Adwords
Opt out of doubleclick cookie – Google Adwords / Adsense
Cookies are the most irritating spy wares that you will come across. They get stored in your computer without your knowledge and later end up spying your activities even If you don’t to be spyed. The concept of cookies itself is shady and I recommend to stay away from spy cookies. Google Adwords and adsense uses double click cookie on client websites. A cookie is stored when someone tries to visit some web page by clicking Google ads. Most of the websites never give opt out option for cookies. But Google is offering complete opt out of double click cookie that it uses to spy on personal user activity.
To opt out go to the following URL:
http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/plugin/
Save your opt-out preference permanently
With this browser plugin you can permanently opt out of the double click cookie, which is an advertising cookie that Google uses.
The plugin lets you keep your opt-out status for this browser even when you clear all cookies.
Opt out
Opt out if you prefer ads not to be based on the interest categories above.
When you opt out, Google disables this cookie and no longer associates interest categories with your browser.
Your cookie
Google stores the following information in a cookie to associate your ads preferences with the browser you are currently using:
It stores information in following format:
id=800001d75248712||t=1242238880|et=730|cs=6t8vafyn
Features I would like to see with new Beta UI in Adwords:
- To be faster!
- Fit to screen, scrolling left and right constantly is frustrating.
Scrolling just to find the filter button or logout is just not the Google way!
Some of these columns can be squeezed up.
- Is the show and hide deleted items disappeared? Please bring this back.
- Apparently has time zone issues that need fixing.
- Personally feel that the default layout to be more like the original as not to be such a shock, ie. Hide the left navigation, sort Campaign list by name.. let users change it to fit them.
- Ability to filter out deleted items. I cant filter out delete keywords from the compaign view.
I was attempting to work with ad scheduling in the new interface, and the hover pages (such as ad scheduling or adding placements) are quite difficult to work with. In the old interface, I can see most of these pages without an issue. In the new UI, working with either of these options is very difficult as now you have a lot more vertical scrolling, and can’t see an entire week (for ad scheduling) in one view.
I’m having weird problems with site exclusions on the automatic placements. When I exclude some sites, it doesn’t update the screen correctly, and seem to exclude sites I hadnt ticked.
Rescuecom vs Google adwords competitive name bidding:
On April 3rd, 2008, the Second Circuit is scheduled to hear oral argument in Rescuecom v. Google (docket no. 06-4881-cv), which is another step in litigation over whether the sale of keywords is actionable under the Lanham Act. Last year, Google, Inc. and American Blind & Wallpaper Factory, Inc. settled Google’s Northern District of California suit (docket no. 5:03-cv-05340-JF) in which Google sought a declaratory judgment that Google’s sale of American Blind’s trademarks as keywords was not trademark infringement. This commentary by Joseph N. Welch II examines the state of the law following the American Blind settlement and discusses the impact of the favorable settlement for Google. Mr. Welch writes:
Details of the document:
BACKGROUND
5 As this appeal follows the grant of a motion to dismiss, we must take as true the facts
6 alleged in the Complaint and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of Rescuecom. Lentell v.
7 Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., 396 F.3d 161, 165 (2d Cir. 2005). Rescuecom is a national computer
8 service franchising company that offers on-site computer services and sales. Rescuecom
9 conducts a substantial amount of business over the Internet and receives between 17,000 to
10 30,000 visitors to its website each month. It also advertises over the Internet, using many web-
11 based services, including those offered by Google. Since 1998, “Rescuecom” has been a
12 registered federal trademark, and there is no dispute as to its validity.
13 Google operates a popular Internet search engine, which users access by visiting
www.google.com. Using Google’s website, a person searching for the website of a particular 14
15 entity in trade (or simply for information about it) can enter that entity’s name or trademark into
16 Google’s search engine and launch a search. Google’s proprietary system responds to such a
17 search request in two ways. First, Google provides a list of links to websites, ordered in what
18 Google deems to be of descending relevance to the user’s search terms based on its proprietary
19 algorithms. Google’s search engine assists the public not only in obtaining information about a
20 provider, but also in purchasing products and services. If a prospective purchaser, looking for
21 goods or services of a particular provider, enters the providers trademark as a search term on
06-4881-cv
Rescuecom v. Google
4
1 Google’s website and clicks to activate a search, within seconds, the Google search engine will
2 provide on the searcher’s computer screen a link to the webpage maintained by that provider (as
3 well as a host of other links to sites that Google’s program determines to be relevant to the search
4 term entered). By clicking on the link of the provider, the searcher will be directed to the
5 provider’s website, where the searcher can obtain information supplied by the provider about its
6 products and services and can perhaps also make purchases from the provider by placing orders.
7 The second way Google responds to a search request is by showing context-based
8 advertising. When a searcher uses Google’s search engine by submitting a search term, Google
9 may place advertisements on the user’s screen. Google will do so if an advertiser, having
10 determined that its ad is likely to be of interest to a searcher who enters the particular term, has
11 purchased from Google the placement of its ad on the screen of the searcher who entered that
12 search term. What Google places on the searcher’s screen is more than simply an advertisement.
13 It is also a link to the advertiser’s website, so that in response to such an ad, if the searcher clicks
14 on the link, he will open the advertiser’s website, which offers not only additional information
15 about the advertiser, but also perhaps the option to purchase the goods and services of the
16 advertiser over the Internet. Google uses at least two programs to offer such context-based links:
17 AdWords and Keyword Suggestion Tool.
18 AdWords is Google’s program through which advertisers purchase terms (or keywords).
19 When entered as a search term, the keyword triggers the appearance of the advertiser’s ad and
20 link. An advertiser’s purchase of a particular term causes the advertiser’s ad and link to be
21 displayed on the user’s screen whenever a searcher launches a Google search based on the
06-4881-cv
Rescuecom v. Google
Although we generally refer to a single advertiser, there is no limit on the number of 1
advertisers who can purchase a particular keyword to trigger the appearance of their ads.
5
1 purchased search term. Advertisers pay Google based on the number of times Internet users 1
2 “click” on the advertisement, so as to link to the advertiser’s website. For example, using
3 Google’s AdWords, Company Y, a company engaged in the business of furnace repair, can
4 cause Google to display its advertisement and link whenever a user of Google launches a search
5 based on the search term, “furnace repair.” Company Y can also cause its ad and link to appear
6 whenever a user searches for the term “Company X,” a competitor of Company Y in the furnace
7 repair business. Thus, whenever a searcher interested in purchasing furnace repair services from
8 Company X launches a search of the term X (Company Xs trademark), an ad and link would
9 appear on the searcher’s screen, inviting the searcher to the furnace repair services of X’s
10 competitor, Company Y. And if the searcher clicked on Company Y’s link, Company Y’s
11 website would open on the searcher’s screen, and the searcher might be able to order or purchase
12 Company Y’s furnace repair services.
13 In addition to Adwords, Google also employs Keyword Suggestion Tool, a program that
14 recommends keywords to advertisers to be purchased. The program is designed to improve the
15 effectiveness of advertising by helping advertisers identify keywords related to their area of
16 commerce, resulting in the placement of their ads before users who are likely to be responsive to
17 it. Thus, continuing the example given above, if Company Y employed Google’s Keyword
18 Suggestion Tool, the Tool might suggest to Company Y that it purchase not only the term
19 “furnace repair” but also the term “X,” its competitor’s brand name and trademark, so that Y’s ad
06-4881-cv
Rescuecom v. Google
6
1 would appear on the screen of a searcher who searched Company X’s trademark, seeking
2 Company X’s website.
3 Once an advertiser buys a particular keyword, Google links the keyword to that
4 advertiser’s advertisement. The advertisements consist of a combination of content and a link to
5 the advertiser’s webpage. Google displays these advertisements on the search result page either
6 in the right margin or in a horizontal band immediately above the column of relevance-based
7 search results. These advertisements are generally associated with a label, which says
8 “sponsored link.” Rescuecom alleges, however, that a user might easily be misled to believe that
9 the advertisements which appear on the screen are in fact part of the relevance-based search
10 result and that the appearance of a competitor’s ad and link in response to a searcher’s search for
11 Rescuecom is likely to cause trademark confusion as to affiliation, origin, sponsorship, or
12 approval of service. This can occur, according to the Complaint, because Google fails to label
13 the ads in a manner which would clearly identify them as purchased ads rather than search
14 results. The Complaint alleges that when the sponsored links appear in a horizontal bar at the top
15 of the search results, they may appear to the searcher to be the first, and therefore the most
16 relevant, entries responding to the search, as opposed to paid advertisements.
17 Google’s objective in its AdWords and Keyword Suggestion Tool programs is to sell
18 keywords to advertisers. Rescuecom alleges that Google makes 97% of its revenue from selling
19 advertisements through its AdWords program. Google therefore has an economic incentive to
20 increase the number of advertisements and links that appear for every term entered into its search
21 engine.
06-4881-cv
Rescuecom v. Google
7
1 Many of Rescuecom’s competitors advertise on the Internet. Through its Keyword
2 Suggestion Tool, Google has recommended the Rescuecom trademark to Rescuecom’s
3 competitors as a search term to be purchased. Rescuecom’s competitors, some responding to
4 Google’s recommendation, have purchased Rescuecom’s trademark as a keyword in Google’s
5 AdWords program, so that whenever a user launches a search for the term “Rescuecom,” seeking
6 to be connected to Rescuecom’s website, the competitors’ advertisement and link will appear on
7 the searcher’s screen. This practice allegedly allows Rescuecom’s competitors to deceive and
8 divert users searching for Rescuecom’s website. According to Rescuecom’s allegations, when a
9 Google user launches a search for the term “Rescuecom” because the searcher wishes to purchase
10 Rescuecom’s services, links to websites of its competitors will appear on the searcher’s screen in
11 a manner likely to cause the searcher to believe mistakenly that a competitor’s advertisement
12 (and website link) is sponsored by, endorsed by, approved by, or affiliated with Rescuecom.
13 The District Court granted Google’s 12(b)(6) motion and dismissed Rescuecom’s claims.
14 The court believed that our 1-800 decision compels the conclusion that Googles allegedly
15 infringing activity does not involve use of Rescuecom’s mark in commerce, which is an essential
16 element of an action under the Lanham Act. The district court explained its decision saying that
17 even if Google employed Rescuecom’s mark in a manner likely to cause confusion or deceive
18 searchers into believing that competitors are affiliated with Rescuecom and its mark, so that they
19 believe the services of Rescuecom’s competitors are those of Rescuecom, Google’s actions are
20 not a “use in commerce” under the Lanham Act because the competitor’s advertisements
21 triggered by Google’s programs did not exhibit Rescuecom’s trademark. The court rejected the
06-4881-cv
Rescuecom v. Google
1 argument that Google “used” Rescuecom’s mark in recommending and selling it as a keyword to
2 trigger competitor’s advertisements because the court read 1-800 to compel the conclusion that
3 this was an internal use and therefore cannot be a “use in commerce” under the Lanham Act.
New adwords interface too complicated:
Don’t know what is your impression but mine is that the new Google Adwords interface really sucks.
It’s too complicated, and makes my system go slow. Nothing compared to the old one.
It was simple, clear, and just pure text.
Few features Google has introduced in new beta interface:
- “Performance graphs: Spot trends over time with custom graphs on every campaign management page.
- Insight across ad groups: Focus on the high-impact areas of your account with new roll-up tabs on every page. You can see and edit keywords, placements or ads from all ad groups on a single tab.
- In-line editing: Want to change a keyword or bid? Click on it and make changes in-line instead of loading a separate page.
- Easier content network management: Improve content network performance through a new Networks tab. Look at statistics for the placements where your ads have appeared, and then take action by setting unique bids or excluding placements directly from the report.”
source :
http://www.google.com/adwords/newinterface/
Cant login to Adwords?
Sometimes you might keep trying to login to your adwords account but you won’t be able to. The primary reason is here most of the time Google adwords system is down due to maintenance. Google does maintenance to their system weekly or once in 2 weeks. When we have some new PPC managers work on adwords campaign they get over excited because they are unable to login to the system. Some of them feel there is something wrong with the campaign or the system is not working because of something they did to the system.
I recommend don’t freak out check insideadwords.blogspot.com for updates directly from Google guys about the performance and uptime of adwords system. Or if you are lazy to follow all the postings just check this thread in webmaster world from adwords employee:
http://www.webmasterworld.com/google_adwords/3869176.htm he regularly updates on system maintenance here.
Latest announcement:
AdWords system maintenance on April 18th
On Saturday, April 18th, 2009, the AdWords system will be unavailable from approximately 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. PST due to system maintenance. While you won’t be able to sign in to your accounts during this time, your campaigns will continue to run as usual. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Is Adwords difficult for new user?
When I was reading through webmaster world I came across this interesting thread http://www.webmasterworld.com/google_adwords/3890100.htm , this thread discusses some interesting issues whether Adwords is compatible for new users.
Most people in this thread say Adwords is not easy for end users. New people who sign up for Adwords find it difficult and they take time to get adapted to the new terms and interface. For new users I agree its too complicated and time consuming when we take new PPC manager trainees it takes us atleast a month to train to get used to Adwords. People who are not used to internet marketing get confused with the terminologies used in Adwords. To get good decent knowledge they need to go through the whole learning center documents.
According to netmag Google *must make changes* to the Starter Edition. For one thing, the Search and Content networks need to be separate. The advertisers MUST know what they’re getting into before they go bellowing headlong into Content, and they should have to OPT IN to it before it’s active. The tool for selecting the types of traffic (social sites, video sites, parked domains) should not be buried in the Tools section, but be right up front when setting up the campaign.
The budget optimizer needs work too, at least the language around it. It should be easier and more clear to put a maximum CPC on any given keyword – I took over an account where the customer was paying something like $12 for a broad matched keyword that costs him no more than forty cents with a 10/10 QS once I got him straightened out.
I could go through step by step of the Starter Edition set up and list out everything that’s wrong wrong wrong, but I don’t have time. I have too many clients who need AdWords help.
(And I’m not cutting off my nose to spite my face – there will always be clients who need more advanced AdWords & Analytics help, or who just can’t take the time themselves. But Google making it easier on the small business user can ONLY make the brand better, and make more money for ALL of us – advertiser, search marketing professional, and Google themselves)
And by the way – all that said – believe it or not, AdWords is still yards above the competition (MSN & Yahoo) in ease of use, tools, and time spent managing accounts. But that competitive edge may not last forever.
Adsense competitor ad filter had been raised to 500
Recently Google made major change to competitor ad filter they increased the number of competitor ads to be 500. Means you can actually filter upto 500 ads now it was 250 before. I am sure this will bring a lot of changes since its much needed option. Many people feel its not good to see competitor ads on your site when you run adsense and I am sure you will enjoy this option now.
Apart from that adsense advisor has mentioned top 5 requests made to adsense people:
Top 5 Adsense Publisher Requests
1. Minimum CPC
2. More channels
3. Block ads by keyword
4. Bigger competitive filter
5. Smart pricing information
After Google implemented filter by competitor now people are asking filter by keywords. I am sure Google will implement something like that or similar in future.
One problem you will have filtering out competitor ads is if you filter one ad you will be served an ad that has a lower big value. I am sure it will hurt your earnings. You need to decide between peace of mind or earnings if you want more earning them I am sure blocking competitor ads is not a great idea.
Some niches don’t need to too much policing some sites where we run adsense ads we don’t filter even a single competitor ads we earn around 400$ a month per site and we are more than happy with it. I hate ads which carry phone numbers I feel its too much aggressive and prefer to filter those ads.
Video units feature to be discontinued:
http://adsense.blogspot.com/2009/03/sunsetting-video-units-feature.html
Google has discontinued its video unit feature. Google adsense video units feature allows you to show YouTube contents and videos as well as ads on your pages. According to Google adsense blog this didn’t work for them as they expected. This feature is ending end of April. Youtube can still be used by embedding videos on your site but you will not earn any adsense income from it. video ads may appear in your Adsense for content ad units if you’ve opted into image ads, and Adsense for video is still accepting applications from eligible publishers who produce video content.
We used to run video unit ads on few of our websites now we removed the code as per Google’s recommendation. Google adsense is no longer accepting sign up for video units.
Once video units are retired at the end of April, any remaining Leader board or Skyscraper video units on your pages will direct users to YouTube.com, while other video unit sizes will automatically be changed to standard embedded YouTube players. These standard video players will display top YouTube videos, but you won’t generate earnings from them once this change occurs. If you have less than three ad units on your page, you may prefer to replace your video unit with a regular ad unit.
Conversion optimizer increases conversion decreases CPA.
Google Adwords team claim conversion optimizer a feature in Google Adwords conversion tracking when used effectively will give better conversions with lower Cost per acquisition.
Conversion tracking is a feature of Adwords conversion tracking data to get more conversions for a lower price. With the Conversion Optimizer, you bid using a maximum CPA, which is the most you’re willing to pay for each conversion (such as a purchase or signup). Using historical information about your campaign, the Conversion Optimizer automatically finds the optimal equivalent cost-per-click (CPC) bid for your ad each time it’s eligible to appear. You still pay per click, but you no longer need to adjust your bids manually to reach your CPA goals and can benefit from improved ROI.
To calculate the optimal equivalent CPC bid, the Conversion Optimizer first calculates a predicted conversion rate for each auction. The Conversion Optimizer takes many factors into account, including your ad’s conversion history, the keyword’s broad match query, the user’s location, and the conversion rates of Google’s search and content partner sites. The feature then generates an ad rank by combining your CPA bid, quality score and predicted conversion rate.
According to Adwords blog:
“We’ve just completed a new analysis on the performance of campaigns which have adopted Conversion Optimizer. We found that on average, these campaigns achieved a 21% increase in conversions while at the same time decreasing their CPA by 14%.
The analysis compares the performance of Conversion Optimizer campaigns with a control set of campaigns and represents the average impact of Conversion Optimizer. The actual impact will vary from campaign to campaign (and a small number of advertisers could conceivably perform better without Conversion.
Making adwords difficult has been an increasingly difficult problem for a long time, there are lots of people who make a fortune from adwords and there are people who lost money. It all depends on how well you use the tactics and help provided to you by Google. Also personally acquired tactics is also an important way to grow in adwords.
1. Identifying the right keywords is the first yet an important factor in Adwords. If you can get the list of right keywords I am sure you are on the right track, Google uses exact matching as well as broad matching if you have the perfect list of keywords just enable exact matching and you will see great results.
2. Identifying your targeted audience is another important thing to do , this cannot be done in a day or two multiple days of active monitoring the tool as well tweaking it with users in mind is the best way to get optimized results. Also you need to vary your bids to change positions to see which position works best for you. For some advertisers it’s important to bid the maximum to get optimized results but for others it’s ok to get just on 1st page or even some advertisers get good returns advertising on 2nd page its good to test with different ad pricing to see which works best.
3. Writing a good advertising copy or quality ads is very important, good ads bring more click through which will result in better ROIs. When you have a combination of a good ad-copy with an optimized landing page I am sure your conversions will be great. Landing page should be exactly matching the way you describe in your ad-text if you can do it I am sure you can even reach conversions of 15 to 20%.
4. You need to constantly monitor your account progress. There are some good PPC management companies who are dedicated to doing this job. We at Search Engine Genie is one of the company that can handle your PPC management campaigns effectively our extensive knowledge in PPC management will help boost your PPC campaigns and will bring best ROI for your website. Your account needs to be properly organized and maintained. Good organized ad-groups, keywords; campaigns will help your Adwords campaign a lot.
5. Last but not the least your Adwords quality score is important for better positions and optimized running of your ads. Its important to get everything right to get high quality score we at Search Engine Genie maintain high quality scores for most of our clients which results in good traffic and conversions.