Insights:Marketing Insights: AdWords’ Hidden Tools.
The AdWords Dashboard displays a wealth of information for the trained, and not so trained eye. Rows and columns of metrics, reports and other data points give us great insight into what is happening with our ads, but as is often the case with AdWords, the default settings don’t always give you the best results. Buried deep in the AdWords interface is a wealth of “hidden” tools that Google seems content to keep behind a curtain. Here at Insight, we’re happy to let some light in.
In your Campaign / Settings it is especially important not to settle for defaults.
Most savvy marketers will tell you that “Search and Display Select” campaigns are a bad idea because Search and Display Network have very different requirements. So choose your Campaign “Type” according to your goals. While you’re in there, always select “All Features” otherwise most of what we discuss below will be hidden from you.
Also located in Settings are multiple not so obvious options for fine-tuning a campaign. “Networks” allow you to decide whether you want ads only to show on Google Search or on “Search Partners” as well. Search Partners include ask.com, ebay.com and many other sites that may or may not be best for you. (Google does not publish a list of Search Partners, so who they are is anyone’s guess) “Devices” allow us to set Bid Adjustments for mobile traffic. Increase the bid by a percentage if you are seeing strong mobile results. “Location Options (advanced)”, a rarely used setting, that gives you additional control over the geo-graphic spread of your ads. “Delivery Method” offers additional control how quickly your ads show over a 24 hour period and “Ad Scheduling” lets you conserve budget by only showing ads between the hours they are most likely to product results.
Moving from Settings into the Campaign Dashboard, the Search Query report, perhaps one of the most powerful tools of all for search advertising, only emerged from the shadows recently and was awarded its own tab under the main “Keywords” navigation. The search query tool (now “Search Terms” tab) reveals the actual search query a user has entered into Google resulting in a click on your ad. Add a Keyword column to this report, and we get great insight into how Google matches keywords based on Match Type. We can also use the tool to identify new keywords and, more importantly, potential Negative Keywords.
The “Dimensions” tab is another overlooked gem. Break down your traffic into day of the week, hour of day or geographic location of the clicks (down to zip code level), or use the “Segment” tab to visualize how individual Keywords perform on different devices, where a keyword is triggering the ad on the page or how you are performing on Google Search, as opposed to Search Partners.
Space doesn’t permit me to open up all of AdWords hidden secrets, but if you are running online search or display advertising and are not sure how to interpret the results, give us a call at Insight Marketing Design. We have the inside track on AdWords.