Why Can I get Clicks Outside My Geo-Targeted Area With Google AdWords?

A very important feature of Google AdWords is the ability to target all areas you have defined as your target audience, but just as importantly is not having those outside your coverage area not able to find you.  Pay Per Click is a pay to play game, and throwing away money on a searcher who finds your ad and therefore costs you money without being able to utilize your product/service hurts the program significantly.

In a specific case, I was targeting only the state of Florida.  So to sum up, I only wanted people in Florida to be able to find my ads.  The problem is, my tracking shows a majority of clicks from outside the state, namely New Jersey.  How can this be?  Here's Google's answer:

I. IP Address Does Not Match User's Location- the good old AOL example, where all AOL users have an IP of Virginia, their home base.

II. Target Region Larger Than Expected- this makes no sense.  I have a preset area called a STATE selected.

III. Ad Showing on Location-Specific Queries- technically my ad will still come up when searchers outside the state of Florida specifying Florida in the search query like 'Florida shoe shine'.

IV. Ad Showing on Country-Specific Domain- like point 3, searchers specifying my target area from outside the country will still find my ad.

So to sum up- the geo-targeting is not going to be able to limit the ads as advertised, although for points 3 and 4 seem to still be targeted results.

If you have information outside these 4 Google rep. points- please share.

Pay Per Click Ads- Including Your Price to Deter Untargeted Clicks

The continued quest in the Pay Per Click world of writing a good and targeted ad within the allotted 70 characters is not an easy one. It is widely practiced concept of writing an ad not only to attract searchers to your business/web site, but also to deter those that are not targeted to your desired audience- keeping in mind clicks are far from free. I have written in the past, not all traffic is good traffic in the PPC world.

Recently a client of mine was getting a substantial amount of clicks and responses to the call to action of his site- phone call traffic- but those phone calls were mostly of poor quality. A tactic was chosen to modify the ad to let the searcher know up front the minimum cost of the service at hand, as to confront that searcher (potentially) before the per click charge was realized. This made a significant difference in the quality of caller, because we were able to educate the searcher to what he/she was getting into with the facility at hand.

That is, the ad itself, not the landing page, stated what the minimum cost was as to get in the door. This promotion of up front facts supports the no nonsense approach that works more times than not. We are looking to promote clicks for those not scared by the 'sticker shock' of the price- a way to potentially modify behavior in our favor and lower costs at the same time. In this instance the time of taking that un-targeted phone call traffic was also costing money.

It may make sense and work for you in your marketplace. Use this idea particularly with any competitive advantages you may hold and highlight those things. You can reach the searcher before they take money out of your wallet and put it into Google or Yahoo's.

Let Webconsuls reduce your spend with tools and methods like this. We'll put it into practice for your businesses unique needs.

Google Email- 'An Important Update to Your AdWords Account'

Many Google Advertisers received an email from AdWordsnoreply@Google.com stating "In the coming weeks, we'll upgrade your AdWords account" to their new interface.

This auto email itself stated the following points (to summarize):

-Its a 'a new web interface designed to make campaign management faster and easier.'
-'You'll have at least 30 days from the date of this email before you'll be required to use the new interface'
-'We're working to ensure that the new interface contains all of the reports and controls you need to manage your campaigns effectively'

Therefore there are two major points I will summarize with:

1. This is happening to everyone

2. You don't have a choice (so you might as well switch and get used to it asap)

If you have already familiarized yourself with the new platform, please pass along any help or feedback you may have.

Tailoring Ads To the Specificity of the Keyword

Marketing at the keyword level defines 2 basic types of keywords- general and specific.  General marketplace keywords are expensive because competition is high due to high search volumes, but these keywords are expensive because their ROI tends to be poor.  A general search query means the seacher is not very far along in the buying process and at this point is educating themselves on the market; even if this education is just comparative pricing.  Specific keywords are those further along this buying process where it is evident in the search query that the searcher knows what he or she is looking for.  In extremely specific cases, product numbers are searched for goods and area codes for services.

So along the process of educating, comparing and buying a good or service it also makes sense then, to tailor your ads to each point along that graph too.  I would even argue in many cases that you don't want to be found along the 1st two points of the graph, but nevertheless, let the data speak for itself-- i.e. track everything.

To put this into practice it makes most sense to have ad groups within a given campaign differentiated by keyword specificity as it relates to the buying process.  Therefore it is a clear     path to writing for the different targets.  Ad group 1 is written for the uneducated searcher, ad group 2 to the price comparer and 3 (if different than step 2) is for the buyer with credit card in hand.  Again, the keywords are making the distinctions for all 3 steps.

Confused about how this relates to your web site or online marketing?  Let us know and we'll make it make sense customized to your business needs.

Does PPC Help Branding?

New Research suggests that Pay Per Click campaigns can positively affect branding.  In the words of the linked article, 'Turns out that search lifts brand metrics, particularly when paired with other media. Better yet, post-click lift in search metrics is off the charts, perhaps finally validating my branding effectiveness '.

Get you name out there as a goal, while simulanteously achieving your Web Site goals- whether it be defined as sales, leads or phone call traffic.  Brand awarness, especially in your targeted and/or local community can be a significant source of traffic (of all kinds, including walk-in and referral).

The article by Payperclickuniverse, adds that 'brand lift' occurs after the click is made, sending the searcher to your web site- according to their research.  And this makes sense in our experience.  How are you catering to your niche, market and locality?  What differentiation is made, and how are you marketing and identifying that to you client base?

If these questions are difficult to answer- visit the one stop shop of all things internet marketing, Webconsuls.com

http://www.payperclickuniverse.com/search-engine-latest-news.php?v=more&id=3402

Yahoo Ad Scheduling

Yahoo Search Marketing, the Pay Per Click (PPC) division of Yahoo! Inc has been historically behind the 8-ball, or more specifically behind Google AdWords for the last 3 to 5 years of PPC advertising.

Yahoo's argument was, we were the 1st on the scene and Google has since leap-frogged us by taking our model and improving upon it- an argument with some validity.  But now 5 years down the road, Yahoo is still playing catch-up.  This is even after the famous 'Panama' launch that was to solve everything.  Not to be confused with your favorite South American canal, or a Van Halen song.


Well Yahoo has taken a small step in the right direction by now including a full ad scheduling feature.  Previous to this upgrade, Yahoo's scheduling was all of, start date- end date.  Now, like Google, the PPC advertising can be scheduled to the hour, every hour of every day of the week.


For example, I want to push my Ad's in the morning only, Monday, Wednesday and Friday but have evenings only on the weekend.  You can customize and specify exactly to the 1/4 hour when your ads will run and when the won't.  The trick now is deciphering when and when not to run your ads.

Do you feel like you want to utilize this type of tool, targeting only parts of the week where you see your best results?  Let us help- Webconsuls.com.

Google AdWords' New 'Search-Based Keyword Tool'

Google has created another AdWords tool for finding keywords to put in a PPC account, creating more competition, bidders, which therefore raises the price in addition to other factors.  This time the tool proposes that it finds relevant keywords by 'matching (keywords) to specific pages of your website with your ad and search share'.  To translate, it is trying to provide keywords not currently in the account that are best for the account as determined by looking at the whole picture- website, ads and budget.

Of course past PPC blogs on 'helpful' tools created by the big search engine giants have made my tone a bit cynical.  These tools are created at best based off user demand, but always tailored to and quietly aimed at revenue.  This is not to say that there isn't utility and useful qualities of a tool like this one, but it is important to read between the lines.

I used the tool for the first time on a current account I manage, and found some keywords I didn't currently use; but nothing major or shocking.  Having said that, that is the way it should be.  This should be a comment that I am doing my job as a Pay Per Click administrator.  On the other hand, this tool may be helpful for business owners who are attempting to run the marketing themselves and have to balance the business with the marketing.

The tool can be found in the Campaign Management tab, 'tools' sub-tab left-hand column.  Use of the tool is simple- put the web address in the search field and in another box type the essence of the topic to be explored.  The parameters included in the results are keyword suggestions, monthly searches, competition as a bar graph, suggested bid and ad share.

Use this tool in addition to the Keyword Tool, but in both beware of general and expensive keywords that will not return a positive ROI.

Do you need help with Google AdWords or any PPC tools like this one?  Let us know at Webconsuls.com.

PPC Ad Scheduling

Both Yahoo and Google have their own forms of 'ad scheduling'.  This means that we can choose when we want our ads to be shown and just as importantly, when we don't want our ads to be shown-- well kind of.

Google fully provides this functionality- hour by hour, day by day, even down to every 1/4 hour, when to display your ads.  The campaign 'edit status' button has what looks like a hyperlink, which is where you can find the ad scheduling function.

Yahoo Search Marketing on the other hand, allows you to schedule a start date and an end date, which is their full and complete definition of ad scheduling.  Therefore, taking your campaigns on and offline at certain hours is a manual process-- log in to the account and literally turn the account offline or back online to perform the same function.  This is ridiculous- Yahoo needs to step up to the plate.  We are not asking for voice command here.

Both search engines have the faults and points of utility, but for this function it's a runaway: collegiate versus kindergarten.

Google AdWords- Local Business Ad

The Google AdWords 'local business ad' is one of the forms you may choose to create for your keyword listings. If your business is localized to any extent, this is probably very helpful. To take it a step further, if your business takes 'walk-in' traffic and/or has a brick and mortar presence, then this functionality is a must.

If you have ever done a Google keyword search where your query included a location, you may have seen this type of ad appear. Underneath the sponsored results but before the organic results, a google map will appear with points on the map representing local results for your query. An easy example would be local pizza restaurants- a business-person is traveling and doesn't know the area well. He or she is looking for a good pizza for dinner, but wants one in walking distant to the hotel. That person can look at the map to see the closest match and how to get there.

The ad itself as has a description for a tag line like normal PPC ads. The business web site, physical address and phone number can all be included, making this a very useful tool for businesses in a community.

Need help setting up and creating a local business ad for your Google AdWords account? Don't even have an AdWords account? Either way Webconsuls can help, its what we do.

Google AdWords- Analyze Your Ad Performance

Analyze Your Ad Performance
-Ads Diagnostic Tool Are your ads showing for a particular search? Find out with this tool.
- Ads Preview Tool See your ad on Google without accruing extra impressions, and preview your ad as it appears to users in other geographic locations.
- Disapproved Ads Find out which ads have been disapproved and why, (editorial status).
- Conversion Tracking Define campaign goals and then pull data to determine which ads are the best at helping you reach those goals.
- My Change History Browse changes you've made to your account since January 1, 2006.

When it is all said and done, your ad performance is what determines your minimum bids for keywords for positioning, or in other words- the above analysis is how to make your campaign as cheap as possible by being efficient and relative according to Google.

Contact us at Webconsuls for more information and feel free to add to this topic if you have additional notes.