Let’s start with a story... I recently took over an ad account that had a handful of campaigns set up in a seemingly strong structure. There were...

We've written a few posts already about Google's recent change to reduce the number of search terms visible within Google Ads accounts and its...

Google has announced they will be charging new fees for ads served in the United Kingdom, Turkey, and Austria. These fees will begin on November 1,...

Google Ads has many features that allow you to set your ads to dynamically update based on parameters you choose. You might be familiar with keyword...

  Over the years I've had a couple of opportunities to work with companies that had AdWords Express accounts. Often times they had set up...

For every Google Ads advertiser who's wondered whether their ad is showing or not for specific terms/in specific place/on specific devices the Ad...

I have been really digging the Reports Editor within Google Ads. The previous Dimensions tab has been retired in this new UI and the Report button...

Love it or hate it, the new AdWords (oops, I mean Google Ads) UI is here to stay. PPC marketers are still scrambling to learn all the quirks of the...

We received an interesting email from Google Ads yesterday regarding automatically opting-in campaigns into Enhanced Cost-Per-Click bidding. The...

Some advertisers use multiple Google Ads accounts to segment traffic and handle budgets separately. Agencies with multiple clients regularly jump...

As a "Welcome to August" present, Google Ads sent out the following email: Dear Google Ads Advertiser, You are receiving this message because your...

The majority of Google Ad's releases this year have been focused on machine learning. The new feature I am most excited about is Google's Responsive...

If you are advertising on Google Ads, you've likely gotten an email in the last few weeks about parallel tracking being required for all ad accounts...

I had the opportunity to present recently at a monthly meeting of the Utah Digital Marketing Collective (Utah DMC, formerly SLCSEM). I spoke about a...

Yesterday, we learned about several new and exciting changes coming up over next month across the Google advertising platforms. Some involved name...

  A feature I’ve loved in Google Analytics and desperately wanted in Google AdWords is now here: Notes! have many spreadsheets filled with...

Over the years people (me included) have openly wondered if there would come a time when Google would stop just selling advertising and move into...

About a year ago, the buzz began around Google rolling out In-Market audience targeting for Search campaigns. Based on Google's presentation at the...

In my last post, we took a look at the new Google Goal-Optimized Shopping campaign type and what it does. Today we're going to walk-through how to...

For many businesses, form submissions only account for a portion of leads that come through the web. Phone calls can also be crucial to gaining...

Here at Clix, we love nonprofits! They are doing some of the best work in our communities. Over the years, we have worked with several nonprofit...

In AdWords there are 7 automated bidding strategies to choose from, so you've got plenty of options. However, let's talk about eCPC because A) it's...

AdWords Editor 12.3, released during the first week of May 2018, contains several significant feature updates. One long-awaited update includes the...

A couple weeks ago we had a post about reporting metrics in the new AdWords UI. This post explained the metrics that wouldn't be migrated as well as...

Back in August of 2017, we wrote about the beta version of AdWords' Ad Suggestions. At that time it was a beta that you could easily opt out of via...

If you haven't done keyword research in Google's keyword planner in a while, there is an update in the new UI that you may have missed. There are...

While there has been a lot of buzz about all of the features in the new Adwords UI, did you know that there will be a few columns and segments that...

Demographic bid modifiers were only available for Ages, Gender or Parental Status in the previous UI.  With the new UI, finding your demographic...

Google's new interface offers more ways for advertisers to better interact with their target audience. One of the new offerings are advanced bid...

Today I want to take a closer look at one of my favorite sections of the new AdWords Overview page, the Searches summary card. I have always enjoyed...

In January 2017, Google removed advertisers' ability to create or edit standard text ads for Display Network campaigns and steered us toward the...

Yesterday we posted about positive changes to a Google Grant account with the use of CPA bidding. Those positive changes came after updates to the...

There was a large outcry in the Google Ad Grants community when big changes were announced last December. A look at the announcement thread in the...

At Clix, we love Google's dynamic search ad campaigns. However, it is one of those tools that you can easily think isn't working if you don't...

Today I want to talk about one of the features in the new AdWords interface that has been much improved compared to the legacy interface: the...

A couple weeks ago I wrote about some suggestions in the AdWords Opportunities section that were well thought out, insightful and helpful if applied...

Here at Clix, we love finding new ways to save time in our workdays to help make us more efficient and productive. Whether it's automating ad...

Time for another episode of cool new AdWords features that are only available in the new interface. Today was are taking a closer look at a new...

Ad disapprovals happen sometimes, but what happens when your AdWords account is suspended? Google has been battling illegitimate advertisers for a...

In November, Google rolled out some new features, and the one I've been most excited to test is Custom Intent audiences for the Google Display...

Filters are a very basic, but incredibly useful feature available in Google. If you've been managing accounts for a while, there are likely certain...

No doubt, there has been an amazing shift in the number of digital voice services out there and the users utilizing them. Here are just a few of the...

Over the years, I have written quite a bit about AdWords Editor. During that same time, there have been a lot of changes with AdWords Editor. I want...

It was mid-October when Google announced that the new AdWords experience was available to all advertisers and the floodgates opened; the PPC...

Ever since AdWords launched the Opportunities tab my opinion has varied between incredulous to downright disappointed. The main factor has always...

In late 2016, people began spotting a new ad extension that Google was testing - the promotion extension. As of last month, promotion extensions...

A new year often causes many of us to pause and reflect on the past before diving into the future. I recently stumbled down the memory lane path...

I recently got a fairly innocuous email from Google regarding a Google Ad Grant account that I work with. Here it is in it's entirety: It starts out...

Recently, Google Partners hosted a live stream event as part of their Digital AdWords Bootcamp. They shared several of their best practices around...

Google has generously made available a way for non-profits to extend their voice via free search ads through a program called Google Ad Grants. It’s...

Even as PPC managers are hesitant to embrace the new AdWords experience, Google continues to release features only available in the new interface....

If you haven't made the jump to the new AdWords interface yet (guilty as charged) you may have noticed an unexpected update in the old interface...

If you're advertising your products through Google AdWords, it's likely you are using remarketing as part of your overall strategy. However, if you...

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to attend Pubcon 2017 in Las Vegas, one of the largest, and oldest internet marketing conferences in the...

Audience targeting is becoming more important by the day in the world of online advertising. Search advertising is still a massively important piece...

Launching local PPC campaigns in a new international market involves much more than simply copying campaigns and adding new geographic targets. You...

I’m totally a creature of habit and have truly resisted getting acquainted with the new AdWords Platform. However, there are admittedly a few new...

Imagine you're in charge of managing an AdWords account and you get one of those dreaded emails about disapproved ads. Now imagine it's not just an...

Last week I had the pleasure of speaking at SMX East in New York City alongside a number of amazing folks from around our online marketing...

A few months ago, we released a great list of recurring tasks for account work. Some of my favorite reports and reviews to run fall under the...

Starting this month, the Chrome internet browser will start flagging any website that is HTTP as "not secure" if they contain login fields, forms,...

Google AdWords and Google Analytics can be two very powerful tools for your online marketing efforts. Each has a robust amount of information...

While AdWords provides insights into ad impressions, cost, and conversions, it doesn’t deliver all of the information needed about website visitor...

A few weeks back, I wrote a post about creating killer reports.  I noted a few reporting platforms worth checking out. They all have their pros and...

Updated: November 19, 2021 At the core of any Google Ads account strategy lies a foundation of solid conversion tracking to determine how well ads...

We all know the feeling. We take all the information we’ve gathered through research, conversations with clients, mix it all together with our...

AdWords is introducing a new beta called ad suggestions designed to “improve performance” by adding new ads to your ad groups for you. I added the...

Filters are one of those features that virtually every web platform or shopping site has. However, I feel filters are very under-used. Here are 3...

Have you ever looked at Google AdWords data in Google Analytics, only to find that the numbers don’t match up with what you see in your AdWords...

One of my favorite reports in Google AdWords is the paid & organic report. It's one of the only places where you can see how paid and organic...

Google Shopping is a competitive channel that is growing more crowded every day. Not only are Google Shopping ads becoming essential for retailer...

When I first started in the PPC industry, I remember being a little overwhelmed by how much there was to learn. I was fortunate to have received...

As PPC professionals, we usually have some degree of “control freak” running through our veins. Some folks might be on the lighter end of that, but...

Feeling overwhelmed trying to monitor all your keywords?  Going on vacation and no one else is available to make changes to your Search ads? ...

Today’s consumers expect an online purchase experience to be straightforward, the check out process to be easy, and shipping to be fast and...

Google has many targeting options available to help advertisers reach the correct audience. One of the settings you need to select for each campaign...

A good ole' Google Display Network (GDN) remarketing campaign is one of the first things we recommend firing up for new clients. The reach and power...

  If you've run an AdWords Display campaign you've likely seen the placement 'anonymous.google' in your Placements report. If you're like me,...

AdWords recently announced new features during their Google Marketing Next event. One such announcement was the plan for in-market audiences for...

About a month ago, Google rolled out Smart Display campaigns, which are essentially fully automated Display campaigns. As with anything that gives...

Dynamic Search Ads are nothing new in the Google interface, but that doesn't mean there aren't always new things you can do to take your DSA...

There are so many tools and features available in Google AdWords that it's hard to keep track of all of them. You are probably familiar with...

For any number of reasons, there are advertisers out there not currently using their customer lists in their PPC campaigns. Maybe this has to do...

For those of you who haven't heard, Google announced a pilot program called Ads Added by AdWords. This program is named very descriptively in that...

Over recent years, the rise of social advertising has gotten advertising pros much more focused on audience targeting rather than just keyword...

As I start a New Year, I like to take some time to think about channel features I can test out that didn't get implemented the previous year. I'm...

If you're running location extensions along with call extension using a tracking number in AdWords, you need to pay close attention. A recent email...

A few weeks ago, Google announced the new message extensions with the caveat that they weren’t yet available to all advertisers but would be rolled...

Last month, I had the pleasure of speaking at HeroConf London and had a great time doing so. My topic: Making Dynamic Search Ads a Tool for All...

This may come as a shock, but I like things that are free and add value. That's why I have always loved ad extensions. They allow advertisers to add...

A few months ago, Brad Geddes shared an insightful presentation about Quality Score analysis at SMX Advanced. He recommended that companies analyze...

In the PPC industry, it seems like not a day goes by without the release of something new. With Bing Ad’s latest release of Structure Snippets, I...

Google announced earlier this year that device bid adjustments are coming to AdWords. This means that advertisers will have more control over...

When Google rolled out Price Extensions last month I was stoked to get them added to my e-commerce accounts, and I’ve been really curious to see how...

AdWords has long billed itself as a self-serve platform that anyone could use to quickly reach millions of people. They've backed off some of that...

I've come across a few blog posts in the last few months discussing how AdWords was a complete failure. Working in the paid search industry for the...

I love checklists. Sometimes my checklists have checklists and I add things to my list that I already did for the pure satisfaction of checking the...

With the global rollout of Expanded Text Ads (ETAs) in Google AdWords many advertisers are now presented with the prospect of needing to overhaul...

I know there's a lot of focus on Quality Score in the paid search world. I even co-authored the Ultimate Guide to Quality Score back in 2011. But as...

This is a guest post by Viljem Pitako, Content Manager at Whoop!. In this post I’ll show you how to track your conversion value. There are two...

Customer match was by far my favorite Google AdWords release of 2015 (sorry structured snippets). I've seen strong performance from these audiences...

The bulk of my accounts over the years have been lead generation, so optimizing accounts to reduce CPL is a task I’m well acquainted with. There are...

This is a guest post from Joe Martinez , Senior Manager of Paid Media at Granular. Fresh off of the Google Performance Summit in late May, many...

When you regularly change out ad tests on a regular basis, you can spend a lot of time pausing, adding, labeling and tweaking ads in Google AdWords...

This is a guest post from Amanda West-Bookwalter, Digital Media Marketing Specialist at Formstack. Customer Match lets you use all the hard work...

...and in the darkness bind them? Maybe. Here at Clix, we are big proponents of website tag managers and often deploy Google Tag Manager for our...

You may recall that Google introduced dynamic Structured Snippets about a year ago, and after some months of advertiser success and requests to be...

Automation is a big theme in PPC nowadays. Different PPC pros have different outlooks on automation and its role in our industry. But there's one...

If you work for a non-profit or even know someone associated with a non-profit in any way, please read this article because Google has a program for...

Happy Friday, friends, and welcome to this week's edition of the Clix Marketing Blog's PPC News & Views! From the Experts Social Media Examiner...

This is a guest post from Amanda West-Bookwalter, Digital Media Marketing Specialist at Formstack. It seems like every third or fourth update Google...

Google Shopping news often slows down after the holiday stats come out, and there are rarely many AdWords updates that affect Shopping Ads – until...

Good Friday friends and welcome to this week's edition of the Clix Marketing Blog's PPC News & Views! From the Experts AdEspresso The Great A/B...

This is a guest post from Kirk Williams, owner of ZATO.  Sometimes tips, tricks, and hacks tend to be “best practices” information. Don’t get me...

Google AdWords announced Customer Match in September of 2015. Hurray! ...now what? Let's get into what Customer Match is and how you can leverage...

Happy Friday, everyone, and welcome to this week's edition of the Clix Marketing Blog's #PPC News & Views! From the Experts Search Engine Watch...

If you're an ecommerce PPC advertiser and you're using Shopping Campaigns in your AdWords account, this post is for you. So let's get right to the...

Dynamic search ads are a pretty cool development by Google. Basically, they repurposed their SEO strength to add to their revenue making PPC...

Good Friday, friends, and welcome to this week's edition of the Clix Marketing Blog's PPC News & Views! From the Experts 3Q Digital How-To:...

I had a great time participating in SMX West’s Great Structure Debate with 3Q Digital’s Caitlin Halpert and CMI Media’s Justin Freid, moderated by...

A few days ago Google dropped a bomb shell. Yes, I'm talking about the no-more-right-side-ads announcement (really more of a confirmation since...

"But they're already my customers. Why should I tag them?" - Anonymous SaaS Owner Well my friend, that's what I'm here to talk to you about. Tagging...

Good Friday, friends, and welcome to this week's edition of the Clix Marketing Blog's PPC News & Views! From the Experts AcquisioBlog Knowing...

Dynamic Search Ads (also known as DSA) is an option that has been around for a while, but has gathered mixed reviews. However, in July 2015, Google...

Puppy monkey baby! Puppy monkey baby! Laugh-out-loud funny. If you didn't laugh at that commercial during the Super Bowl, well, I don't know how you...

It's the beginning of 2016 and what better way to kick off the year than with cleaning up your PPC ads! Occasionally, especially at the year-end,...

...in the accounts it makes sense for, that is. Call Only campaigns have been in Google's advertising arsenal for a little over half a year now....

Ahhh a New Year. A time for renewal, setting new goals, and stepping back to take a look at your marketing strategy. Marketing 101 has always been...

I've made it a habit to include text ads in all my display campaigns and remarketing campaigns. My logic has always been that you want to be...

In the world of PPC, your accounts can be as hands on or as auto-pilot as you wish. More often than not, PPC pros worth their salt take the hands on...

I'm often surprised by how many people at conferences say they either didn't know Auction Insights existed, or they admit they've glanced at it but...

Happy Friday, everyone, and welcome to this week’s edition of Clix Marketing Blog’s PPC News & Views. From the Experts iProspect Bing is...

Last week Google tweeted a link for a form to apply to be a part of the beta test for their AdWords iOS App, and the first round of invites were...

Last week, Google unveiled what they are referring to as "Smart Goals" for advertisers who currently don't have conversion tracking. Many AdWords...

2016 is right around the corner. Can you believe it? There were so many changes this past year that it's hard to keep track. But we'll give it a...

When AdWords announced call-only campaigns in February I was excited. I had a couple clients where phone calls were the main objective so it made...

Have you looked in your AdWords toolbox lately? With all of fun features available, you may have missed that Gmail Ads are now available within the...

Happy holidays ...err.. happy holiday season! If you're reading this, it means you've already made it through Black Friday and you are about...

  Happy Thanksgiving! Here at Clix, we are thankful for so many different tools and features that make our life easier and more productive...

As marketers we really like trends. Trends help to drive new ideas, shake-up strategies, and provide opportunities for testing and growth. But not...

It's the mooooooooost wonderful time of the year. And the most stressful. And the one with the most offers. And the one where the "do all the things...

Segments are a wonderful feature in Google Adwords. Although they are not new, segments are easily overlooked in value. Using the Segments drop down...

Extended sitelinks for search are a great way to show customers more information about your business. Since A/B testing isn’t currently possible,...

Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking at HeroConf London and it was a blast, as usual.  I presented an introduction to Scripts, including: The...

Happy Friday, friends, and welcome to this week's edition of Clix Marketing Blog's PPC News & Views! From the Experts CPCStrategy How to Use...

Only 58 more days until Christmas!  While this statement likely sends eCommerce clients and their PPC managers into a tizzy, it means something...

Google’s Ad Display Network is big - really, really big. Last week comScore published it’s ranking of online activity and reported that the GDN has...

What is a placement anyways? Bottom line - when you set up display targeting (of any type), placements are the websites where your ads are...

If you’ve been following our #DigIntoDisplay series, you’ve read about managing performance, making plans, targeting methods and more. Today, I’m...

Display offers some nifty remarketing on its own, but when you're in e-commerce, you have an even cooler option: dynamic remarketing.  Typically...

Once upon a time, there weren't many ways you could target display. Nowadays, there are a lot of options, and the best part is, you can use more...

There are the millions of websites on the inter-web; getting in front of customers during their normal web activity, and connecting with them at...

This is the second in a series of posts Digging Into Display. Check back daily for new tips and strategies for succeeding in the world of Display....

Google announced on Wednesday that is launching a program that will speed up load times of pages viewed on mobile devices, while providing a reader...

Last week something magical happened. The kind folks at SMX indulged my goofy side (well, Ginny Marvin did) and ran with a crazy idea. A panel...

The AdWords interface has always been difficult to navigate. Negative keywords and search term reports were two areas in particular that were not...

Do you know who your customers are? As search marketers, we are used to generating new customers for the products or services that we are...

Lately when I have been pulling down my normal PPC reports from AdWords, I have been trying out different ways to finagle the data in the...

Google jumped-in to the hotel search game with products like Google Hotel Finder, Google+ Local, Google Maps, and Google Hotel Price Ads. Recently...

Ok e-commerce advertiser friends. Time for a wake up call! How many of you have your e-comm blinders on and are solely focused on your Google/Bing...

I love shortcuts when pulling reports and sorting data. I really dislike being inefficient with my time, so when learning something new or pulling...

Mobile, mobile, mobile. Everything is mobile. Despite the obvious fact that our handheld devices have taken over our lives, many digital advertisers...

In the PPC industry the prevailing wisdom is that ad extensions are vital to success because they increase the amount of real estate you occupy and...

The Dimensions tab in Google AdWords is a powerful and useful tab in your arsenal of reporting tools. Sometimes I forget how handy these puppies can...

I had the privilege of being invited to represent PPCers on a SEMPO hangout yesterday that was put together by their education committee. Never...

  One of my favorite necessary PPC tasks is checking out the search query reports in AdWords and Bing. It’s a great way to get an inside look...

If you are a full-fledged e-commerce business with a team of product managers, developers and marketers in tow, this article isn't for you. If you...

You know how every once in awhile you think something doesn't exist in AdWords, and then you realize it does? And then you feel dumb, because...

Since there’s often additional value in your ad being seen on a certain device, at the right time or in a certain place, it’s important to...

Google Shopping has been busy over the past year and is growing up fast. In case you haven't heard, they're adding features at a rapid pace, taking...

If you’re a newbie in the search industry, taking and passing your Google AdWords and Bing Ads certification exams are likely at the top of your...

Labels can be infinitely helpful in accounts and the uses are nearly limitless but we all have our favorite ways to leverage them. Detailed below...

When it comes to learning PPC, there's a lot of content out there. My search for "how to learn ppc" had 3,020,000 results, in fact. The internet is...

Just 2 weeks ago I dropped knowledge all over you regarding the importance of Yahoo! Gemini. To summarize - the Yahoo!/Bing Search Alliance is...

Late last week I read this article about rebranding your company and things you should take into account while doing so. The article was solid and...

Every PPC platform has a set of advertiser policies/guidelines. These documents lay out what content is allowed, which is allowed on a limited basis...

For many PPC managers, it's an easy jump to begin targeting other English speaking countries in accounts. No translation help required and as long...

Reporting, reporting, reporting – if you’re anything like me, you probably spend a decent amount of time reviewing reports and Excel pivots to make...

Lead generation accounts are their own unique challenge. Unlike ecommerce accounts where each conversion point adds revenue, lead generation can...

Facebook recently announced that it would be opening up Instagram ads to all throughout this year. Previously, Facebook has limited ads on its photo...

Keyword research is a necessary task in PPC, but luckily, there’s lots of great tools out there to make us more productive. Whether you’re new in...

It’s a tale as old as time – high CPCs and low budgets. They go together like… well, like oil and water, basically. It’s not uncommon among...

We all have those “doh!” moments (some more than others), where we knew there was a faster method to make changes to an account, but we don’t think...

It's very rare that I break out any kind of happy dance/shuffle/wiggle, but it happened today, guys. AdWords released the latest version of Editor....

There's been a running joke among digital marketers for years now that THIS year will be the "year of mobile." And for awhile, years came and went...

Last December, for the first time, Google began reporting in-store visits so advertisers could finally measure how their online efforts translated...

A few months ago on our blog we discussed the differences between retargeting and remarketing. Up until now, these terms have been used...

The keyword tool planner has gone through a lot of changes over the last couple years and it appears another one is coming. Here is what I...

This post marks the fifth of a 6 part series on sharing insights across marketing channels focusing on the benefit of combining paid digital media...

After launching my first Call Only Campaign, I realized I wasn't sure about the reporting...was a click a call in these cases? What was a...

Demographic data, connected with search intent, is the Holy Grail of online marketing. Demographic data allows you to make sure you're targeting the...

Often we hear companies provide vague descriptions about the demographics that they want to target (read: "men who make somewhere between $x and $x"...

Last week, Google announced it was releasing an AdWords app for Android users. Many PPCers rejoiced (and many complained that it wasn't out for...

I came across a pretty hard AdWords quiz the other day, but as I was reading through the post (it wasn't really a quiz as much as it was a blog...

As digital advertising professionals, we are immersed in a wide world of ad types. Many of us started off as PPC-only practitioners where text ads...

"Can't we just pause anything under our goal CPA?" Sometimes it's hard to explain what an ecosystem a paid search account actually is. All these...

Earlier today, there was an official announcement on the AdWords blog about Upgraded URLs. What are they? Let's have a look. Tagging the Old Way For...

Maybe you are ready to set up your first shopping campaign or maybe you’re thinking about restructuring your current set up.  The way your products...

Some of you may have noticed a new display campaign set-up functionality in AdWords. This functionality has only rolled out to a subset of...

Say you're a small business that has quite a few products for sale on your website. You want to promote your products via Google AdWords and you...

You may have received an email this afternoon from AdWords, announcing the transition to local call extensions (when applicable). This is a great...

The other day I was reviewing an AdWords audit for a small advertiser (about $1500/month in click spend). We went through many aspects of the...

You've probably seen AdWords listings with an address listed below the ad copy. It's blue and hyperlinked so that if a user clicks it will...

Looks like Google AdWords has been paying attention to some rants from PPC pros. For a while now we've been able to see ad stats when individual...

Last week Google announced a change to how they will handle calls counted as conversions. This isn't a sexy change that brings about some new...

AdWords has always offered some really cool targeting options, whether that's retargeting or income level targeting. However, there are a couple of...

I want to have a discussion about the Google AdWords interface. I would invite all users of the platform to participate. That includes PPC...

Creating a new campaign is exciting work. You have the opportunity to start out fresh, with brand new keywords, brand new ad copy, and new targeting...

Google has decided to remove Max CPA as a bidding option from their Conversion Optimizer tool in AdWords: In the coming months, we'll be removing...

Another day, another change in Google AdWords. This morning, a large number of advertisers were recipients an email from Google regarding an...

One of Google’s most recent changes in AdWords is the ability to track phone calls as conversions. While this might be the answer to some...

The complexity of any advertising campaign rarely correlates with money spent but usually hinges on the number of channels, products, audiences and...

When Google introduced Remarketing back in 2010 it offered advertisers an exciting new way to "follow" those pesky non-converting visitors around...

It's a Thanksgiving miracle! No, it's not a perfectly browned and crispy bacon wrapped turkey...although I'll never give up hope. Google has given...

Search partners. Syndicated search partners. Audience network. These are terms used by Google, Bing & LinkedIn for partner websites where they...

Conversion optimizer and I have had a love hate relationship since it was released back in 2008. At first the tool was really great. Google claimed...

Late last month Google announced the release of Google Shopping Campaigns. We've been able to get early access and have gone under the hood to see...

Every year around the same time people begin to ask what you want for Christmas. After the initial panic of "Ah! Christmas is so close!" we give...

Last week Google announced an "improvement" to their Ad Rank calculations within AdWords. The calculation will now feature the use of ad extensions...

AdWords has a tendency of making unpublished interface changes, some so small that they can even go unnoticed to its user base. A simple switch...

Someday, you’ll be training a PPC newb and you’ll make the comment, “I remember when Google Shopping was Froogle and it was free”, and they’ll have...

Time and time again I review PPC campaigns for small businesses and find so much missed opportunity. Opportunities for a phone call here, a lead...

Earlier this week, Michelle clued us in to some great info on AdWords Quality Score: Hype, Changes, and Tracking Tools. Since optimizing quality...

You're so vain! Ok... maybe not as vain as Woody here. But what about your PPC keywords?  Vanity Keyword Definition: Keywords chosen not for...

Quality score has been a hot topic recently. Over the past few months there've been a good number of "opinion" pieces about quality score as well as...

This month, Google announced a new initiative giving advertisers further insights into their conversion data and the role paid search plays in it....

Blogging is all about being topical and relevant. It is an open platform that is part news and part opinion. Well, considering I can think of...

With the litany of online tools for PPC available for Search Marketers, we felt it time to weigh in. Now, with tools ranging from free to “*chokes*...

As you've been hearing about for several months, yesterday, July 22nd, was the day that Google planned to upgrade all campaigns to their new...

Enhanced Campaigns are here. Now is the time to get over any lingering frustrations you have with the forced upgrade and begin to make decisions...

We've known about Enhanced Campaigns now for several months (February 2013 to be exact). The deadline for upgrading was delayed once. New "enhanced"...

When it comes to automated tools for Google Display campaigns there are a few options and they often get confused. We've got the Display Campaign...

One of my first activities every morning is to log into my MCC and go check up on my client accounts. I'm making sure the account is running okay,...

A little while ago, I put together a list of ways I use labels in AdWords to help me in my account management. Today, I'd like to expand on that...

Targeting on Google Display Network has been a hot topic the last two weeks. I keep hearing confusion about performance of managed placements once...

Google recently announced that campaigns upgraded to enhanced campaigns will now have access to an upgraded version of sitelinks. The new format...

We have all asked the same question and statement about certifications. “Didn't I just take that test a few weeks ago? It can’t have expired...

Account managers everywhere are finding it more and more difficult to keep up with their job. We have to manage ad dollars and performance...

By now we all know the quickest way to get the blood boiling in search marketers is to drop the E bomb…Enhanced Campaigns. Yes, Google’s...

One of the major benefits of pay-per-click (PPC) marketing is the incredible granularity of data. Nowhere is this more visible than the search query...

Oh, the automatic placements report. It's wonderful and frustrating at the same time. When done right, reviewing the auto placements report can...

Yesterday (May 23rd) marked the release of the newest version of everyone favorite offline campaign management tool, AdWords Editor. As we would...

Dearest AdWords. I just wanted to drop you a note on this, the eve of your September 22nd downtime. You know, that system maintenance you've been...

Over the past few weeks, I've become increasingly interested in efficient PPC account management. I've come to see the value in being able to go...

The time has come for all PPC advertisers to pay attention to Google's +1. Last week I wrote an article about how +1 is starting to change how we...

Google recently mentioned that “97% of new visitors do not convert the first time they arrive at your site.” While you never get a second chance to...

If you're like me or thousands of other Google AdWords advertisers, you have lamented the loss of the "old school" AdWords reports. Last year Google...

by Joseph Kerschbaum Director of Client Services, Clix Marketing Automated rules recently became available in all Google AdWords accounts, so now is...

by Joseph Kerschbaum Director of Client Services, Clix Marketing With recent articles covering Google AdWords Campaign Experiments (ACE) and...

by John Lee Search Marketing Manager, Clix Marketing Both Google AdWords and Microsoft adCenter released major PPC desktop app updates this winter....

by Joseph Kerschbaum Director of Client Services, Clix Marketing Google announced their new Search Funnel reporting capabilities within AdWords...

by John Lee Search Marketing Manager, Clix Marketing So many strategies surround even the most basic of pay-per-click (PPC) principles. One...

by Joseph Kerschbaum Director of Client Services, Clix Marketing Google announced the global rollout of their AdWords Campaign Experiments (ACE)...

by John Lee Search Marketing Manager, Clix Marketing Google announced Enhanced CPC, a new bidding feature for AdWords, earlier this year. This...

by Joseph Kerschbaum Director of Client Services, Clix Marketing One of my recent columns explained how to use the Opportunities tab within Google...

by John Lee Advertising Account Manager, Clix Marketing One of the biggest advantages of using a wide range of the available Google products is that...

Last time, we discussed the basic principles of placement targeting on Google's Display Network. Let's expand on that topic by looking at how...

Managed placement targeting on the Google AdWords content network is one of the most accurate and potentially profitable weapons in the PPC arsenal....

Following a spate of blog posts about variable AdWords ad line lengths (e.g. here and here), I decided to point out an issue for many advertisers....

PPC bidding strategies come in many shapes and sizes. Manual CPC bidding is what most people use; other options include CPA and CPM bidding. Google...

by John A. Lee, Search Marketing Manager Successful PPC management is all about proper targeting. The potential audience for a PPC ad is huge, but...

by John A. Lee, Search Marketing Manager Last week, Google announced another round of changes for the AdWords interface. These updates mainly...

by John A. Lee If you advertise in Google AdWords, there's a good chance you've used the "Change History" tool. Change History allows you to review...

by John A. Lee Do I have your attention yet? Earlier this year, Google AdWords launched another addition to their PPC keyword-matching algorithm...

by John A. Lee November has been an exciting month for Google AdWords advertisers. Google announced and/or unleashed three additions to the AdWords...

Many folks who manage PPC campaigns live in the microcosm of their own keywords, tactics and reporting data. Living with blinders on is a very...

This just out from Google: We've just completed a new analysis on the performance of campaigns which have adopted Conversion Optimizer. We found...

We all know that tracking conversions is crucial to optimizing PPC campaigns. But almost all conversion tracking mechanisms - including the ones...

According to this release today, sent to Adsense publishers, Google is experimenting with different formats for ads. I think this is good news for...

The new QS algorithms and user interface have been a hot topic over the past few weeks. I think it's a big advantage to savvy advertisers who know...

We'll be testing and reporting on these - but they look very powerful: mechanisms for rotating creative to reduce "banner fatigue;" the ability to...

This should be interesting... eCommerce heavyweights have banded together to form the Alliance Against Bait & Click (AABC) to raise awareness...

I strongly advise all Google AdWords advertisers to read and heed this excellent Search Engine Land article by Andrew Goodman. It describes a...

Look for a slick new version of the Google AdWords Editor to be released today or tomorrow.

Google released today a concise and comprehensive guide to all of their advertising products, along with info about other Google products that...

This just out from Google - a way to see "examples" of sites that accept Adsense advertising: Our advertisers have often asked: 'What kinds of web...

According to this article in MediaPost, Yahoo may begin serving Google AdWords ads on a broader scale than their joint recent test - which could...

If you liked my previous SEW Experts Content Advertising column on using software tools to create great Google AdWords keyword-targeted campaigns,...

If you're interested in the Google ad fraud class action suit, you might like my SEW blog post and my followup Search Day article. The PDF of the...

The past few months have been a roller coaster ride for Google's stock price. The main culprit was a series of Comscore reports, starting in...

Today's installment of my SEW Content Advertising column features an easy method for creating keyword lists for Google content campaigns - read it...

The Wall Street Journal just released a nice comparison of Google, Microsoft and Yahoo revenue and profit data. Click on the thumbnails for larger...

Today Google announced one sign that they've already been working to assimilate DoubleClick technology, even in advance of this week's finalization...

Two big announcements from the Google AdWords team this afternoon: 1. Category Exclusion. Now Content Network advertisers can exclude huge swaths of...

Our friends at Engine Ready released two phenomenal goodies today: this list of negative keywords that you can (and should!) use in your PPC...

This morning I was putting the finishing touches on the next installment of my SEW Content Advertising column when the announcement below hit my...

Out from Google today is this nifty Google Ad Formats and Options document that lays out their advertising options in a series of visual grids. It...

Last November Google made a significant change to the Adsense system - they reduced the "clickable area" of ads (see their blog post on the topic...

My SEW column this week goes into detail about Adwords' Placement Targeting campaigns - basically Content campaigns that let advertisers specify the...

Dear Microsoft, Here's my advice on how to wisely invest a few of the billions you have left over after you gobble Yahoo: 1. Please ditch the...

You will certainly love what you see in my post today on the SEW Blog. I guarantee it. Go there now.

Google just released this excellent overview of the top publishers in their Content Network - including powerhouses like the New York Times, Forbes,...

Normally I don't link to every installment of my weekly SEW Content Advertising column, but this week's is a bit different, and I'd enjoy your...

Google's thankfully opening the kimono on their Content Network advertising more and more, to the benefit of us agencies and advertisers. There's...

Since we've been adding Clix Marketing staff over the past few months, PPC training has been a hot topic for us. So I've been running a mini-series...

Hundreds of people have downloaded the free ebook Scientific Marketing that I posted last week. It seems the message "internet marketers have a lot...

Google's AdWords Conversion Optimizer has now been released generally, and they've lowered the barriers to entry: it now works with campaigns that...

As I previously blogged here, here and here, Google's changes to its AdWords broad term matching algorithm have caused, for some advertisers,...

<Originally posted by me on the Search Engine Watch Blog> Dear Google Engineering, We really do love your software. And we appreciate the fact...

Now that we're at the beginning of the end of the eCommerce holiday buying season, some trends are evident among Clix Marketing's retailing client...

This just out from Google - should result in an average increase in Content click quality and better ROI: We're pleased to announce a change that...

This just came out from Google - and it's good, huge news. Advertisers on Site-targeted campaigns (now called Placement Targeted) can choose to pay...

In past posts I've noted Google's push to add better measurability and accountability to offline (non-search) advertising. This article in Mediapost...

As mentioned in this previous post, Google aims to bring advertising effectiveness measurement, so familiar to Search advertisers, to print, radio...

My friend and fellow PPC expert Matt Van Wagner of FindMeFaster posted this excellent observation on the Churchills' blog SEM Funhouse - I've...

MarketingSherpa published this interview today, based on my presentation at their B2B conferences. The article references this list of Google...

Google rolled out another AdWords enhancement today - this one to make more evident why certain keywords earn a poor quality score. This one will...

I recently wrote about an important issue affecting all Google AdWords advertisers - Expanded Broad Match running rampant and wasting advertiser...

Like many agencies and advertisers, we've been dragging our feet before trying Google's relatively new advertising options. My rationale has been...

In previous blog posts and articles, I've predicted that PPC Bid Management software would eventually be rendered obsolete. Capabilities like...

Lots of Google AdWords announcements and new features this week - including Gadget Ads - so watch this blog to try and keep up. Meanwhile, here's a...

Google AdWords Editor is a great tool - we rarely work on campaigns using the web-based interface now. But be aware of an important bug - when you...

Most of you already know that Google's relatively new "expanded broad match" is causing a medium-sized furor among AdWords advertisers. The problem...

Many AdWords advertisers have been wishing that Google would provide a way to target only Google's search partner networks (like Shopping.com and...

We received clarification regarding yesterday's post from Google this morning: global functions that are due to be removed from AdWords Tools can be...

I just noticed this within the Tools section: "What happened to Cross Campaign Tools? AdWords engineers will be removing Cross Campaign Tools from...

Google AdWords agencies received this great Adobe Acrobat doc today - not much that's new or groundbreaking, but one of the best compilations of PPC...

Yesterday Google's new AdWords campaign optimization tool came out of beta. The tool offers ideas for improving campaign performance by suggesting...

Normally I wouldn't simply reprint a posting from the AdWords blog, but this time I thought it particularly important that everyone see this one -...

We're still working on an article (or 2-3) summarizing our findings and advice on contextual advertising. For now, though, we've verified with...

Last week I presented our latest findings on Contextual Advertising at SES Toronto - posted below. This Thursday I'll be delivering an updated...

I spotted another addition to the AdWords tool arsenal today - a capability that seems to be in beta - that recommends customized ad text. Creating...

I noticed this morning a new report in the AdWords report arsenal: the Search Query Performance report (see below). It seems to provide detailed...

The beautiful and talented Matt Van Wagner of FindMeFaster was kind enough to share with me (and you) the following table from his SMX presentation...

We spotted a new Google AdWords phenomenon yesterday - as you know, Google "bolds" words in ad text that match the keywords you're bidding on. The...

Well, "revolutionize" may be a strong word. But the new report will certainly help Content advertisers create campaigns that are much more...

As first reported in my SEW Columbus presentation (below), Google's algorithm for matching Content-network-targeted ad groups to Adsense publisher...

At Clix Marketing we've started doing extensive research on Content network advertising - specifically to find out how Content advertising on...

(Edited version appeared on Search Engine Land today) One month ago I mused about possible impact of Google's DoubleClick acquisition on SEM...