This week we are exploring advanced PPC strategies, and bidding on branded keywords is a regularly debated tatic. According to a study conducted by Hitwise, one in seven brand searches do not end up at the searched-for brand’s website. This is an indication of a number of search trends:

• Bidding on branded keywords, your own as well as those of your competitors, is …
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Recently, we asked our readers what topics they would like to see covered when it comes to advanced pay-per-click management strategies. There were several good suggestions, and this week we’re going to discuss some of the topics our readers are most interested in learning about.

Writing about advanced PPC management can help veteran ppc’ers as well as beginners. Brushing up on PPC management basics is always …

Can’t get enough of that hunky PPC Hero? Or that wily SEO Boy? Or that gorgeous Miss Clicks? Or that shady ROI Bandit? Well, now you can! We have created a PPC Hero Illustration Archive over at Flickr. Now you can reminisce about all of the adventures PPC Hero has had thus far (and there are many more to come!). Check out the archive HERE!

• The YSM blog suggests three questions to ask about your clicks when you see an unexpected surge in traffic: Have you changed anything recently? Have you noticed abnormal click activity (by reviewing logs, etc.)? Have you set a daily spending limit? This is a good reminder from Yahoo on the importance of carefully reviewing the traffic you receive from PPC and taking the proper actions to fix any problems!
• Have you considered using Google’s new Conversion …
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Late last week, several of my PPC clients received emails from Google concerning the relationship between their AdWords and Analytics accounts. According to the opening lines of the message, my clients’ accounts were not properly linked and I had until March 5th to fix the problem.
It’s come to our attention that your AdWords account has not been properly linked with your Google Analytics account. If you do not link your accounts by March 5, 2008, we cannot ensure that your …

What is a conversion funnel?

A conversion funnel is the path a customer takes from entering your site through the checkout process and finally the end goal being the purchase or signup confirmation page. The conversion funnel shows the first page with the most visitors, then each page thereafter the funnel will show less and less visitors as they drop off throughout the conversion process.

How can a conversion funnel help increase my conversions?

Conversion funnels can …