It is based around a very simple principle:

Google tag people who have been on your site with a Cookie and then if the user navigates away from your site to another site which is within the Google Display Network (GDN 85% of the web!) then Google can show them one of your adverts.

The reason that this is so much better than previous incarnations is because users have shown intent by arriving on your site previously, and are likely to have a heightened awareness to your products. Subsequently the response rates are significantly better than standard display or content campaigns where the user is just browsing and may have no intent to buy.

Remarketing campaigns can be set up at a very top level or drill down to specific pages. There is the potential to be very creative with messages and offers, and here at Sleeping Giant Media we have been exploring the potential with our clients.

Get in touch if you want any more information or if you have had similar experiences with the remarketing platform.

As discussed in my last post, although adwords location targeting (Geo Targeting) does have some accuracy issues, there is a definite place for it, if you are on a tight budget and have a product or service which is tied to a specific location. e.g boat trips on the Thames. 

But how do you ensure you don’t miss out on the people who, are not in your geographic area at the time of the search but, plan to be in the near future and are researching before their trip? 

Geo targeting can be applied at a campaign level which means you can set up complimentary campaigns to target different areas of a country with different keywords and adverts. This is something that we have done with a number of clients to great effect. Reducing their budget significantly while maintaining high sales levels. 

This can be as complex or as simple as you want it to be. For this example I will explain a simple way of targeting your core market, while not excluding your potential market. 

Let’s say that you run a Thames boat trip company and you primarily get business from London residents, but also from UK based tourists coming to the area. 

You will need to set up 2 campaigns:

1. London campaign (select the London area within campaign geo targeting settings)

2.UK campaign (Select the whole of the UK)

In campaign 1 you should use terms like “boat trip”, “tourist boat trips” “boat trips on the Thames” as this will only be targeted in the London area. 

Campaign 2 should use terms like “London boat trip” “boat trips London”. The key is to remember not to include any references which don’t include the term “London” within the UK campaign and to use non location specific terms in the London campaign. 

Again, you can use the adverts copy to better appeal to the different groups as they are likely to have different motivations and needs which will need to be considered. 

That is the basic principle of how to target your campaigns to the specific areas without a huge budget. If you have a business with multiple locations then the principles still apply, but the set up will have to be a bit more complex. 

Let me know if you have any questions or have examples of good use of this? 

Google have recently announced that they will be extending their trademark policy in the US across the UK. What does this mean for us here in ole’ Blighty?

Well, since last year in America Google have allowed some advertisers to use third party trademarks within adtext even if they do not specifically own the trademark or have permission from the trademark owners.

This, according to Google was in an attempt to provide users with a “higher quality experience”, presumably by giving the user more choice within the search results. Google are fairly specific about who can use this, as defined by this list:

Reselller

• Sellers of component, replacement, or compatible parts corresponding to the trademark
• Informational sites

The example Google give is that of a seller of jeans. In the US resellers of jeans have been able to make the user aware of the brand of jeans they are selling. Being able to specifically advertise what you sell is always a good thing!

If you fall into one of these categories then as of September 14th you can go right ahead and include that trademark in your adtext.

Here at Sleeping Giant Media this will impact on several of our clients substantially, in a way we think this will be positive. Some of our clients are unable to advertise on some trademark terms despite being a reseller. With this change, we will be able to incorporate targeted adtext, which may increase Click Through Rate.

We may find a situation where Average Cost Per Click increases, as more advertisers are allowed to bid and competition for positions becomes tough. How will you update your PPC Strategy? Will you rewrite adcopy to utilise specific trademark terms? Will you use Dynamic Text Insertion to cover as many of these terms as possible within one or two ads?

As ever though, you need to ensure your advert complies with Googles updated policy, which you can access via this link:

Googles Updated Policy

As ever, we are keen to hear what fellow PPC marketers are doing, so let us know your thoughts and comments.

That being said, although it is not 100% accurate (which would be nearly impossible to achieve given data protection laws) it can provide a useful tool to target particular customers especially if your service or product is only available in certain parts of the world and you are working to a limited budget. For example there is no point selling boat trips on the Thames to someone who is 500 miles away. If you are a local business looking to get the best performance out of your adwords spend then Geo Targeting should be a serious consideration. But, be careful you don’t exclude people who are not in your selected region as they maybe traveling to your area shortly and researching ahead of their trip. There is a way to get the best of both worlds which I have explained in my “Effective use of Geo targeting in Adwords” post which will be live shortly.

You are able to target people by post code, pick regions on a map, exclude regions on a map. This can be done on a campaign level and is within the campaign settings tab in adwords.

As most people will be aware the BP brand is currently under a lot of pressure, along with all of BP’s senior management team I suspect. However, in the face of adversity BP are trying to rebuild the brand and using PPC to help.

If you search for things like “oil spill gulf of mexico” and similar terms you will see:

BP could have chosen to distance themselves from the situation, but instead they are facing it head on and trying to manage the situation and brand.

In addition to a well written advert they are linking to a specific and relevant landing page:

I think this is a good example of how to use PPC to help manage a situation and try to win back the “hearts and minds” of the public.

Let us know what you think? Will this sort of activity have a positive or negative effect on the BP brand?

Luke

If recently you have tried to add your user name to a Google Analytics account and it has not allowed you to add it… you are not alone.

Recently the analytics system has stopped users adding themselves to the account if it is a “Google Account”.

Speaking to Google this is a known problem with the system and the technical team is working on a solution. In the mean time, to only work round we can see is to create another account and use that for your account or your clients accounts.

Watch this space for an update when we hear more.

Luke

This topic picks up where the last one left off and looks at some more factors to consider when setting up and running an in-house PPC team.

Part 2

Training

If you don’t know about PPC, get someone in who does. There is no point muddling your way through it as it will cost you more money in the long run if you don’t know the latest techniques. Bringing in an expert a day a week or for a small amount of time will get your team up to speed. This should be an ongoing process if the members of the team are junior.

Total concept

Although PPC is the focus of this blog and the focus of the team, there needs to be a holistic approach when optimising the campaigns. Understanding the key business drivers are important. For example if you are selling a product and have a limited supply of them, there needs to be an understanding between the stock control and PPC team. This is something we look to do for our clients and call the service total concept PPC.

More to come in part 3

Written by Luke Quilter