Car insurance Channel

As part of Google's integration of DoubleClick, the DoubleClick Performics Affiliate network is now part of Google. To consolidate our offerings, we will be phasing out the AdWords pay-per-action beta in the last week of August 2008. As an alternative to pay-per-action advertising, Google offers two products that allow you to manage your advertising on a CPA (cost-per-acquisition) basis: the Conversion Optimizer and the Google Affiliate Network.

The Conversion Optimizer is an AdWords bidding feature that lets you specify a maximum CPA goal for ads on the Google search and content networks. It uses historical information about your campaign to automatically adjust your CPC bid for each auction to help you meet your CPA goal. In addition, the Conversion Optimizer is now supported in both the AdWords Editor and the AdWords API. You can learn more on the Conversion Optimizer homepage.

The Google Affiliate Network, previously known as DoubleClick Performics Affiliate, has been in operation since 1998. Through the network, advertisers can open their ads to all publishers in the network, or select specific publishers that match their criteria. You can set a CPA for your entire campaign or establish custom payment schedules for specific publishers -- such as a higher CPA for a particularly optimal placement. The Google Affiliate Network is currently a separate product from AdWords and AdSense. As with AdSense, publishers must apply and be accepted into the network.

If you're interested in learning more about the Google Affiliate Network, please visit our website.

Did you know that we have an AdWords Glossary? It's a great resource for learning more about AdWords; so we're starting a new series here at Inside AdWords entitled (Ad)Word of the Day. Each post in the series will cover one term in the glossary and talk a little bit about it.

For our inaugural post, we'll start with ad variations:

Ad variations are multiple versions of an ad for a single product or service, all based on the same set of keywords. Variations are a good way to test many versions of the same message to see which works best with potential customers.

One advantage of using ad variations is that AdWords can automatically show the best performing ad. If you are not sure which message will work best with your potential customers, you can simply create multiple ads for an ad group. AdWords will automatically show the best performing ad more often over time.

We hope you've enjoyed the first part of our new series. If you have suggestions for words you'd like to see, we're always listening at inside-adwords@google.com.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Inside AdWords crew

Staying competitive in the online space can be hard if you don't have the proper tools at your disposal. That's why we offer solutions like Google Webmaster Tools, Google Analytics, and Google Website Optimizer to help you improve your site's effectiveness and functionality.

Used individually, each product can provide valuable and actionable information about specific aspects of your site. However, by using all three together, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of your pages' visibility on Google, where your visitors come from, how they interact with your site, and what content motivates them to take the action you want.

For the first time ever, the Webmaster Tools, Analytics, and Website Optimizer teams will join forces to hold a free webinar entitled The Google Trifecta. This session will be held Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 from 9:00 - 10:00 am PDT. Register to attend here.

During this online seminar, team members will:

• Provide brief introductions to their products
  
• Highlight recent product updates and releases
  
• Discuss the benefits of using all three products together
  
• Answer common questions submitted by attendees
  

Upon registration, we also invite you to submit any specific topics you'd like to see covered. We look forward to seeing you there!

Posted by Christian Yee, Inside AdWords crew

If you're a media planner at an ad agency, you know that planning an online display buy can be challenging, particularly in scaling your campaign's reach while keeping it relevant for your target audience. Plus, how do you keep track of the millions of sites out there that might be just right for your campaign?

To make your life easier, we're introducing Google Ad Planner, a research and media planning tool that connects advertisers and publishers. When using Google Ad Planner, simply enter demographics and sites associated with your target audience, and the tool will return information about sites (both on and off the Google content network) that your audience is likely to visit. You can drill down further to get more detail like demographics and related searches for a particular site, or you can get aggregate statistics for the sites you've added to your media plan.

While Google Trends for Websites, announced last week, is designed for all users, Google Ad Planner is designed with media planners in mind. Using Google Ad Planner, you can quickly create media plans and export to a .csv file, which can be opened in most spreadsheet applications. Or, you can export to DoubleClick's MediaVisor, which helps you manage all your other media planning, buying and campaign management activities.


We hope you'll find this tool useful and discover many relevant sites--small and large--that would otherwise be hard to find. As Ad Planner is a new product, it's currently available by invitation only. If you're interested in trying it out, you can apply here.

Posted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

The Conversion Optimizer, our free cost-per-acquisition (CPA) bidding feature for AdWords, came out of beta in January. One of the top requests we've heard is from advertisers wanting to use the Conversion Optimizer with AdWords Editor and the AdWords API. Today, we are pleased to announce that the Conversion Optimizer is now supported by both AdWords Editor and the AdWords API.

Many advertisers have told us that by using the Conversion Optimizer, they have not only made their campaigns significantly more profitable, but also they save time managing their accounts. Though one question we often hear is, "How does the Conversion Optimizer make my campaign more profitable than I can on my own?"

You probably already vary your bids by keyword and may also use separate bids for the search and content networks. The Conversion Optimizer takes this strategy a step further by automatically adjusting your bids to take into account many additional factors, including: the country the user is browsing from, the specific content network site or search partner site your ad appears on, and the broad match terms a keyword has matched on.

As part of AdWords, the Conversion Optimizer is able to consider all these factors, and then adjust your bids based on the potential value of each click. Clicks vary in value because every click has a different likelihood of converting. For example, the keyword "flowers" may have a 2% conversion rate while the keyword "roses delivery" may have a 7% conversion rate. That doesn't mean that you don't want any clicks on "flowers," but you probably wouldn't want to spend as much on that keyword as you might be willing to spend for clicks on "roses delivery." The Conversion Optimizer uses information like this to adjust your bids based on how valuable each click is for you.

If you would like to use the Conversion Optimizer, you'll need to have AdWords Conversion Tracking enabled and have at least 200 conversions in the last 30 days. To get started, check out the Conversion Optimizer homepage.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Inside AdWords crew

You may know that the Google Website Optimizer is a great tool to help you improve the effectiveness of your website, but you might not know where to start. Or perhaps you're in the middle of a test, but need some guidance. To provide you with the support you need, we launched the Google Website Optimizer Service Plans. These are hourly technical service plans that come in three different packages tailored to your needs:

1. One hour: This plan is designed for specific questions and quick answers. You're allowed a maximum of one call per hour.
2. Three hours: This plan is ideal for more complex issues. It must be used within six months after the first hour of service is used, in increments of 30 minutes.
3. Eight hours: Purchase this plan and use it for an entire year. It must be used within 12 months after the first hour of service is used, in increments of 30 minutes.

Technical services include, but are not limited to:

• Experiment design
• Experiment set-up and implementation
• Report analysis
• A la carte incident consultation
• Phone and internet-chat support
• Personalized training

This is an easy and affordable way to start testing and increasing the sales, leads and sign-ups you generate from your website. You can get started today by contacting a participating authorized consultant. And of course, our roster of consultants is always available for more long-term consultation.

Learn more about Google Website Optimizer.

Posted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

Google designs its products with user experience as the number one priority. Early in Google's history, our founders, Larry and Sergey, articulated this philosophy in Ten things Google has found to be true. One of these principles is "Fast is better than slow." We've found this rule to be especially applicable to the landing pages of AdWords ads. When a user clicks an ad, a landing page that loads quickly provides a better user experience than a landing page that loads slowly.

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. In early May we announced that landing page load time information had become available on the Keyword Analysis page.

Starting today, this load time factor will be incorporated into your keywords' Quality Scores. Keywords with landing pages that load slowly may get lower Quality Scores (and thus higher minimum bids). Conversely, keywords with landing pages that load very quickly may get higher Quality Scores and lower minimum bids.

Why are we doing this?
Two reasons: First, users have the best experience when they don't have to wait a long time for landing pages to load. Interstitial pages, multiple redirects, excessively slow servers, and other things that can increase load times only keep users from getting what they want: information about your business. Second, users are more likely to abandon landing pages that load slowly, which can hurt your conversion rate.

How can I improve my load time?
The AdWords system re-evaluates landing pages on a regular basis. If you make significant improvements to your landing page's load time, you should see a better Quality Score and lower minimum cost-per-click (CPC) bids. Note that your Quality Score may change/increase gradually over a number of weeks after you improve your load time.

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

Posted by Heather Lane, Inside AdWords crew

On Saturday, June 21, 2008, the AdWords system will be unavailable from approximately 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. PDT, for maintenance -- as was noted in our previous maintenance update, earlier this month.

While you won't be able to sign in to your accounts during this time, your campaigns will continue to run as usual. This particular maintenance may last up to one hour longer than typical maintenance sessions.

AdWords system maintenance typically occurs on the second Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Pacific time), with this month being an exception to that rule.

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 Heather Lane, Inside AdWords crew

One of the most common questions the Website Optimizer team gets asked by advertisers is whether or not Website Optimizer will work with content management systems (CMS). This morning, the team launched a new Technology Partner program to call attention to those global CMS providers that have been certified as fully compatible with Website Optimizer.

If you'd like to use Website Optimizer to test your CMS-managed web pages, you'll now have a central location to find information on all Website Optimizer certified platforms available to you. Although you can still use Website Optimizer on non-certified platforms, the Website Optimizer Technology Partners make it easier by offering specific documentation and technical support. Most also provide auto-tagging functionality, which will make it easier for you to launch your experiments.

If your current CMS provider isn't yet a Website Optimizer Technology Partner then we encourage you to ask them to join - it's a free and easy way for you both to benefit.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Inside AdWords crew

Could your AdWords account use a little oomph? If so, then the latest AdWords Industry Newsletters have some fresh ideas for you.

This quarter's Retail issue features tips for getting a head start on your holiday campaigns and using Google Trends to understand your keyword traffic. In the Tech B2C issue you'll find original research on consumer electronics buyers and tips on streamlining keywords with AdWords Editor. And, just in time for the summer season, the brand-new AdWords Travel Industry Newsletter is here for advertisers selling travel-related products and services.

We also have a new resource for financial marketers: the Financial Services Industry Knowledge Center. Here you'll find tips, guides, success stories, and Google product recommendations specifically for the financial services vertical.

If you want to find an Industry Knowledge Center for a different industry, please visit this page.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Inside AdWords crew

This month, we'll be bringing the Seminars for Success program to The Rose City, otherwise known as Portland, Oregon, for the first time. Portlanders will be able to attend both AdWords and Analytics sessions in June and July. In addition to the seminars' debut in Portland, we've also made a couple of updates to the general program:

New Advanced AdWords Seminars
After a year-long hiatus, we'll be re-introducing the Advanced level of AdWords Seminars, designed for those who are already familiar with the program and want to learn advanced techniques for optimizing their AdWords performance. If comfortable with the basics, or you've already taken the Beginner / Intermediate level, then the Advanced session is right for you. You'll find a detailed course description for our Advanced session here.

Two-day, Back-to-Back Format
To make the most efficient use of your time, we'll be offering the AdWords Beginner / Intermediate session and Advanced session back-to-back over two days in all of the upcoming seminar cities. That means you can attend the Beginner / Intermediate session on day one, and then the Advanced session on day two without any lag time in between. (And yes, that means if you sign up for both sessions, you'll receive two $50 credits for a total of $100 in AdWords advertising. More information about the terms and conditions of the credits can be found here.)

If you're not near Portland, Oregon, don't despair. We'll also be offering AdWords Seminars in the following cities:

July 15-16: Seattle, WA
July 21-22: Chicago, IL
July 28-29: Scottsdale, AZ
August 28-29: Houston, TX
September 22-23: Los Angeles, CA
October 20-21: Boston, MA
October 27-28: Columbus, OH

For more information about Seminars for Success, including registration details, course outlines, and past attendees' comments, please visit www.google.com/awseminars.

Posted by Vivian Leung, Inside AdWords crew

Google TV Ads can be an effective means of reaching new customers and driving incremental traffic to your website. Now, you can track the online impact of your TV campaigns through your Google Analytics account.

Today we released version 6.0 of AdWords Editor. Version 6.0 offers new and updated features to help you edit your AdWords campaigns faster and more effectively. For example, this version includes new bulk editing tools, better downloading for account statistics, and a new option for updating minimum CPC bids. We've also listened to users' requests for support within AdWords Editor for CPC placement targeting and the Conversion Optimizer, so version 6.0 includes support for both of these features.

Before you upgrade, be sure to export an archive of your account in order to preserve comments and unposted changes. After you've installed version 6.0, download your account, then import the archive file.

You can download version 6.0 now by visiting our website and clicking 'Download AdWords Editor.' Also, within the next few days, existing users will receive an automatic update prompt when starting the application.

If you'd like to learn tips for using AdWords Editor, including how to use the new features in version 6.0, please sign up for our free webinar on Tuesday, June 10, from 10:30-11:30 PDT. An AdWords Editor specialist will provide live demonstrations, and you'll have an opportunity to ask questions of our team of specialists.
Posted by Christian Yee, Inside AdWords crew

On Saturday, June 7th, the AdWords system will be unavailable from approximately 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. PDT, for 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.

In the interest of giving you advance notice, there may also be maintenance on Saturday, June 21st. However, we will confirm before that date.

We'll continue to update you via the blog as we always have, but please make note of the June 7th date, the tentative June 21st date, and our scheduled maintenance further down the road.

Posted by Heather Lane, Inside AdWords crew

Today at the SMX Seattle conference, the Website Optimizer team announced the launch of the Google Website Workout contest. The idea behind the contest is simple: the team wants to help four businesses "pump up" their websites so they can realize more sales, leads, and sign-ups. Our consultants will work with the four winners to increase their websites' performance by identifying and testing which combinations of page design, copy, and graphics yield the highest conversion rates.

This short video explains how the contest works and what you can expect:


(If you are having trouble viewing the video, please visit the contest page.)
Entering the contest is easy -- visit the contest site and answer a few questions about why your site needs a workout. We'll only be accepting entries through June 17th, so please enter soon.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Inside AdWords crew

Posted by Heather Lane, Inside AdWords crew