Tag Archives: Search Engine Land

Yesterday, you (or the kids) may have been in for a surprise if you searched Google for the term [Christmas]. Hide the kids. Here is a look at some of the NSFW Shopping ads that were showing for the query as of last evening. Cleaned up. Google has since demonetized the page, removing all ads from showing for the exact match query [christmas]. Now the knowledge card that shows the date Christmas occurs this year and the knowledge panel with additional information appear at the top of the page on mobile (see below) and at the top and right of the page on desktop. There are now text or Shopping […]

I sat down with Andrea Cruz Lopez from KoMarketing in their Boston office to discuss all the good things around Google Ads. But if you know me, I like to talk about more of the “bad things” – so we kicked things off talking about the change where Google Ads expanded more match types back in August. Andrea shared tips and advice on how to stay on top of these changes, how to communicate these changes to clients and ultimately how to ensure you are not wasting your ad spend when Google expands your keyword selections. She also shared some general advice around tips and strategies with Google Ads. Here […]

As the hours tick down to Thanksgiving weekend and the official start of the holiday shopping season, here are a few last-minute items to help ensure you’re set up for success and can handily manage your paid search campaigns right through the season — even if you’re B2B or aren’t expecting a holiday bump. Double-check these paid search tactics Holiday promotion extensions. You can still add holiday occasion-based promotion extensions to your Google Ads campaigns. These can be added at the account, campaign or ad group level are available for Black Friday and Cyber Monday through December 15. Christmas through January 15. St. Nicholas Day through December 31. Hanukah through […]

Google recently announced that publishers can now create Google Actions from web content using schema markup. For brands, Google Actions can be a great way to get more mileage out of your SEO strategy and offer another opportunity to reach searchers organically. Optimizing for newer SEO features like Google Actions and rich results are becoming increasingly critical when it comes to pleasing the algorithm. While the option isn’t available for every content type, this new capability is a big deal for less technical users looking to, ahem, get in on the Actions. What Are Google Actions? Actions are apps designed for the Google Assistant. They range from apps like the […]

It’s not a secret that Google Maps has solidified its place as the dominant entry point for local search. In fact, a new consumer survey from Brandify found that 77% of respondents use Google Maps to find “near me” business information well ahead of other sites. Survey consistent with traffic data. That finding is backed up by data from GatherUp, ThriveHive, and others that show Google Maps is driving most of their customers’ local traffic. Interestingly, the Brandify survey shows the percentage of Maps users goes down (51%) and the order of sites changes somewhat when consumers are asked which local sites/apps they consider “most useful.” Source: Brandify (2019) Most […]

Google Ads engineers have been working to fix conversion reporting since a bug caused conversions to be overreported for in the AdWords API, Google Ads API beta and Google Ads scripts. Status update. As of Sunday, conversion reporting has been fixed except in the Search Query Performance, Geo Performance, Keywordless Query, and Keywordless Category reports, Google said. What was the problem? A bug on November 20 at roughly 9:00 PM EST caused conversion reporting problems between November 11, 12:01 AM PST and November 20, 11:59 AM PST. It affected campaigns that aren’t using last-click attribution. The problem only affected reporting, not smart bidding algorithms. Why we care. If you downloaded […]

Black Friday is going to be here in a matter of days, and you just got the go-ahead to use some additional budget to build awareness with YouTube ads. The problem is you don’t have enough time to get new holiday creative in time. Not ideal, but it’s not the end of the world. If you’re stuck with limited creative or you have to use the same videos you ran last year, I’m going to show you a few ways you can squeeze a little bit more juice out the orange before you have to throw it out. Let’s hop in. Even if your creative is limited, test different targets […]

If your operating assumption about local search is that Google lookups on smartphones dominate traffic, you wouldn’t be alone. But now comes a new consumer survey (n=500 U.S. adults) from Ignite Visibility that presents a number findings that appear to upend the conventional wisdom about local search. Some surprising findings. Some of these seemingly contrarian include: 59% of those surveyed still prefer to search for local information on a desktop (“type into a computer”). White Pages was the app or website [most trusted] when reviewing [(looking for)] local businesses, followed closely by Yahoo Local, Angie’s List, and Yelp. 61% [prefer] to call a business over any other form of communication, […]

As an advertiser, it always feels like the holiday season is abnormally long. It starts in August when I’m initiating conversations with our clients about the upcoming holidays and what it means for them. The majority of my clients are small businesses with small budgets, making this an important time of year. Not only do we have to be careful with our spend, but the revenue that is generated during this season is crucial. A lot of the accounts I work with will feel a strain in their business if they don’t earn enough during the holidays to help them make it through the slower months. The unique constraints that […]

Google’s smart bidding strategies use a host of signals to inform bids with each auction. Now, Google is starting to show which signals are driving performance to optimize bids for people more or less likely to convert. Top signals. The signals shown might include device type, location, day of week, time of day, keywords, remarketing and Customer Match lists and potentially some other signals. You might also see combinations of signals such as time and keyword. Signals in red are less likely to convert in that strategy, while signals in green are more likely to convert. (Click to enlarge.) Top signals for portfolio bidding strategies now show in Google Ads. […]