How to use the new Search Query Performance report

For those who haven’t already noticed, we recently introduced the Search Query Performance report in the AdWords Report Center. This new report shows performance data for the search queries that triggered your ads that were clicked on to show. More importantly, this data can be used to gain a better understanding of how users are finding your ads and how they react to them.

Since the new report includes both search queries and the corresponding performance data, the report is commonly used to fine tune existing keyword lists. Specifically, you can use this report to identify both new keywords and negative keywords that you'd like to add to your account to better specify when you'd like your ad to appear.

Here’s a quick example:
Say you’re an online florist and you're working on adding some more keywords to your Anniversary campaign. Not a bad idea, since your campaign currently contains one ad group with the following keywords:

'anniversary'
'anniversary flowers'
'wedding anniversary flowers'

Rather than simply guessing which new keywords to add, you decide to first find out what users (a.k.a. potential customers) are searching on when they find and click on your anniversary-related ads today. To do so, you run a Search Query Performance report. Here's what your report looks like:

(Click the screen shot for a full-size image.)

Based on the data above, your ads are showing when users search on 'anniversary flowers,' but they're also appearing on these queries:

anniversary bouquet
anniversary gifts
anniversary centerpieces

The Search Query Match Type status for these queries is "broad." This means that keywords in your account that are similar to these queries are enabling your ads to be shown. Since 'anniversary bouquet' and 'anniversary gifts' are highly relevant to your product offering, you might consider adding them as keywords to this campaign. This will ensure that your ads will always show on these queries. Take it a step further, and create two new ad groups with ad text specific to gifts and bouquets.

If you don’t want your ads showing on queries like 'anniversary centerpieces' because you sell bouquets and not arrangements, you might consider adding 'centerpieces' as a negative match keyword. However, keep in mind that users may find your ad relevant even if the query they used to find and click on your ad didn't correspond exactly to the product(s) advertised. For example, in the report above, you'll see that users who found your ad using the search query 'anniversary centerpieces' clicked on your ad and also converted on your website.

Finding new keywords and new negative keywords is just one way use this new report. You could also use it to:

• Delete existing keywords and replace them with better targeted keywords
• Create more tightly knit ad groups based on common groups of search queries
• Ensure you've selected the correct match type (i.e. broad, phrase, exact, or negative) for existing keywords

Lastly, it’s important to keep the following points in mind when analyzing a Search Query Performance report:

• The report only includes queries for ads that were shown and clicked on
• The report includes search network data only
• Search query performance data is available from May 2, 2007 and onward
• Search queries are different from keywords, so data from this report will most likely not match up to a Keyword Performance report or your Campaign Summary page
  

Instructions on how to run a Search Query Performance report can be found here. For more information on the new report, check out the AdWords Help Center.

Posted by Judy, Inside AdWords crew

Read More

Campaign Optimizer now available

Today, we're happy to announce the launch of a new ad performance tool called Campaign Optimizer. It's an on-demand AdWords tool that provides personalized campaign ideas in just minutes. We're always looking for ways to help you improve your account performance and increase your advertising return, and we're excited that this tool can help jumpstart your optimization efforts. To start, click on the 'Optimize Campaign' link on the 'Campaign Summary' page, as shown in this screenshot below.

(Click the screenshot for a full-size image.)

Here's how Campaign Optimizer works: first, the tool analyzes your campaign to see what settings have or haven't worked well for you recently -- this process typically takes a minute or less. Next, it generates a customized proposal of ideas for your campaign aimed at improving your performance. Finally, you'll be able to review each proposed change and apply the ones you like directly to your campaign. As you can see in the screenshot below, it's easy to evaluate each change.

(Click the screenshot for a full-size image.)

Here are some of the ideas that Campaign Optimizer might propose to help improve your campaign's performance:

• Change daily budget. Budget adjustments can affect your ad visibility and bring you more traffic.


• Add new keywords. Campaign Optimizer proposes targeted keywords that relate to your landing page.


• Change keyword matching options. The right matching option can help you reach customers more effectively.


• Adjust keyword maximum cost-per-click bid. Your maximum CPC bid (in addition to your ad quality) affects your ad position.


• Change ad text. Your ad text affects your click-through rate.

Since Campaign Optimizer is an automated tool, we suggest that it be the first step -- not the last -- in optimizing your account. You'll find that Campaign Optimizer is more effective on campaigns that have been running for at least two weeks. Use it to generate ideas and provide direction for your own optimization efforts. Once you've used Campaign Optimizer, you might review our optimization resources, as well as our previous posts on optimization tips for additional information on how to improve your account.

Try Campaign Optimizer now and let us know what you think by clicking on the feedback link on the right side of your Campaign Optimizer proposal.

Posted by Vivian, Inside AdWords crew

Read More

Are you ready to go back to school?

As students across the country get ready to head back to the classroom, we'd like to invite you to do a little learning, too. Check out the Google AdWords Learning Center for free access to a variety of text-based and multimedia "how-to" lessons to help you with your campaigns.

Whether you're optimizing a campaign to appeal to back-to-school shoppers or looking for easy ways to track your campaign's performance this fall, the Learning Center offers all the information you need to improve your ads and brush up on your AdWords knowledge. And to really get yourself in the back-to-school spirit, take the quiz at the end of each lesson!

Posted by Heather, Inside AdWords crew

Read More

Which AdWords optimization tips do you want to read about?

Over the past several months, we had featured a series of posts on AdWords optimization tips, advice from a specialist from the Optimization team. While we wanted to stick to general topics and common issues that advertisers commonly face in that series, we think it's now time to explore specific issues in depth. So whether you're having trouble selecting the right keywords for your online cat toys store or want help creating more effective ad text for your dog walking service, we want to hear about your specific questions and concerns. Your questions will help us determine the topics to cover in our next series of optimization tips -- so, please email us at inside-adwords@google.com to let us know what topics you want to read about.

And no, you don't have to be in the pet business to email us. :)

Posted by Feng, Inside AdWords crew

Read More

Google Print Ads now available to AdWords advertisers

We're very excited to announce the availability of Google Print Ads™ in U.S. AdWords accounts. To introduce you to Google Print Ads, here's Andrew Chang from the Print Ads team:

Google Print Ads enables advertisers and agencies of all sizes to easily plan and buy traditional newspaper ads, whether they're small 2" ads in Morristown, New Jersey's Daily Record, or full page ads in the Chicago Tribune. You can use Print Ads to find newspapers and placements that work for your advertising needs, and coordinate the submission of your offers and ads -- all from the familiar AdWords interface.

Why consider newspaper advertising? Even with the growth of online news sites, newspapers are still a leading source of information for Americans. In fact, over the course of a typical week, nearly 3 out of 4 adults (115 million) in the top 50 markets read a copy of a daily or Sunday newspaper (Scarborough Research USA, Release 2, 2006). That's why thousands of businesses use print advertising every day to reach a local audience.

You can launch a newspaper ad campaign in a few simple steps, all from your AdWords account -- check out the image below:

(Click the screen shot for a full-size image.)

To learn more about newspaper advertising and how Print Ads works, and to see a list of participating newspapers (PDF), visit our Google Print Ads site. Also, for a limited time, we're offering a special promotion when you sign up and publish a newspaper ad by August 31, 2007 -- earn up to $1,000 in Print Ads credits towards the cost of a future newspaper campaign. That's $500 to run your Print Ads campaign, and another possible $500 towards professional ad creation services. You can learn more about this offer here.

When you're ready to launch a newspaper campaign, you can sign in to your AdWords account to get started. (If you are new to AdWords and you've just created an account, it may take up to one week for Print Ads to appear in your account. Thanks in advance for your patience!)

Posted by Heather, Inside AdWords crew

Read More

What’s new in the world of invalid clicks

AdWords is a product that’s constantly evolving. To help keep you up-to-date, we like to check-in with individual product teams to see what they’re up to. This time around, I got an update from the Click Quality team, a group of folks dedicated to protecting advertisers from invalid clicks and click fraud. Here’s what I learned:

There’s no “silver bullet” when combating invalid clicks and click fraud, so the team is continuously improving their techniques. For obvious reasons, the team couldn’t go into detail about every initiative they’re working on, but they were able to share some of their more recent efforts.

Recent product launches
In June, the team launched Internet Protocol (IP) address exclusion. IP address exclusion allows advertisers to exclude up to 20 IP addresses, or ranges of addresses, where advertisers don’t want their ads to appear. It's important to note that some large Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use IP address ranges for all their users. If you’re thinking of using IP exclusion, be sure you’ve carefully selected the IP addresses you'd like to exclude so you don't end up blocking a large amount of relevant and potentially profitable traffic.

The team also continues to develop new filters and signals (these are some of the top secret things they couldn't go into too much detail on) used to detect invalid clicks. Constantly updating and improving our systems enable them to stay ahead of some very sophisticated fraudsters.

Increased transparency
In addition to product enhancements and features, the Click Quality team has been working to provide more information about what Google does to detect invalid clicks and protect advertisers from click fraud. Earlier this year, the team disclosed the invalid click metrics across the Google network here on the Inside AdWords blog. That post was soon followed up by a post on how to request a click quality investigation and a paper on click fraud botnets.

In May, the Click Quality team held the first-ever Invalid Clicks Advertiser Forum at Google headquarters in Mountain View, CA. The forum was a half-day event offering presentations from Shuman Ghosemajumder, Business Product Manager for Trust & Safety, a Q&A session with the click quality engineering team, and a review of a few invalid clicks case studies presented by the click quality investigation team. The event was a great way for advertisers to express their concerns directly to the team and also get their questions answered by the team's experts. Future forums in different cities are in the planning stages, so stay tuned.

Shuman has also been racking up the frequent flier miles by speaking with advertisers at events in the US, Canada and Europe. So far this year, Shuman presented at Search Engine Strategies conferences in New York, Toronto, and London, as well as at Search Insider Summit (Bonita Springs, FL) and Search Marketing World (Dublin, Ireland). If you're planning on attending Search Engine Strategies San Jose in August, be sure to drop in on the "Search Engines On Click Fraud" session where Shuman is scheduled as a speaker.

Well, sounds like the team's been keeping themselves pretty busy these days. While reviewing some of the team's past efforts, I found a very helpful FAQ in the AdWords Help Center that lists some of the things advertisers can do to monitor or prevent invalid clicks on ads. Advertisers can also use the following tools and features to monitor and control the traffic they receive from their AdWords ads:

1. Auto-tagging: This feature that allows AdWords advertisers to easily see how their keywords are performing from click to conversion. Auto-tagging is often used by Google Analytics users, but you do not have to use Google Analytics to use auto-tagging.
   
   
2. Site exclusion: This tool can be used to prevent ads from appearing on certain Google content network websites that advertisers don't feel are appropriate for their ads. Advertisers can get an idea of where their ads are showing by running a Placement Performance report.
   
   
3. Invalid clicks reporting: This advanced reporting option allows advertisers to review the number and percentage of clicks determined to be invalid and automatically filtered out by the AdWords system. This data is available in Campaign Performance and Account Performance reports by including the "Invalid Clicks" and "Invalid Clicks Rate" advanced options.

I hope this review of the Click Quality team's recent work has provided some insight into the efforts that go on everyday to improve and maintain the AdWords system. Stay tuned to the Inside AdWords blog for future AdWords product team updates.

Posted by Judy, Inside AdWords crew

Read More

Improved location targeting for the Ad Preview Tool

With AdWords, you can target your campaigns to show only to potential customers in specific countries, regions, or cities. And since we show ads based on a user's internet protocol (IP) address, you may not see your ad if you don't target your own geographical area. To see your ad as it would appear to a potential customer in a specific region, you could hop on a plane -- or simply check out our improved Ad Preview Tool.

Let's say you want to know what happens when someone in Toronto, Canada searches www.google.ca for "flowers". When you enter those parameters into the Ad Preview Tool, we'll show you the exact search results page you would see if you were actually in Toronto. What's more, you can use the Ad Preview Tool without accruing extra impressions for your ads. Feel free to try as many keyword and location combinations as you'd like, and watch your ads as they travel across the country and around the world.

You can also read more about how AdWords decides where to show a location-targeted ad here.

Posted by Feng, Inside AdWords crew

Read More

AdWords system maintenance on July 14

On Saturday, July 14th, the AdWords system will be unavailable from approximately 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. PDT due to our regularly scheduled system maintenance. While you won't be able to log into 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 during the above times. We'll continue to update you here as we always have, but you may want to take note of our intended dates and times to help you plan for any scheduled downtimes further down the road.

Posted by Judy, Inside AdWords crew

Read More

Reminder: AdWords Editor Webinar on 7/12

Just a quick reminder that on July 12th at 10 AM PDT, Annie Hsu and Ernesto Soriano from the AdWords Editor product team will be presenting a one-hour webinar on AdWords Editor. If you'd like to attend this free webinar, you can register here, and don't forget to submit your questions when you register.

Posted by Trevor, Inside AdWords crew

Read More

Automotive Industry Newsletter now available

In the spirit of the Retail and TechB2B newsletters, we'd like to introduce advertisers to the new, quarterly AdWords Automotive Newsletter. The premier issue features optimization tips that will help you remain competitive in the face of shifting consumer behavior, as well as articles to keep you abreast of the latest industry tends. You'll also find a brief introduction to Google Analytics, Google's powerful web analytics service. Keep an eye out for future editions, which will include holiday optimization advice, consumer trends, and suggestions for automotive advertisers.

As always, you can receive newsletters via e-mail by signing up through your AdWords account.

Posted by Trevor, Inside AdWords crew

Read More

Discover your share of voice with Impression Share reporting

Are we alone in the universe? How much wood can a woodchuck chuck? What's the share of voice for my AdWords campaign?

While we're still working on answers to the first two questions, there's a new metric available through the AdWords Report Center that will shed light on the third one.

"Share of voice" is a metric often used in the advertising industry to represent the relative portion of ad inventory available to a single advertiser within a defined market over a specified time period. Impression Share, a new AdWords metric, is similar to share of voice -- it represents the percentage of times your ads were actually shown in relation to the total number of chances your ads could have been shown, based on your keyword and campaign settings.

For example, say you own a small lawn furniture business and you're using AdWords to sell your products. You're curious to know if you're missing out on potential sales by not appearing every time users search on your keywords. To compare how often your ads are showing to the total opportunities they have to show, run a campaign- or account-level performance report that includes the new Impression Share columns. The report below is a sample of what you'll see:

(Click the screenshot to view the full-size image.)

Here’s a quick rundown of what each Impression Share column represents:

Impression Share (IS): The percentage of times your ads were shown out of the total available impressions in the market you were targeting. This metric is available at the campaign and account level for search.

Lost IS (Rank): The percentage of impressions lost due to low Ad Rank (cost-per-click bid x Quality Score).

Lost IS (Budget): The percentage of impressions lost due to budget constraints.

Using our lawn furniture example, the Impression Share results in the above report may be within your expectations given you:

• are small business,
• target your ads to one state (e.g. Arizona), and
• use ad scheduling so your ads only show on the weekdays when your store is open.

The above conditions help establish your ads' total opportunities to show. Any opportunities to show outside of Arizona or on the weekends do not count against your Impression Share since Impression Share is only measured against the opportunities you're interested in. In contrast, if you targeted more states or scheduled your ads to appear over the weekend, you might see your Impression Share percentage decrease since your ads would have many more opportunities to show.

Not every advertiser's goal is to appear each time his or her ads have the opportunity to show; however, Impression Share is a convenient way to assess shifts in the competitive landscape as well as ways to diagnose where you're losing Impression Share.

Impression Share is available for performance reports at the account- or campaign-level and you can find instructions on how to include the metric in your next report here.

Posted by Judy, Inside AdWords crew

Read More

Happy 4th of July!

Tomorrow, we'll be taking the day off here at Inside AdWords to celebrate the 231st birthday of the United States of America. Here's to a Happy 4th of July filled with hot dogs, picnics, and of course, fireworks!


Posted by Vivian, Inside AdWords crew

Read More

Not seeing your ad on Google.com?

One of the most common questions our support teams receive from advertisers is “why can’t I see my ad on Google?” While it may seem like a good idea to monitor your ad by searching for it, here's a list (in no particular order) of possible account issues that are difficult, if not impossible, to troubleshoot by simply looking for your ad on Google.com:

1. Your ad has been disapproved.
2. The keyword you used to search for your ad is not performing well and has become inactive for search.
3. Your ad rank is not high enough to allow your ad to show on the first page of search results.
4. Your ad is showing, but in a lower position possibly due to a shift in the competitive landscape.
5. Your regionally targeted ad doesn't include the region (e.g. city, state, or country) associated with your computer's Internet Protocol (IP) address.
6. Your ad is targeting a language that’s different from the language you’ve selected for your Google.com preferences.
7. Your daily budget has been exhausted and your ads are no longer showing for the day.
8. Your daily budget is lower than the recommended amount and Google is spacing the delivery of your ads to ensure you receive traffic throughout the day.
9. You’re using ad scheduling and your ads are currently not scheduled to run.
10. Your account hasn’t been activated.

AdWords is all about results and we understand that you want to monitor your ads. However, searching for your ads on Google can lead to a diluted clickthrough rate (CTR) as well as account changes based on results that may not represent what the average user sees (more on both points later). For these reasons, we strongly recommend against monitoring your ads solely based on a Google.com search. Below, we've highlighted three great tools to help you monitor your ads quickly, accurately, and without negatively impacting your performance:

1. "Search” using the Ad Preview page rather than Google.com

For those of you who search for your ads simply to monitor their positions on Google.com, the Ad Preview page is a perfect alternative. The Ad Preview page enables you to view ads (and search results) as they would appear on a regular Google.com search results page to most users, without accruing extra impressions for your ad. Remember, anytime you or your colleagues search for your ad on Google.com, the keyword associated with your ad accrues an impression. Over time, this may decrease your CTR (as the number of impressions increases but the clicks do not) and, in turn, may lead to a lower Quality Score.

In addition, if you search for your ad multiple times on Google.com (not using the Ad Preview page), our system may adapt the results you see. This means you may begin to see your ad in a lower position than before.

You can access the Ad Preview page by adding “/adpreview” to the end of the usual Google URL – http://www.google.com/adpreview. Here’s an example of a search using the Ad Preview page:

(Click the screenshot to view the full-size image.)

2. Use the Ads Diagnostic Tool

For ads that don’t seem to be showing at all, the Ads Diagnostic Tool is a good place to start. Located within your AdWords account, the tool can tell you if your ads are not showing due to approval status, cost-per-click (CPC) and budget price settings, ad and keyword performance, ranking status, geo-targeting settings, etc.

You can access the Ads Diagnostic Tool information two different ways – for a quick diagnosis, point your mouse at the magnifying glass icon next to any keyword in your account. A help bubble will appear with information about that keyword. For a more thorough analysis, go to the tool itself by clicking Tools on the Campaign Management tab.

3. Account statistics and reporting

Your best bet when monitoring or troubleshooting your ad activity is reviewing the statistics in your account. Unlike searching for your ad, your account statistics provide a comprehensive overview of how your ads are performing overall. These statistics can provide you with the average position of a keyword that's calculated, not estimated, across all the geographic locations, languages, network sites, etc. that you're targeting.

In addition, your account offers numerous reports that you can run as needed, or schedule to run and have emailed to you on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis – this means you get all the data without even having to log in to your account!

We understand that it's natural to search Google.com when curious about how your ads are performing; however, we hope you'll keep in mind that how your ad appears, or in some cases doesn't appear, for you, may not reflect how it appears to the vast majority of people who are searching for your product or service each day.

Posted by Judy, Inside AdWords crew

Read More