As agencies, you face the unique challenges of mastering the suite of Google media solutions and account management tasks across many accounts. Knowing that you often have questions specific to managing multiple client accounts at scale, we've created an Agency Help Centre to provide you with easy access to answers for your most common questions, as well as useful resources to help you strategically manage your businesses.
We also know that many different sites exist that offer support to agencies for account management, product adoption, media planning, and identifying best-in-class examples. To make life a little easier, we've added links to the Agency Help Centre for the most frequently used resources -- including Google Ad Innovations, the Agency Toolkit and the Google AdWords Certification Program -- so that you only need to go one place to find everything you need.
To date, the Agency Help Centre is available for the US and UK. Over the course of Q4'2010, we'll be localising this resource across multiple languages, as well as continuing to incorporate new agency-centric resources into the site.
Posted by Kelly Blackford, Agency Training Team This is a cross post from the Agency Ad Solutions Blog
Whether you're an individual or a company, you can demonstrate your proficiency in AdWords by joining the Google AdWords Certification Program. It's a globally-recognised stamp of approval, which showcases your knowledge of the latest AdWords tools and best practices. You can choose from a variety of exams based on what's most relevant to your areas of specialisation. The goal of the exams is to provide you with the knowledge you need to effectively manage Google advertising programs.
Over the last few months we have offered live webinars to help you study for the Google Advertising Fundamentals and Search Advertising Advanced exams. We are pleased to announce that we are now offering live webinars to help you prepare for the Google Certified Partner Reporting and Analysis Advanced Exam. In this three-part webinar series, we will cover the key topics found on the exam and offer a few tips to help you study.
Reporting & Analysis Advanced 1: Advanced Conversion Tracking Date: October 19th at 12pm Sydney time (9am SG and 2pm NZ) Description: In this session, we'll review the function and purpose of AdWords Conversion Tracking and explain related terms. We'll also share some best practices for using AdWords Conversion tracking in your AdWords account.
Reporting & Analysis Advanced 2: Google Analytics Date: October 21st at 12pm Sydney time (9am SG and 2pm NZ) Description: In this session, we'll discuss which types of data can be found in each section of Google Analytics. We'll show you how you can analyze visitor, traffic sources, content, and goal report data to meet your advertising goals.
Reporting & Analysis Advanced 3: Website Optimiser Date: October 26th at 12pm Sydney time (9am SG and 2pm NZ) Description: In this session, we'll discuss how website and landing page testing can help achieve online performance goals. We'll walk you through getting started with Website Optimiser and summarise the differences between A/B and multivariate testing.
In addition to the new webinars above, you can now watch the Google Advertising Fundamentals and Search Advertising Advanced webinars on-demand. The sessions cover the key topics found on each exam and you can access them online whenever it is convenient for you. All you need to get started is an Internet connection and a computer with speakers or headphones.
Google Advertising Fundamentals - Targeting the Google Network - Understanding Search Ads Quality - Optimisation Tools & Strategies - Selling Google AdWords
Search Advertising Advanced - Leveraging AdWords Tools - Performance Monitoring and Conversion Tracking - Conversion Optimiser Strategies - Multiple Account Management Tools and Best Practices
AdWords webinars are free online tutorials delivered by Google AdWords Specialists. You can watch presentations on a variety of topics to help you understand and manage your client's accounts more effectively. Whether you're a new agency employee or a seasoned veteran our AdWords webinars can help you meet your goals. All you need to get started is an internet connection and a computer with speakers or headphones!
Please join us for an upcoming webinar, relevant to search specialists and agencies who would like to stay on top of the latest AdWords products.
AdWords Product Update for Agencies August 19th – 11am Sydney Time (1pm AKL, 9am SG) Over the last few months, we have announced some exciting new products and features available in AdWords. Join us for an overview of the AdWords reports now available in Google Analytics, the new Broad Match Modifier, My Client Centre reporting, and some features that are yet to be released! You can register for this webinar here.
To view and register for any of our upcoming topics or listen to On-Demand trainings, please visit our webinar calendar page.
Last month we held three Google Analytics Master Classes in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Sydney. We had close to 1000 advertisers, agencies, bloggers, developers, and technophiles joining the events to learn more about web analytics. For those of you who made it out, thanks for your participation and interest. We hope you found the speakers helpful and learned a few new Google Analytics tricks!
Today we are making available videos of all the talks from the Singapore event. We kept each session short - no speaker goes longer than 20 minutes - so that we could offer these tips to you in convenient, bite-sized portions.
You can find Product Manager Beth Liebert’s keynote below. Please check out the Solutions for Southeast Asia blog for the full list of videos.
Posted by Vinoaj Vijeyakumaar, JAPAC Google Analytics Lead, Global Technical Services
From the new AdWords interface to Ad Sitelinks, our advertising tools have evolved in exciting and innovative ways over the past year. Along the way, you’ve provided insightful feedback and suggestions to help shape these products. You’ve also asked, what’s next? To help answer that question, we recently launched Google Ad Innovations, a website where you can explore Google's latest advertising technologies, watch video demos, and try out select new tools.
The technologies we'll highlight on Google Ad Innovations are at various stages of development, from early tests to fully released features. Here are a few of the new releases you'll find on Ad Innovations right now:
* Remarketing -- a way to show your ads to users who have previously visited your website as they browse sites across the Google Content Network * AdWords Search Funnels -- a set of reports that help you understand the Google.com search ad click and impression behavior leading up to a conversion * Location Extensions with multiple addresses -- an ad format which displays a list of nearby store locations when your customers are performing local searches * Click-to-Call Extensions -- an ad format that let mobile phone users call you directly from your ads * Analytics Intelligence -- a Google Analytics feature that automatically identifies significant changes in your site traffic
If you see a feature that can be improved, or if you think we've hit on a valuable new idea, let us know via the feedback links available for each product. The comments and suggestions you leave while using Google Ad Innovations will go directly to the Google team working on the feature.
So, if you want to stay on the cutting edge of advertising products, visit Google Ad Innovations — we’ll regularly add new tools and features to the site, and we can't wait to hear what you think!
Posted by Kelly Blackford, Agency Training Team This is a cross post from the AdWords Agency Blog
Google recently announced the launch of remarketing on the Google Content Network to all AdWords users. Remarketing is a powerful solution for advertisers to customise creatives to users who abandoned their shopping cart or visited specific product pages on their website. On Wednesday 14 April, 2010 the Google agency team is offering a webinar training session that will showcase this new way of targeting customers, explain key benefits, and show you how to set it up in your AdWords account.
Google Remarketing Training for Agencies April 14th 2010 - 2pm Sydney Standard Time (4pm AKL, 12pm SG) You can sign up for this webinar here.
To help you prepare for the new Google Advertising Fundamentals and Search Advertising Advanced exams in the Google Certified Partners program, we are also offering two, four-part webinar series covering the following topics:
Google Advertising Fundamentals - Targeting the Google Network on April 15th - Understanding Search Ads Quality on April 20th - Optimisation Tools & Strategies on May 4th - Selling Google AdWords on May 6th
Search Advertising Advanced - Leveraging AdWords Tools on May 20th - Performance Monitoring and Conversion Tracking on May 27th - Conversion Optimiser Strategies on June 2nd - Multiple Account Management Tools and Best Practices on June 3rd
To help you prepare for the new Google Advertising Professional (GAP) Fundamentals and Advanced Search exams, the Google Australia & New Zealand Agency team is offering two, four-part webinar series covering key topics including:
Fundamentals
- Targeting the Google Network
- Understanding Search Ads Quality
- Optimisation Tools & Strategies
- Selling Google AdWords
Advanced Search
- Leveraging AdWords Tools
- Performance Monitoring and Conversion Tracking
- Conversion Optimiser Strategies
- Multiple Account Management Tools and Best Practices
In addition, you can watch on-demand webinars covering a variety of topics including YouTube Advertising, new tools, and industry research relevant to the Asia-Pacific region.
Whether you're a new agency employee or a seasoned veteran, our AdWords webinars can help you meet your goals. Led by local AdWords experts, these online webinars will help you to improve your AdWords knowledge and get the most out of your clients' accounts. All you need to get started is an internet connection and a computer with speakers or headphones.
We are often asked about how to maximise the ROI from Google Display Network campaigns. What type of targeting should you use? How many keywords and ad groups should you have? How can you develop effective creatives?
We have developed a set of best practices to answer some of these questions for you. Recently introduced as part of a new initiative called Optimisation University in the US, these are now available to everyone through a series of 6 videos and the Getting Started guide. The guide and videos provide a conceptual walk-through and product demos of major steps in executing a Display Network campaign.
Along with simple tips and tricks to improve ROI, we also go over several tools, such as Wonder Wheel, Keyword Tool and Conversion Tracking, that help you be more efficient in creating and optimising Display Network campaigns. The recommendations are based on our analysis of thousands of campaigns to better understand what works and what doesn't. They are easy enough for you to start applying them to your campaigns today.
If you're starting a new Display Network campaign, watch the first video below.
Last month we conducted a webinar on the new Google Analytics features. If you missed the webinar, you can watch a recording of it here, and get a copy of the slides here. During the webinar we also took questions from the audience. Unfortunately we did not get a chance to answer all the questions. As promised, however, we answer them below. "When can we expect to see these features in our accounts?"
These new features should now be available in your accounts.
"The url that GA provides when sharing segments and reports are horribly long, do Google have plans to use a url shortener to make them easier to share? Additionally do the links expire?"
The links do not expire. The current workaround for creating friendlier URLs is to pass these links through a URL-shortening service.
"I'm new to GA. We want to track number of downloads of swf, xls, pdf, etc. files from our website. We have hundreds of these documents. How do we track downloads? Do we have to set goals for each document?"
You can track downloads with either Event Tracking or using _trackPageView(). If you want to track these downloads as goals, then you should use the _trackPageView() method and use those virtual URLs for your goal URLs. "Can you share with us the statistical methodology behind the 'intelligence' feature? Curious to understand the limits placed within this (for example a one day spike is not necessarily a data point worth deep diving into)."
Google Analytics uses a mixture statistical model taking into consideration short-term and long-term trends as well as weekly periodic patterns. The methodology is currently under multiple patent considerations. When the patents are approved, the methodology can be referenced from the patent disclosure. "Alert that email when the site has dip in traffic is a good feature but is the alert triggered based on real time data since GA is not real time?"
While there is a delay in reporting, that delay is becoming shorter and shorter. Alerts are processed several times a day. You will receive an e-mail as soon as that alert is triggered during that process. While the alert may not be real-time at the moment, it will at least be within 24 hours of the event occurring.
"_setVar is deprecated, and to what should it be transported? I tested _setCustomVar(1, name, value, 1) but it didn't appeared on the visitor report."
_setVar() will be deprecated over time in preference for custom variables. We will give ample warning when _setVar is moving towards deprecation. You may not have seen the information in your reports because (a) the implementation may have been incorrect or (b) custom variables were not yet visible in your account. If you suspect an incorrect implementation you can seek the solution in the documentation or Analytics help forum. "I'm making a software using Google Data Export API, and trying to retrieve data by XPath. But it doesn't work because of a namespace problem. The namespace url "http://schemas.google.com/analytics/2009" isn't acessible."
It is difficult to answer this question without first taking a look at the source code, requests sent, and the resulting responses. Please post details of your problem in the Google Analytics API group for assistance.
"any changes to improve quality of data passed from Google Local results to reporting?"
We don't comment on product plans, but we are aware that information from Google Local results can be improved. If you have more specific feedback, please send it to ga-feedback@google.com (no support questions please).
Thank you for participating in the webinar. Stay tuned for announcements of future webinars in 2010.
Posted by Vinoaj Vijeyakumaar, Customer Solutions Engineer
Google Display Network campaigns differ from Search campaigns in how they're set up, optimised, and tracked. If you've been interested in advertising on the Display Network but aren't sure how to get started, we now have a step-by-step Getting Started Guide to help you hit the ground running. You can think of it as a do-it-yourself instruction manual for how to best structure, optimise, and track your Google Display Network campaigns.
Not sure how to create an effective content campaign? You can refer to the campaign, ad group, and ad sections to find tips for optimal account structure.
Not sure what's working well? You can use the optimisation section to determine which of your ads are performing well and which you should edit or delete. You can also take further control of your campaigns by learning how to select where your ads are shown and how to exclude certain sites and keywords.
Not sure how much to bid? Use the guide to learn more about how bidding works on the Google Display Network. You can also get tips to refine your bids and improve your performance.
Don't forget to check out our Display Network microsite for even more information on Display campaigns, including details on available ad formats and a list of some of the websites we partner with to show your ads.
Posted by Kelly Blackford, Agency Training Team This is a partial cross post from the Inside AdWords Blog
Google's Analytics Evangelist, Avinash Kaushik, recently hosted a webinar on "Using Data to Better Connect with Your Customers". Attracting the right customers to your website will help you finish off 2009 strong and charge ahead in 2010. By using Google tools such as Trends for Websites, Insights for Search and the Ad Planner, you can access powerful information about how to best target your audience in your online marketing campaigns - for free! Below is a brief recap of the presentation. You can visit our Google Business Channel on YouTube to see the recorded version.
1. Mine Website Trends: Utilise Trends for Websites and other tools to index clients' performances, identify competitors' strengths, and find untapped opportunities.
2. Analyse the "Database of Intentions": Use Insights for Search to segment your clients' share of voice, obtain competitive gains, understand how to most effectively target their campaigns, and find out where they should focus their search efforts.
3. Monetise the Long Tail: Leverage the powerful Search-based Keyword Tool to identify your clients' long tail keywords based on their sites' content, and to find additional cost-effective targeted keywords.
4. Identify Relevant Audiences: Utilise Ad Planner to understand the demographic profile and search behavior of site visitors, and that of competitors, to effectively target clients' messages on the Google Content Network to the most relevant audiences.
Most importantly, Avinash's #1 Rule: Make sure that your clients' websites don't stink. What does he mean? Use data to identify fixes (e.g. pay attention to bounce rates) so that customers don't say, in Avinash's own words, "I came, I puked, I left." To learn more about how to improve your clients' web pages, check out this post by Avinash: Six Tips For Improving High Bounce / Low Conversion Web Pages.
Posted by Kelly Blackford, Agency Training Team This is a partial cross post from the Agency Ad Solutions Blog
Google Analytics recently announced a new set of features which builds on last year's enterprise-class feature launch. Some of these will add power to existing capabilities, like the ability to track mobile websites/apps and using an advanced table filter to perform data analysis. Other features will provide new flexibility to further customise and adapt Google Analytics according to the needs of your business. These include the addition of custom variables to the tracking API and easier sharing of Custom Reports and Advanced Segments. Finally, the introduction of Analytics Intelligence allows users to set up specific alerts to signify changes in the data patterns of site metrics and dimensions over certain time periods. All these features nicely come under the mantra "Powerful. Flexible. Intelligent"
Come join Customer Solutions Engineer, Vinoaj Vijeyakumaar, from our Southeast Asia office in a 45 minute webinar that will provide an overview and demonstration of these features so you can start using them for you and your clients today.
Do you ever find it difficult to stay on top of the latest Google and AdWords product updates? Join us on October 22nd to get the inside scoop on the new tools available in AdWords such as the Opportunities Tab, Placement & Keyword Tool, View-through conversion tracking and more!
AdWords Product Updates October 22nd - 2pm Sydney Standard Time (4pm AKL, 12pm SG) You can sign up for this webinar here.
You can also listen to recordings of our webinars on the Agency Webinar Site. On this site, you can find a variety of topics to help you gain more insight into AdWords tools and learn new tips and tricks to promote your client's business with Google. We just uploaded some new sessions such as AdWords Editor: 10 Time Saving Tips, Content Network Best Practices, Google's Trademark Policy, AU / NZ Auto Industry Research and much more. You can access these recordings under the "On Demand AdWords Webinars" section of the site. All you need to get started is an internet connection and a computer with speakers or headphones. Check them out today!
For today's post we have a note from our Chief Economist at Google, Hal Varian. Hal and his team spend most of their time studying the AdWords auction and finding ways to make it more efficient. We wanted to make sure you had a chance to view this video from the Inside AdWords blog on bidding strategies. While you likely have your own strategies well-practiced, this video provides a general overview to cover the basics.
Last month we launched a new feature of AdWords called Bid Simulator. Bid Simulator takes some of the guess work out of cost per click (CPC) bidding by estimating the number of clicks or impressions you could have received if you had used a different maximum CPC bid. Today, I thought I would take the opportunity to help you make the most of this new feature by explaining how to use the data from Bid Simulator to maximize the profit from your marketing investment.
In general, when you increase your maximum CPC bid for keywords on search you are able to generate more clicks to your site. This may be because your new bid qualifies you to appear higher up in the Sponsored Links on the search results page, or because your higher bid qualifies your ad to appear in new, more expensive, auctions. The goal for you as an advertiser is to decide whether or not these additional clicks come at a cost that is still profitable for you.
To make this decision, you need to compare your expected value per click to your incremental cost per click. Your value per click is how much a click for a particular keyword is worth to you, on average. Your incremental cost per click is how much extra you are paying, on average, for the extra clicks you are getting from your higher bid. When your value per click is higher than your incremental cost per click it makes sense to increase your bid. On the other hand, if your value per click is lower than your incremental cost per click, you probably want to decrease your bid.
In the following video, I'll show you how to calculate these values, how to interpret them, and how to use the data to maximize the profit from your marketing investment. We hope you find it useful.
Vroom, Vroom, Vroom! Did you know that more than 90% of car buyers turn to the internet to help guide them through the purchase process? Join us on September 16th to get the inside track on the latest automotive online research, trends and how online plays a vital role in the car buying journey. We will be hosting 2 sessions to share insights and research for both Australia and New Zealand.
New AU Automotive Industry Research September 16th - 11am Sydney Standard Time (1pm AKL, 9am SG) You can sign up for this webinar here.
New NZ Automotive Industry Research September 16th - 2pm Sydney Standard Time (4pm AKL, 12pm SG) You can sign up for this webinar here.
You're about to run to a meeting but you urgently need to update the tracking URLs in your largest client account. Do you make the changes or get to the meeting on time? The answer is both! AdWords Editor is a free tool that allows you to download your AdWords account to your computer, make your changes (ad text, keyword, CPC etc), then upload your revised campaigns. Join us on September 17th to learn 10 time saving tips to try when using AdWords Editor to manage your client's accounts.
AdWords Editor: 10 Time Saving Tips September 17th - 2pm Sydney Standard Time (4pm AKL, 12pm SG) You can sign up for this webinar here.
You can also check out all upcoming webinars, register for new topics and view recorded sessions on our Agency webinar calendar page at: www.google.com.au/adwords/webinars/agency.
Please join us this Thursday August 13th for a new webinar, relevant to search specialists and agencies who would like to learn more about the Google Display Network and using the Wonder Wheel tool to build and optimise campaigns.
Google Display Network: Best Practices & Using the Wonder Wheel August 13th – 2pm Sydney Standard Time (4pm AKL, 12pm SG) Uncover display network best practices, recommended structure and tips. We will also show you the Wonder Wheel, which is a new tool that can assist in building contextually targeted campaigns. You can register for this webinar here.
We would be pleased to have you join any of the webinars in our new agency series. To view and register for any of our upcoming topics, please visit our webinar calendar page at: www.google.com.au/adwords/webinars/agency.
Have you ever wondered if your client has committed one of the "7 deadly sins of landing page design?" Since it's the page visitors see after clicking your ad, your landing page is one of your most valuable tools. A bad landing page will drive visitors away, while a good one will turn AdWords clicks into customers. Check out this post from the Inside AdWords blog, which includes a recap and recording of a recent webinar on landing page best practices.
We hope you will find these resources helpful as you work with your clients to improve website landing pages and turn more clicks into customers.
AdWords webinars are free online tutorials delivered by Google AdWords Specialists. You can watch presentations on a variety of topics to help you understand and manage your client's accounts more effectively. Whether you're a new agency employee or a seasoned veteran our AdWords webinars can help you meet your goals. All you need to get started is an internet connection and a computer with speakers or headphones!
Please join us for two upcoming webinars, relevant to search specialists and agencies who would like to stay on top of the latest AdWords products and also learn tips on how to write effective ad copy.
AdWords Product Update for Agencies
July 30th – 2pm Sydney Standard Time (4pm AKL, 12pm SG)
Stay up to date on the latest Google and AdWords Product updates including the new Ad Planner Interface. We will also cover recent updates the Search Based Query Tool as well as a look at new features of the New AdWords Interface. You can register for this webinar here.
Writing Effective Ad Copy
August 6th – 11am Sydney Standard Time (1pm AKL, 9am SG)
Uncover tips on how to write effective ad copy that aligns with different parts of the purchase funnel. Learn how to use various reports and tests to drive optimal results. You can register for this webinar here.
We would be pleased to have you join any of the webinars in our new agency series. To view and register for any of our upcoming topics, please visit our webinar calendar page at: www.google.com.au/adwords/webinars/agency.
