification Program. In order to do so, a company must meet a minimum AdWords spend level, and have at least one employee become individually qualified under the Google Certification Program.

If you have an employee that already qualified under the old program, this is a great time for them to update their skills through the Google Certification Program. Upon completion, just update your company profile so that advertisers can find you using Google Partner Search.

To learn more about the Google Certification Program visit our Help Center.

Posted by Jason Shafton, Product Marketing Manager

Get back in the classroom with "Think with Google" webinars

Where did the summer go? We're asking ourselves the same question. To help get you excited for the start of fall, we're pleased to announce four upcoming "Think" webinars, brought to you by our Industry Marketing team.

• ThinkPersonals with Google - A Date with Google
  Tuesday, August 17th at 10amPST / 12pmCST / 1pmEST
  This webinar will cover the latest online dating trends and what they mean for your business, how to drive more consumers to your dating site using Google's platform, and optimizing your strategies to take advantage of the latest online dating trends.
  Register here

• ThinkHoliday with Google
  Tuesday, August 24 at 11amPST/ 1pmCST / 2pmEST
  During this webinar will we share findings on the latest consumer shopping trends and discuss key strategies marketers can implement to increase holiday revenue. We will also discuss learnings from holiday 2009, new online trends and recommendations for holiday 2010.
  Register here

• ThinkB2B with Google - Engaging your audience at the Zero Moment of Truth
  Wednesday, August 25th at 11amPST / 1pmCST / 2pmEST
  Join Google for a discussion about the Zero Moment of Truth for B2B and how marketers can effectively & efficiently engage business decision makers at that crucial point in the purchase process.
  Register here

• ThinkTravel with Google: Google & O/TX Present - The Traveler's Road to Decision
  Wednesday, September 1st at 11amPST / 1pmCST . 2pmEST
  Join us for the webinar to learn the most important planning resources for travelers; how behavior differs among leisure, business and affluent travelers; where and why search engines are used in the travel booking process; how travel related use of online video and mobile devices has evolved this year
  Register here

Posted by Agency Ad Solutions Blog Team

Upcoming webinar - have you been Think(ing) about CPG?

Please join us on Thursday, July 22, 2010 for the next ThinkCPG with Google webinar - Case Studies & Learnings for Consumer Packaged Goods.

During this webinar we will learn from three separate case studies as measured through third-party research:

• Search Match Market Consortium Study - Food: What is the offline impact of search advertising when brands take advantage of their search opportunities? What is the impact when they are dark? What is the impact to private label sales? Presented by: Debra Eskra, Director of Testing & Media Solutions, SymphonyIRI Group
• Quaker Instant Oatmeal Display Case Study: What kind of impact did the Awaken Your Senses campaign, which was promoted on YouTube and the Google Display Network, have on Quaker Oatmeal and Private Label sales? Presented by: Sarah Bild, Marketing Manager, PepsiCo-Quaker Oats
• CPG Gfk Benchmark Study from Germany: How do we evaluate Search and YouTube across all media? How does Search and YouTube ROI stack up against traditional media? Presented by: Jens Monsees, Head of Industry for CPG Germany, Google, Inc.

Date: Thursday, July 22, 2010 at 10amPST / 12pmCST / 1pmEST
Click here to register

Posted by Jenny Liu, CPG Marketing

Wireless Shopper 2.0

Ring, ring! It’s the new cell phone shopper calling!

With over 450 mobile devices in North America and an average of 10 new phone launches each week, how do shoppers decide which phone is right for them? How do marketers influence these purchase decisions?

click to view image

We’re excited to announce that Google and Compete recently completed their latest research study, Wireless Shopper 2.0, which covers the shifting cell phone marketplace, the rise of the smartphone and the role search plays in the purchase process.

Key consumer findings revealed that today’s wireless shoppers are:

• Open to Switching: At the beginning of the purchase process, 42% did not have a a specific carrier preference, while 78% did not have an OEM preference
• Reeled in by Features: 45% bought a new smartphone because they wanted more features, while 22% bought because they saw a new phone they “had to have”
• Reliant on Search: 62% of consumers who searched for a newly launched mobile device purchased one, and the average consumer conducts 13 searches throughout the purchase process
  

In an increasingly competitive marketplace, these behavioral insights indicate the importance of having a comprehensive digital marketing strategy to bridge the gap between queries and sales. To do so, digital marketers should focus on:

• Targeting the Entire Funnel: The purchase funnel is not as linear as it once was; query trends indicate that search is paying a central role throughout and that generic (non-branded) keyword are prevalent and convert, even at the end of the purchase process
• Device-Centric Campaigns: Shoppers are searching online for everything to do with their wireless device: features, reviews, price, applications, etc. Optimize device-specific landing pages and integrate device-focused keywords and ad texts into campaigns
• Leverage Search for Product Launches: Search is an effective tool for introducing new products to customer prospects, especially during the announcement and pre-launch face - don’t miss the opportunity to acquire new potential lifetime customers

For more insights into today’s Wireless Shopper 2.0, download the full study here.

Posted by The Google Tech Marketing Team

Upcoming webinar - AdWords Conversion Products

Next Thursday, June 10th at 9am PDT / 12pm EDT, join us for a one hour webinar that will get you up to speed on implementing and using Conversion Tracking in AdWords. We'll also give an overview on using Conversion Optimizer as a bid management strategy, and also on the recently launched Search Funnels reports - Google's first step towards attribution data.

At the webinar, you’ll learn:

• How tracking conversions can take you beyond clickthrough rate and help you focus your spend on the ads and keywords that drive sales and leads
• How the data in Search Funnels can take you a step further and tell you which ads and keywords are assisting your conversions
• How Conversion Optimizer can use your conversion tracking data and cost-per-acquisition goals to help you focus your spend on the clicks most likely to convert

Register here if you’d like to attend, and by June 9th, please submit or vote on Conversion Tracking, Conversion Optimizer or Search Funnels questions that you would like answered during the webinar.

Hope to see you there!

Posted by Jeff Gillis and Lisa Coffey, AdWords team