New Free TV Ad Creation Solution

Now it's easier and more affordable to advertise your business on national television and reach new customers from within your AdWords account. 

Google TV Ads has partnered with SpotMixer to bring advertisers a new, free ad creation service. This means you can create your own TV commercial from a library of free images, audio and video content, or your own uploaded content. Simply access this service from the Submit Ad page when creating your Google TV Ads campaign.

To learn more and watch a demo video, check out the blog post on the Traditional Media Blog.

Posted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

Analytics Training in Las Vegas Next Week

What happens in Vegas.. doesn't have to stay in Vegas. At least not when you're going there to attend the Google Analytics and Website Optimizer Seminars for Success! Spend one to three days learning about Google Analytics and Google Website Optimizer. Come back armed with best practices and tips from the experts on how to use them to improve your business.

These courses are ideal for marketers, web designers, web analysts and anyone who wants to improve their online business savvy.

Introductory Course- Wednesday, January 21
The introduction and user training course is designed to provide a high-level overview of the products and will cover key features and reports. It's perfect for a marketer or account manager who is interested in learning more about how Google Analytics works, and who wants to understand how to use the information in reports to make decisions.

Advanced Course - Thursday, January 22
The advanced and technical implementation course is for those who need hands-on implementation training. This is a great class for those of you who need to install and set up Google Analytics on sites. You'll learn about and discuss different ways to set up Google Analytics to get the types of information that you need.

Google Website Optimizer - Friday, January 23
Learn how to make landing page testing work for you. You will hear from the experts on using Google Website Optimizer and testing the pages of your website to find out what works best for your visitors. Best practices will be covered, and you will leave with real hands-on experience running A/B/N and multivariate tests using Google Website Optimizer!

Capacity is limited. Register now: http://services.google.com/ads_inquiry/awseminars

We look forward to seeing you there!

Posted by Eva Woo, Google Analytics Team

Tweet Tweet

Huh? Right. Vocabulary words.

I volunteer for Junior Achievement. This morning I taught second graders the principles of paying taxes, why we have to do it and where the money goes. They learned the words "government," "services" and "taxes."

Then one of the students raised his hand so politely and asked if they could teach me new vocabulary words. "Absolutely," I answered!

My first word was "Tweet." And being the social media nerd I am my mind went to Twitter immediately. But these are second graders after all...so my answer, "Tweet is what a bird says." The class erupted with laughter. I was promptly corrected that "Tweet is what you do when you change your Twitter."

Second graders. I can't make this stuff up!!

So, what's the lesson is all of this? If second graders know what Twitter, MySpace and Facebook are, you should too. I am hoping they are not using these outlets yet, but if they are, you are already behind the 8-ball!

How do you get started? What is right for your institution? How does it work? Is it safe? All legitimate questions. And important questions too!

The Brown Bag Lunch series will address all of these questions on February 20. But in the meantime, if you need a little help, give me a buzz or drop me a note! I would love to help you sort everything out!!

Here's to being extraordinary!
Jenna

Announcing the winners of the Website Workout contest

Many businesses invest a lot of time into perfecting their AdWords campaigns, but rarely give their landing pages the same level of attention. Well, we have four savvy companies who put their sites to the test and saw results.

Back in June, we announced the Google Website Workout contest, where we selected four businesses to work with our consultants and improve their conversion rates using Website Optimizer, Google's free testing and optimization tool for websites. We're now happy to announce the winners and share their experiences with you.

Visit the contest site to watch the videos and learn what problems plagued the winners, what they decided to test, and what the results were. For example, check out how one of our winners, Extra Space Storage, increased conversions by nearly 10% by making a few simple tweaks.

Be sure to check out the other videos as well. You'll can find out how Colonial Candle improved sales, Outrigger Hotels & Resorts increased reservations, and Team In Training gained valuable insights into their visitors' preferences. Hopefully you'll even learn a few pointers that you can apply to your own website.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew

Announcing the Winners of the Website Workout Contest

Last April, we gave you a few tips on using Website Optimizer and Google Analytics to improve your business online. As a follow-up, we announced the Website Workout contest last June. Four businesses were selected to improve their conversion rates using the data they gained from Website Optimizer.

The results are in! Find out how the winners improved their conversion rates here. I think you'll be surprised how a small change can make a big difference. For more information on how to optimize your site, check out the Website Optimizer Blog.

Posted by Andrew Gomez, Business Marketing Team

How A Marketer's Life Imitates The High Hurdles

If there's one thing I've learned as an elite high hurdler in USA Track & Field's Masters Division, it's that the fastest or most agile opponent doesn't necessarily win the race.  To be truly successful the hurdler must master the five fundamental skills: speed, agility, flexibility, focus and endurance.  And in a race that is sometimes decided in hundreths of a second, failure in one of the five elements will leave you off the medal stand.

As a marketer, I always try to look at both myself and the company through these five filters in everything I do.  Because a subpar performance in any of these five areas can quickly derail even the best laid plans.

Speed:

In today's world, information flows at the speed of light.  Technology has changed our world forever.  Does the corporate culture and management structure at you institution allow for fast innovation as market or competitive situations arise?  Or is it the corporate equivalent of turning an oil tanker?  It used to be that the big ate the small.  Now the fast eat the slow.  As a marketer, it is incumbent upon you to look for ways to streamline processes that will allow for your institution to quickly react to market conditions whether it be to communicate with customers, introduce new products or to promote your standing in the marketplace.  Transform your institution from being innovative to one whose being is innovative!

Agility:

Changes in the financial marketplace are a daily occurrence--whether its interest rates, TARP news, deteriorating trust in banks, etc.  How agile are you and your institution to these changes?  As a marketer, do you wait for direction from your ALCO committee or are you part of the process?  Are you ready to go to market quickly when faced with a declining or rising interest rate environment?  Are you proactive or reactive?  Are you ready to deal with these hurdles before they happen?  If you assume and prepare for the worst-case scenarios you will be ahead of the curve--and the competition.  And as the old saying goes: "unless you're the lead dog on the dogsled team then the scenery never changes."

Flexibility:

For financial institutions, new deposit generation is king in terms of liquidity and funding loans.  And like in today's real estate market, deposits are a buyer's market.  Now, more than ever, you need to retain and grow your best customer relationships to ensure future profitability and institutional viability.  Do you have the flexibility to offer your best customers better value for their business loyalty in the form of discounted or relationship pricing based on their account balances and number of products?  Do you coddle and nurture your best customers to make them feel special?  Do your marketing plans have the flexibility to adapt to rapid market changes?  Are you creating those barriers to exit for customers so they won't abandon you for 25 bp?  Not being flexible in today's business climate is the equivalent to showing the customer the exit door.

Focus:

Keep your eyes on the prize!  With all the chaos in the financial marketplace, focus on the two most important elements to success: giving your customers a compelling reason to stay and your prospects a compelling reason why your institution is their best choice.  And that involves three critical factors: innovative products and services, outstanding customer service and instilling a high level of trust as a financial advisor in customers and prospects.  In short, treat people as you expect to be treated--with respect and trust, and reward them for their loyalty!

Endurance:

Today's financial battlefield will be a protracted event that requires the utmost endurance in order to survive and prosper.  There are no magic wands, silver bullets or quick fixes.  Even if you mastered the other four disciplines, the lack of endurance will cause you to stumble over the final hurdle.  Long-range strategic plans and yearly marketing plans will need to endure through all kinds of financial events--both known and unknown.  Nothing can be set in stone. As you eye the finish line, never lose sight of what lies between the starting blocks and your ultimate goal.  And with that, I'll leave you with this quote from the Chinese Taoist Philosopher, Lao Tzu, "If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading."

Cheers,

Nick Vaglio, CFMP

New Features for your Local Business Ads

Since 2006, AdWords local business ads have been connecting your business with local customers. Today, we're excited to announce some upcoming new features for local business ads, making it faster and easier for potential customers to find your business.

Before we give you the details, we want to point out that while local business ads can appear in several countries and on a number of web properties, the changes described here will only affect local business ads that appear on Google Maps.

Info Window Features

Beginning today, your ad’s information window in Google Maps will feature new interactive links that are designed to connect users to your business quickly. The info window is the window that opens when a user clicks on an organic search listing or a sponsored result on Google Maps.


Previously, a click on your ad's info window could only take the user to your website. Now, users will be able to interact with the info window to get the information they’re looking for about your business, right away. The new links include "Get Directions," "Street View" (where available), and "Save to My Maps." Shortly after we implement these links, we’ll also add a "Send" link, allowing the user to send your business info to their email. Users will still be able to click through to your site if they wish -- the info window simply offers additional free functionality.

Reporting Capabilities

We've also heard your requests for a local business ad report so, starting in a few weeks, a new interaction report for local business ads will be available through your account’s Report Center. The report will help you accurately assess your return on investment with local business ads by detailing how many users opened your info window and clicked on each of the new interactive links.

Often, Maps users are looking for different information than Search users. The new interactive links and the interaction reports should not only help customers connect with you faster but should also help you understand how to better target Maps users versus Search users. We’ll post again on this blog when the new changes to the reporting capabilities take effect.

With these changes, we're excited about providing users with more information about your business and providing you, our advertisers, with more features for your ads. If you're not already advertising with local business ads, this might be a good time to experiment. If you're interested in learning more about this format, check out the AdWords Help Center's section on local business ads.

Posted by Amanda Kelly, Inside AdWords crew