Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have long been part of PPC — so why are AI and machine learning all of a sudden such hot topics? It is, in part, because exponential advances have now brought technology to the point where it can legitimately compete with the performance and precision of human account managers. I […]
6 ways ad agencies can thrive in an AI-first world Read More »
There’s a position at Google called “Chief Search Evangelist.” It’s evolved in the years since Fred Vallaeys filled that role, now focusing on meeting with our advertisers in person when they come to visit Google on-site. I think my job is pretty cool, but I must admit that the idea of talking search ads day-in,
What you learn from talking with Google’s largest advertisers all day, every day Read More »
I have a confession to make. The odds of my instantly deleting one of the many marketing emails I receive each day are about as good as Tom Brady and the Patriots making the playoffs — meaning it’s pretty likely to happen. Unfortunately for all you email marketers out there, I’m not alone. According to
Supercharge your email marketing with Google AdWords Read More »
Your marketing team is hard at work tweaking ads and landing pages to drive efficiency and hit the targets set for them by the C-suite. And those targets are more than likely ROAS-related. But, for two reasons, these ROAS targets are actually causing a lot of damage: ROAS usually doesn’t take incrementality into account, which
The vicious cycle of ROAS targets is killing your business Read More »
In mid-November, pre-empting the hellish holiday shopping season, Google unveiled a slew of new features designed to help advertisers maximize their AdWords budgets. While promotion extensions and ad variations are neat and all, the thing I’m most stoked about is the new custom intent audiences feature on Google Display Network (GDN). If you haven’t checked
Are your AdWords campaigns working… like, really working? That might be a surprisingly hard question to answer. Anybody with an AdWords account can see if they’re getting clicks, and it’s not too hard to set up conversion tracking — but chances are that the reason you put money into AdWords was that you wanted to
Which PPC metrics matter? Lessons from half a million keywords Read More »
Universal App campaigns (UAC) help you find new app users across Google’s largest properties: Google Play, Search, YouTube and Gmail, as well as millions of websites and apps across the Google Display Network. Back in August, Google (my employer) announced that all app install campaigns in AdWords are becoming UACs. Whether you’re starting UACs for
The lowdown on driving app downloads with Universal App campaigns Read More »
The busy 2017 holiday shopping season is now in full swing, and we’ve already witnessed impressive Y/Y sales growth on key shopping days. As advertisers dig into their own performance, many are taking stock of the competition to get a sense for what other brands are doing. This was a key topic for a #ppcchat
Is holiday paid search more competitive in 2017 than 2016? Read More »
Black Friday and Cyber Monday continue to gain cultural significance across the US and the globe as shoppers and retailers deepen their relationships through enhanced technology, stronger/more personalized deals and a singular online-offline approach. As for 2017, all major metrics trended up, including click volume, mobile purchases, foot traffic and overall sales. Cyber Monday 2017
Omnichannel shoppers collide with Black Friday and Cyber Monday, setting new records Read More »
Search experts understand the importance of targeting non-branded search terms: Optimizing for high-volume, non-branded terms can drive a significant amount of traffic to your brand’s site. While targeting non-branded search terms plays an essential role in your overall search strategy, many brands still underestimate and neglect the power of branded search terms. By relying on
