Car insurance Channel

Now that Memorial Day has come and gone, we've officially entered the season of Brides, Dads, and Grads. And you know what that means -- a summer full of planning parties and giving gifts! Whether you are in the travel industry, or you sell household items through your online store, or you offer catering services, there's a great opportunity for everyone to gain new customers this summer.

Right around this time last year, we shared some ways to make the most out of summer gift-giving. Take a look at these extensive suggestions for ideas on how you can reach gift-givers and party planners this summer.

You may also want to check out demographic bidding when you set up your summer gift-giving and party planning campaigns. Demographic bidding is a way to help your ad reach audiences of a certain age or gender. For example, if you want your ads to be seen by young brides-to-be who might be planning a honeymoon, you could target women aged 25-35. Learn more about how demographic bidding can help you reach new customers.

We hope you'll enjoy these tips -- happy start-of-summer!

Posted by Heather Lane, Inside AdWords crew

Our advertisers have often asked: 'What kinds of web sites make up the Google content network?'

To help answer this question, we just re-launched the Partners page on the Google content network microsite to include a more comprehensive set of examples of where your ads can appear. After all, the content network is comprised of hundreds of thousands of web sites, from information and news sites like About.com and the New York Times, to blogs like Ask the Builder. And while it's not possible to individually name all the sites in the content network, the revamped Partners page is meant to better demonstrate the variety of sites available. Below are some features of the new Partners page:

Are you interested in reaching your target audience through offline advertising, while also driving online searches and boosting ROI? If so, you can get help from experts at the Google Marketer's Playbook talks at upcoming ad:tech digital marketing conferences.

The Google Marketer's Playbook is a new series of educational talks where our experts discuss strategies for making the most of AdWords and other Google products helpful to advertisers such as Google Analytics and YouTube. Topics include optimization strategy, measurement and tracking, and increasing reach.

These sessions will be held at the 2008 ad:tech Miami, Chicago, and New York shows starting June 3rd and are open to all exhibit hall pass holders. To obtain a free exhibit hall pass to the event of your choice, visit www.ad-tech.com and click on the 'register' link next to the show you will be attending. Following the talks, attendees will be able to participate in the live Q&A sessions with the experts.

The Google Marketer's Playbook at ad:tech San Francisco has already passed, but you can watch recordings of the sessions in this YouTube playlist. These videos are also live on the Google Business Channel which contains even more presentations and webinars about Google's business products and advertising solutions.

Posted by Christian Yee, Inside AdWords crew

On Saturday, May 17th, the AdWords system will be unavailable from approximately 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. PDT due to scheduled 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 during the above times -- with this month being an exception to that rule, as previously noted in our April maintenance update.

We'll continue to update you via the blog 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 Trevor Claiborne, Inside AdWords crew

In early March, we announced that we'd soon incorporate an additional factor into Quality Score, namely landing page load time -- where load time is defined as the amount of time it takes for a user to see the landing page after clicking an ad. Now, we'd like to post with an update.

Starting today, load time evaluations will be displayed on the Keyword Analysis page, for your review. We suggest taking some time to evaluate and understand this information because, starting mid-June, landing page load time will be incorporated into your Quality Score.

Once you've had the chance to review and evaluate this information, you may wish to make changes to improve your landing page load time. People who click your ads may well thank you for it, by becoming your satisfied customer.

To learn more about load time and landing page quality, please see this article in the AdWords Help Center.

Posted by the Inside AdWords crew

Based on the positive response to our new Analytics Seminars for Success, we've added 6 additional sessions in Boston, Chicago, and Orlando. Industry experts will teach you how to use and apply Analytics knowledge to make smarter marketing decisions.

Sign up seven days before the seminar date and we'll even throw in a $50 AdWords advertising credit. (View the terms and conditions of advertising credits.) You'll find more information about these seminars, including dates, locations, course outlines and registration instructions, at http://www.google.com/awseminars.

And of course, if you'd like to be informed when AdWords and Analytics Seminars become available in your area, simply fill out this form.

Posted by Vivian Leung, Inside AdWords crew

Due to overwhelming demand for the Google TV Ads webinar, we've added an additional session. If you're interested in learning more about Google TV Ads, we'll be hosting another free webinar next week.

Our online webinars are led by AdWords and TV advertising specialists and cover tips on how Google TV Ads can help drive more web traffic and increase your sales volume, turning TV viewers into your customers.

The 1-hour webinar is being held on Tuesday, May 13th at 10am PDT. Please visit the sign-up page to register.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Inside AdWords crew

Mother's Day is only 5 days away! And this holiday is surely no exception to the rule that many shoppers procrastinate. Below are some tips to capture a bigger share of the 'late-shopper pie' -- both on Mother's Day this year, and next!

• Create ad groups containing keywords and ad text geared specifically toward Mother's Day, with keywords like 'mother's day gifts' and 'mother's day gift ideas'. You can then pause this ad group and re-use it with minor tweaks next year. You can find detailed suggestions on creating effective keyword lists in our Keyword Basics and Beyond Keyword Basics blog posts.

• Write compelling ad text that features the products you offer on your web site. This invites shoppers interested in those products to click through, and prevents clicks from shoppers who aren't interested. You might also find our previous post on ad text optimization helpful.

• Highlight gift cards as an alternative. This year, almost 40% of shoppers will buy a gift certificate for mom.* If you offer gift cards, highlight them as another option to last-minute shoppers, as gift cards are delivered more quickly than standard packages.

• Extend shipping deadlines. You can convert more last-minute shoppers into customers by offering delivery options, such as overnight delivery, and free or discounted shipping. Also, it's important to clearly inform buyers of delivery deadlines on your home page as well as on specific product pages.

• If you offer gift wrapping, highlight this option along with shipping directly to the recipient.

• Many last-minute shoppers turn to the Internet, but are hesitant to use their credit card on websites. Cater to these shoppers by offering other payment options, like Google Checkout.
  

As you read this, late shoppers are busy searching for the perfect last-minute gift to buy mom. This is your opportunity to persuade them to buy from you.

* National Retail Federation 2008 Mother’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey (PDF)

Posted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

Google AdWords has come a long way since its launch in 2000 -- gone are the days of only serving simple text ads on search results and various pages across the Internet. Over the years, we've introduced a number of creative formats for advertising online, and now you can even use your AdWords account to create campaigns that will reach customers when they aren't online.

Here's a quick overview of all the AdWords ad types available:

Online

Text ads: When displayed on Google, text ads are four lines of text: a title (25 characters), two lines of ad text (35 characters each), and a URL line. The format of text ads on partner sites may differ. For example, your ad text may appear on a single line, or it may look like the ads on this page.

Image ads: Appearing on select content sites in the Google network, images ads are just that -- graphical AdWords ads. Unlike traditional online graphical ads, image ads can be matched to a page's content. See examples of image ads and placement options.

Video ads: Like image ads, video ads appear on content sites in the Google network, but are user-initiated. That means a user must click "play" to watch your ad. Think of video ads as a type of commercial on the Internet. Watch examples of video ads.

Mobile ads: Available as text or image ads, mobile ads appear on mobile websites, and direct users to your mobile website. Mobile text ads can also appear when users search Google from a mobile device. If you'd like to run mobile ads, you'll need a mobile website. Learn more about where mobile ads are available.

Offline

TV ads: That's right -- TV ads! Through your AdWords account, you can launch a television campaign in minutes. Google TV Ads is available to advertisers located in the United States, billed in U.S. dollars. Watch a demo to learn more.

Print ads: Place your ads in newspapers across the United States. In fact, you can choose from more than 750 newspapers, and set a price that matches your budget. Learn how other advertisers have used Print Ads by reading our success stories. Google Print Ads is available to advertisers located in the United States, billed on credit card postpay.

Audio ads: Broadcast you message on over 1,600 radio stations across the U.S. Audio ads are just like traditional radio commercials, but they're easier to buy and manage. Google Audio Ads are available to advertisers located in the United States, billed on credit card postpay. Listen to examples of audio ads, all of which were created using the Google Ad Creation Marketplace.

We invite you to experiment with the various ad formats available -- advertisers often find that offline ad formats are a great complement to their online campaigns, helping them reach new customers. You can find more information about each ad type in the help center.

Posted by Heather Lane, Inside AdWords crew