If you are managing a large website make sure to check out this new tool from Google.
I am using the Tag Manager on my own website and some of the sites of my clients. I have found it easy to use and allows for the ability to grow as Google changes. I really like the ability to add new code without having to wait for a third party webmaster to get around to scheduling time for the code addition.
The only area of difficulty that I have seen from using Tag Manager, is the confusion some webmasters have on the publishing function. Some will set up the tags properly but forget to publish the Tag Container to the site again.
Make sure to watch the video as it will take you through setting up AdWords conversion tracking as well as Google Analytics code installation. With remarketing becoming popular for many AdWords accounts, having the Tag Manager in place on the website allows you the account manager to set up remarketing by just updating the container from within the Tag Manager control panel.
AdWords has introduced some great new features that you may have missed in 2012 and has new ones are already planned for 2013. Here are my top picks of great new features and those I am eagerly anticipating.
1. Google Tag Manager
This feature, although not just for AdWords managers, is a new way to add code including AdWords conversion tracking to your website. Instead of adding code to all your pages or to your headers and footers, you add a script just after the <body> tag and then customize what causes your code to fire and on what pages of your site from within the Tag Manager control panel. This is a huge improvement for management of large websites.
2. Ability to Set AdWords Ads to Rotate
If you have loved doing A/B testing of ad text in AdWords, then you will love that you can now again decide to rotate ads evenly overriding the default optimize setting. Although I don’t use this feature for every account, in some cases this is a must especially when you are in the conversion discovery mode.
3. Sitelinks Galore
Now you can enter in up to 10 sitelinks for your Google AdWords campaigns. I highly recommend making sure that you are using this new feature. Previously, we could only add four links, but now can add up to 10. Make your ads stand out by providing instant access to deep inside your site where meaningful.
4. Search Remarketing
This is a new feature planned for 2013 and so is not available in your account yet as 1-3 are. I am excited about this new feature and will make sure to let you know when it is available. I am not sure how Google will handle search remarketing, but with the success of Display Remarketing, I just know this one will be a must use in each account.
Here are just a few tricks to help with web visibility when it comes to using Google+. First, it is important to know that your posts will appear in the Google.com search index. Your first line will actually appear as the title in the search results, so make sure that you consider what you’ll write first and make it work to your advantage.I’ve found more often than naught that my personal profile posts will be in the search results more frequently than my business page posts. Remember also that there is no limit on the number of links that you can add to a post, but I recommend not going link crazy. You’ll want something readable yet memorable while still being sharable for your update.
I’ve found that the Google+ community is more visual than text oriented and so make sure to use images, links — as Google will auto add the image for you, and videos.
While you are thinking of how you can leverage Google+ to your advantage, don’t forget to optimize your About page. You can embed links into your profile information so make sure to point back to important pages for more information on your website.
Google does not allow automation or scheduling of any kind to personal profiles. They do however allow automation to business pages. This unique difference assures that the voice on your Google+ personal profile is real. This authenticity is one of the reasons that I personally like Google+ but find it problematic for client’s to embrace for their own business’ web visibility. For now we don’t offer Google+ status update writing to personal pages, but do provide services posting to business profiles.
This video from Google’s Lead Web Spam Engineer, Matt Cutts, literally quashes ecommerce as we know it. Make sure you watch this video which states Google’s view of ecommerce sites and be prepared to give up trying to get organic placement for ecommerce enterprises that are reselling products.
Watching this video from Matt Cutts is incredibly concerning and illustrates a HUGE change from Google in regards to how stores can and will be placing and thus selling on Google.com.
Here’s the hard truth from the video:
1. If you are not selling your own unique products, but rather selling someone else’s products as an affiliate or reseller, you must have unique product content on your pages and invest in differentiating yourself from other competing sites as Google will no longer allow you organic placement on Google.com. Matt Cutts clearly states the harsh reality in this video – as an issue for Google in regards to search quality.
2. If you do set up a store borrowing product content from your manufacturer you should expect to only be able to bring in sales and traffic from an investment on Google AdWords. Paying for SEO services to assist your site in improving organic placement will be money wasted if you have not addressed the most important consideration for your site’s ranking which Cutts says is the issue of duplicate content.
3. Matt states that if you don’t have the time or where with all to create unique content for your products, that you should not be posting them and selling on the Web.
With nearly all ecommerce stores picking up cookie cutter content on products this is a very huge hit from Google in regards to how store can and should sell on the Web. Will this impact stores like Amazon and big box stores like Best Buy? Certainly, but the greater impact will be on small enterprises that have made a good living from selling on the Web and have just recently seen their organic placement drop from the Google Panda update.
As I watched the video, I grew increasingly concerned that these new revelations would have serious and long term impact in regards to how small business owners will sell and promote their products on the Web. I see this as a very strong shift to move businesses into paying to play on Google by forcing businesses to get visibility using Google AdWords. As I provide AdWords services this is not necessarily a bad thing for my business, but a very strong indicator and warning to the SEO industry that Google is changing their business model significantly.
