Knowledge is the Foundation To Success  

There are various scenarios that may require pay-per-click (PPC) advertisers to update their ads’ destination URLs at Google AdWords. For example, URLs may need to be modified when implementing call tracking, testing new landing pages or adding new tracking URLs. While advertisers could simply change the destination URL in each AdWords ad, this is likely not the best solution. By changing the destination URL, or any variable associated with an AdWords ad, the ad then loses the valuable performance history it has established in the account (ad performance history is one of the many variabels used to determine Quality Score). This action causes the ad to be treated just like a brand new ad, even though just the destination URL changed.

Here at JumpFly, we frequently hear from advertisers who share examples of successfully running Google AdWords ads that were modified for one reason or another, and could then never recapture the results previously achieved. I am sure this can be incredibly frustrating, but fortunately it can be easily avoided!

Secret #1: Never initially delete successful ads in Google AdWords accounts!
If ad changes are needed, initially pausing successful ads and creating new ones, rather than deleting ads, is a really good idea so you can just turn them back on later if desired. Unused ads can always be permanently deleted later.

Secret #2: Change destination URLs at the keyword level to prevent disrupting ad performance
This is a critical concept to be familiar with and understand. Ads can be redirected to a different destination URL at the keyword level without changing the destination URL in the ad itself. This feature enables advertisers to change destination URLs without losing the ad’s performance history. This is a valuable tool, but depending on the size of the AdWords account, might seem like an overwhelming task. Fortunatley, AdWords Editor is here to the rescue.

Secret #3: Use AdWords Editor to update destination URLs
Once again, Google AdWords Editor enables advertisers to manage accounts much more efficiently. In AdWords Editor, users can easily upload a new destination URL to all the terms in an account in an instant. Amazing. Time saving. Powerful. Using AdWords Editor for managing Google AdWords accounts is a must.

Now go download AdWords Editor today! You won’t regret it.

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There is a debate among PPC management experts about whether it is better to set your ads to rotate evenly or whether you should let Google show the “winning” ad more often.

The Case for Rotating Evenly
If you are going to truly Split Test your ads, you must show them evenly and randomly to a wide range of visitors.  The ability to rotate two ads with only one small difference allows you to run a true Split Test.

Additionally, Google’s optimize feature works on CTR and not your conversion rate.  So you could have an ad that is “winning” the split test on CTR but not converting nearly as well as the other ad.  Since Google’s optimization doesn’t consider the conversion rate, the true winner starts showing less and less.

The Case for Optimizing to Performance
When you rotate your ads evenly, you could be adversely affecting your business.  Showing an ad that does not pull Visitors to Your Site – even for a little while – is causing missed traffic and missed opportunity.

Google’s Optimize feature allows you to automatically show a winning ad more often to your visitor.  This increases overall CTR which we know increases the performance while decreasing the cost of a campaign.

So what is one to do?  You need to look at your business goals and decide between the two based on both your goals and your time available to monitor ad group progress.

One option we use quite often is to start out a new campaign using rotate while we closely monitor the performance over a short period of time.  Once we are sure we have strong, pulling ads, we turn it over to optimize to be sure those ads are doing their job.  Most of our customers want to focus on the most targeted traffic at the lowest cost which is achieved through the optimize feature.

Yes, it’s only August but it certainly is not too early to start thinking about your holiday PPC management. This year has definitely been slow, so it will be nice to put some Ho Ho Ho in your PPC campaigns.

Don’t assume that your current finely tuned bids and positions are going to get you the business you want for the holiday buying season. Take a look at last year’s holiday data if you were running campaigns last holiday and compare where your bids and positions were then in relation to where they are now. There is often room, and often a need, to get a bit more aggressive during the peak buying season.

Check your old ad copy. Did you have a special ad running during the holiday that drove good conversions? You may want to re-visit those ads and run the same kind of holiday special with an even more aggressive call to action. If you didn’t do anything special last holiday season for your ad copy, you may want to consider trying some holiday-flavored ad copy this year. One word of caution, though. If you are trying out some new ad copy, I highly recommend PAUSING your existing ad copy instead of re-writing it and losing all of its click-thru history. Then, once the holiday season is over, you can resume your existing ad copy with its history preserved.

Here are last years Holiday tips from Google AdWords.

Santa Clause is coming. Are you ready?