Hangout recap - Making search ads work for businesses with mobile apps

Hangout recap - Making search ads work for businesses with mobile apps: Want to learn how to use new AdWords search ads to promote and track your mobile app, and hear from early adopters who have done so?



Last Thursday, we hosted Google Product Manager Anurag Agrawal in conversation with Brian Wright, Senior Marketing Manager at Lookout Mobile Security and Troy Morris, Mobile Marketing Manager at WhitePages.com in a Google+ Hangout. They discussed the value of using search ads to promote their respective mobile apps. Anurag then showed us in a live demo how to set up features that can help app developers promote and track downloads of their mobile app.

To see the full conversation, watch the Hangout here:

Below, Brian Wright (BW) and Troy Morris (TM) discuss role of search advertising in growing their mobile app business.



Google: Why has your business chosen to promote your mobile apps?

Brian Wright: We provide a mobile app that helps smartphone users protect their phones against data loss, theft and malware. The more users we have, the more data we have about the threats out there in the mobile ecosystem - so in order to make our technology effective, it’s important for us to acquire users.



Google: Why use AdWords search ads to promote your mobile app?

BW: We promote our apps on the major mobile ad networks and via carrier partnerships. However, search encourages a different type of user behavior that’s different from iTunes or Google Play Store browsing. Our search users are looking for more information, but they might not know an app is a solution to what they’re looking for. It’s great to get in front of those people with search ads.

WhitePages.com and Lookout Mobile Security promote their apps using AdWords mobile search ads

Google: What’s the value of running search ads to promote your mobile app?

Troy Morris: There is an intent users have on search, in our case - to find someone. Conversion rates easily eclipse that of other ad networks so we’re able to get downloads at responsible costs, which helps the overall lifetime value of these users.



What’s also great is that even before Android download tracking was launched, Google was ahead of the curve to give us insights we couldn’t get through other channels. We could track performance from the campaign, down to the ad group and keyword level. It gives us a massive amount of control we don’t see on other ad networks. It gives me the ability to go in at any point in the day to adjust bids or ads, and optimize to where every single penny counts.



To learn more about how to set up these new features in your AdWords account, check out the recording of the Hangout, or view these instructions in the AdWords Help Center.



Posted by Sonja Lee, Associate Product Marketing Manager, Google Mobile Ads

AdWords Examples: Structuring your campaigns

AdWords Examples: Structuring your campaigns: 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 example, we’ll see how Lisa is using Google AdWords to market the Google Store online. In the Google Store, you can find all kinds of Google gear, ranging from clothing to toys, and buy gear directly online.

As you can see, this webshop is structured into product categories such as accessories and wearables with subcategories for each specific product. Lisa uses the same structure in her AdWords account as in her store: she uses the product categories from the webshop to create different campaigns. Each product within these categories will then get its own ad group with its own specific set of keywords and ads. 

Using the structure of your website as a model for the structure of your account not only makes it easy to find the individual ads in your account, but it's also an excellent way of making your ads relevant to users. 

 

Lisa has noticed that the advertising costs for t-shirts and bowling bags are different. By having different product categories in different campaigns, Lisa can define different budgets and bidding options for each product category. This separation also makes reporting and analysis of these different product categories easier. Here’s how to set a budget for your campaign.

If Lisa wanted to reach people who speak different languages or live in different geographic areas, she could create campaigns in different languages, and target the appropriate language and geographic region in her campaign settings. 

You can find step-by-step instructions for creating new campaigns here. In the next part of this series, we’ll examine how to use ad groups to your advantage. Stay tuned!

Posted by the AdWords Help Center team

Update to the recent ad rotation change

Update to the recent ad rotation change: Last month we announced that we would be changing how creative rotation works in AdWords. Specifically, we changed the even rotation setting to rotate evenly for a period of 30 days, after which AdWords would optimize to show your higher performing creatives more frequently.



In the past month, we've heard a number of concerns from you about this change. Thank you for all of the feedback -- we've been listening carefully to determine the right course of action. The concerns have focused on (1) the lack of an opt-out for this change and (2) the potential that the 30 day even rotation window might be shorter than your testing window for new ads. You also inquired about why we made the change.



First, we’d like to share a little more about why we updated how creative rotation works. With the modified Rotate evenly setting, our tests indicate that we will provide you with more valuable traffic in an automated, efficient manner. We've found that, on average, optimized creative rotation results in an increase in click-through rate and an increase in total conversion volume for advertisers. Here’s an example describing the benefit (note: data is intended for illustrative purposes only):



Advertisement A has a 3% CTR, while Advertisement B has a 1% CTR. Under the original Rotate evenly setting, the ads would show roughly evenly, resulting in an average CTR of around 2%. Under the new setting, Advertisement A will show more frequently after the even rotation window has passed, bringing the average CTR closer to 3%, or a 50% increase in clicks. Our systems will also continue to run Advertisement B for a low fraction of traffic to continue to test how well it performs.



Also, in response to your feedback, we're planning to make two changes to the setting. First, we'll expand the even rotation period from 30 days to 90 days to give you a longer window for testing new ads. Second, if you still wish to have your ads rotate evenly indefinitely, we're going to offer an opt-out of this change. You can opt-out by filling in your information on this form or by contacting your account representative. Both of these changes will go into effect on June 11, 2012.



If we see a large amount of demand for the opt-out over the next few weeks, we'll also offer the opt-out in the AdWords interface directly.



We're confident that the changes we've made to ad rotation enable us to show higher quality ads to our users and better performing ads for our advertisers. However, we also realize that it is important to provide you with the freedom and time to decide what works best for you and that's why we're announcing these changes today. Please continue to share your feedback so that we can build solutions to meet your advertising needs.



Posted by: Nick Fox, VP, Product Management

Building a better shopping experience

Building a better shopping experience: (Cross-posted from the Google Commerce blog)



Truly great search is all about turning intentions into actions, lightning fast. In the early days of Google, users would type in a query, we’d return ten blue links, and they’d move on happy. Today people want more. When searching for great local restaurants, people want places to eat right there on the results page, not another click or two away. It’s the same with hotels, flight options, directions and shopping. 



Organizing these types of data can be very different from indexing the Web, because the information is often not publicly available. It requires deep partnerships with different industries—from financial services and travel to merchants who sell physical goods. 



Today we’re announcing a new initiative to improve our shopping experience over time--so that shoppers (your customers) can easily research purchases, compare different products, their features and prices, and then connect directly with merchants to make their purchase. 



Google Shopping 



First, we are starting to transition Google Product Search in the U.S. to a purely commercial model built on Product Listing Ads. This new product discovery experience will be called Google Shopping and the transition will be complete this fall. We believe that having a commercial relationship with merchants will encourage them to keep their product information fresh and up to date. Higher quality data—whether it’s accurate prices, the latest offers or product availability—should mean better shopping results for users, which in turn should create higher quality traffic for merchants. 



We’re giving merchants a few months to transition to this new model, and we’re also offering some incentives:

• All merchants who create Product Listing Ads by August 15, 2012 will automatically receive a monthly credit for 10% of their total Product Listing Ad spend through the end of 2012; and
• Existing Google Product Search merchants can receive $100 AdWords credit toward Product Listing Ads if they fill out a form before August 15, 2012.

To learn more and get started merchants can visit: www.google.com/ads/shopping 



Ranking in Google Shopping, when the full transition is complete this fall, will be based on a combination of relevance and bid price--just like Product Listing Ads today. This will give merchants greater control over where their products appear on Google Shopping. Over time they will also have the opportunity to market special offers such as “30% off all refracting telescopes.” 



In addition, merchants who want to stand out from the crowd can choose to participate in our new Google Trusted Stores program. Google Trusted Stores is a badge for e-commerce sites which gives users background on merchants—whatever their size—including ratings for on-time shipping and customer service. Google stands behind merchants that have earned the Google Trusted Stores badge with a $1,000 lifetime purchase protection guarantee per shopper. 



Google.com 



Second, starting today we’ve also begun to experiment with some new commercial formats on Google.com that will make it easier for users to find and compare different products. These include larger product images that give shoppers a better sense of what is available and also the ability to refine a search by brand or product type. For example, here’s what stargazers could see on Google.com when searching for [telescopes].

Search results for [telescopes] in the new Google Shopping experience

These new formats are clearly labeled “sponsored,” and take space currently occupied by AdWords.

If people are looking for a specific product, such as [Celestron CPC 800], they might also see a new design that summarizes information about that particular item neatly in one place. They can then easily decide whether it is what they want, and buy it from their merchant of choice.

Results for specific product queries like [Celestron CPC 800] may include reviews and product attributes

We’re excited about building delightful shopping experiences for consumers in close partnership with merchants. Google Shopping will empower businesses of all sizes to compete effectively--and it will help shoppers turn their intentions into actions lightning fast. Today’s changes are a first step toward providing technology, tools and traffic to help power the retail ecosystem. 



Posted by Sameer Samat, Vice President of Product Management, Google Shopping

Want to learn new ways to promote your mobile app? Join us tomorrow for a Hangout On Air.

Want to learn new ways to promote your mobile app? Join us tomorrow for a Hangout On Air.: Earlier this month, we announced new features in AdWords that provide a simple solution for developers and businesses with a mobile app to acquire users and track downloads. Tomorrow (May 31st) at 10am PST, 1pm EST, we’re hosting a live Hangout On Air with Product Manager Anurag Agrawal in a conversation with businesses who have been early to test this out - Brian Wright, Sr. Marketing Manager at Lookout Mobile Security, and Troy Morris, Mobile Marketing Manager at WhitePages.   We’ll also be demonstrating how to use the new Mobile App Extension, and set up Android Download Tracking inside AdWords.



How to tune into this Hangout On Air:

1. Visit the Google Ads +Page at 10am PST/1pm EST.
2. Look for the stream post, and click to tune in.  Don’t forget to be signed into Google+!

Look for the Hangout on Air post like the image above on the Google Ads +Page and click to tune-in!

Leave us comments and questions! We’ll be sure to answer these during or in a follow up to the Hangout On Air.



Posted by Sonja Lee, Google Mobile Ads

AdWords for video: Use video to capture a new advertising audience

AdWords for video: Use video to capture a new advertising audience: Join us every Wednesday at 11am PST on the Google+ Your Business page to learn about the tools that Google offers your business. This week, we’re excited to bring you a Hangout On Air about AdWords for video.



Who doesn’t love watching videos? They can teach, elicit emotion, and influence our daily lives. Naturally then, video is also an effective way to build awareness of your business. On average, video advertising on YouTube can lead to a 20% increase in website traffic. Watch Wednesday’s Hangout on Air to hear more about AdWords for video from two specialists who will address who should use video advertising, how to up set video campaigns, what performance metrics are available, and a few more helpful tricks.



Just sign into Google+ and add the Google+ Your Business page to your circles. Post questions ahead of time - simply look for the post that we put up every Monday morning soliciting your questions. Then, on Wednesday, navigate to your Stream where you’ll be able to view our Hangout live with just one click!

Posted by Katie Miller, Inside AdWords crew

Model bid changes at scale with campaign bid simulator

Model bid changes at scale with campaign bid simulator:

When we launched bid simulator in 2009, we wanted to make it easy for you to understand the impact of bids on your advertising results. Until now, you’ve been able to access bid simulator at the keyword and ad group level.

To allow you to more easily simulate and apply bid changes at scale, we’re pleased to announce the launch of campaign bid simulator.

To access campaign bid simulator, go to the Opportunities tab and select “campaign bid simulator” from the left navigation tree.

With campaign bid simulator, you can:

• View bid changes in aggregate and model changes even when keywords or ad groups might not have enough data for this on their own. 
• See what might happen if you increased or decreased all your bids by a specific percentage (10%, for example). 
• See whether you may need to increase your campaign budget to ensure it doesn’t become limited by budget at the new bid value. 
• Model what happens if you changed all your bids in the campaign to a single value. 
• Download the bid-simulation data at the account or campaign level. 
• Download an AdWords Editor-compatible file with bid amounts at the simulated level and the ad groups and keywords to which they should be applied. 

Note: this is mock data only and should not be seen as a real or accurate simulation

For more information, visit the AdWords Help Center.

Posted by Sheridan Kates, Product Manager, AdWords