Google Ads Services – The Web Authority

June 18, 2021June 17, 2021

What Does Google Have Planned for 2021?

What does Google have planned for Google Ads and marketing in 2021?

You will be amazed…

Here are some of the important nuggets from the recent Google Livestream.

Insights Page
A new page in the Google Ads Control Panel helps you to know what is trending in the very near future. For one client who sells scientific equipment Google surfaced that after July 11th lab glassware and centrifuges would have increased activity. We set up a centrifuge campaign to leverage that information into sales for this client. We’ll be looking for ways for each of our clients to leverage this information that Google is revealing for the first time in advertiser accounts as part of their new transparency into trends they see coming.

Performance Max
This is a new campaign type that maximizes performance across all Google inventory. It offers rich insights into automation. It is currently in beta but due to roll out late 2021. It features advanced automation. Testers so far have had significantly improved lead performance. We’ll let you know when we see it and test it in client accounts.

Privacy Changes
This year the use of 3rd party cookies will be stopped. Google has decided to embrace an ad serving model that protect privacy and offers choice. Thanks to Apple and the GDPR we will see broad and striking changes this year in regard to an individual’s privacy and how ads will be served. This is a significant change.

Google has given significant advice to Google Partners on how to help customers move into this privacy first world and yet still achieve great results with targeted advertising. We will do a separate blog post on these recommendations and contact all our clients to offer assistance to help them embrace these new changes.

Future of Measurement
Without 3rd party cookies on which Google Analytics is based, measurement will now be based on 1st party data, sitewide tagging, and then fill in the gaps with modeling.

The Google Tag Manager now has additional features enabled called consent mode that recovers 70% of the customer journey. New capabilities will be rolled out this year as well.

Google Analytics will now offer more insights for the complete customer journey in a privacy safe method. The new advertiser experience in Analytics will provide deeper insights into website traffic and ad performance. Attribution models will now include YouTube and Display.

Automation
The key take away is that automation provides performance, opportunity, and control. Google is recommending the use of responsive search ads with broad match keywords, and smart bidding to boost leads by nearly 20%. Excellent rated ad text plus 4 extensions appearsto be the winning combination. for success.

The key for account management is to steer these automation tools, improve account automation, and leverage insights.

eCommerce
The future looks bright for ecommerce with a new and significant relationship between Shopify, Shop Pay, and Google. Success appears to be tied to curated, immersive experiences on your website with easy integration of Shopify stores into the Google Shopping platform and the Merchant Center.

Google is introducing a Deals tab on Google.com to help highlight your promotions. New also is Google’s integration with your Loyalty Program.

Conclusion
We don’t have details on a number of these new features and enhancements, but they are coming and they are exciting.

For more information about who we are and what we do, as Google Partners, we invite you to visit our website and dig deeper into how we can help you improve your online visibility and improve your marketing’s value to growing your business.

September 11, 2019February 9, 2019

When to Increase Your Budget in Google Ads

If you are not budget restrained, meaning that you have additional marketing dollars to spend, here is a quick primer on how to know if it makes sense to increase your Google Ads spending budget.

First, look at your campaign level results and sort the data for yesterday. If you did not spend your full budget yesterday, raising your daily budget will have no impact. Make sure to check a few days on top of just yesterday to assure that you are seeing enough results to be sure.

Second, if your program is profitable for you meaning are getting leads which leave room for profit, then the rule of thumb is to increase your ad spend as long as you have a positive ROI or return on investment. Make sure to look at the average cost per conversion when you evaluate what your leads cost versus what you make per lead.

It is important to have an awareness of important facts that are unique for your business such as one out of every ten leads makes a purchase or becomes a regular customer and regular customers typically will stay five years with us and have a lifetime value of X.

I do not recommend raising your ad spend budget without thought to assure that Google Ads is an investment in your growth and not an expense.

That being said for accounts that have taken the approach of increasing the ad spend without a limit while there is still positive ROI, the results can be absolutely, positively, mind boggling and wonderful.

If you are looking for a Google Ads optimization expert, I invite you to find out more about our services today.

July 22, 2019July 20, 2019

Google Ads is Killing Remarketing and Display with Mobile Apps Delivery

McCord Web Services is a Google Partner and a Certified Google Ads Professional

In early 2019 Google did away with the ability for a Google Ads account manager to not serve ads on AdSense for Mobile Apps. In May and June this year, across diverse business sectors we have seen a striking trend of strong ad serving to mobile apps in the Display and Remarketing space that is killing account performance.

Here’s what we see in a nutshell.

Clicks to mobile apps are up strongly.

2. Cost per click is $.01 to $.08 to mobile apps.

3. Impressions are up very strongly.

4. Conversions are non-existent.

5. Ad serving budgets are mostly served in mobile apps.

6. The quality of the automatic app placement are game and kid-related.

See the Proof

To put this in perspective, we have attached a few screen shots that illustrate this huge change in ad serving that is killing the value of Display and Remarketing for client use.

Client One – Display 1/1/19 to 7/19/19 – shows a Display program note in May the strong increase in clicks (blue line) and strong drop in conversions (red line).

Client One – Remarketing 1/1/19 to 7/19/19 – shows a Remarketing program. Note in May the strong increase in clicks (blue line) and strong drop in conversions (red line).

A Trend Across Diverse Business Sectors

Both performance graphs above are for one client. But, that is just an illustration of this important trend. For further illustration are results from other clients. Multiple this by all clients we manage and we know that this is not an isolated incidence or one of a setting update.

Client Two – Remarketing 1/1/19 to 7/19/19 – shows a Remarketing program. Note as early as February the performance drop and strong clicks (blue line) in April, May, and June with no conversions (red line).

Client Three – Remarketing 1/1/19 to 7/19/19 – shows a Remarketing program. Note the click spike in April and May. The earlier drop is due to our moving out of the space due to quality due to no conversions and inability to stop the proliferation of poor quality Mobile App placements.

The key takeaway on all this, is that Google has clearly made a first quarter change in automatic placements, of which you have no control, in all bidding algorithms for Remarketing and Display programs.

How to You Fix This Problem to Return Display and Remarketing to Performance?

Right now, we am testing some options. One includes weekly rules that run on Sunday to pause Mobile App placements that have high clicks and no conversions. We are not sure that this will work to stem the drop in activity as Google may simply replace the pause placements with other poor placements. Google may not even pause the placement as it is an automatic placement not a account selected placement.

For other clients, we have either dropped budget significantly in Display and Remarketing, moved totally out of mobile using a -100% device bid, culled out high dollar mobile sites as exclusions, or even stopped programs entirely.

We are hopeful over time that Google will see the drop in client investment in these spaces as a red flag and adjust their ad serving algorithm to allow account managers greater control over where their ads appear in the Display network.

June 3, 2019May 27, 2019

Tips for Analyzing if Google Ads is Working for You Part One

Be on target with deciding what conversions to let the Google AI base bidding on. — Make sure that Google Ads is bringing you the clients you want.

Often I am asked by clients “how can I analyze if Google Ads is working for me?” It is important that when using Google Ads that it is an investment in growing your business and not an expense.

For low tech clients who do not have the time or will to do analysis, the easiest way is to turn off your Google Ads program and see what happens. For many who try this route, we will typically get phone calls after about 30-60 days and the client says “my phone just stopped ringing, please turn on Google Ads again.”

For those with a more technical and analytical background, here are my tips to analyze if Google Ads is working for you.

First, assure that you are using email conversion tracking, website phone call tracking, and click to call ad tracking. If you are not, then implement those items before doing any further analysis. Then allow data to accrue for a minimum of 30 days.

Second, if you have already been tracking conversions, review your conversion statistics in Google Ads. I consider click to call actions less valuable for the majority of my clients, but consider calls from the website and completed email forms of high value. Look at the number of calls and time on the call from the Google Ads report center.

If you are still not sure about calls – and I have to say these are the most plentiful conversion numbers for all clients we work with as customers/prospects have moved from email to calling. Consider subscribing to Call Rail, so that you can actually hear the calls that come in. It may be that your staff is dropping the ball on closing calls and that the problem is personnel related and not Google Ads related.

Please visit my blog again on Wednesday for the completion of this important blog post.

May 29, 2019May 25, 2019

Do You Really Want to Self Manage Your Google Ads Account?

Have you visited the Google Ads control panel lately? Even if you feel you are accomplished in your job, you may find the Google Ads interface complex and intimidating.

Add to this that many of the recommendations in the Opportunities tab really need a skilled professional to review in regards to account impact before enacting. You can easily kill your Google Ads activity through ignorance of the system.

You have options for managing your Google Ads effectively before you throw in the towel and try to go it alone.

For our small business owners we offer paid by the hour review, account optimizations and three month oversight to assure all is well and then quarterly tune-ups.

As complex as Google Ads now is, it pays to have a professional and experience account manager directing your Google Ads marketing efforts.

We’d be glad to chat with you about your individual needs. Just contact us today.

March 25, 2019March 22, 2019

Google Ads Management Fees- How Low Can You Go

As more businesses feel pressure to squeeze every cent from Google Ads advertisements, one area that you should not skimp on is the quality of your Google Ads account manager.

Most Google Ads account management services and account managers will charge about 10% of your scheduled ad spend to manage your account. If your ad budget is $7,000 for clicks this turns into $700 for your manager to make changes and monitor your account.

My firm takes a different approach, we bill by the hour for our time. To make it easy to understand our services, we have a grid showing estimated time to manage your program based on ad spend or number of running ad groups. You then buy a certain amount of hours from us monthly and we use this time to manage your account, perform analysis, to provide reporting and to strategize with you as needed on performance and improvements.

For the client with a $7,000 ad spend that would have paid $700 for account management, our fee would have been $450. That is 36% less than the typical account manager.

As a Google Partner and Certified Google Ads Professional, you can be assured that even with a less expensive management fee, you are getting quality service.

To find out more about our programs, I invite you to visit our website and review our pricing and management programs.