The AdWords Preview Tool allows you to narrow your search my location (by name or coordinates) as well as device (down to the operating system and carrier of a mobile device). Once you determine your search parameters, the Ad Preview Tool will show how you ads appear on a search results page.  The tool will also confirm whether your ad is showing and if not, provide an explanation as to why. This will let you diagnose the problem and make adjustments such as increasing bids or daily budget.

Google AdWords Preview Tool

This is an important tool for anyone managing a PPC campaign, especially those that are targeting specific locations or running a mobile campaign. Another benefit is that it will show whether the blue location marker appears for your ads. The blue marker pins (or hyperlocation markers) displays distance information for users searching from a mobile device, which can make your ad much more relevant to your potential customers.

Hyperlocation Distance Marker on Ads

You can find the tool here: www.google.com/adpreview.

To show your Relative CTR, just click the “Columns” dropdown, then “Customize columns”, and then select “Relative CTR” in the Competitive metrics column. Your Relative CTR will then display alongside your other data:

Relative CTR within an AdWords Account

This is a very helptul tool to allow you to measure your performance on the Display Network compared to competitors.  Clickthrough rate on the Display Network is generally lower than the Search Network and it can sometimes be difficult to determine what a “successful” CTR is.  But, if a  CTR of 0.8% on the Display Network seems low but your Relative CTR is 2x, you would know that your CTR is double that of the other ads on that page and be confident that your ads are on targeted pages and are connecting with your audience.  On the other hand, if your Relative CTR is 0.5x, you would know that your CTR is half that of other ads in the same location, and that you may need to evaluate your ad copy and your placements or add exclusions and negative keywords.

These tools are a great start when creating a new campaign and the Keyword Tool can help you determine keyword variations and traffic. Once you have your keyword list, the Traffic Estimator will allow you to view estimated traffic, CPC, ad position, and the number of estimated clicks each keyword may get daily. By adjusting your Max CPC at the top of the tool, you can see how the stats will change to determine your optimal bidding strategy.

Adwords Traffic Estimator

By physical location or search intent – this determines where you ads are shown both by where a user’s device is located and whether a user includes location terms in their query.

Using only physical location – this determines where your ads are shown only by where a users device is located. If a user is outside of St. Louis but is planning on visiting and searches for “restaurants in St. Louis” your ad with not show because you are targeting only a users physical location.

Using only search intent – this determines where you ads are shown based only on whether a user includes location terms in their query. AdWords will ignore where a user is located and will show your ads when “St. Louis” is included in the query.

AdWords Targeting Method

There is also the “Exclusion Method” option, which allows you to:

Exclude by physical location only – your ads will not show to users outside your targeted location, however, if they use the location you are targeting in your query the ad will show.  For example, if you are running your ads in St. Louis only, but a user outside of St Louis searches for “restaurants in St. Louis” your ad will still.

Exclude by physical location and search intent – your ads will not show to users outside your targeted location, even if they include a location in their query.  For example, if you are running your ads in St. Louis only, but a user outside of St. Louis searches for “restaurants in St. Louis” your ad will not show.

AdWords Exclusion Method

These new changes will allow you to better control who sees your ad, but it’s important to understand how these setting work to make sure you are targeting the location and queries that you are most interested in.

Boost Ads

Boost ads were introduced last fall to several different metro areas and are slowly expanding to be available throughout the US. They allow you to advertise on local search results and are set-up within Google Places. Although Google determines what terms your ad will display for, you are able by specify a monthly budget, ad text, and destination URL. These ads also allow your business to show on the local map displayed with the search results.  With Boost ads, your location shows up as a blue pin with a dot in it, similar to this:

Pin from Location Extension on Local Search Map

Location Extensions

Another option for ads that display with local search results are Location Extensions within AdWords. In searches that Google determines to be local, PPC ads you have set up in AdWords with Location Extensions will display and your business will also show up on the map.  Since these are run similarly to other PPC ads within AdWords, you have more control over placement and budget. These ads are shown as blue marker with a letter in it, similar to this:

Pin from Boost Ad on Local Search Map

Both types of advertising allow you to stand out in local search results. Boost may be better for smaller businesses on a fixed budget that don’t have the experience running PPC campaigns through AdWords.  However, if you are running AdWords campaigns, Location Extensions will allow you to develop a specific bidding strategy and manage keywords to maximize results.

Google Global Market Finder

In addition to the Global Market Finder, Google also launched Ads for Global Advertisers last month, a website that compiles many different existing Google tools to help you expand your marketing efforts overseas. It includes guides to global marketing, translating your website and PPC campaigns into other languages, monitoring your global ad spend, overseas payments, success stories, and more. The site also includes links and helpful information regarding the following tools from Google:

• AdWords
• Global Market Finder
• Market Intelligence
• Translate Web Element
• Translator Toolkit

As with any type of translation tool, it is still to enlist a translator that understands your industry to make sure everything is translated correctly! And, remember, a successful international campaign needs to be optimized correctly not only for language, but also for cultural differences. You can find more information about the Global Market Finder and Google Ads for Global Advertisers in this AdWords blog post or this article in Google Help.

• Emphasize shipping – last minute shoppers are looking for items that will ship quickly.  Offering free shipping whenever possible is also a great way to draw shoppers in!
• Watch what your competitors are doing and make sure your ad can compete with their deals.
• Use Sitelinks and Google Merchant Center to make your ads more interesting and more specific since last-minute shoppers may already have something specific in mind.
• Watch your CPC – as competition increases around the holidays, you may need to increase your bid to ensure that your ad stays in a top position.
• Customize landing pages for the holidays and make sure visitors find the deal you are advertising in your PPC ad right on the landing page.
• Don’t forget about after Christmas shoppers – consumers are looking for sales after the holidays and are also spending gift cards!

Here is a great chart that illustrates peak online shopping dates from adCenter’s blog (click to enlarge):

Holiday Shopping Trends

 There is still time to get in on the peak shopping times, as well as last minute spikes and post-season shopping!

Happy Holidays from The Net Impact!

To view these reports, click on the Reporting and Tools tab and then on Search Funnels below the left menu.

• The Overview allows you to view the average number of days, clicks, and impressions it takes a user to convert. 
• The Assist Clicks and Impressions Report allows you to view assist clicks and impressions by campaign, ad group, and keyword.
• The Assisted Conversions Reports allow you to view assisted conversions also by campaign, ad group, and keyword.
• The First and Last Click Analysis Reports allow you to view and compare which ad groups and keywords were clicked during the conversion process. 
• The Time Lag and Path Length Reports give you a better idea of how long (in days and hours) and how may clicks and impressions it takes before a visitor converts.

These reports can help you understand your customer’s habits and know which keywords are successful and not just measured by the number of conversions.  Many users start their search using broad, non-branded search terms and end with specific, branded keywords.  For example, a user conducts several searches on general terms such as “flower delivery” and “online flower orders” and each time sees and/or clicks on your ad but doesn’t make a purchase.  Then, they later decide they are ready to buy and search specifically for your name brand, “ABC Florist” because they learned the name of your business through seeing your ad previously.  AdWords attributes that conversion to the keyword “ABC Florist”, which would lead you to believe they already knew your name and that your branded keywords perform well.  However, those general keywords that they started with were critical in assisting in the conversion and should be treated as valuable keywords.

1.) The user begins to type a query on Google and clicks anywhere on the page (a search result, an ad, a spell correction, a related search).

2.) The user chooses a particular query by clicking the Search button, pressing Enter, or selecting one of the predicted queries.

3.) The user stops typing, and the results are displayed for a minimum of three seconds.

According to Google, “Google Instant might increase or decrease your overall impression levels.” Because an impression can be triggered during a user simply pausing during typing, the number of impression your ad receives may increase. This could also mean an increase in clicks for short tail queries, and adding these to your keyword list may help your ad show (or adding them as a negative if needed.)

Right now, no one knows for sure what the effects of Google Instant on PPC will be. The important thing is to watch your campaigns and determine how Google Instant is affecting your CTR and Quality Score, as well as what keywords are triggering ads.