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Opening up YouTube to new display advertisers

Published on 03/16/2010 at 06:05 PM
One of our goals is to democratize access to display advertising and make it accessible and open -- like search advertising -- so new advertisers can participate easily. We launched Display Ad Builder in 2008 to help you easily set up and run display ad campaigns.

Display Ad Builder is a self-service tool within AdWords that helps you choose from dozens of professionally designed templates to run ads across the 1 million sites that make up the Google Content Network -- including YouTube -- in a matter of minutes. Over 20,000 advertisers have used Display Ad Builder to create display ads quickly and simply, and over 80% them had never run a display ad campaign before.

Since we launched Display Ad Builder, we’ve added more templates and fonts to help you design display ads quickly. Today, we're announcing a new feature in Display Ad Builder that lets you use simple templates to create InVideo and companion ads on YouTube.

An InVideo ad is an animated flash overlay that appears at the bottom part of a video that a user is watching. It’s been one of the most effective ad formats on YouTube. With people watching over 1 billion videos a day on the site, overlays are an easy way to get your ad directly in front of a huge audience.

Building overlays has always been difficult for small advertisers, who often don’t have access to the resources needed to create these animated ads. That’s where Display Ad Builder in AdWords comes in.

(click for full-sized image)

Now, any advertiser can use Display Ad Builder to turn their image ads into overlays and run a campaign on YouTube in minutes. Depending on the type of campaign an advertiser wants to run, overlays can be bought on a CPC (Cost Per Click) or CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions) basis, and can be matched to YouTube videos based on numerous criteria, or even on a video by video level.

With this new format, Display Ad Builder will enable more advertisers to run display advertising campaigns on YouTube. For example, if you’re a small business that sells beauty products, you can quickly use a template in Display Ad Builder in AdWords to create an overlay ad and then run it on popular fashion and beauty videos.

If you're interested in creating your own InVideo ad, or any other type of display ad, click here to get started.

Posted by Emily Williams, Inside AdWords crew
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Go Mobile! Series: A case study in optimizing mobile campaigns

Published on 03/11/2010 at 12:37 AM
More and more people are accessing the internet on their mobile devices. Take advantage of this trend by making sure that your ad campaigns are opted in to show on mobile devices with full internet browsers. If you’d like to take things to the next level, create separate mobile-focused campaigns so that you can optimize your keywords, ad text and landing pages for people using mobile devices.

To help you understand what mobile optimization looks like, we thought we'd share the approach that Razorfish, a global digital advertising agency, took for one of their retail clients:
  • The Razorfish team started by duplicating the existing desktop campaigns and switching the settings to target mobile devices with full internet browsers.
  • Since their client had a well-known brand name, they focused on branded keyword terms with enough traffic to help them learn quickly about what was working best for their campaigns.
  • To measure performance, they tracked several conversion metrics including whether a mobile user looked up the brick and mortar store location or downloaded a coupon from the website. Right away, they saw a 7.5% lower cost per conversion on mobile devices, encouraging them to test ways to optimize their mobile campaigns.
  • Razorfish tested whether variations in the campaign’s landing page would affect conversion rates. The team hypothesized that mobile users might be looking to take a specific action, and by starting the user’s experience closer to that action, the client would see better results. As it turned out, for this client, they saw much higher conversion rates when the user was directed to a landing page that showed nearby store locations.
  • Finally, they tested variations in the ad text. Four versions of ad text were tested, including the original copy used in desktop campaigns. Each of the three new versions provided over 9.3% lift in conversion rate over the strongest performing copy in their desktop campaigns.
We hope you can learn from Razorfish's success and apply some of these strategies to your own mobile campaigns.

To learn more about the approach Razorfish took to optimize their client’s mobile ad campaigns, or read about other case studies, check out our Mobile Ads Success Stories.

Posted by Miles Johnson, Inside AdWords crew
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​New tool for brand advertisers on the Google Content Network

Published on 03/04/2010 at 10:56 PM
Two types of advertisers run campaigns across the Google Content Network. The first group, direct response advertisers, measures the success of their campaigns by looking for clicks, traffic to their sites, and sales. In contrast, brand advertisers typically use display ads to raise awareness and purchase consideration for a product or service a person might buy down the road. Other advertisers are looking to achieve a combination of these goals.

On the Google Content Network, we've been focused on building new capabilities that make it a great place for brand advertising of all kinds. For example, last year we introduced frequency capping to enable advertisers to manage how often their campaign reaches the right users. We've also developed new innovative tools to measure the impact of brand campaigns. Today, in response to feedback from brand advertisers, we're announcing a new feature that allows these advertisers to reach their advertising goals more easily.

This feature, which filters out "below the fold" inventory, enables brand advertisers to be more selective about where ads appear. The new filter gives you the ability to show ads only in places that appear on the user's screen when the page loads, without requiring them to scroll down. Learn more in the Help Center.

With a host of different web browsers, monitor sizes, and screen resolutions, it’s hard for advertisers to predict where an ad will land, since the same placement may appear differently on each user's screen. To simplify the process for you, Google has implemented a statistically driven solution to determine which ads are above and below the fold. The statistically driven model only considers ads "above the fold" if they are completely on-screen when the browser window loads.

Our goal with this release is to give brand advertisers greater control over where their ads appear, and make the Google Content Network an even more powerful, controlled environment for running high performing brand campaigns.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew
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Go Mobile! Series: Enhanced click-to-call phone numbers

Published on 03/02/2010 at 05:22 PM
Recently, we announced new click-to-call phone numbers for local ads that appear on mobile devices with full internet browsers, like iPhone, Android or Palm Pre. This week, we're bringing the same click-to-call benefits to national advertisers through phone extensions. Phone extensions allow you to add a phone number that will be displayed whenever your ad is triggered, regardless of the user's location. Your number will appear as the last line of any ad text within existing or new campaigns. This enables customers to connect with your business by phone directly from the ad and can be especially useful if you have a call center to handle customer inquiries.


To display your national business phone number on mobile devices with full browsers, follow these two steps:

1. Set up phone extensions and add your business phone number. Customers will be able to click to call your business directly from your ad.


2. Ensure that you've chosen to show your ads on iPhones and other mobile devices with full Internet browsers in your campaign settings.


You can review how many calls you've received for each keyword, ad group, or campaign from the Campaigns page within AdWords.

On the Campaigns, Ad groups or Keywords tabs on the Campaigns page, click the 'Segment' button above the statistics table.

Select 'Click Type' to see which clicks resulted in visits to your website or phone calls.

To learn more, check out the AdWords Help Center.

Posted by Katrina Kurnit, Inside AdWords crew
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Traffic improvements and new name for Google Ad Planner

Published on 02/25/2010 at 07:15 PM
Every day, thousands of AdWords advertisers use Google Ad Planner to research websites and select where to advertise online. We're continuing to improve this tool in order to provide the deepest, most accurate insight into online audiences possible.

To that end, we've improved how Ad Planner calculates site traffic by over 10%, and we've changed its name to DoubleClick Ad Planner. Visit the DoubleClick blog to read more about the traffic improvements and the new name.

You don't need to be a DoubleClick customer to use the newly renamed DoubleClick Ad Planner as the tool remains free and open for everyone. You can continue to access it at: www.google.com/adplanner.

If you haven't used Ad Planner, we invite you to give it a try. We think you'll find it to be a powerful research and media planning tool that makes it easy to find your audience and create well-informed media plans.


Posted by Emily Williams, Inside AdWords crew
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Go Mobile! Series: Join us for a free mobile webinar

Published on 02/25/2010 at 12:30 AM
The Internet is going mobile. Every week, tens of millions of people search on Google from their mobile phones and generate hundreds of millions of searches. Using mobile ads, you can reach these consumers while they're on-the-go.

Please join us for an upcoming webinar about what we're seeing in the mobile ad space and how you can incorporate mobile advertising into your marketing strategy.

Specifically, we'll cover how you can:

* Understand mobile trends and what they mean for your business
* Drive consumer action online and in the store
* Optimize your strategy for the mobile platform

Register here for the webinar to be held on March 2, 2010 at 11:00am PST / 1:00pm CST / 2:00pm EST.

Posted by Katrina Kurnit, Inside AdWords crew
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Now Implementing Updated U.S. and Canada Pharmacy Policy

Published on 02/24/2010 at 01:44 AM
We want to let you know that the changes to our pharmacy policy in the U.S. and Canada will start to go into effect today.

As we explained a couple weeks ago, this update means that Google AdWords will only accept advertisements from VIPPS and CIPA certified pharmacies, and that these pharmacies can only target ads within the countries where they are accredited.

To ensure that users see the most relevant and useful ads possible, pharmaceutical manufacturers and VIPPS and CIPA certified pharmacies will be allowed to run on prescription drug and pharmaceutical-related keywords.

For more information about this updated policy, please see this link: http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=7463

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew
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AdWords Comparison Ads - Credit Card Test in the UK

Published on 02/23/2010 at 07:45 PM
You may recall that towards the end of 2009, we began testing a new feature called AdWords Comparison Ads. This feature lets users compare multiple relevant offers with ease, and it provides advertisers with a new sophisticated and flexible cost per lead format. Speed is of the essence for many users, so we've made sure that Comparison Ads shows targeted offers in less than a second.

The initial test covered mortgage-related queries in the US. Today, we're delighted to announce that the test is being extended to cover credit card-related queries in the UK and that some major issuers have signed up to be part of the initial run.

Comparison Ads improves the ad experience on Google by letting users specify exactly what they're looking for and helping them quickly compare relevant offers side by side. There are no long forms for users to fill in, and Comparison Ads will not send advertisers any personally identifiable user information (in fact, we don't send any user information at all unless the user explicitly applies for an advertiser's offer).

It's part of our continuing effort to make ads more relevant and useful to our users and to help you, our advertisers, reach the people who are most interested in your products and services.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew
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Go Mobile! Series: Targeting options to make your mobile ads relevant

Published on 02/19/2010 at 06:33 PM
Last week, we showed you how to use Google Analytics to understand how mobile visitors interact with your website. We also showed you how to use that information to optimize your AdWords campaigns. This week, we'll show you how you can tailor your campaigns to reach the most relevant mobile audience.

What mobile device are they using?
Ensure that your ad is only displayed to the right mobile audience. For example, if you sell iPhone accessories, your ad is likely not relevant to Android device owners. With advanced mobile device targeting options, you can ensure that only users with an iPhone, as seen in this example, will see your ad.


Where are they located?
With Google Analytics, you can also see where your mobile traffic is coming from. If you notice that a lot of visits are coming from a place where you have a physical business location, you may want to display your business address or phone number alongside your ads. This makes your ads more relevant. It also provides mobile customers with the ability to click to call your business from within your text ad so they can take action right away.

(click for full size image)

We hope these tips help you mobile-ize your campaigns to help you reach the right audience while they're on-the-go.

Posted by Katrina Kurnit, Inside AdWords crew
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AdWords system maintenance on February 20th

Published on 02/18/2010 at 10:49 PM
On Saturday, February 20th, 2010 the AdWords system will be unavailable from approximately 10AM to 2PM PST, for maintenance. While you won't be able to sign in to your accounts during this time, your campaigns will continue to run as usual.

AdWords system maintenance typically occurs on the second Saturday of each month from 10AM to 2PM.

We'll continue to update you via the blog as we always have, but please make note of the February 20th date and of our scheduled maintenance further down the road.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew
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Streamlined analysis tools in your Campaigns tab

Published on 02/12/2010 at 08:29 PM
Over the last several months, we've been introducing new ways to analyze and segment your campaign data. As we continue to introduce more data types, we want to make sure that it's easy for you to access these reporting controls. That's why we've introduced a new analysis toolbar in the Campaigns tab of your account. This toolbar consolidates key functionality from the "Filter and views" and "More actions" menus, and appears at the top of each of your data tables:


You can use the toolbar to quickly apply a filter to the data you're viewing or customize the columns on each tab. You can also gain important insights into performance across different networks or time periods by using the "Segment" option:


Controls to show or hide paused or deleted campaigns and ad groups are also now available in this toolbar:


Just like the integration of the popular Search Query and Placement Performance Reports in the Campaigns tab, our hope is that this new toolbar will further streamline reporting and help you to get the most out of your AdWords data and your advertising campaigns.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew
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Bid ideas now in the Opportunities tab

Published on 02/12/2010 at 01:28 AM
Over the past few months, you may have visited the Opportunities tab to get customized keyword and budget ideas for optimizing your account. Now we're adding more functionality to the Opportunities tab with the introduction of bid ideas. Bid ideas, based on bid simulator data, will help you raise or lower your bids on specific keywords to improve your AdWords ROI. Whether you wish to decrease overall costs or increase traffic to your website, customized bid ideas can help you determine exactly which bids to adjust to make the most of your advertising budget.

You’ll see bid ideas in your account if we determine there's an opportunity for you to:
  • receive significant additional clicks without a significant increase in cost
  • save money without sacrificing a lot of clicks
Bid ideas will be visible in some accounts starting today, and available in all accounts in the coming weeks.


Bid ideas are shown with their estimated cost, impression, and click impact. When you click on a bid idea, you'll see a graph showing clicks versus cost for a range of bid amounts. The graph will include your keyword's current bid (marked in gray) and the proposed bid (marked in yellow). If you're raising a bid, consider whether the extra clicks and impressions are worth the potential added cost. If you're decreasing a bid, consider whether the saved cost is worth the potential loss of clicks and impressions.

The estimates you see are variations on your past performance over the last 7 days and are not attempts to predict or estimate future performance. Also, traffic patterns are always subject to fluctuation, so keep in mind that your future performance may shift over time. If you have reason to believe that next week's traffic will be significantly different from the last week, due to seasonal reasons for example, then it's a good idea to incorporate that information when selecting your bids.

While this tool doesn't know enough about your advertising goals to make a recommendation of which specific bid is best for you, it does provide useful data and gives you bid ideas to consider. We suggest that you use the data we provide to gain insight into how different bids could affect your performance. If you'd like even more information on bid ideas, including information on how they're generated, you can read our detailed article in the AdWords Help Center.

You should think of the Opportunities tab as your homepage for account optimization. You can view all your customized optimization ideas in one place, allowing you to make informed decisions before adjusting your account. We suggest checking the Opportunities tab every few weeks to look for new ideas. Continue to look out for new features in the coming months as we work to make the Opportunities tab an even more robust resource.

Posted by Miles Johnson, Inside AdWords crew
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Go Mobile! Series: Optimize for mobile with Google Analytics

Published on 02/10/2010 at 12:34 AM
Understanding who visits your website is important when developing your AdWords campaigns. In this post, we'll show you how you can use Google Analytics to analyze your website traffic and optimize your AdWords campaigns.

Who's coming to your site?
More and more users are accessing regular websites through mobile phones with full internet browsers. These users may be looking for different information or want to take a specific action more quickly than those who visit from a desktop computer. Do you know how many are visiting your site from mobile devices?

You can easily find out with Google Analytics by looking at the Mobile Devices report in the Visitors reporting section. If most of your traffic is coming from the iPhone and Android operating systems, ensure your AdWords campaigns are reaching that same audience by checking that your AdWords campaign settings are enabled to show on iPhones and similar devices.

What are they looking for?
Google Analytics helps you see which search keywords drove the most traffic to your website from mobile devices. Simply select "Keyword" as the secondary dimension on your Mobile Device report to see what they're looking for. You can then take advantage of these keywords by setting up a separate mobile campaign and including mobile-targeted ad copy.
(click here to view larger image)
Where do they go?
Customers on-the-go may be looking for different information on your website than customers who are at a desktop computer. Within Google Analytics, you can see exactly what mobile customers are doing differently on your website. Simply create an Advanced Segment for mobile devices and apply it to the Content reports. You can then optimize your AdWords campaigns by setting up mobile-specific campaigns with a different landing page URL. For example, if the top visited page for mobile users is the Store Locator page of your website, you may want to choose that URL as your landing page.
(click here to view larger image)

Get Started
We hope these tips are useful to help you Go Mobile! To get started with Google Analytics, visit www.google.com/analytics.

Posted by Emily Williams, Inside AdWords crew
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Update to Pharmacy Policy in U.S. and Canada

Published on 02/10/2010 at 01:23 AM
We understand how important it is for users to be able to purchase pharmaceuticals online for themselves or for loved ones, and we've decided to update our Google AdWords online pharmacy policy. The change will go into effect towards the end of this month.

There are two main aspects to this change:

Only VIPPS and CIPA certified pharmacies will be allowed to advertise
We've made the decision to further restrict the ads we accept for online pharmacy sites in the U.S. and Canada. Starting at the end of this month, Google AdWords will only accept ads from online pharmacies in the U.S. that are accredited by the National Association Boards of Pharmacy VIPPS program, and from online pharmacies in Canada that are accredited by the Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA.)

Pharmacies can only target ads within their country
These pharmacies may only target ads to users in the country in which they are accredited. This policy change does not affect our online pharmacy policy for countries outside the U.S. and Canada.

Accordingly, we'll no longer be using any 3rd party verifier of online pharmacies other than VIPPS and CIPA. AdWords advertisers who aren't accredited by VIPPS or CIPA will no longer see their online pharmacy ads displayed once this policy change comes into effect

We'll post to this blog again once the changes go into effect towards the end of this month. For more information on our current pharmacy policy, please see this link: http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=7463.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew
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Watch free online courses in the AdWords Online Classroom

Published on 02/08/2010 at 05:04 PM
We're excited to announce our latest and most interactive online training for advertisers: the AdWords Online Classroom.

You can get free, hands-on online training on key AdWords topics, delivered by our own AdWords & Industry specialists.

We're offering a great selection of live and recorded courses, including:

* Improving your AdWords performance with key tips
* Reaching more potential customers
* Getting the most from your website with Website Optimizer
* Using Google Analytics reports to improve your AdWords return-on-investment

To view all upcoming live and recorded courses for North America, please visit our North America Online Classroom site.
To view upcoming live and recorded courses for the UK and Ireland, please visit our UK & Ireland Online Classroom site.

We look forward to seeing you in class!


Posted by Katrina Kurnit, Inside AdWords crew
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