the PPC Book|Pay Per Click Blog | Long Tail Thoughts in a Short Tail World

No big surprise here, Google is phasing out their ill-executed PPA network. Managing an affiliate network is obviously not Google’s forte. It doesn’t have to be, and it’s a smart business decision to leave it to the pros at Performics/DoubleClick. The new entity is called Google Affiliate Network

The Google Affiliate Network, previously known as DoubleClick Performics Affiliate, has been in operation since 1998. Through the network, advertisers can open their ads to all publishers in the network, or select specific publishers that match their criteria. You can set a CPA for your entire campaign or establish custom payment schedules for specific publishers — such as a higher CPA for a particularly optimal placement. The Google Affiliate Network is currently a separate product from AdWords and AdSense. As with AdSense, publishers must apply and be accepted into the network.

Isn’t it ironic though that Google HATES affiliates, yet they own the best affiliate network on the planet? Some are worried that the existing affiliate networks will be destroyed by the 800lb gorilla. I tend to lean the other way. Google and Performics want nothing to do with the data driven direct response offer networks (azoogle, cpaempire, etc). Performics is the ‘brand’ affiliate network. This move gets them one step closer to their most valued advertisers. The big brands (Ford, Comcast, Target, MTV, etc).

It’s an interesting development for our industry. I don’t think anything will change so drastically. Performics and the other affiliate networks have always co-existed well because they have different publishers. Nothing will change except the names. That is, unless the government gets involved….

ahem.

Yes, my 1 reader was so concerned for my well being that they searched Google UK for me. You can also see that I still apparently rank well for ‘what would jack bauer do’. You know what people? I have no idea what Jack would do, he hasn’t been on TV in about 9 years (and I’m not happy about it).

Well, I’m not completely off the grid like Jack. Where have I been lately? Well, June 13th we added a little ppc rockstar to the family. 7lbs and 1 oz of nocturnal joy. I’m thinking maybe a future nightclub owner? Sleep all day party all night.

This leaves little time for blogging. This fact combined with some new accounts under my control that are tougher than a bag full of hammers. I’ve got my hands full. Rest assured, my salty posts will be back in full shake soon. Right after I beat on some of these unruly keywords and get this campaign under my spell.

If you’re a fellow client side marketer you find yourself fielding questions from clients who want to expand their reach online. Paid search is the most effective form of marketing, we all know that but there is a limited inventory in some cases. Once you’ve mastered the niche for your client and have them locked in at an acceptable ROI, your client will want to know what’s next? Network buys? Media buying?

I know what I know, and I know I don’t do media buys in the traditional sense. Well guess what - Google can help. Today Google announces the Google Ad Planner. One more step to ad world domination on the world’s most incredible Platform

If you’re a retail operation, this study tells you just about everything you need to know in terms of what to highlight in your ad copy and landing page.

It’s the PRICE stupid…

If you insist on being stupid, change your price on the landing page so it’s different from your ads. Or better yet, get rid of the product entirely and don’t tell your PPC analyst. And then complain about your ROI at the end of the month.

I didn’t mean this to turn into a rant.

Honest.

This is actually one of the first articles about Adwords that I’ve read in a major news source that is coherent and logical. They even try to understand the quality score. Props to the NY Times.

Even more entertaining, the employees they chose to interview sound like characters from a spy novel.

Mr. Fox

Mr. Fox and his “ads quality” team can also quickly see whether something is working particularly well. His group’s mission, to constantly fine-tune Google’s ad delivery system, has one overriding objective: show users only the ads they are most likely to be interested in and click on.

Mr. Hal Varian (what a great math name)

“I wouldn’t quite go so far as to say we are recession-proof,” said Hal R. Varian, Google’s chief economist. “But we are recession-resistant.”

There are other interesting tidbits in this article from a PPC analyst point of view, but nothing boils down the entire thing quite like this one:

Quality scores work as an incentive to advertisers to improve their ads, which benefits users and, in turn, benefits Google, Mr. Fox said.

Google has been busy perfecting their automatic billing matching feature the past few months.

While you’re away on Memorial Day travel this weekend, do you mind if we just slip into your account and make some minor adjustments?

We didn’t think you would mind. Have a great weekend!

In all seriousness, this is a fairly controversial feature and should be measured closely.

What to do first:

Turn it off

Opting in and out: Automatic matching is applied at the campaign level. You can opt your campaign in and out of automatic matching on your Campaign Settings page.

Or Leave it on: Do nothing, it’s conveniently already running for you

Should you choose to leave it on, you will want to measure the performance. You can do this via 2 reports:

• Performance statistics: Aggregated performance statistics for automatic matching will appear in each ad group’s Keywords tab, in a line item labeled Automatic Matching Total.
• Search Query Performance report: You can see the search queries that triggered your ads due to automatic matching by running a Search Query Performance report. The queries will be labeled Automatic in the Search Query Match Type column.

Now that I’m thinking of it, this would be a great strategy to try with my clients. While they’re gone this weekend I’ll email them with the great news they’ve been selected for the ‘double management service’ where I increase their billable hours as I see fit (only when it’s relevant, of course). I’ll let you all know on Tuesday how it worked out.

Adwords raises the bar yet again. A newer feature from the folks at Das Google, we can now see our campaign changes mapped against performance metrics. This is quite simply a brilliant feature.

Performance slowed down?

Check the graph.

Need to check your campaign analyst performance?

Check the graph.

Wondering which of the 42 changes you made this month increased your sales?

Check the graph.

It’s a visual cause and effect, basically. Very, very useful. Love it!

Just a reminder that if you missed the 1st episode of PPC Rockstars with Dave Szetela you can download the show at webmasterradio.fm.

The first episode covers dynamic keyword insertion with Matt Van Wagner:

Dynamic Keyword Insertion

Matt Van Wagner of FindMeFaster discusses dynamic keyword insertion , including if DKI can improve marketing score, click through rate and ad relevancy.

All this and more on the premiere episode of PPC Rockstars. The visual presentation can be found here www.clixmarketing.com/blog/ppc-rockstars-stuff/

I know a lot about about paid search. I know nothing about home renovation related activities. Put me in front of a paid search campaign and I’ll slice and dice and segment like the Iron chef. I’ll bring out the beef, cut with conviction and tell you bad jokes while I prepare your meal. I’ll flip knives high in the air while I laugh at your campaign quality score. I’ll break your campaign benchmarks over the vegetable tray and still remember to ask you if you want white rice or stir fried.

Now…Put me in front of a patio door that needs to be installed and I stutter, stumble, and twiddle my thumbs like a 3rd grader waiting for the school bus at a busy intersection. After 12 hours on Saturday, and my family scurrying to the warm shelter of their rooms, with a huge 9 foot hole in our room facing the balcony, I finally understood, I am not, and never will be Bob Villa.

It’s just not my thing. I’m not awful, that would be an insult to someone who is awful with at least a remote understanding of what is going on. Granted, that doesn’t keep me from trying. I hack around and cobble together bits and pieces, but it generally looks awful and causes mild danger for people nearby. When it was over I wasn’t defeated or discouraged. Just at peace with my awfulness.

What else am I terrible with?

Web design. Not quite as bad as patio installation, mind you. I can chop around and tweak and existing template. Who can’t? The thing is, I have the vision of what needs to be done. That’s quite a bit of the battle right there. Point is, I am resigning myself to my strengths. You may have noticed a new design today for theppcbook.com. It’s just a template I found to be a placeholder while I arrange for a professional and unique design all my own. With the impending Pay per Click Book release I need a new look for my little blog home. I’m putting a call out to anyone who is or can recommend a good blog designer. I know the usual suspects, but am looking for something new.

If you have any recommendations they would be greatly appreciated!

Per the Adwords blog, landing page load time is now visible from the keyword detail page:

This is especially useful when a client needs a little encouragement towards optimizing their site performance. A picture is worth a thousand (key)words.