AdWords Editor 7.0 Release

Finally! I downloaded AdWords Editor 7.0 yesterday. The latest round of improvements has been a long time coming IMO:

First page bid estimates: AdWords Editor now uses first page bid estimates for your keywords. Minimum cost-per-click (CPC) bids are no longer used.

Keyword Quality Score: The Keywords tab now displays the Quality Score for your keywords.

Keyword Opportunities locale: Tailor your keyword suggestions to a particular language and location by changing your Keyword Opportunities locale.

Campaign targeting in the data view: You can view your targeting settings in the new 'Language' and 'Location' columns on the Campaigns tab. These columns are hidden by default, but you can select them with the column chooser.

Send feedback to Google: Help us improve AdWords Editor by enabling usage tracking in your AdWords Editor settings (Tools menu > Settings).

Other updates:

• The 'Volume' column on the Keyword expansion tab of the Keyword Opportunities tool now shows absolute numbers (traffic for the last month) instead of scaled values.
• The Keyword Opportunities tool isn't available for draft accounts.

Remember to backup before you upgrade!

Read the release notes in AdWords Editor Help for more details.

AdWords Console Update

Noticed new "Device Platform" addition in the "Networks and bidding" section under Edit Campaign Settings. It has two options:

1) Desktop and laptop computers. Here's more info from Google:

Why is there now an option to show my ads on desktop and laptop computers? Isn't that where ads have always shown?

Until recently, this was the default setting on all campaigns. However, we're now able to allow more granular control of what devices you'd like your ads to appear on. We offer the option to opt out of showing ads on desktop and laptop computers for those advertisers who want to target only mobile users, or for those who want to break out their campaigns for each targeting option

2) iPhones and other mobile devices with full Internet browsers. Here's more info from Google:

What are full browsers, and what sort of mobile devices does this include?

We define full browsers as those that can show standard HTML web pages and can support a user making a purchase from start to finish, including supporting any tracking or Analytics functionality on e-commerce pages. Most mobile phones today have WAP browsers, which cannot support those functions.

The number of mobile devices that support full browsers is small but growing. Currently, the iPhone is an example of this type of device. If you have a question about whether a particular model of phone or mobile device offers a full browser, you can check with the manufacturer or a carrier of the device to see whether the device can support HTML pages and e-commerce transactions.

Google Layoffs, Kinda Sorta

CNET confirmed layoffs, but was able to clarify that it's their "contractor workforce" that will be cut.

Webguild.org's headline "Google Layoffs - 10,000 Workers Affected" might have been slightly misleading, but let's look at the bigger picture. It doesn't matter whether these 10,000 are temps or independent contractors and not "full-blooded employees" - letting go 1/3 of the overall "help" is pretty significant. Proving search isn't "recession-proof", maybe "recession-resistant".

Google's New Search-based Keyword Tool

Google announced a Search-based Keyword Tool, leverages "search query data relevant to your website's content. In other words, this new tool gives you keywords that are highly relevant to your site but are not part of your AdWords campaigns."

I see that it says "keywords not already in your account", yet a lot of them are? And bids don't appear to be accurate. I guess it could be useful to build out keywords for content, still playing around with it.

No Micro-hoo, But Potential for Search Partnership

MSFT CEO Steve Ballmer says they're "done with all acquisition discussions". However, they may be open to a search collaboration once Yahoo chooses new CEO.

"Some analysts have interpreted Ballmer's public comments about a Yahoo buyout as negotiating posturing, and suspect Microsoft might still want to grab Yahoo at a low price, in hopes of improving their joint position in online search and advertising."

More Google Ad Testing

Google - "great supporters of experimentation" or "we need more revenue STAT"? Yet another announcement from Google about testing more ad formats across their sites. Not surprising really, as noone immune to the pains of the economy.

Google is testing ads on the results pages of Google Image Search and, "in the very near future", will also test text ads on News results pages

Gmail Introduces Themes

I just checked and don't find any Hello Kitty Gmail Themes (under Settings) - what gives!!!

"We wanted to go beyond simple color customization, so out of the 30 odd themes we're launching today, there's a shiny theme with chrome styling, another one that turns your inbox into a retro notepad, nature themes that change scenery over time, weather driven themes that can rain on your mailbox, and fun characters to keep you in good company. There's even an old school ascii theme (Terminal) which was the result of a bet between two engineers -- it's not exactly practical, but it's great for testing out your geek cred. We've also done a minor facelift to Gmail's default look to make it crisper and cleaner -- you might notice a few colors and pixels shifted around here and there."

Oh, I meant to mention Soovle as well.

Soovle is a great search tool I just discovered last month at SearchEngineLand. It's a new spin on the meta-search engine concept in that when it pulls search suggestions from the top engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo, Ask, etc.) it displays auto-completion phrases that each search engine recommends.

I'm Baaaaaack!

Well, it's been awhile since I posted. Not that anyone would know since I'm the only one that reads this thing! I just got back from MarketingExperiments Landing Page Optimization Workshop and am VERY excited to apply what I learned.

Some recent news:

Google Puts Ads On Google Finance

Jerry Yang Quits CEO Post & Yahoo Shares Soar: So, is Micro-hoo back on the table? MSFT certainly helped put the final nail in the coffin of the Google-Yahoo partnership, so doling out mucho moolah on antitrust lobbyists appears to have paid off!

Playboy Bunnies Fall Victim to Market Woes

You know when America is in financial crisis when the Hefster has to set the Playboy bunnies free!

Voting Fraud

Voter purging -- some interesting truth you won't hear from your regular "fair and balanced", "place for politics" or "America's Most Trusted News Source"...

Three States Accused of Illegally Purging Voter Lists

Stealing America: Vote by Vote movie trailer

Project Vote

He may look like a crazed elfin, but in the words of Mr. Kucinich at recent DNC "Wake up America! WAKE UP!!!"

Today's Best Headlines...

All I have to say is...wow...and, um...wow:

Uncontacted tribe photographed near Brazil-Peru border

Japanese woman caught living in man's closet

Have a great weekend!

P.S. and make sure to check under your bed and in your closet before you go night-night!

Keyword Tools Part 2

As a second installment of last "Keyword Tools" post, here are some additional free and subscription based keyword tools worth checking out:

SUBSCRIPTIONS:
SpyFu, KeywordSpy and KeyCompete offer similar services that allow you to "spy" on your competitors to find out what keywords they are buying. As with most of these scraping tools, the data is not 100% accurate and can be several months old -- but it's worth test drive.

I've subscribed to SpyFu for about a year but am switching over to KeywordSpy because they seem to update more often and as a whole is less clunky.

KeywordDiscovery from Trellian: Similar to WordTracker, KeywordDiscovery shows you which keywords generate the most traffic by gathering keyword search stats from more than 180 search engines worldwide. Features also include Spelling Mistake Research, Seasonal Search Trends and more.

FREE:
Clusty from Vivisimo: Clusty is a meta search engine that organizes search results into groups called "clusters". The benefit of using Clusty as a keyword tool is that it refines search results for a general keywords into more specific themes by sub-categories, which helps in building out keyword lists.

Google Suggest: Find frequently searched phrases based on the letters or words (even part of a word) in your query.

Yahoo Search Assist: Similar to Google Suggest, Search Assist expands on a search query to suggest additional relevant keywords. The main difference between the two is that Search Assist offers related topics as well as specific keywords as you type. I use both tools, however do think Search Assist is stronger because it shows results that include your keyword anywhere in the query, while Google Suggest displays only those terms that begin with your keyword.

Keyword Tools

Unsure which search terms you should bid on? Keyword research is an important part of any successful pay per click campaign. Here's a list of several free, online keyword research related tools that will help you research appropriate keywords for your campaigns:

Google Keyword Tool

adCenter Labs

Wordtracker

SEO Book

My Keyword Finder

Apogee Meta Tag Analyzer

Ultimate Suggest

Google = Big Brother?

After poring over some articles at Google-Watch.org, I've decided it makes no sense to fight big brother -- he's everywhere, watching everything we do!!! So, I recant pretty much everything from my November Do-No-Track Lists post :)

Some interesting stuff from Google-Watch:

"Google has never been known to delete any of the data they've collected, since day one. For example, their cookie with the unique ID in it, which expires in 2038, has been tracking all of the search terms you've ever used while searching their main index."

"For all searches they record the cookie ID, your Internet IP address, the time and date, your search terms, and your browser configuration."

"Google admits that deleted messages will remain on their system, and may be accessible internally at Google, for an indefinite period of time."

Google and others say that nothing is "personally identifiable", therefore "trackable" back to an individual, but I guess I don't buy it. Don't get me wrong, Google is da bomb -- cuz without them, I'd still be making my living working at a cube farm. Google is my homepage. Gmail is my main email address, for personal and professional use. And, I also use gtalk as my main IM app. SO, I'm logged in 100% of the day.

If Google tracks every search I make, and keeps every email, they know exactly who I am. I signed up for the account using my real name, and my signature includes my name and contact information. See...it wouldn't take much for them to match that all together and send big brother everything they know about me.

Spooky, but we knew it was inevitable, yes?

Killer Beds, Toxic Cheese and Other Fun With PBDEs!

A friend recently sent me some articles about PDBE (PolyBrominated Diphenyl Ethers) in memory foam products. PBDEs are synthetic materials that release toxic cancer-causing chemicals. Several countries have already banned their use in a variety of household products, such as beds, sheets, furniture fabric, as well as food products, such as butter, salmon and cheese.

Here's a good story about it from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
PBDEs: They are everywhere, they accumulate and they spread

She warned me that my Tempur-Pedic might be killing me, so I asked them directly and here's their response:

"Dear Ms. Drechsler,

Thank you for your interest in Tempur-Pedic® products.

While Tempur-Pedic® product formulas are a trade secret; I can assure you that our products adhere to all local, state and federal health requirements.

Tempur-Pedic products do not contain PBDE (Polybrominated diphenylethers) chemicals or any other chemicals that are harmful to consumers. Our products meet fire safety requirements without using PDBE chemicals. TEMPUR® material is, “open celled” and polyurethane-based. It is not latex or conventional foam. Our products are also CFC (chlorofluorocarbon) and formaldehyde free.

Our products have been on the market for over 15 years and have been shown not only that they provide the best sleep surface, but have also been proven to be completely safe. They are sold in more than 50 counties around the world, which means they have been approved by governments in each individual country. In the US , our products conform to all state and federal regulations. While we can't discuss how we make our proprietary products, we can assure you that they are completely safe."

It could be a line a B.S., but all I can do is take them for their word...so I'm not ditching the Tempur-Pedic yet Layla ;)

Following are some links my friend sent, which are helpful in learning more about PBDEs as well as how to find stores with latex or organic beds and bedding:

WikiPedia
National Geographic Green Guide

Dynamic Keyword Insertion

The engines have limited Help sections dedicated to Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI), so I'm going to quickly sum it up. Google FINALLY added something about it last year, which can be viewed here:

General ads will minimize your overall effectiveness. To increase clicks per dollar spent your ads must be relevant to the searcher's query. You can achieve higher CTR and ad relevancy by including keywords in your ads. Also, when keywords are used in ads they are highlighted in bold type in the results, which can help draw more attention to your ad.

To dynamically insert the keyword you are buying (not what the user types into the search engine) into your ad, you will use the {keyword:default text} variable. Here's the Google chart for various implementations:

Keyword Capitalization	Example	Rule
keyword	google ads	None
Keyword	Google ads	Sentence (first letter of first word)
KeyWord	Google Ads	Initial (first letter of each word)

Some things to note when using:

1) Make sure that when you add the default text after keyword: that you include the keyword here as well. If the keyword being dynamically inserted exceeds the search engine's allowable max character limit, then the default text you entered after the colon would be displayed instead.

2) Don't use it for misspelled/typo keywords. Not only do the engines frown on this, I personally think it just looks very unprofessional to have typos in ad text -- even if that's how the searcher queried.

3) DKI is not a loop hole for including trademarked terms in ad text.

4) Make sure that the default text you designate makes grammatical sense and adheres to each engine's editorial guideline.

5) If majority of your keywords are long tail, which means they may exceed the max character limit for the headline, then try DKI in the description.

6) I've heard that DKI doesn't work on Content networks, however have read some posts in blogs advising that Google inserts the most relevant keyword from a Content targeted ad group.

Try an initial cap display URL (www.PPC-Buyers.com vs www.ppc-buyers.com) to increase click through rate as well. Also, I strongly advise rotating at least three ads per ad group/order.

This is another great source for understanding DKI: The Ultimate DKI Guide