The PPC world is currently agog with the news that Google is going to stop showing advertisers a large percentage of lower-volume queries in our Search Terms report. (Indeed, they already have.) It seems imperative to address potential responses to this change, so I’ll do so next week. In the meantime, no matter how full or complete our query data remains, negative keywords will continue to be a...
Five Ways to Keep Smart Bidding From Acting Not-So-Smart
In this week’s instalment I have one sharp new tip, and a few reminders of other key ways to use Smart Bidding without getting into hot water. As PPC account managers, many of us want some control. Yet under typical conditions, Smart Bidding in Google Ads gives us zero levers to pull. Boo. Well, look over here as I peel back the vinyl covering (it looks like a BBQ cover, but it has the Page Zero...
Does Smart Bidding Make Life Simpler? That’s a Definite Maybe
Online advertising scales, if you let it. Once something scales, complexity threatens to drown us. That’s why we must use Occam’s Razor at times. Recognizing this, Google has packaged Smart Bidding using shorthand terminology and easy implementation in a bid (pun unintentional) to reduce the number of decisions facing human account managers. That could help you. On the other hand, if you’re a...
Display Advertising for Performance: Reawakening the Lost Art of Managing Placements
In Part 16, we talked about how to broaden PPC campaigns beyond the obvious high-intent search inventory. This week, I’ll reopen an age-old conversation: can the Google Display Network perform for your business? I won’t bury the lede. I’ve seen Display perform well—so much so that the ROI on a carefully curated list of Display placements is comparable to Search. For real? Yes...
Nimble PPC Optimizations to Address Seasonality
PPC platforms offer an amazing array of specific optimization opportunities. Once many details have been optimized, a “mature account” (it can take over five years for an account to reach that stage, especially as the competitive landscape and other circumstances change) might not require as much detailed optimization than during the earlier building and learning phases. There are...
