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The last few days we noticed that Google started testing images on the side PPC ads.  They tend to appear on the side, top right position 3-4.  Not sure about this test as the images do look small and not very clear as you can see form the screenshots below.  It seems that Google is pulling the images from the feed submitted to Google Merchant Centre.

The last few weeks I have noticed that two of the major cash back sites started advertising on TV and Radio. Both site Topcashback.com and Quidco have been heavily promoting their products online for the last few years. Also relying on word of mouth and user recommendations by offering £5 to £10 to their users if they recommend their sites to their friends.

The TV ads are very simple (to be honest to simple) and both try to explain their business model and the advantages within 30 seconds.They use logos and mentions to some of the big merchants in order to add trust and the fact that millions users use them already.

For TopCashback the final strapline is very interesting “besides, you’d have bought it anyway”. For the cosnumer this is great, not sure about the merchant. This is something we have been hearing a lot the last few months as merchants start to question the value of a cashback site!

It’s very interesting that both sites use TV but also Radio advertising at the same time. One explanation for this  is that when we look at the traffic volumes we can actually see a drop in traffic for both sites during March-April.  This is when Google released their Panda algorithm updated for their search index.

Topcashback.com

Quidco

Another explanation is that cashback sites are facing a stagnation, there are a few strong players, a few white-label solutions which makes it very difficult to acquire new users. Moreover users are not loyal as they switch websites depending on the best offer available! This makes it very difficult for the site but also for the merchants as they need to offer exclusive offers and as a result lower margins.

We got an email yesterday from Google Adwords letting us know that now the +1 button will be availble on the PPC results.

In the coming weeks, your search results and ads on Google will include a +1 button, which users can click to recommend your ads. You don’t need to make any changes to your account in order to take advantage of them. The final landing page URL of your ads can also appear on the Google profile of any user who +1’s your ad.

Think of the +1 button as a way for fans of your business to recommend what you offer, for all their friends and contacts to see. By helping searchers see more personal, relevant ads, we believe you’ll see more qualified traffic. You can also add the +1 button to your site to give your customers the opportunity to +1 your site after visiting it.

We started seeing the button a few weeks ago on the search results and now we can see it on almost all our searches. Unfortunately Adwords didnt mention anything about reporting and if we are going to be able to see how many people click on the button or even which ad/which URL.

Last week a lot of users started reporting that Google now provides flight schedule on search results. For example when a user is searching for “flights to new york” they get the normal PPC results followed by  a list of airlines that fly to New York (with the duration of the flight) followed by the organic results.

The user had an option to expand the Google results and get more option such as flight with stops. When the user clicks on the link it takes them to the airline website.

The great concern is for the companies that used to rank well on the organic search. They are now pushed further down the SERPs which will have a big impact on their traffic volumes.  On the above example we could only see two websites on the organic results above the fold.

Moreover travel comparison sites such as Kayak/Skyscanner/TravelSupermarket should start getting more uncomfortable with the new feature as it competes with their services. Although travel comparison sites do offer a much better service by providing prices and the option to filter the results further. (Something that probably Google will launch in the next few months after a lot of analysis)

Google is currently testing a similar feature for sometime with hotels. When a user is searching for a hotel term in Google maps such as “hotels near hyde park” get the following options:

A list of hotels on the left side and an indication of prices taken from on line travel agents or even the hotels website.

The next logical move for Google will probably be hotel  and holidays on the search result pages with prices and other options with some serious consequences for the travel industry.

The latest version of Adwords Editor was released today by Google. The great improvememnt by far is that now you can manage Ad Sitelinks within editor. This was something that was really lucking that made changing sitelinks within the interface very difficult.

Another great addition is that editor now supports the ability to set campaigns to target high-end mobile devices (including Android, iPhone, iPad, and Palm) and carriers in Campaign Settings. Similar to the sitelinks this is another time saving addition!

Next time you open Adwords Editor you will be asked if you would like to update to the latest version Make sure you select Back up Then Update!

Tags: Adwords Editor