Remarketing on the Google Content Network

It would seem Google has been dabbling in remarketing for a while. We first noticed it in the SERPs a few years ago. Historically, session-based broad match has been active within the search side of PPC; rumors run rampant that a new version of remarketing, on the content network, is in BETA and will be available to Adwords advertisers who qualify.

What is Remarketing?

Remarketing (online) is serving ads to users who've seen some aspect of your site, but didn't take a desired action. For an example, let's say a visitor is browsing your site and ends up on a key page. From this page, said visitor could convert, but instead backs out.

Then this visitor heads to another site – a site on the content network. There s/he is then served up with an ad hauntingly reminiscent of the hotel site recently visited.

Why Remarket?

What's the point of remarketing to someone who's left your site, anyway? Well, for starters, if a visitor has already been to your site – i.e., shown an interest in what you're offering – they're a pre-qualified lead. Just because they didn't take 'action' the first time doesn't mean they won't if given the opportunity again. It's much easier to 'close' an interested party than a new visitor.

As with anything in BETA, only time will tell how it'll impact advertisers – or users, for that matter – but we're pretty optimistic about Google's venture into content network remarketing.

Yahoo Search Marketing Enhancements

For those PPC advertisers looking to make their lives easier, Yahoo! Search Marketing has added a couple new enhancements to their dashboard: a campaign import tool and the network distribution feature (and accompanying tools).

Campaign Import Tool

Now you can easily migrate campaigns from Google Adwords into Yahoo! Search Marketing. All you have to do is download your data into a .CSV file and save it to your computer, then import the file into the Yahoo! Sponsored Search program. You can import everything from campaigns on down to keywords.  However, you cannot import geo-targeting; this has to be manually added after the upload is complete.

Network Distribution

Target Yahoo! Partners, Yahoo! Search or both with this new feature. Continue to use PPC best practices by separating Search and Content Partners campaigns. This will allow you to manage the campaigns with more control. Here are some tools available to help with the feature:

• Conversion-Only Analytics – a conversion is, of course, when a web user completes a desired action, whether it's filling out a form, purchasing a product or downloading a PDF. Add programming code to your 'confirmation' pages (i.e., a "thank you" page or the order confirmation) in order to track conversions. In order to enable this, you must first activate conversion-only analytics:
  
  
  
  • Click the Administration tab, and then click the Analytics subtab. The Analytics Settings page will open. (If the analytics feature is disabled, click Enable Analytics.)
  • Select the Conversion Only Analytics option.
  • Click 'Activate.'
  
  
• Network Distribution Performance Report* – this reporting tool gives advertisers data on the best-performing keywords and ad groups within campaigns in regards to conversions, revenue and lead generation. Being able to identify the strongest elements of campaigns –  in both Yahoo! Partners and Yahoo! Search – means the ability to easily hone ads and keywords for even greater conversion.
  
• Filter reports by hierarchy level, name, event type, distribution channel and account.
• Track clicks, CTR, average CPC, cost, conversion and revenue.
• *Get the most out of this by installing conversion-only analytics.
  
• Blocked Domains – this feature allows advertisers to block their ads from showing on websites (up to 500 domains) within the partner network. If there are sites on which Sponsored Search or Content Match ads aren't performing well, it makes sense to block those and focus on the websites with the best return on ad spend (ROAS).
  
• Ad Delivery Report – advertisers can view reports detailing the information about the URLs on which their ads are displaying. See:
  
  
  
  • All domains/URLs where ads appear.
  • Metrics by URL for impressions, cost, conversions, etc.
  • Information about how individual URLs are performing, allowing better usage of Blocked Domains feature.
  
  

So there it is. An easier pay-per-click platform allowing deeper involvement, better tracking and a much easier way to implement campaigns from Google.

Contact Form Extensions: Lead Capture

It's no news Google was offering a new service for Adwords advertisers: contact form extensions. It might be news to hear if you didn't already sign up for it, it's too late – at least for now. The cut-off was January 18th, 2010; technically, since that was Martin Luther King day, the cut-off was more than likely the Sunday before or even Friday the 15th, since we're not sure Google works on weekends.

This new lead capture function – currently in beta – is yet another extension opportunity added to Google's ever-burgeoning list (including local extensions and sitelinks extensions). While other ad enhancements – such as listing a city, address or even a map within an Adwords ad – might seem intuitive information to provide a search engine user, what are the ramifications of listing out a contact form right from the SERP?

Since this is a brand-new feature and most likely isn't very easy to find, this'll be all conjecture but here are some of the pros and cons:

Pros:

• CPA at point of CPC: Normally cost-per-action (CPA) marketing is more 'involved' than cost-per-click (CPC) advertising. Why? Because in a CPA model, the advertiser only pays after the visitor has clicked on an ad, gone through a funnel/process and THEN filled out a form. With Google's contact form extensions, advertisers get to acquire the lead for the cost of a click.
• Information capture: Google takes care of acquiring the information and providing the lead ID or PIN to the advertiser in an email. Once the advertiser receives this information, they can call the designated phone number to retrieve the lead information. Pretty slick.
  

Cons:

• #1 spot only: Only those ads showing up in the number 1 sponsored position can display the contact form extension. This means the ad had better already be at its best before entering into the program.
• Max CPC: If your ad does show up in the #1 spot, and a visitor does fill out the form, you'll end up paying your maximum cost-per-click for that lead. Might not be a big deal for everyone, but some markets out there are pretty competitive.
• Sales cycle: When you offer a user a contact form right from a CPC ad, can you be sure where you're hitting them in the buying cycle? What if they're merely looking to gather as much information as possible?
• Harder sales pitch: Piggybacking off the sales cycle concern, these types of leads (i.e., those leads who've come in via 'spray-and-pray' for information) are much more likely to need a lot more information, convincing and sales talent in order to close.
• Web users: Because we've worked with all types of web users, the question must be asked...will the average Joe surfing the Internet looking for information know to click on that plus sign to even find the form?

It seems our con list outweighs the pro, but of course our opinion – or, for that matter, of anyone – at this point is just that. Only time and statistics will tell how this new Google extension will fare.

Google Jump To Links in Snippets

It seems that along with consistently displaying sites' breadcrumbs in place of URLs within SERP snippets, Google's decided to give users another advancement in their "rich snippets." The ultimate ease in search engine use: they're also now increasingly showing 'jump to' links within the snippet, allowing visitors to 'jump' from the search results page right to the most relevant information (for them) on the listed web page.

For those not quite up-to-speed, a 'jump to' link is a link on a page which allows a web visitor to literally jump - normally down the page - to a different section within the content. Learn more about the HTML coding for 'jump to' links at the bottom of this post. Hop to it*.

I first noticed this while performing a search for "product liability law firm." It was a confusing finding at first, since this FindLaw Firmsite isn't functioning and I couldn't tell what I was looking at:

I started searching other topics and was able to find other examples across the web:

In looking for further examples, I ran across an interesting discrepancy...this screen shot (below) is interesting in that both these results look like one-line sitelinks. In the first result, the sitelinks are actually jump links within Wikipedia. So, it seems 'jump to' links can actually be presented as one-line sitelinks:

The point here is to show the difference between the relatively new (late September 2009) jump links included within snippets as compared to the older (~April '09) sitelinks addition.

Yet another way Google's working to improve their users' SERP experience via rich snippets.


Jump Link Coding
The HTML coding for 'jump to' links is two-part: one part coding for the actual content to which a jump link is pointing (a 'named anchor') and one part coding for the link itself.

So to name an anchor, you'd code it as: <a name="label">Anchor Text</a>
Then to name the link to the anchor: <a href="#label">Anchor Text</a>

* In a post about jump links, you'd think I'd have actually given a live example within this post. Well, I would've, except Blogger - according to the help forum - can't handle that type of link right now. See, they're undergoing their own enhancements, but evidently not as successfully as Google proper. Once the bug is fixed, I'll update this post to contain a working jump link...sigh.

Google Local Packs Not Showing for 'Marketing' Industry

About a month ago, we were putting together a training presentation for a client and needed some industry-specific slides to show local results in SERPs. The company does mainly web design, so we thought we'd show a slide of "Minneapolis web design" results to point out the traffic they were missing from local listings. (They didn't have a Google Local Business Center account.)

Imagine our surprise when we couldn't find any 7-pack results for our queries. Whether using a geographic modifier or not, the Google local results were eerily absent. What was going on? Mike Blumenthal called out this issue on November 24th with his article about the apparent web design 7-pack 'bug' which seemed to be affecting only web design and development searches, so it seemed we weren't the only ones to notice.

Google has known about this issue since then, and possibly even before. This whole avalanche was evidently started by the "one web box result bug"- wherein only 1 local listing would show where the pack of 7 was supposed to - but it seems in fixing that bug, they created this new one. Not only has the 'web design bug' not been fixed (it has a LOT of people asking "When Will Google Fix the Web Design Local Pack Bug?"); the 7-pack is now not showing up for virtually any marketing/advertising type queries:

However, it seems just about any other profession - outside of marketing - is still getting local love (with or without geography; we've added it here to show the results higher up on the SERP):

But, is the 'bug' - for those industries not currently showing up in the Google 7-pack - partially fixed? We noticed for some searches local listings can appear:


It appears with this formula: "industry/service + in + city" at least a 3-pack will show, if not the entire 7-pack. But, is this the way people are searching?

The reason we're beating the dead horse here is simply because of the loss of traffic. While we've noticed an overall decline (due to the holiday season), we've noticed the traffic from Google Local has taken a nose-dive. This only makes sense, since those listings are no longer showing (or, if they are, it's severely less frequently than previously). This raises a good question: if so much traffic was coming in via local listings, obviously searchers like and use them. So, do searchers miss their local query map results?

A final question - let's pose it as 'open' - to Google: when will this 7-pack 'bug' be fixed, if at all?

Tracking Google Adwords SiteLinks

What are Adwords Sitelinks?
A few days ago, Google rolled out the Adwords Sitelinks feature, allowing PPC advertisers to display site links right in their ads (it was available the beginning of November, but only to certain advertisers). Unlike organic Google Sitelinks - over which webmasters have little to no control -Adwords Sitelinks are not only an opt-in feature, they're chosen specifically by the advertiser. They don't necessarily always show: Adwords Sitelinks only display for the 'single top-ranked ad for a given user search.'




Why would it behoove an advertiser to supply more links in their pay-per-click ads? For starters, instead of showing one destination URL, with Adwords Sitelinks an ad can display a total of FIVE destination URLs. While it might seem you should offer visitors the 'best' URL for a keyword, there are times when - even in a PPC ad - the destination URL is the home page. For example, a search for a company name or even a branded search would be a good time to show multiple URLs to a visitor.

How do I Track Adwords Sitelinks?
Since this is such a new addition to the Google Adwords platform, it isn't even very prevalent - yet. On Monday we had a conference call with our Google Adwords rep, and happened to ask how on earth to track the additional destination URLs. Turns out they haven't integrated that into the automatic analytics tracking, but there IS a manual way to go about tracking Adwords Sitelinks.

Within "Networks, devices and extensions" you'll see the 'Ad extensions' option. For each ad, you can add up to (10) site links. (If you add 10, Adwords will rotate the links just as they rotate multiple ads within an ad group - they do place additional emphasis on the 'top 4' slots, and give less attention to the links in descending order after that.) You have complete control over what to call the links (anchor text) as well as denote destination URLs.


In order to track these links, you must add a unique query parameter to identify each one. For Adwords query parameters, it makes sense to call out the identifier with a 'sitelinks' reference, such as mysite.com/page?sitelinks=identifier. In the Minnesota School of Business example above, for each of the separate links (we'll use the 4 listed), possible identifying query parameters could be:



While you can certainly call out (10) separate URLs to rotate within an ad - or across multiple ads - there's also an option to track multiple anchor text links to the same destination URL. Using the same principle as above - appending a query parameter - you can call out identifiers for the different links which point to the same destination URL, like this:




What if Destination URLs Already Utilize Parameters?
For those sites which already utilize parameters, you might be thinking "how do I call out those links in Adwords?" You can append multiple parameters. The original parameter is called out with a '?' and any subsequent parameters are denoted with '&'.

For instance, if a URL was mysite.com/degrees?id=123 you would append the additional parameter for Adwords to create mysite.com/degrees?id=123&sitelink=degree-programs.

Armed with this knowledge, we set out to test Adwords Sitelinks to see how they affect overall click-throughs and how visitors use the additional relevancy in the links. Thus far, with only a few days' worth of analytics, it seems those additional (4) destination URLs are receiving approximately 10% of the clicks within ads. Keep in mind this is a very new feature, so it could be visitors aren't used to seeing those sitelinks within Adwords ads.

Good Names to Know in the Search Industry

In looking back at how far ThinkSEM has come in just 2 short years, we were thinking how we got our start, how search continues to change and where we've learned information along the way. Here are a few names we like in the search industry.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

1. Rand Fishkin (SEOmoz)
   


• Rand got his start in Internet marketing in high school (in 1993, no less) building websites, then moved on to the search forums and online networks. Eventually he began contributing to the conversation and had enough content to start what is now known as SEOmoz, a website devoted to providing SEO advice, tips and tools to the search community and one of the most prominent sites in the field.
  
  

  Not only a CEO and founder, he frequently speaks at search conferences such as Search Engine Strategies (SES) conferences, as well as Search Marketing Expo (SMX) conferences, which he helped start. If you've attended events in the past but weren't sure which search nerd he was, he was the one wearing yellow pumas.

  Learn more about RandFish.
  

2. Aaron Wall (SEOBook)


• A search engine optimization expert and blogger, Aaron is CEO of SEOBook, a blog devoted to SEO training tips and tools. He also speaks frequently at SES and PubCon conferences.
  
  

  SEOBook has implemented many projects over the years, including a book, a meta search engine, a keyword research tool and an SEO Firefox plug-in we highly recommend.

  Learn more about Aaron.
  

3. Vanessa Fox (Nine By Blue)


• Best known for creating Google Webmaster Tools, Vanessa is also a search optimization expert, consultant, blogger, speaker at search industry events and founder of Nine By Blue, a marketing company. Events she regularly attends include SES, SMX, BlogHer and Web 2.0 Conference.
  
  

  Her latest blogging endeavor - Jane and Robot - revolves around advice for web developers to develop search-friendly sites.

  Learn more about Vanessa.

Link Building

1. Eric Ward (EricWard.com)


• Also referred to in the search world as "LinkMoses," Eric got his start with Internet marketing back in 1994, when he started NetPOST and URLwire. Of course, back then it was called "website promotion," not link building. Integral to the launch - and link building campaign - of Amazon.com, Eric has also helped other big-name companies get their online footing over the years.

Though he calls it 'content publicity,' the rest of us lump what he does under the broad term of link building. He continues to consult clients - some of them Fortune 500 companies - in best practices and also offers training.

Learn more about Eric.



2. Arnie Kuenn (Vertical Measures)


• Now the president of Vertical Measures - an Internet marketing company - Arnie started building companies back in the early '90s. He won awards for his technology company in 1993, then in 1999 he started MediaChoice, which ended up being purchased by Nielsen Media in '04.
  
  

  I saw this guy speak at SMX Advanced in Seattle; he has very impressive link building ideas.

  Learn more about Arnie.

Pay-per-Click (PPC)

1. Brad Geddes (bg Theory, LLC)


• Brad has too many qualifications and accomplishements to list here. His biggest achievements (according to ThinkSEM) are: becoming one of the first 100 Google Advertising Professionals; numerous yearly speaking engagements at search conferences; writing 2 books and editing a 3rd; starting bg Theory.



Learn more about Brad.





2. Craig Danuloff (ClickEquations)


• Craig began one of the first ecommerce software companies in 1994, built one of the first desktop publishing service bureaus, has authored books and speaks at search industry conferences.
  
  

  This guy is brilliant - I've seen him speak on 3 different PPC panels at SMX - and knows his stuff.

  Learn more about Craig.

Blogging

1. Ed Kohler (The Deets)


• Ed's a fellow Twin Cities resident who blogs about stuff. Thing is, he's very opinionated and while it can get him a lot of rebuttals and comments, we respect him for standing up for what he thinks is right. He never seems to be swayed other people's thoughts and keeps on blogging.



Learn more about Ed.

Local Search

1. David Mihm (Mihmorandum)


• While he also designs and builds sites for his clients, his main focus these days is local search. If you want to learn more about local search - what it is, how to optimize for it - David's your guy.



Learn more about David.

This list isn't all-inclusive by any means; just a few names in the industry we know about, have heard speak (or even met in person), respect and think others should know about.