Some advertisers using AdWords conversion tracking mistakenly believe that they should set an easy conversion event on their landing pages to artificially boost their conversion rates.  In reality, this will not actually have any effect on your Quality Scores, says the Google blog.

What does affect your PPC Quality Score is the click-through rate (CTR).  Google’s goal is to increase relevant websites to match with people’s searches. The higher your click-through rate is, the more relevant your site is to a user’s search. And that’s how Google makes their money; the more clicks an advertiser gets, the more they pay Google. So, if you really want to work on improving your Quality Score, then try to increase your click-through rates.

The best way to improve your click-through rates is to be sure your testing your ads.  Below are some fairly common tips advertisers use to increase their click-through rates, all of which I have used and are proven successful:

1.        Be sure to set your campaign settings for Ad Delivery to “Rotate” and not “Optimize.” The optimize setting automatically chooses the best ad for you without testing other ads in your ad group.

2.       Be sure to have more than 1 ad in each and every ad group.  In some cases I have 4 to 5 ads running with different messages so I can test which message is most effective.

3.       Be sure to separate out your keywords into highly targeted, very distinct ad groups. This will help you write better ads according to the few keywords in your ad group.

4.       Be sure to add your keyword in your display URL. This can sometimes create an additional bold text in your ad and can add another keyword that will catch the user’s eye. Example, www.Shoes.com/NikeShoes

5.       Try to capitalize the first letter of each word in your ad. Some people don’t do this and it might help your ad stand apart from your competitors.

6.       When deciding which ad to pause or keep, be sure you are giving the ad enough time and clicks to accurately determine a winner or loser.

7.       With the economy in a recession, more and more people are only buying if there is a special deal or promotion going on. Use words like ‘Discount’, ‘Inexpensive’, ‘Outlet’ or even ‘Cheap’ if those words do describe your products. Remember though, in order to qualify your traffic, and don’t give any false impressions in your ad that a user won’t find true on your site. Example, if you’re selling high end musical instruments, using the word ‘cheap’ probably isn’t’ the way to go.  In addition to, if your site is having any promotional offers like free shipping or 20% off sales, be sure to say that in your ads.

These are just a few common ways to help increase your click-through rates to in turn increase your Quality Score. As always, PPCHero is your number one source for all things PPC! Check out our other blogs that help you write and test new ads to increase your click-through rates.

Over the past few years I’ve been working with a client who is a niche job board. At first, my approach was to drive traffic (and conversions) with Google, Yahoo! and MSN. This particular website had 2 conversion types: a resume submission and a direct application to a job. However, I could never find the right balance of conversions (applies are worth more). Eventually, a few of the vertical search engines began to court me. Sites like Indeed.com, SimplyHired.com, TopUSAJobs.com began to reach out to me looking for another sale.

At first I resisted their temptations. But eventually I caved and began my vertical PPC journey timidly with small dollar tests. I realized very quickly that I could drive more traffic for less money – and the icing on the cake? This traffic converted into applies! In a matter of months, all of my PPC budget was transferred to these vertical search engines, drastically changing my client’s flow of traffic and job seeker applies.

Based on these results I had to ask myself some tough questions. Why did the vertical search engines perform better when Google obviously has more search traffic, impressions, etc.? What about these PPC campaigns made them convert at a higher rate?

Here are my observations and explanations:

• In general, there is less advertiser competition on the vertical engines, allowing for cheaper cost-per-clicks – thus more traffic for the same amount of money.
• At their core, these PPC models are very different. Google, Yahoo, MSN are all keyword based, and the traffic is directed to the landing page of your choice. The job board search engines are based on a live feed of your site’s jobs – whose titles and descriptions act as the keywords, and the traffic is sent to the job listing on your website.
• User intent. Individuals searching Google vs. Indeed.com are in a different state of mind. Job seekers on Google are passive, which is why in my circumstance they converted to a resume on my site (sit and wait for an employer to call). On the flip-side, job seekers at Indeed or SimplyHired want to find a job today. They are active job seekers, and when they find a job they like, they apply right then and there. Period.
• User intent part 2. When you think about it, the major search engines (sometimes referred to as “horizontal search“) offers quite a bit of noise – or tangential search results that aren’t necessarily what a job seeker is looking for. Whereas a search on Indeed provides you with one thing only: a list of available jobs relevant to your search. Which is what vertical search is all about, right?

I’ve used a job board vertical search engine example here. But the parallels are much the same when looking at shopping search engines or any other vertical you can think of. The moral of my story is that switching to vertical PPC search engines paid off for my campaign’s performance. It also goes to show why Google, Yahoo and MSN are so interested in fulfilling the needs of the “vertically inclined.” Take a look at Google Base, Yahoo! Shopping or MSN Shopping. In short, vertical search works!

What kind of success have you had with using vertical search engines for your PPC campaigns?

• Want to discover what aspects of the Google AdWords Quality Score are holding back your keywords? Learn how to use a reporting tool in AdWords in order to see the exact Quality Score for each keyword, and another tool that will help you determine how to improve any keyword with a low Quality Score.
• Google Adwords is now automatically including Canada in all new campaigns.  If you don’t want to target Canada you must remember to go into your campaign and remove the country from your geo-targeting settings. We find this to be a silly change on Google’s part because it’s just one more setting that new people will forget they need to change before spending a lot of advertising dollars in an area they may not serve.
• The holiday shopping season is upon us!  There are a myriad of PPC tactics that can be employed to boost sales, but one sure-fire way is to utilize a bidding strategy that targets the buying cycle.  And to really get things going, you can even use demographic bidding to match the right customer with the right product!
• Some say that the only thing that stays the same is change.  And when you’re talking Quality Score, that statement couldn’t be more true.  Google unrolled another round of Quality Score changes in November that affted the “influence of ad position on CTR” and the process for how ads reach the top spots.

• Jeremy Mayes at PPC Discussions has been keeping track of every AdWords ad he’s clicked on over the past 60 days.  After 100 clicks, he’s realized that 110 of them landed on a dead (404 error) page!  Simply amazing.

• Note to self, stick to the facts when writing about Quality Score.  Andrew Goodman discovered a white paper on Quality Score that was a little grey on the facts.  He just wants to make sure that your PPC agency is paying attention to all of the facts!

• Brad Geddes has a post on Google’s display ad builder tool.  He says it lets you build images, flash and widget ads from pre-made templates.  He even has a YouTube video to watch and learn. I think it’s cool for people who are in the mode of trying something new or for people who are new to advertising and wants to see if these special kinds of ads will work for them.

• The Google Agency blog has started a Quality Score Fact of the Day series that highlights questions that Google reps get from account managers and advertisers. Last Monday’s fact was that showing up in a higher position will not benefit your Quality Score. Although higher-ranked ads may typically earn better click-through rates, Quality Score is normalized to compensate for performance differences resulting from ad position.

• Matt McGee thinks you should use another keyword tool - Keywordfinder. We have countless keyword tools, but Keywordfinder is a Yahoo-based tool, which can be of use. Check out his thoughts and see if it can be useful for any of your campaigns.

• Hyper-Targeting? Huh? Don’t worry; it just involves landing page relevancy. Read on, Ion Interactive has the scoop.

Our friends at SEO Roundtable are referencing some rumors in the Search Engine Watch Forums that speak of Google taking advantage of the holiday season to spend  more of your PPC budget than you may have expected.   Accuracast says they’ve recently seen an increase in accounts being added to the very limited test Google introduced in May.

As you remember, Google’s Automatic Matching expands the keyword terms you are currently bidding on to match similar phrases that are relevant “according to Google.”

What does this mean?  You’re ads are going will start showing to a wider range of search terms … automatically!  To stay on top of what keywords and phrases you’re bidding on, run a search query report on a more frequent basis.  If the report reveals terms that you know you don’t want included in your campaigns, add those terms to your negative keyword list.

So be aware PPC Account Managers!  This setting may be “turned on” without you knowing it.  Be sure to check your account settings, as shown below, to ensure you’re getting the most bang for your PPC budget!

If you’ve experienced an increase in accounts being added to the Automatic Matching feature recently, we’d love to hear from you!

Often, you refer to contacting your Google or Yahoo rep about a problem. How do you get a rep? I have not seen a way to find that kind of assistance.

After speaking with my Google rep, she mentioned that getting a dedicated rep is mainly based off of Google’s resources and availability. Essentially if you’re advertising in Google Adwords you can submit a request via their contact form and Google will put you on a list. If the appropriate ‘resources and availability’ come forth then Google will email/call you if you have received a dedicated rep.

Another way to get a dedicated Google rep, is to qualify for what Google calls ‘Premium Service.’  To qualify for the premium service you must spend a minimum of $30,000 over three months, with at least $10,000 each month.

For agencies, you must spend a minimum of $10,000 per client per month with a minimum of one month. Contact Google to find out if you qualify for their premium service.

Google also has what they call a jumpstart program where Google will set up new advertiser’s PPC campaigns and get 90 days of a dedicated Google rep as long as they’re spending $6,000 each month.

Gaining access to a dedicated account rep at Yahoo! is determined on a case-by-case basis. Some of the determining factors include: spend, size of account, etc. If you’d like to request a dedicated Yahoo rep. you can email or call the customer service line and request one be assigned to you. Like that of Google, it is up to the Yahoo! upper management and other factors on whether or not you get one.

If you do not meet the minimum requirements for Google or can’t get a dedicated rep. from for Yahoo!, you can use the help section or customer support in both search engines to get answers to your questions.  Not as nice, but you can still get help from the customer support line on any questions you have regarding your account. Google’s main line is 1-866-246-6453. Good Luck!

“If I keep bad performing campaigns and good performing campaigns in a single account, will they affect each other in any ways?”

Good question! In a nutshell; yes, a poor performing campaign can negatively affect your account history, therefore damaging your account level Quality Score.

How does this happen? There are numerous levels to the Quality Score within each account: keyword, ad text, ad group, content, campaign, account. A weak campaign can have a negative effect on your account history which can hinder other campaigns within a given account.

We have asked our Google AdWords Representatives for specifics on this topic and they responded vaguely by saying that account history does not directly affect your Quality Score. However, they have  also said that having a positive account history is extremely important to your AdWords success. What does this mean? It means that they didn’t want to explicitly state how your account history and account level Quality Scores are determined. And in turn, this means that this is an element of your account that can’t be ignored.

Shweta, another aspect of this question is why keep a poor performing campaign around? If your ROI is negative; your click-through is low; and your cost-per-conversion is inflated, what are you getting out of this campaign?

Sounds like this poor performing campaign could be hindering your Quality Score and your bottom line. Here are your next steps to head in the right direction:

1. Determine why this campaign is performing so poorly. Remember to use all of the AdWords report tools at your disposal.
2. Decide whether this campaign is salvageable or if it should be paused outright. What is holding this campaign back? Really drill down to the ad group and keyword  level.
3. If you decide that this campaign is crucial for the success of your account, then you need to create a plan to streamline/optimize this campaign.

I hope this helps!

Do you have a pay-per-click related question? Ask PPC Hero! You can drop us a line by clicking here!

Startup Weekend is coming again to Indiana!  Two Hanapin employees participated in the last SW in Bloomington and we want to help get the word out.  It’s an intense and focused weekend dedicated to forming companies - from concept to launch - with lots of learning and opportunities to form great connections with other attendees.  Hanapin is helping to sponsor the event too and we’re giving away a couple of tickets.  We’ll be announcing the contest on Twitter later today.  Just follow Pat East (our President and CEO) at http://twitter.com/pateast.  If you don’t win, you can register for the event at http://indianapolis.startupweekend.com/.  The official Indy Startup Weekend press release is below!

Startup Weekend is an intense 54 hour event which connects highly talented and motivated web developers, business managers, graphic artists, marketing gurus, and startup enthusiasts in order to form companies from concept to launch!

Indianapolis will host its Startup Weekend Event on December 5th - 7th at the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at the IUPUI campus downtown.

The event starts at 5 pm on Friday December 5th with an elevator pitch competition.  Participants then vote on the companies they would like to create and assemble into teams based on interest and skill sets. Teams work on their respective companies throughout the weekend concluding with a demonstration of the product on Sunday evening December 7th. Investors are welcome to attend the final presentations.

In addition to participants, Startup Weekend is made possible through the generosity of sponsors in the local community. The event management is currently looking for sponsors to help offset the costs of hosting the event. If you would like to become a sponsor or would like more information on the event please visit the website at http://indianapolis.startupweekend.com/ or contact Lou at lbegnel@gmail.com.

“Startup Weekend is a great place not only to network with fellow entrepreneurial minds but to practice your skills and interests in the context of a real business. The Indianapolis weekend will make Indiana the first state to hold three weekends” said Lorraine Ball, President of Rainmakers and Founder of Roundpeg Marketing

Startup Weekend, LLC is based out of Boulder, Colorado and facilitates the weekend events from city to city as voted for on its website, http://startupweekend.com/.

Previous Indiana Startup Weekend events have been held in Bloomington, IN and West Lafayette, IN. The vast majority of companies formed during prior weekends have been web-based and many have gone on to become viable businesses.

I set up a campaign, using different Ad Groups to target different locations; including location in keywords: [party hire yorkshire] exact matches. Had planned to target whole of UK. But would like to try Location Targeting different areas of UK instead. I would modify campaign to include both general & geographic keywords. What do you mean by ‘Companion Campaign’; does this mean a duplicate campaign targeting the whole of UK instead of specific areas. What are geographic modifiers? Thanks for the help!
- Jessica

Well Jessica, I believe I can help you out! First of all, it’s important to note that there are 2 distinct strategies for targeting searchers by location: IP Targeting and Keyword Targeting.

• IP Targeting: As the name implies, the search engines have systems in place to recognize the IP address of each user. This IP address includes their geographic location. When you set geographic restrictions at the campaign level in Google or Yahoo!, the keywords in that campaign will only display ads for users within the specified location! When working within an IP Targeted campaign, you should employ the use of broad, phrase or exact match keywords that cover the spectrum of general to long tail keywords. All of your normal keyword savvy still applies, but my point is you don’t have to append a location to every keyword with this strategy.
• Keyword Targeting: This method involves appending what I call “geographic modifiers” to your keywords (as Exact Match) as to only display ads to searchers who are looking for your product/service within that location. To use Jessica’s example, [party hire Yorkshire] contains the core keyword “party hire” and the geographic modifier “Yorkshire” – which will only display ads for users who enter that exact search – regardless of their physical location. That being said, when trying to target searchers by location with keyword targeting, your geo targeting settings should be open to all users in your area (i.e. US or UK; Indiana or Cornwall, etc.) for maximum effect.

In most cases, I would recommend creating campaigns to account for both methods. Be aware that when using IP Targeted campaigns, each campaign can only target a single location – be that Country, State, City, or custom region. The IP Targeted campaigns should be your top priority. The Keyword Targeted campaign(s) are what I call “Companion Campaigns” and they serve as a safety net to catch any searchers who may have slipped past your IP Targeted campaign!

Jessica, I hope this helps to answer your questions and gets you headed in the right direction! Does anyone else have anything they would like to add to help Jessica out?

$3.6 billion: The value of turkeys shipped in 2002.
1.6 billion pounds: The total weight of sweet potatoes produced by major sweet potato producing states in 2006.
690 million pounds: The total weight of U.S. cranberry production in 2007.
272 million: Estimate of turkeys raised in the United States in 2007.
13.1 pounds: The quantity of turkeys consumed by the typical American in 2005.
3: Number of places in the United States named after the holiday’s traditional main course. Turkey, Texas, was the most populous in 2006, with 489 residents; followed by Turkey Creek, La. (363); and Turkey, N.C. (270). There also are nine townships around the country named Turkey, three in Kansas.

And we are all suited up for the holiday! PPC Hero already has his turkey leg and musket. SEO Boy thought he’d be daring by dressing up as a turkey! He’s a brave one! And Ms. Clicks is rocking a Native American look for the occasion! Happy Thanksgiving! Have a great holiday!