AdWords’ new look rolling out globally

AdWords’ new look rolling out globally: Since we showed you a preview of AdWords’ new look, we’ve been reviewing feedback and working to make even more improvements. Over the next several days, we’ll begin rolling out the new design to all AdWords accounts.

The new look simplifies the interface with newly designed menus, tabs, navigation, and buttons so that the important things -- such as your data -- stand out. The latest web technologies have been used to make the interface more visually appealing and zippy, while keeping the features where you are accustomed to finding them.

If you’re curious about specific design choices, or how we think about UX (user experience) at Google more generally, please join me for a live discussion and Q&A on Thursday, June 21st at 9:30am PST/12:30pm EST. To tune into this Hangout On Air:

1. Visit the Google Ads +Page at 9:30am PST/12:30pm EST Thursday June 21st.
2. Look for the stream post (see image below for what it will look like), and click to tune in. Be sure you’re signed into Google+!
   
   

We aim to deliver a simpler, more beautiful experience across all Google products. I hope you’ll find the experience using AdWords easier and more enjoyable, too. I’m looking forward to hearing your comments and questions soon!

Posted by Greg Rosenberg and the AdWords User Experience Team

Webinar: Bringing the power and control of search to display

Webinar: Bringing the power and control of search to display: Join us tomorrow, June 19, 2012 for the Learn with Google webinar, "Bringing the Power and Control of Search to Display,” to learn from the experts about Google’s major update to contextual targeting. The webinar starts at 10amPST / 1pmEST.



It’s now possible to target, bid and report on keywords on the Google Display Network, which means that you can fine-tune the performance of your contextual campaigns with the same level of control you’re used to in Search. It’s now easier for you to extend search campaigns to display and more efficient to run the two types of campaigns together.



Key areas that will be covered include:

• The benefits of combining display with your search campaigns
• Step-by-step campaign set-up guide
• Campaign optimization tips and best practices

This webinar will be presented by Charlie Vestner, Global Director of Display Solutions and will include Q&A. The session is suitable for advertisers who are already running campaigns on the Google Display Network, as well as those who have not yet tried it.



Register now!



Posted by Katie Hamilton, Product Marketing Manager, Google Display Network

AdWords Examples - Right ads to the right user

AdWords Examples - Right ads to the right user:

In our third part of the series “AdWords Examples” we’ll look into the ads and how to make them more relevant to the customers you’re targeting. Today's post will review the importance of selecting the right destination URL, as users are generally more likely to convert if they arrive at a website page strongly related to their search query. Let’s continue where we left off with Lisa and her campaign for the Google Store.


A user searching for "Google lava lamps" is interested in the part of the store that is dedicated to Lava Lamps, so Lisa wants anyone clicking on her ads to arrive at a page about lava lamps. Here is the page she would like visitors who searched for “Google lava lamps” to see:






To best target these users, Lisa has created ads in a "Google Lava Lamp" ad group (see below image) with ad texts related to the particular product, not the Google Store in general. She has also set these ads to direct to the Google Lava Lamp part of the Google Store site by using a specific destination and display URL.



The destination URL Lisa would use:
www.google-store.com/Accessories/20+oz+Motion+Lamp.axd

The display URL the user would see in the ad text could be:www.google-store.com/LavaLamp

The two URLs can be different as long as the domain (google-store.com) is the same.

Lastly, Lisa has created three separate ads, allowing AdWords to automatically determine which one receives the most clicks.

Remember to always include a strong call to action to tell the user exactly what to expect from the site and what to do there. For example, Lisa used the call to action "Buy one today!,” likely to attract users who want to buy a lava lamp, versus, perhaps learn how to build one.

In our Help Center you can read more about what ad groups are, how to create ad groups and of course also how to create new text ads.

In our next and last part of this series we’ll see how to select and optimize your keywords.

Posted by Alan Zabihi - The Help Center Team

New In-Ads Notice Label and Icon for the Google Display Network in Europe

New In-Ads Notice Label and Icon for the Google Display Network in Europe: Last year in the U.S., we launched the AdChoices Icon on the Google Display Network. AdChoices is an industry standard "i" icon that expands to “AdChoices” when users move their cursor over the icon. Giving users clear notice about the ads they see is a high priority for Google and for many in the online advertising industry at large. Users who click this label are taken to a page where they can learn more about online advertising and the ads they see.



We’re now rolling out the AdChoices feature across Europe, supporting industry-wide efforts to provide more information to consumers. We'll soon start to change our “Ads By Google” in-ads notice icon to a new icon that expands to an "AdChoices" label. These notifications were developed by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB Europe)-led Self-Regulatory Program for Online Behavioral Advertising to proactively give users notice and choice about the ads they see. With the adoption of a common icon users will see on ads across the web, we hope to show our support for the industry-wide initiative and to increase users' understanding about their choices.



Over the next few weeks, we'll start showing the new icon and label on most ad formats across the majority of European-language sites. Over time, we’ll expand the notice to ensure that all European-language publisher sites in the Google Display Network come within the Self-Regulatory Framework. This will be the single largest rollout of the "AdChoices" label to date, and we're encouraged that others in the industry are also adopting the label.



Users who click on the "AdChoices" label will be taken to a page where they can learn more about online advertising and the ads they are shown. This page will also link to the Ads Preferences Manager, where users can control the types of interest-based ads they see on the Google Display Network. We think this rollout will help users better understand the ads they're seeing, and we look forward to seeing widespread adoption of this label throughout the industry.



Posted by Jason Bigler, Product Management Director

Customize account management with AdWords scripts

Customize account management with AdWords scripts: We know that you're always looking for more efficient ways to manage your AdWords accounts. We also hear that many of you would love to use your own external data to make decisions in your accounts. Today, we're excited to announce the limited release of scripts in AdWords. With scripts, you can make changes to an AdWords account by writing simple JavaScript programs.



With scripts, you can:

• Use external inventory data to either change bids or pause/unpause keywords. 
• Output account statistics to a spreadsheet from which you can create reports and visualizations. 
• Use stats trends over several weeks to change keyword or ad group bids.

Scripts run in the Google Apps Script infrastructure, and we're enabling Apps Script integration with three services: you can use Google Spreadsheets and Url Fetcher to integrate with external data, as well as email results of a script execution from the script itself.



To get started with scripts, visit the Campaigns tab, and select “Automation” then “Scripts” from the left toolbar:

To make the most of scripts, we recommend that whoever is writing them has a basic understanding of JavaScript.



In the coming weeks we plan to enable this feature for everyone. In the interim, we are accepting applications for access. Applicants will be whitelisted in batches as we ramp up usage in the system. In order to apply, you will need an AdWords customer ID (not a My Client Center ID). Please refer to our developers site for more instructions and best practices for using scripts.



Posted By: Prashant Baheti, AdWords Product Manager

Take advantage of mobile education opportunities

Take advantage of mobile education opportunities: Last week, in partnership with the Learn With Google program, we held our first “Mobile Education Week” webinar series for your agency or business to learn more about the tools and resources to help you succeed on mobile.



Below are video recordings of these webinars - check them out, and share with your colleagues.



Our Mobile Planet: Understanding U.S. Smartphone Consumers

Our first webinar provided an overview of the 2012 Our Mobile Planet smartphone research. Watch this video if you’d like to learn:

• How smartphones are transforming core consumer behavior around the world, and the way we connect with others, stay informed, keep ourselves entertained, shop and navigate the world around us.
• Implications for advertisers and strategies businesses can use to win the moments that matter with mobile.

Ideal for: global agencies and marketers

GoMo: Mobilize your Site with Quickly and Easily New Tools from Google & DudaMobile

The second webinar was a joint effort between Google’s GoMo initiative and DudaMobile on how it is now even easier for small businesses to create a free mobile-friendly website.



View this video if you’d like to learn:

• Why mobile sites matter
• Review Google's HowToGoMo.com resource
• New: How to create free mobile sites for your small business directly from HowToGoMo.com, using a tool powered by DudaMobile
• Examples and best practices for mobilizing your site using the free DudaMobile tool

Ideal for: small businesses and agencies interested in free tools to create a mobile site

Introducing Mobile Apps Inventory in AdWords

The final webinar shared the new opportunity available with the availability of AdMob inventory to AdWords users.



This video is great if you’d like to learn:

• How AdWords now makes it easy for you to extend your campaigns to reach users inside mobile apps.
• Review mobile-specific targeting, ad units, and reporting than enable you to optimize your ROI.

Ideal for: marketers and agencies looking to promote and target mobile apps

Want to learn more about how to help your business or agency succeed on mobile? Stay tuned to all new Mobile Ads news at the Google Mobile Ads blog and YouTube channel.



Posted by Sonja Lee, Product Marketing, Mobile Ads

AdWords Examples: Structuring your first ad groups

AdWords Examples: Structuring your first ad groups: This post is part of a four-part series called AdWords Examples. We'll show you an example of an account with a structure of campaigns, ad groups, keywords and ads that can be used by an online retailer. We hope you’ll find this helpful in creating your first campaign, and if you need help with the individual steps you can always find them in our AdWords Help Center.

In this second part of our series of AdWords Examples, we’ll go a little deeper and examine how to use ad groups effectively. If you didn’t catch the first post of the series, you can find it here: AdWords Examples: Structuring your campaigns.

When building an account for the Google Store, Lisa created different ad groups for each and every product in the store, as you can see below.

Using this structure in the AdWords account, Lisa is able to create relevant sets of keywords for each product on the webshop, create relevant ads for each product, and link these ads to the relevant landing pages.



In this case, each ad group will contain ads and keywords that are only related to one product, to increase the relevance of the ads. So when someone is searching for a Google lava lamp, an ad for Google lava lamps will be shown, and a click on that ad will take the user directly to the page for lava lamps. 



Without this structure, the ads would not be able to accurately match the keywords. Matching the users’ search queries with targeted ads greatly increases the number of relevant clicks and purchases, as the customer is sent straight to the page for lava lamps.



You can find step-by-step instructions for how to create new ad groups here. In the next part of this series, we’ll look into some examples of ads. Stay tuned!


Written by Jens Larsson, The Help Center Team