Month: November 2014

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Interesting Data on Mobile Usage and AdWords

Google Partner Badge
McCord Web Services is a Google Partner.

I attended a Google Partner hangout this last week with four marketing reps talking about how mobile has changed their marketing plans on AdWords. The comment that really has stuck with me over the last several days is that mobile is used for research before buying and is not necessarily the device that will drive a conversion. Very Interesting!

When I think about how I use my own smartphone, that comment is spot on. Many times I will be with others or sitting in a car chatting (not driving mind you) and I will quickly do a Google search to ask a question or find out more. Although more often than not, I am not looking at mobile ads while I am getting the information I want, I am using my smartphone to perform research that I may follow-up on later.

From an account manager and advertiser point of view, depending on the product or service that you are selling, the research aspect of mobile may be crucial to your overall marketing plan. With the much smaller screen of a smartphone limiting the number of AdWords ads that can show, you’ve got to be in the number one or two spots with your ad to get action.

Although mobile is not the right place for every single business, if the research phase that would be done on a smartphone is important to your business, keep in mind that actively testing your AdWords program in the mobile arena bidding up 10 to 25% of your desktop bid may be a very smart strategy. By testing this approach over a 60 day period (a shorter time period may not be long enough to really evaluate response), you may find that mobile drives conversions and sales on desktops and tablets and the mobile click can be attributed for the actual conversion. Or, you may find that more expensive clicks from smartphones simply padded Google’s wallet and did not drive conversions.

As Google is very bullish on advertising in the mobile space and many marketers are testing mobile AND the data shows that mobile activity is a very new and exciting landscape, it is time to try strategies in your AdWords account on mobile.

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What I’m Watching and Testing for My Own Business Right Now

Two women
Bobbie and Nancy after a Try It Friday video session.

You can never stand still when your living is made from the Internet! So you can know what I think has use for business, here’s my short list of things that I am using and testing for my own business to see if using the service works to grow a web presence and if it is meaningful and marketable to clients as a service.

1. Simple cheeky, yet fun videos.
Check out my Try It Friday videos on YouTube, this blog or my website. I am still trying to find my footing with this one, but I think that there may be value. My concept is to take something fun and show it on video. This week we will be doing the app called Smule which is a karaoke-like music app.

2. Instagram for consultants and small businesses.
Instagram and visual media is all the rage, but how can you use it for your business when you are selling services not products. I am testing how and what to do on my own account. You can follow me at http://www.instagram.com/nancy_mccord. Right now I am working on graphics for every Monday and then other images occasionally. You will not see selfies or images of food I’m eating unless I get feedback otherwise. 🙂

3. Improved time management to save time to be creative.
As a busy and in-demand consultant and Google AdWords account manager, my big problem is time. It may be yours too. How can you grow your business if you never have time to be strategic? I am now blocking off Monday morning and Friday morning to regroup, check my strategies, plan ahead, and test new things. Don’t try to phone me during these times as they are blocked off, calendared, strategic, thinking outside the box times. Many big business want their employees to have creative time, but as a small business owner, we typically cheat ourselves in this area. With so many new apps, services, and online features surfacing monthly I felt I needed time to stay on top of my game for my clients. I take time to make sure that I evaluate new things to be able to make the best recommendations possible of what can be done and used to promote a client’s business and brand online.

What are you doing to strategically plan ahead for your business or are testing yourself? Leave me a comment and share it here.

 

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New Ways to Use AdWords Scripts

I watched this Google Hangout this past week and wanted to share it with you as you may really like some of the pre-made scripts (like the broken link checker that this video shows how to set up). You can watch it online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqQ19h7OwYs&feature=youtu.be


I am no programmer, but I will definitely be trying out some of the easy to configure out of the box scripts that run at the Account level and even MCC level.