I just started up a client account in AdWords which had been dormant since 2009. When I logged in I told the client to me it appeared that the account had been hacked. This was verified by Google one day later and a credit was applied to the client’s credit card.

So how did I know the AdWords account had been hacked?

1. Daily budget was set at $630 per day. That is a spend of $18,900 per 30 days. Previously the budget was $63/day.
2. Keywords hidden inside an ad group with the correct name were payday loan related.
3. The URL and ad text in the ad group had been changed from the client’s website.

This can happen to anyone. If you are not going to use your AdWords account it is best to either close it or to remove the credit card information.

In this case the client only got hit with a $10.00 charge before AdWords shut the account off. The last hacked account I saw had a $10,000 charge on their credit card for fraudulent clicks in less than seven days, so it is very important to watch what is happening in AdWords or better yet hire an account manager who will keep a careful eye on your account.

Everyone wants to try the new tools when Google rolls them out and here’s one for you to try that is by invitation only right now. It is called AdWords Experiment and I think it looks like a terrific new tool for serious users of Google AdWords.

There is very little doubt that Google AdWords is among the most effective forms of Internet marketing available in terms of both effectiveness and cost.  With immediate visibility and completely customizable content, AdWords allows users to quickly and efficiently target the people who would be most interested in the product or service that they provide at a price they can afford. 

With the ability to now run simultaneous programs side by side in your account, you can do AB testing like never before. Previously if you tried to test on your own, AdWords would only service the keywords with the best CTR making it nearly impossible to test similar keyword lists. This is critical when your keywords are broad matched.

In order to offer their customers the best possible results from using Google AdWords, the company has just launched the Google AdWords Experiment, or ACE, which allows AdWords users to measure exactly how effective their changes would be, prior to making them officially.  The test is accurate because you would be comparing your proposed changes side by side with your current campaign at the very same time – so no extraneous situations which may or may not cause changes in web traffic would have any bearing on the results.

If you like what you see from your changes in keywords and placement – you make the changes.  If your original campaign performed head and shoulders above the one you were considering than you can consider yourself lucky for not having missed any opportunities while you tested out new possibilities.

If you want to consistently make the most of your marketing efforts without ever having to risk making a change that you’ll regret, grab your invitation to the Google AdWords Experiment here and get started managing your campaign to achieve optimal results. This new tool is in Beta testing and only available by invitation so grab your invitation and be one of the first to reap the rewards of improved AdWords performance. If you like this tool, you may want to check out other cool tools that Google is working on in beta testing by visiting the Google Labs page.

You may not be aware, but Google has a new certification program for professional account managers such as myself. The old program called certified account managers Google AdWords Qualified Professionals or Google AdWords Qualified Individuals.

Now, Google has a new program called Google AdWords Certification. All professionals previously certified as Qualified Professionals, Qualified Companies or Qualified Individuals have six months to retest in the new program. Additionally, the account manager must now pass two tests instead of one. One is the AdWords Fundamental Exam and the other is one of the manager’s choice. The topics for the second exam are on search placement, the content network, or on Google Analytics.

I have already passed the Fundamentals Exam with a score of 97% and am starting to study for the Search exam. Additionally Google states that all certified businesses and professionals will need to take the Fundamental exam once a year and the higher level exam once every two years. Instead of retesting every two years as in the old program. This makes sure that all account managers that are certified in Google’s program are up-to-date with the changes Google enacts on their system.

As a business owner you should be aware of these changing certifications, so you can make sure your own account manager is certified with the knowledge to help you.

I have to say that additionally individuals with poor knowledge of AdWords will be weeded out by these new stronger certification programs and standards. The Google AdWords Certification program will mean that your account manager not only has the knowledge but the real world skill to effectively manage your account.

Yesterday Nancy McCord proved again her mastery of Google AdWords by passing the new Google AdWords Certification Fundamentals Exam with a score of 97%. This shows that she doesn’t just have understanding of the Google AdWords system, but mastery!

Nancy has successfully taken the Google AdWords exam for certification now four times over a period of eight years. This new exam is just one of two she will take to migrate her Google AdWords Qualified Individual certification into the new Google AdWords Certification and Google AdWords Partner program.

Upon passing the second exam, Nancy will not only achieve the new status of Google AdWords Certification, but will be able to certify her entire business as a Google AdWords Certified Partner.

If you are looking for an expert on Google AdWords, look no further. You want someone to set up and manage your account who is not only qualified, but shows mastery, that person is Nancy McCord.

Some of the terms used in Google AdWords can be confusing and this is one of them. A view-through conversion is a conversion you have had from the content network in a 30 day period when you are advertising with a display ad. The user did not click your ad, but saw it – confusing right?

First, it used to be that someone had to actually click your ad and visit your website for a conversion to be recorded. Not so anymore, just seeing your ad and visiting a content site will set the cookie that when a user does go later (in a 30 day period) to your website to buy, a conversion is recorded and noted in the AdWords control panel as a view-through Conversion.

It is important to remember that this is only for the Google Content Network and not for Google.com or search partner sites ads and only available for image or display ads. This type of conversion is not recorded for a text ad shown in the content network.

For more in-depth information on view-through conversions visit the AdWords Help Center.

Clients have asked me several times how competitors are getting images in their Google AdWords ads, here’s how.

First, to have images show you must set up an account and created a structured data feed in the Google Merchant Center. The data feed will contain product information, a description, pricing, links to images, and location on your website. Once loaded you can link your Google Merchant account with your Google AdWords account using Product Extensions.

If you want to try Product Extensions check out this article on how to do that that even contains a link to set up your own Google Merchant account.

Product Extensions are just one of the extensions that Google now makes it easy to use in Google AdWords. Recently added was location extensions and phone extensions for click to call. What is new is that now you can even set up a tab in your AdWords control panel to get quick information about activity on your special extensions.

If you want to enable the new tab to view interaction with these new extensions in your Google AdWords account check out this blog post from AdWords.

I think using extensions is an excellent way to expand the reach and relevancy of your Google AdWords program. Make sure you have enabled these things in your own account for better performance.

The team at Google AdWords has been incredibly busy this last month rolling out some super new features. Here’s one that is really great if you are advertising in the content network:

Exclude content placements that fall below the fold

The fold is the part of a web page that a reader has to scroll to see. In many cases to be below the fold means that you do not get the clicks, exposure, and return on investment that you need. For content placement in the top three to five ad spots on the side of the page or at the top of the page are preferable. As typically in the content network readers will rapidly scan content and may not even read past the first one or two paragraphs, having a top position can mean the difference between mediocre and great results.

Here’s a quote directly from AdWords on this topic and how to enable it for your content program:

“How to exclude below-the-fold placements

“Follow these steps to exclude below-the-fold placements for your AdWords campaign:

1. Click the Campaigns tab.
2. Select a campaign.
3. Click the Networks tab and scroll down to the bottom of the page.
4. Click the Exclusions link. You’ll see an “Ad group level” table and a “Campaign level” table.
5. Within the Campaign level, click the Add exclusions drop-down menu, and select Exclude category.
6. Select the “Below the fold” checkbox, and click Save.

“When you target placements above the fold only, the available inventory decreases. As a result, the winning bids for those placements are expected to be higher than for placements below the fold. So if you want to maintain your same campaign budget, we recommend increasing your bids. This will help you compete against campaigns that target placements below the fold, and other advertisers bidding exclusively on placements above the fold.”

You can read the full article and how-tos here in the AdWords help center.

The key here is that for above the fold placements, you will need to bid more, but your results may definitely improve. However anytime you advertise in content it is important to make sure to evaluate your return on investment after at least a 30 day period. Content clicks can suck your budget dry, so you only want to be in content if it generates sales for you or if you are working to establish your brand.

I have just finished doing my April reports for a large number of AdWords clients and I wanted to share with you a few interesting trends I am seeing.

1. Impressions and clicks are up for many accounts.
2. Conversions are trending up for many accounts as well. Some are showing results similar to February high conversion figures.
3. Cost per click is really moving up for many geographic locations when local targeting is used. In some smaller metro areas the cost per click is staying static, but in major areas like New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, the cost per click is really moving up strongly as more advertisers move back into Google AdWords and competition for the first page of results is ramping up.

If  you are thinking of Google AdWords, this is still a good time to get into the “game”. I am seeing strong movement that allows me to believe that real economic improvement for many business sectors is just around the corner. Get positioned in the “mix” before the crest hits!

This is interesting and as I am seeing this over many accounts I felt it warranted a comment. Conversions are very tough to come by so far this month using Google AdWords and nearly non-existent on Yahoo.

I have a feeling that much of this behavior is tied to tax time and feel that things will open back up for advertisers after April 15th, but so far this month and starting at the end of March I have seen a consistent drop in the number of lead conversions.  Yahoo seems to be hit the hardest, but Google AdWords is affected strongly as well.

Click traffic and impression traffic is still good at this point, but people are not buying at this time. AdWords works in cycles with ebbs and flows. It is the advertiser who sticks through the tough and good times that ends up with the best results. So if things are “flat” in your Google AdWords account, take heart other advertisers across many business sectors are experiencing this same trend.

Many clients have been complaining the first week in March about their low number of conversions in February. If you are one of them, you are definitely not alone. We saw a dip in clicks, impressions, and conversions across many business sectors in February.

Remember however that some of the lower numbers are due to the shorter month, but just the same there were losses across the board. I wish I had more answers as to why. Personally I just think that the shoppers weren’t buying in February.

Another trend I started to see this month is a drop in cost per click on many accounts. The bid that used to buy position 3 to 5 is now buying 1 or 2 which means it’s time to pull back your CPC.

So between low conversions and a drop in CPC, it tells me that some advertisers have moved out of the marketplace in Google AdWords. That means for the people who stay the course that there will be less competition for clicks and very possibly increased conversions in March.

What do you think? What have you seen on your AdWords account, any similar trends?

That’s right we do actually turn prospects away. We are simply not a good match for every prospect’s needs. What we do do, we do great. That being said in a nutshell, we have a passion for small to medium sized business owners who typically have a brick and mortar operation. We are typically also working with the business owner directly and not a corporate chain of command.

It bear repeating, but we do not work or provide any of our services for these business sectors:

Adult Content

Any site that has adult themes such as dating sites, soft core pornography, images of partially clothed women that are used to sell your products, lingerie, any sexual aids or products, we just do not provide services for regardless of whether it is blogging or even Google AdWords.

Stock Brokers, Day Traders, Forex Traders and Their Management Software

In this case we have simply found that the nature of your business is so complicated that the time it takes us to learn and be effective for you is just not cost effective for us. In many cases you are additionally governed by regulations making even blog writing a difficult operation.

E-Books and Products Sold by Squeeze Pages in Multi-Level Marketing Programs

We typically do not supply services for products that are e-books or online how to guides. Although you can still be successful with these approaches, we simply do not have a passion for working with products that are typically sold using these vehicles. This would cover e-books on how to make money in real estate, sell or trade stocks or use the forex, or how to sell multi-level marketing products.

No one likes to hear no, but it is by far better for you to find a supplier that has a true passion for what you do and what you sell. We can help many businesses, but just not all.

Google AdWords is a pay per click program. Pay Per Click programs, PPC or Pay For Performance are all the buzz in Internet marketing. The growth in web traffic generated by pay per click services is growing and a marketing option to be seriously considered. With PPC, you pay each time a web viewer chooses your ad listing link and clicks into your website.

Pay per click targets a specific audience reaching up to 85% of all Internet users in a cost effective and immediate way. There can be as much as a $20 return of investment for each $1 spent.

The first step is to select which pay for performance agent to use.

Although Yahoo has more overall visitors statistically, due to their Web properties, than Google, Google AdWords is the most productive pay per click vehicle and the place you should start with when you decide to advertise using pay per click. In the United States, over 80% of all Internet searches will start on Google first. With Google AdWords, you can see your ads in several hours, and have the ability to start and stop campaigns easily. You will show your products and services to millions of viewers and active shoppers using the massive reach of Google. Additionally Google AdWords will typically out perform Yahoo and MSN adCenter when it comes to generating conversions and return on investment.

The second step is to select your targeted keyword or phrases.

At this point you may want to consider increasing the density of your selected keywords in your website’s HTML code, your site’s description, and title. However, we have found that you can still experience great returns using PPC without revising your website, as your PPC ads are triggered by the keywords you selected that are tied to your ad and not your web site’s content.

The third step is to select your monthly budget.

You select the maximum amount that you will pay each month for click throughs to your website. Once the maximum amount is reached your agent will halt click throughs to your site automatically. Additionally, you will select how much you are willing to pay by keyword.

With Yahoo! Sponsored Search, you will be charged your pre-designated budget amount on a monthly basis in advance of the clicks. Clicks are then deducted from your account balance on a daily basis. With Google AdWords, you may pause a campaign or update your settings at any time. There are no minimum monthly spending limits and no contracts or long term commitments. You can select to be charged for clicks after they happen.

How much should you allot for a pay per click program?

I suggest that clients should set a budget of at least $500 and better yet $800 to $1,500 for 30 days of clicks on top of our fees for the first month. This allows Google to have enough budget to not minimally serve the account and allows us enough latitude to find the sweet spot for a market competitive cost per click.

When you are ready to get serious about pay per click for your business we invite you to consider our AdWords services. Not sure which account manager to use? Review our client ratings and testimonials as you evaluate your choices.

This month we have some great topics in our e-newsletter. Here’s a quick review:

Are You Missing Google Local or Google Maps Exposure Opportunities?

You can get free exposure on Google.com, when you match a local search query, if you have a Google Local Business account. What makes it all even sweeter is that the exposure is free.

First, if you don’t have a Google Local Business Center account, I would strongly recommend that you consider setting one up as sometimes local searches are shown above the organic results accompanied by a map. Why wait when you can set one up for without charge? Read more…

Brite Idea Tip: Google AdWords Ads to Show on Smart Phones and Will Offer Click to Call

Google will be rolling out a new mobile advertising program in AdWords this month. But to have your ads show on iPhones and other smart phones you need to make sure that you are opted in. Here’s how you can tap into this mobile network so that when Google rolls out the program to your account you will be automatically able to participate.

For quite sometime in the campaign control panel you could select to show your ads on iPhones and Smart Phones or just on desktop PCs. Now Google is going to finally enable special features just for iPhones and Smart Phones. Read more…

Confused About the Google Caffeine Update? Join the Club

We’ve heard conflicting reports about the release of the new Google Caffeine update and whether it is already live. First, the professional chatter in the first week in January was that the new Google “Caffeine” algorithm was out. Then, on January 14th, the professional chatter was that, no, the algorithm had been delayed. So who do you believe and why would the update possibly be delayed?

As with all important new algorithm adjustments on Google, there is a fine tuning period after launch. When the infamous Florida update was rolled out several years ago, the blow back that Google received was so strong, parts of the algorithm were tweaked for performance to soften the impact or rolled back all together.  Read more…

If you have enjoyed these articles make sure to subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter.

There are questions that we get asked by clients about Google AdWords frequently. Here are several and our answers to each.

I am looking for my ad at 8:00 PM on Google and can’t see it why?

When you cannot see your ad in the evening it is typically because your daily budget has already been spent for the day and Google has stopped showing your ads. The frequency of your ad being shown is all tied to your daily budget which is found by taking your 30 day click budget and dividing it by 30 days. Google may spend over 20% of your daily budget on any one day, but will never spend over your 30 day budget in a 30 day period.

My budget is $500 and Google spent $516 in December, why?

December is a 31 day month so Google could spend an extra day spend in December. Remember the budget you set is for clicks for a 30 day period. Some months will have 31 days.

I have reviewed my credit card and it appears that I was billed by Google several times why?

Google does not bill according to your credit card billing cycle or for that matter even on a set monthly basis. Google bills when you have spent your pre-assigned Google spending limit. Here are the limits from the Google help center:

The initial credit limit of $100 is incrementally raised each time an account hits its credit limit before 30 days have ended. The credit limit is first raised to $100, then to $250, then to $500 and then to $1000. The amount billed may be slightly in excess of the credit limit if an account accrues clicks very quickly.

So you may actually have several transactions to your credit card in the same month or straddled over two months appearing that Google is constantly billing you, but in essence they are following their credit guidelines noted above.

I thought it used to be $5 to set up an AdWords account, but I got billed $10

 Google has recently changed its set up fee. You are right it has always been $5 and just in the very recent past has Google started to bill $10 for set up.

As pricing and billing are some of the most asked questions about AdWords, here is a link to the AdWords help center to specifically additionally address some other topics you may find of interest.

Google has announced that one of the data centers is already running the new Caffeine algorithm. This in not new news, but Google stated that 50% of searches are now coming out of the new Caffeine algorithm.

We know that all of Google will move to the Caffeine algorithm after the holidays, but with 50% of the searches running on Caffeine now is hot news.

I suspect that the week between Christmas and New Years Google will roll out the full Caffeine update. Partly because there are typically low search numbers in that week and that may give Google a chance to tweak some things and kind of do a test run live before traffic returns after the New Year.

On the other hand everyone at Google may be off between Christmas and New Years and so the update will roll out the first week of January. Your guess is as good as mine which approach Google will take.

I am taking a poll, just leave your comments on when you think the rollout will be.