Archive for April, 2010

Facebook launched their PPC advertising a few years ago and since then it has evolved a lot. After working on variety of PPC campaigns on Facebook we have listed 13 tips that will help you get the most of your Facebook ads. Always keep in mind the user and that Facebook is not like Google Adwords.

1. Run a variety of different ads highlighting different aspects of your value proposition.

2. Specify the post-click action in the creative; unlike with search, the user may not yet
have a clear post-click plan.

3. Experiment with copy, image, and targeting, testing different combinations of all three.

4. Use images not logos. Blur the lines between content and advertising. Images of people
work well.

5. Avoid fatigue by refreshing your ad creative.

6. Be relevant by targeting specific audiences with ads and landing pages that speak to
them. Target ‘lots of little.’

7. Be concise. Try 5 words or less.

8. Ask questions.

9. Emphasize scarcity, exclusivity, and time limitations.

10. Promote the attractive pricing you are offering.

11. Use images proportionate to allotted image space.

12. Appeal to users. Higher CTR will yield lower CPCs for you.

13. Play around with a wide variety of bids to get a feel for inventory levels at each CPM.

Adwords the last few months have tested and released several different ad formats. This is partly due to the fact that the web is changing and having just text ads is not enough. With the new formats they are trying to offer a better user experience and at the same time more appealing that will generate more clicks. The following short video showcases most of the new ad formats.

Available ad formats:

Ad site links, which we covered in our previous post. Ad Sitelinks allow you to extend the value of your existing AdWords ads by providing additional links to specific, relevant content deeper within your sitemap.

Location extensions, allow you to extend your AdWords campaigns by dynamically attaching your business address to your ads. In addition to the description lines and URL that appear in your ad text, your ad can also display your business name, address, and phone number.

Video extensions provide a new way to engage potential customers with sight, sound, and motion when you advertise on Google.com. Video extensions play in an expandable plusbox directly beneath your standard text ads.

Product extensions are a way for you to enrich your existing AdWords ads with more relevant and specific information about your retail merchandise. Product extensions allow you to use your existing Google Merchant Center account to highlight your products directly in your search ads. (Currently in a closed BETA for the UK).

Click to call,  by adding a click-to-call business phone number in ads that appear on mobile devices with full internet browsers.

Ad Sitelinks where first mentioned by Google Adwords back in November 2009. So far not many advertisers take full advantage of ad sitelinks for their brand terms.

Ad Sitelinks are designed to trigger in situations where an ad provides the “best answer” for a search query, and Ad Sitelinks are most likely to trigger on unique brand terms. In addition, Ad Sitelinks are more likely to appear on top-ranked ads with high quality scores; however, they may not always be shown for every top-ranked ad.

Sitelinks could help advertisers to “push” competitors brand bidding down on search results and gain more real estate on the search results. With Ad Sitelinks, you can point to specific information on your site such as special deals, holiday or event-related promotions, and store locators.

The example above from Lufthansa shows how well the Ad site links could be used. The first link directs to the iPhone app, the next two to special offers for certain countries (I presume the top destinations from the UK) and the fourth one all special fairs to Europe.As a result we now have one ad that offers four different destinations to the user. We have been running Ad Site links for all our clients and the result are very encouraging.

How to set up Ad Site links?

Ad sitelinks are not available to all advertisers, if you run a Brand campaign with a strong CTR and high Quality Score you should be able to see the option under Campaigns > Settings > Ad Extensions. You have the option to choose up to 10 additional links but only 4 will appear on the search results.

How to track Ad Site links on Google Analytics?

Something that a lot of advertisers forget is to track the site link individually and measure their performance on Google Analytics.  To track each sitelink separately you will want to append an identifiying query parameter to the destination URL of the clients sitelink.

Current Landing Page URL:

http://www.example.com/gifts

The query parameter sitelink should be fairly self explanatory. Giving each URL a number that corresponds to its position is just 1 possibility.

You could also use:

http://www.example.com/gifts?sitelink=top10

http://www.example.com/gifts?sitelink=kids

http://www.example.com/gifts?sitelink=parents

As any other adcopy its important to monitor the performance of each site link and if necessary change or add additional options. So far we have seen some great results by giving the user more options and allowing them to find what they want faster.