Tag Archives: AdWords

Turning conversations into sales

Is it the application of science or a sprinkling of magic that helps you convert leads into bona fide new agency business? We take a look at some of the tried and tested approaches that Google Partner agencies have put to work when turning warm leads into signed-up new clients.

Here are three top takeaways that can give you an advantage:

Do your homework about potential clients

It pays to find out who the clients are and do your research. Today, every company has a footprint online, and you’ll want to discover how they portray their brand on a variety of digital channels. If they are doing social media right, the tone of their tweets will give you an insight into how they operate. Look at their website, company videos, anything they’ve published. Consider what works well. Also think about what doesn’t work, as this will give you a route into what your agency could bring to the table.

Always be closing

The sales mantra ‘always be closing’ suggests you should continually look to close a deal and check a client’s readiness to do business. With agency leads, more likely it’s the case that potential clients will let you know when they are ready. But they’ll need to understand the added value you offer first. Naturally, your agency will want to be seen as digital experts, so a tip-top landing page on your web domain is a great tool to show off your wares. Make sure your headline copy is punchy and engaging, and don’t forget to use clear and well designed case-studies to add credibility to your story.

It's not us, it's you

However you approach a prospective new client, one thing is paramount: be useful. You need to find out which area you think they could use some help in (having done your R&D), and tell them about a clear solution your agency can offer. No sales talk. They will want to hear about the most relevant things first and foremost. Then you just have to convince them that you are ones for the job.

Want to learn more? Download this handy infographic

Source: AdWords Agency Blog

Moving on from conflict

If you’ve ever butted heads with someone in your office, you know what a nightmare it can be. Did everyone just hear that argument? How am I going to face them on Monday? Will we ever move on from this? It’s a veritable obstacle course of awkwardness.

As the video below shows you, there are plenty of ways to resolve conflict effectively. While conflict is often unavoidable and in some cases can even be a good thing, it’s important to know what caused it to prevent future disputes, and to ensure it isn’t a sign of deeper problems.

Sometimes personalities clash

There is no right or wrong way of working - some people like to make lists, others prefer to wing it, some like to think their points through before contributing, others speak in order to think things through. Differing personality types may conflict with one another, and in this case you may need to compromise on a work style that suits you both and plays to your strengths.

Communication can break down

Lack of communication is another very common cause of office conflict. Maybe the means to communicate weren’t available, or time didn’t allow it. It’s important to identify what led to the breakdown in communication, and find out whether there’s a way to help this in future, whether it’s allowing more time for meetings or allowing face-to-face time instead of emails or phone calls.

How's morale?

Morale can take a dip for any number of reasons, and this might present itself as conflict especially if expectations are high and deadlines are tight. Talk to those involved, and find out whether this played a role. See what you can do to help, whether it’s providing extra resources to take pressure off, or rewarding their efforts. Sometimes small gestures go a long way.

However the conflict started, it’s important to address it early on, ensure both sides are heard, and move forward without gossip or rumor. It also helps to keep this video close at hand, in case you need to resolve any conflicts of your own.

Source: AdWords Agency Blog

Recruiting talent is a talent

Interviewing candidates for a position in your agency is a lot like speed dating. It can be interesting, and exciting, and a little awkward, but while you only have a few short minutes to get to know one another, when you meet the right person it can be the start of a great (working) relationship.

Preparing for those few minutes is crucial, that’s why we’ve put together some helpful advice and tips to help you get ready.

Before the interview

Be detailed in your job description: The more specific you are, the more qualified your candidates will be. If you’re vague, you risk creating work for yourself as you sift through hundreds of unsuitable applications.

Screen with phone interviews: This is a great time-saver for you and your applicants. It gives you the chance early on to narrow down your selects and save them some disappointment as well.

On the day

Ask interesting questions: If you ask every candidate where they see themselves in five years or what three words their friends would use to describe them, you’ll be burnt out listening to answers before lunchtime. Ask questions that keep candidates on their toes so you’ll see their true self, not their rehearsed answers.

Sell yourselves: An interview is as much about a candidate deciding if they want to work for you. Make sure you discuss potential career progression, benefits, work-life balance etc. to make the position more appealing.

Be open minded: It’s important to choose someone who meshes with your company culture. Take the time to show candidates around and introduce them to some of the team to help them get a feel for the place and see if they feel at home.

Follow up

Be respectful: Even if you choose not to hire a candidate, remember they still took time out of their day to come to the interview. Let them know if they didn’t get the job and offer honest feedback. Just because they’re not right for the job now doesn’t mean they won’t be later on. And who knows? They might be interviewing you someday.

If you’d like to learn more about perfecting the interview process, check out our helpful video below:

Source: AdWords Agency Blog

Putting machine learning into the hands of every advertiser

The ways people get things done are constantly changing, from finding the closest coffee shop to organizing family photos. Earlier this year, we explored how machine learning is being used to improve our consumer products and help people get stuff done.

In just one hour, we’ll share how we're helping marketers unlock more opportunities for their businesses with our largest deployment of machine learning in ads. We’ll explore how this technology works in our products and why it’s key to delivering the helpful and frictionless experiences consumers expect from brands.

Join us live today at 9am PT (12pm ET).

Deliver more relevance with responsive search ads

Consumers today are more curious, more demanding, and they expect to get things done faster because of mobile. As a result, they expect your ads to be helpful and personalized. Doing this isn’t easy, especially at scale. That’s why we’re introducing responsive search ads. Responsive search ads combine your creativity with the power of Google’s machine learning to help you deliver relevant, valuable ads.

Simply provide up to 15 headlines and 4 description lines, and Google will do the rest. By testing different combinations, Google learns which ad creative performs best for any search query. So people searching for the same thing might see different ads based on context.

We know this kind of optimization works: on average, advertisers who use Google’s machine learning to test multiple creative see up to 15 percent more clicks.¹

Responsive search ads will start rolling out to advertisers over the next several months.

Maximize relevance and performance on YouTube

People watch over 1 billion hours of video on YouTube every day. And increasingly, they’re tuning in for inspiration and information on purchases large and small. For example, nearly 1 in 2 car buyers say they turn to YouTube for information before their purchase.² And nearly 1 in 2 millennials go there for food preparation tips before deciding what ingredients to buy.³ That means it’s critical your video ads show at the right moment to the right audience.

Machine learning helps us turn that attention into results on YouTube. In the past, we’ve helped you optimize campaigns for views and impressions. Later this year, we’re rolling out Maximize lift to help you reach people who are most likely to consider your brand after seeing a video ad. This new Smart Bidding strategy is also powered by machine learning. It automatically adjusts bids at auction time to maximize the impact your video ads have on brand perception throughout the consumer journey.

Maximize lift is available now as a beta and will roll out to advertisers globally later this year.

Drive more foot traffic with Local campaigns

Whether they start their research on YouTube or Google, people still make the majority of their purchases in physical stores. In fact, mobile searches for “near me” have grown over 3X in the past two years,⁴ and almost 80 percent of shoppers will go in store when there’s an item they want immediately.⁵ For many of you, that means driving foot traffic to your brick-and-mortar locations is critical—especially during key moments in the year, like in-store events or promotions.

Today we’re introducing Local campaigns: a new campaign type designed to drive store visits exclusively. Provide a few simple things—like your business locations and ad creative—and Google automatically optimizes your ads across properties to bring more customers into your store.

Ads_Search.jpg
Ads_Maps.jpg
Ads_PlacePages.jpg
Ads_Display.jpg
Ads_YouTube.jpg

Show your business locations across Google properties and networks

Local campaigns will roll out to advertisers globally over the coming months.

Get the most from your Shopping campaigns

Earlier this year, we rolled out a new Shopping campaign type that optimizes performance based on your goals. These Smart Shopping campaigns help you hit your revenue goals without the need to manually manage and bid to individual products. In the coming months, we’re improving them to optimize across multiple business goals.

Beyond maximize conversion value, you’ll also be able to select store visits or new customers as goals. Machine learning factors in the likelihood that a click will result in any of these outcomes and helps adjust bids accordingly.

Machine learning is also used to optimize where your Shopping ads show—on Google.com, Image Search, YouTube and millions of sites and apps across the web—and which products are featured. It takes into account a wide range of signals, like seasonal demand and pricing. Brands like GittiGidiyor, an eBay company, are using Smart Shopping campaigns to simplify how they manage their ads and deliver better results. GittiGidiyor was able to increase return on ad spend by 28 percent and drive 4 percent more sales, while saving time managing campaigns.

We’re also adding support for leading e-commerce platforms to help simplify campaign management. In the coming weeks, you’ll be able to set up and manage Smart Shopping campaigns right from Shopify, in addition to Google Ads.

Tune in to see more!

This is an important moment for marketers and we’re excited to be on this journey with you. Tune in at 9am PT (12pm ET) today to see it all unfold at Google Marketing Live.

For the latest news, follow the new Google Ads blog. And check out g.co/adsannouncements for more information about product updates and announcements.

1. Internal Google data

2. Google / Kantar TNS, Auto CB Gearshift Study, US, 2017. n=312 new car buyers who watched online video

3. Google / Ipsos, US, November 2017

4. Internal Google data, U.S., July–Dec. 2015 vs. July–Dec. 2017

5. Google/Ipsos, U.S., “Shopping Tracker,” Online survey, n=3,613 online Americans 13+ who shopped in the past two days, Oct.–Dec. 2017

Source: Inside AdWords

Stay sharp, stay competitive

You might have heard the adage “there are no friends in business”. It’s a very old saying, and an even older philosophy. Times change, and in an increasingly competitive landscape one of the most powerful tools at your disposal is the ability to acknowledge your competitors’ strengths. Once you’ve done this, you can learn from them and grow.

With this in mind, competitive research helps you to make informed market decisions, discover new products, and learn from others’ successes and mistakes. It’s a straightforward process, and sometimes it really pays off to be introspective. Here’s how to do it.

Categorize your competitors

Make a list of your competitors, both direct and indirect. Track this in a Google sheet so your whole team can create live updates. Note their name, industry, website, customer base, and their position within the marketplace. What are their Unique Selling Points (USPs) for example price, unique services etc.?

Investigate every aspect

When it comes to investigating your competitors, you need to think like a customer.

How does their brand/service make you feel?
Are you drawn to their USPs?
Are they easy to find?
Are their services easy to access?

Research their online presence and look at what you think they’re doing well and ways that they could improve. Take note of the key phrases in their SEO and see if you can follow their lead with your own. You can use Google Trends to get a jumpstart on this and see what people are researching in your industry.

Remember, while you may be competing against any number of similar businesses for clients and market share, your competitors are facing the same challenges that you are. There’s a lot you can learn from them, and who knows – they might even be researching you as well.

Looking to learn more from your competitors? Check out this helpful infographic, and keep it nearby when you’re doing your research.

Source: AdWords Agency Blog

App Ads

Source: Inside AdWords

Get a first look at Google’s newest product innovations

Join us on Tuesday, July 10 at 9:00 AM PT / 12 noon ET for Google Marketing Live: Extended. In this ninety minute live stream event, six Google executives will share insights and innovations—bringing the magic of Google straight to your screen. Google's senior leaders will take the stage to share new innovations that will help you stay at the forefront of the advertising industry. The keynote presentation will be followed by an expert panel, exclusive to the online event. These product and industry experts will help turn announcements into actionable takeaways for your business. Treat your top clients to a Google Marketing Live: Extended watch party. Register here and we'll provide you with everything you need to host a viewing—and bring the magic of Google Marketing Live: Extended to your team and customers. Register for Google Marketing Live: Extended today!

Source: AdWords Agency Blog

Inspiration, preparation, perspiration – Your roadmap to excellence

Aristotle said “Excellence is an art won by training and habituation... [it] is not an act, but a habit.” Excellence doesn’t come from luck, but from effort and planning and while there is a lot of hard work involved, anyone can achieve greatness with time.

With this in mind, we want to help you on your way to greatness. Check out our Delivering With Excellence infographic now, and watch the video below. We’ve also put together a couple of handy hints to prepare you on your way.

Stay organized

Organization is the starting block of excellence. While it’s tempting to jump head-first into a new project, it’s important to make time to plan it out. Use Google Docs to create shared timelines and assign tasks so everyone involved can access and update accordingly.

Communicate

Have you ever worked on a job where you ended up in meetings about meetings about meetings…? While it’s important to touch base along the way, there are better ways to track progress like one-to-one catchups or detailed scheduling, leaving everyone more time for the important stuff.

Resource

A new project means a fresh start. Allocate staff resources early on to ensure workloads are balanced. Give everyone a portion of the project to own - pressure makes diamonds, and it will make everyone feel more invested.

Don’t stay in a dead end

If your initial idea or thought process isn’t working, don’t be afraid to try a new one. Sometimes a new approach or a new way of thinking is the best course of action, even if it means abandoning something you’ve already spent time on.

Be bold

Your client knows their industry better than anyone, but you know yours. So don’t be afraid to take charge and offer new suggestions and ideas that they may not have considered, the worst thing they can say is no.

Watch the video below for more information - see you on the path to excellence!

Source: AdWords Agency Blog

Introducing simpler brands and solutions for advertisers and publishers

We launched AdWords nearly 18 years ago with a simple goal—to make it easier for people to connect online with businesses. A search for eco-friendly stationery, quilting supplies, or for a service like a treehouse builder gave us an opportunity to deliver valuable ads that were useful and relevant in the moment. That idea was the start of our first advertising product, and led to the ads business we have today.

A lot has changed since then. Mobile is now a huge part of our everyday lives. People quickly switch from searching for products, to watching videos, browsing content, playing games and more. As a result, marketers have more opportunities to reach consumers across channels, screens and formats. Advertising on Google has evolved too—from helping marketers connect with people on Google Search, to helping them connect at every step of the consumer journey. As the opportunity to engage consumers has grown and become more complex, we are simplifying our products for advertisers and publishers of all sizes so they can more easily reach consumers anywhere, at any moment and on any channel.

That’s why today we’re introducing new brands for our advertising products: Google Ads, Google Marketing Platform, and Google Ad Manager. These new brands reflect all of the ways that we help advertisers connect with consumers and make it easier for advertisers and publishers to choose which products are right for their businesses. As part of this, we are releasing new solutions that help advertisers get started with Google Ads and drive collaboration across teams.

Google AdWords is becoming Google Ads

The new Google Ads brand represents the full range of advertising capabilities we offer today—on Google.com and across our other properties, partner sites and apps—to help marketers connect with the billions of people finding answers on Search, watching videos on YouTube, exploring new places on Google Maps, discovering apps on Google Play, browsing content across the web, and more.

For small businesses specifically, we’re introducing a new campaign type in Google Ads that makes it easier than ever to get started with online advertising. It brings the machine learning technology of Google Ads to small businesses and helps them get results without any heavy lifting—so they can stay focused on running their businesses. To learn more, visit this post.

We'll introduce more new campaign types at Google Marketing Live. Sign up to watch the livestream on July 10th.

Stronger collaboration with Google Marketing Platform

We’re enabling stronger collaboration for enterprise marketing teams by unifying our DoubleClick advertiser products and the Google Analytics 360 Suite under a single brand: Google Marketing Platform.

We’ve heard from marketers that there are real benefits to using ads and analytics technology together, including a better understanding of customers and better business results. Google Marketing Platform helps marketers achieve their goals by building on existing integrations between the Google Analytics 360 Suite and DoubleClick Digital Marketing. The platform helps marketers plan, buy, measure and optimize digital media and customer experiences in one place. To learn more, visit the Google Marketing Platform blog.

As part of Google Marketing Platform, we’re announcing Display & Video 360. Display & Video 360 brings together features from DoubleClick Bid Manager, Campaign Manager, Studio and Audience Center to allow creative, agency, and media teams to collaborate and execute ad campaigns end-to-end in a single place. We’ll share more details about Display & Video 360 in the coming weeks, including a demo during the keynote at Google Marketing Live.

Google Ad Manager: A unified platform

We recognize that the way publishers monetize their content has changed. With people accessing content on multiple screens, and with advertisers’ growing demand for programmatic access, publishers need to be able to manage their businesses more simply and efficiently. That’s why for the last three years, we’ve been working to bring together DoubleClick for Publishers and DoubleClick Ad Exchange in a complete and unified programmatic platform under a new name–Google Ad Manager.

With this evolution, we’re excited to do even more for our partners—earning them more money, more efficiently, wherever people are watching videos, playing games or engaging with content, and however advertisers are looking to work with them. To learn more, visit the Google Ad Manager blog.

Transparency and controls people can trust

We know that the media and technology advertisers and publishers choose to use impacts the relationships they have with their customers. As always, our commitment is to ensure that all of our products and platforms set the industry’s highest standard in giving people transparency and choice in the ads they see. For example, we recently announced new Ads Settings and expanded Why this ad? across all of our services, and almost all websites and apps that partner with us to show ads.

You'll start to see the new Google Ads, Google Marketing Platform and Google Ad Manager brands over the next month.

We’ll be sharing more about these changes—and many other new Ads, Analytics and Platforms solutions designed to help you grow your business—at Google Marketing Live. Register now to watch live on July 10, 9:00 a.m. PT / 12:00 p.m. ET.
Posted by Sridhar Ramaswamy, Senior Vice President, Ads & Commerce

Source: Inside AdWords

A new guide for integrating Google Shopping ads using Google APIs

Good news for developers planning to integrate Google Shopping ads! We have just released a brand new guide explaining how to automate the delivery of Google Shopping on behalf of merchants using Google APIs.

The Shopping Automation Guide covers the steps required to set up new merchants using a combination of the Content API for Shopping and AdWords API. It describes how you can fully automate certain tasks that would otherwise be performed manually using the Merchant Center and AdWords websites.

The guide is for developers interested in feed management, campaign management, or full automation workflow that includes both. The workflows provide detailed explanations of how the different APIs can be used for each stage of the user journey. You can follow the workflow step by step or navigate straight to the article you require using the side panel.

Head over to the developer pages to get started! If you have any questions or need help, please contact us on the relevant forums:

If you have any feedback on the guide, please use the “Send Feedback” link at the top right of each page.

We also appreciate any feedback on your experience using the guide. If you would like to share it, please complete this survey.

- Ian Ballantyne, AdWords API Team

Do your homework about potential clients

Always be closing

It's not us, it's you

Want to learn more? Download this handy infographic

Source: AdWords Agency Blog

Sometimes personalities clash

Communication can break down

How's morale?

Source: AdWords Agency Blog

On the day

Follow up

Source: AdWords Agency Blog

Deliver more relevance with responsive search ads

Maximize relevance and performance on YouTube

Drive more foot traffic with Local campaigns

Get the most from your Shopping campaigns

Tune in to see more!

Source: Inside AdWords

Source: AdWords Agency Blog

Source: Inside AdWords

Source: AdWords Agency Blog

Source: AdWords Agency Blog

Google AdWords is becoming Google Ads

Stronger collaboration with Google Marketing Platform

Google Ad Manager: A unified platform

Transparency and controls people can trust

Source: Inside AdWords

Source: Google Ads Developer Blog