A Google white paper: Content Network performance trends

Many of our advertisers show their AdWords ads on the Google content network to reach potential customers as they spend time across the web.

How effective is the Content Network for these advertisers? We wanted to find out, so we looked at performance metrics for advertisers who show their ads on both the Google search and content networks.

Our findings, captured in the white paper, CPA Performance Trends On the Google Content Network, show that ads on the Content Network are likely to be as cost-effective as ads on the search network. In fact, we found that the median advertiser showing their ads on both the search and content networks has a cost-per-acquisition (CPA) that's about 2% lower on the Content Network than on search pages, with the Content Network driving close to 20% of their total conversions.

In the analysis, we looked at thousands of AdWords campaigns and many geographic regions. We also analyzed how conversion rates improve for advertisers using campaign management tools such as the Conversion Optimizer and site exclusion.

These findings show there's a substantial opportunity for advertisers who complement their search marketing campaigns with ads on the Content Network. To learn more about advertising effectively on the Google Content Network, we recommend you review our Content Network optimization tips.

You can read the full white paper here. We hope it helps shed light on the potential to meet your performance goals when advertising on the Google Content Network.

Posted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

Making our Own Demand

I travel a lot...and one of the "fringe benefits" is the ability to read the USA Today every day. Lots of info and timely little charts, graphs and stories.

Community banks and credit unions are facing a tough economy but more opportunity than ever! There is "push down" coming from the big banks and creating growth in both deposits and loans. Customer are re-evaluating everything...their bank relationships, their loans, their accounts-- everything! And they are coming to us!

However, the consumer themselves are being very conservative...here is where the USA Today graph comes into play. As you can see from the survey, completed by Harris Interactive, many respondents said credit needs (for the identified items) may not be high on their lists of "to-dos".

The point? We need to create our own demand!

How do we do it?

Work with your best customers. Now is a buyers market and your best customers realize it and more than likely are exercising their ability and capitalizing!

Another area....refinances. Many people bought cars in the past 3 years and you may be able to refinance these loans away from the GMACs, Honda's, etc. as people may be looking to lower payments.

Be aggressive in advertising and marketing. The "noise" in the market is less than it ever has been...so your message can be help X times more than usual. Its time to invest in your bank/CU!

One last idea...small business. Small business is the engine to our economy and many small businesses are both capable of strong growth during this economy and also many are starting, based on displaced executives.

Seek the opportunities. Be creative. Know that you must create the demand.

The industry has been stretched in the past 5 years and the rubber band has snapped back...never again to be the same shape. We MUST be proactive!

Cheers!

Bruce Clapp

New Interface Thursday: Using keyboard shortcuts

One of the primary goals of the new interface is to help you manage your campaigns more efficiently. We also wanted to offer some of the conveniences you'll find in other Google products, like keyboard shortcuts. Just like in Gmail, you can quickly navigate around your account without having to use the mouse. In the new AdWords interface you have a number of keyboard shortcuts at your fingertips:

Global navigation

g then o: Go to All Online Campaigns

g then c: Go to Campaigns tab

g then r: Go to Ad groups tab

g then k: Go to Keywords tab

g then n: Go to Networks tab

g then a: Go to Ads tab

g then s: Go to Settings tab

Table navigation and actions

j/k: Next/previous row in the primary data table

x: Select current row (Use Shift + x for multiple rows)

e: Edit

p: Pause

n: Enable

d: Delete

l: Download

Editing ad groups and keywords:

e: Edit selected rows

Ctrl + Arrows: Move between editable fields

Ctrl + s: Save changes

Esc: Cancel edit mode

If you ever forget a shortcut, you can always find them in the help widget in the bottom left of your account.

(click to view image)

And we also have a handy reference guide that you can print out and keep at your desk.

Posted by Austin Rachlin, Inside AdWords crew

Analytics and AdWords tips - Part 2 of 4

Last week we talked about how Google Analytics can provide you with rich data about your advertising, and this week the Google Analytics Team would like to share some more specifics about how to analyze your campaigns.

Linking your accounts

Linking your Google Analytics and AdWords accounts gives you more information about your advertising because you can see how visitors from different campaigns and keywords interact with your website. If you've already linked your accounts, skip to the next section to see how you can view AdWords reports in Analytics.

You can link your Analytics and AdWords accounts by clicking the "Analytics" tab in AdWords. If you don't have a Analytics account already, you'll be asked to create one. Once you link your accounts the data from your AdWords campaigns will automatically appear inside Google Analytics (assuming that you've already installed the tracking code). You can check out this video to learn more about linking your accounts.

You'll also need to install the tracking code on every page on your website if you haven't already. Here are some resources to help you get the code installed correctly:

• Google Analytics Blog: Tracking Code Tutorial
• Help Center Article
  

Once installed, your profile overview page will show that everything is good to go by displaying a status icon that looks like a green check mark. If you have a Google Analytics account, but don't know where to find your tracking code, check out this article for instructions.

Finding your ROI

The Google Analytics AdWords Campaigns report (in the Traffic Sources section) let's you drill down and find out where visitors from each of your campaigns are going and what actions they are taking on your site. After going to the Traffic Sources section, click one of the campaigns listed in this report to view the ad groups within the campaign. Within the AdWords Ad Groups report, click one of the ad groups to see the AdWords Keywords report, where you can find lists of your keywords that brought traffic to your site.

(click for larger image)

Finally, click the Clicks tab to see ROI metrics for the keywords. With the ROI information for each of your keywords you can then make more informed decisions about where to target your advertising dollars or how to change your website to better capture these visitors. We'll talk about how to find low and high performers in the next couple weeks.

Tracking your revenue

Don't skip this part just because you don't sell online. If your goals don't have values, you won't be able to measure the return on your investment, so let's explore how you can set up your goals and track your return.

If you have an e-commerce site, your return comes from your e-commerce revenue. But, even if you don't have an e-commerce site, you can probably come up with intelligent values for your goals. For example, if you know that 1 out of every 100 PDF downloads results in a $500 sale, you can assign a value of $5 to that PDF download ($500/100 downloads).

If you have an ecommerce site, you can check out this help center article to learn more about tracking your return, and if you don't sell online, read this one.

That's it for this post. Next time we'll start diving into using Analytics to analyze and improve your AdWords campaign performance.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

Urchin Search Referral URL Update

A brief update to yesterday's post about Google.com search referrals. We initially reported that Urchin Software might require a patch to handle the new URL structure, but after some additional testing, it turns out no patch is needed. Urchin can handle both the current and new URLs. The latest release (Urchin 6.5) has a bunch of new features, including the ability to tap into the AdWords API, so we suggest everyone upgrade regardless!

Posted by Bretty Crosby, Google Analytics Team

AdWords system maintenance on April 18th

On Saturday, April 18th, 2009, the AdWords system will be unavailable from approximately 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. PST due to system maintenance. While you won't be able to sign in to your accounts during this time, your campaigns will continue to run as usual. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Posted by Austin Rachlin, Inside AdWords crew

Online Account Opening

Thanks Al Gore ... this internet thing might just work out after all.

BAI Bank Strategies estimates that by 2015, 50% of new accounts will be opened online -- is your institution ready?

Consumers are getting more and more comfortable picking and clicking:

• Gen Y is the most likely demographic to look to online resources
• More than 60% of online shoppers are women
• People with children are more likely to conduct business online than those without
• People conducting online transactions are looking for immediate results

In short, they are your key target and they are motivated!

Reevaluate your website - With this target, your reputation and your website may have a greater impact than your physical branches or staff. Create a web advisory council or hire a third party to evaluate your site's look and flow.

Make it easy to open the account(s) - This takes teamwork from compliance, IT and marketing. The more a consumer can complete online (without having to print and mail applications) the more likely they are to complete the process. With government regs in mind, make every effort to allow customers who want to open an account online to actually open the account ONLINE.

Make it secure - It goes without saying...

Add value - These consumers are typically online savvy, however, a little extra education can't hurt. As they are trusting you with their money, help these customers protect it with regular tips on how to keep their online identity secure.

On-Board - Opening an account online is a convenience ... not an excuse to never have direct human contact with your staff. It may be more important than usual to implement a formal on-boarding process with online account openers. Assign a Services Representative to:

• Write a hand written thank you note the day the account is opened. This can follow an email notification that should be automatically, electronically delivered to the customer immediately after the account is opened.
• Place a follow-up phone call a week or two after account opening to assure the delivery of their debit card, checks, or any other relevant materials. Also inquire about the satisfaction of the account opening process.
• Place another personal phone call after the customer's first statement delivers to assure satisfaction. Invite the customer into the branch or schedule a call to discuss further financial needs.

This will be a vital target for us as our industry and consumer needs evolve. Those institutions who are early adopters will have a leg up.

If you're having success in this area today, or if you have questions for those who are, please post a comment in this blog.

Take care,

Eric