Google ADWORDS
In a recent Google mail out sent to AdWords advertisers, Google announced that over the next few days they will be introducing changes to their AdWords program in an attempt to increase the relevance of targeted ads and increase conversions.
Google’s improvements will give them the ability to more precisely identify the most relevant ads for a particular query, which in turn may result in more qualified traffic for some advertisers and less un-qualified for others.
In Google’s example, a company advertising for Alaskan cruises may select cruises’ as a broad-matched keyword. If searchers were looking for Hawaiian cruises’ the Alaskan ad will show up but generate very few clicks, drastically reducing its click through rate. This would result in the keyword cruises’ being disabled for poor performance. With the new system, broad matched terms such as cruises’ will only be disabled for queries that are not converting and will stay active for more relevant searches.
These changes will only affect broad-matched keywords, but in the future Google plans on making improvements, which will utilize phrase and exact match.
To ensure that you continue to get the most out of your AdWords ads, or any other PPC campaign, regular monitoring and tweaking is always recommended.
Overture LOCAL MATCH
Recently Google introduced local ad targeting right down to a 20 mile radius for its AdWords advertisers. Overture has now begun to offer the same local targeting known as Local Match,’ but is directing focus more towards businesses with a physical street address.
Overture’s Local Match allows advertisers to promote their business regardless of weather or not they even have a website. When a user performs a search for a product or service on a search site such as Yahoo, the sponsored ad will appear. When clicked, it brings up the locator page’ which will provide a map to the business, physical address, a link to their web page (if applicable) and other customizable information.
Local Match, although useful for online businesses is more targeted towards companies who are lacking a web presence or are more interested in having customers arrive at their physical store.
Local Match is based on a cost-per-click platform and required a minimum $20 monthly deposit, but unlike Overtures traditional PPC, there is no minimum spend.
Scott Van Achte is the Senior SEO at StepForth Search Engine Placement. Scott has worked with StepForth Placement since Aarly 2003 and has thoroughly enjoyed working in the search engine industry. When he’s not punching away at the keyboard he can be found spending quality time with his wife Lyndsay, or out on the golf course. Scott would be happy to answer any questions, and can be reached at scott@stepforth.com.
