Adwords includes click count

Google has included yet another innovative feature in its Adwords offering – a click count feature that shows the number of clicks the advertiser has garnered. The experiment was officially confirmed by a Google spokesperson.

What is still unclear though, is the method of calculation of these clicks. Is the count shown a sum of clicks for the entire campaign, ad, or over the advertiser’s account history?

The impact of this experiment could be far reaching – higher click counts could end up boosting click-through rates (CTR), since viewers would definitely be inclined to click on ‘established’ ads. In this case, the advantages of long term advertising come back to the fore. Advertisers and agencies will have to rethink their strategies. Further, this measure could end up increasing the importance of click-through rates (CTR) over cost-per acquisition (CPA).

Pam of Search Engine Land rightly said "it's not clear whether advertisers are aware that they’ve agreed to allow public display of what most likely consider proprietary information." Advertisers would definitely not want competitors to know important statistics such as this one.

At Pipon Solutions, we try to keep a track of changes in the search landscape. What do you make of this particular feature? Should Google make it a standard feature?

Resources that will help you learn the art of paid search

In the dynamic world of paid search, you either keep up-to-date with the latest happenings in the arena or get left behind. This blog outlines some of the resources and help available to equip yourself with the necessary knowledge required.

PPC blogs: You may look at Google’s official blog on adwords and the Google Analytics blog. Another useful resource is the Inside Search blog. The Agency Blog and the Merchant Blog are two more informative blogs that you might find handy. You may also subscribe to updates on Twitter and Facebook to stay up-to-date.

PPC videos: Google runs a number of official Youtube channels to help you gain an understanding of Adwords and Analytics. The Business Channel covers Google analytics, adwords and other related topics. Two other official channels on Youtube are the Google analytics channel and Think with Google.

Learning Centre: The Learning Centre is a fantastic resource for you to study adwords. The analytics education page helps you to get familiar with Google analytics.

Other online resources: In its press section, Google runs a directory of its official presence on Twitter, Facebook, blog and Youtube. Google also offers online webinars in its classroom and a number of support pages -  AdWords Help including a beginner’s guide, known issues with adwords and help pages for Merchant Centre.

Of course, you can always keep referring to our blog or look at our pages on paid search management. If you need further professional help, get in touch with us. At Pipon Solutions, we always endeavour to provide the best professional help to our clients.

Google introduces Instant Previews on paid search

Last year Google took instant search to a new level by introducing ‘Instant Previews’. Instant Previews provide end users a graphic overview of a website (search result) and highlight the most relevant sections. The end user simply clicks on a magnifying glass icon next to the listing they wish to see. A small preview of the website pops up into a frame, highlighting the most relevant sections, allowing the end user to preview the website without leaving the Search Engine Results Page (SERP), thus making finding the right web page easier and the whole process more efficient.

Last week, Google brought in the ‘Instant Preview’ feature on paid search as well. So how will this feature affect the way buyers search on Google?

The end user will definitely save a lot of his/her time by clicking on the magnifying glass icon. He/she will be able to quickly glance through the sponsored search results to gain a better understanding of those featured links. The advertiser, on the other hand, will benefit from more qualified traffic and decreased costs. How is that possible? Well, since the preview allows the end user to research a bit more about the page he/she is about to view, they are more likely to click on those links that are relevant and present exactly what is being searched for. On the downside, the clunky preview frame could take up a lot of screen space. Laptops/desktops with smaller screens may present difficulties to the end user trying to see the Instant Previews. Advertisers also need to be a lot more careful about their landing pages, since landing pages determine what the end user sees when he/she clicks on the magnifying glass icon. Both CPA (cost per acquisition) and CTR (Click through rates) should see a dip. Conversions will probably see a boost. Hence, Advertisers should examine their preview pages, investigating whether their preview pages are being shown correctly. Eye catching images could be used on landing pages to entice end users to click on the link. The performance metrics might not change by much for branded keywords as for competitive generic keywords. This is because end users searching for specific brands are more likely to be sure of what they want and less likely to engage in research.

Join Pipon Solutions in debating how instant previews are going to change paid search management.