Partially because of the $5 entry threshold and the way Google has marketed AdWords as a Do-It-Yourself product they have a mess on their hands. The problems created by the come-one-come-all experiment in advertising for the masses are many. But primary in my mind are fraud due to misrepresentation and loss due to simple unfamiliarity with the complexities of AdWords. The list of particulars in types of fraud and the frustrations of “casual” users is long. Which makes the situation all the more difficult to address.

But something had to be done.

In my opinion the latest rash of AdWords bans, suspensions, and Quality Score slaps is another step toward Google addressing the issues of fraudsters, their unwitting victims/accomplices, and those that just don’t have any business spending money, anyone’s money, on AdWords. But I have to speak out about the “results” I am experiencing due to their current methods.

This latest round has touched close to my small Agency that specializes in AdWords. I find myself caught between a credible client and the secrecy of Google.

The language they use for some ban/suspensions is so nebulous it leads to suspicion between clients and their different vendors. “ .. account is found to be in relation to another AdWords account …” Plus, there are signs that the AdWords Support and Review teams are overwhelmed and under staffed. This compounds the suspicion of some percentage of bans due to simple mistake.

Because I work in the Small Business Market it seems I now am close to the current front line of an AdWords War on Terror and Ignorance. Collateral damage is already being inflicted, in angst, monetary loss, and loss of time to me and client. My client has been condemned as in some way unacceptable, or has been deemed an acceptable casualty. My losses too, it seems, are acceptable. I am not convinced this kind of damage is necessary.

Because of some “relation” of account and/or person to some other suspended account and/or person.

Google will shed no more light than that. Basically the reason being given is that saying any more would give unfair advantage to the Bad Guys. (which are apparently hiding amongst the good guys)

It is giving my liberal backbone the creeps.

-Tom Hale

Most in the know believe clickthrough rate is the most important of many factors that go into Quality Score.

For me, the next most important factor has got to be “relevance”.

Relevance can be defined in terms of how well you have integrated these elements:

-The searcher intent when using a particular keyword in a search query.
-The ad copy
-The landing page

Basic SEO and AdWords Best Practices will help cover these bases. Let’s take a look at the product Golden Widgets. Here’s your checklist:

Searcher Intent

-Get in the mind of the majority of searchers. Google has. Know if you have an intent problem. For instance, if Golden Widgets is the name of a popular TV show, and you are selling fancy doorknobs called Golden Widgets, you have a searcher intent problem that is going to make Quality Score a challenge. Awareness of the problem is the first step in dealing with it.

The Ad Copy

-Golden Widgets in the header.
-Golden Widgets in the two line body
-Golden-Widgets in the display URL

To the extent you can do this naturally anyway. It is more important to have compelling ad copy than have it stuffed with keywords.

The Landing Page

I am not an SEO “expert”, but my understanding is that these elements represent much of SEO basic best practices.

-Golden Widgets in the URL
-Golden Widgets in the Title Tag
-Golden Widgets in the Header
-Content relevant to what most are looking for when they use that search term (pivoting, without bait and switch, to your goal as artfully as possible)

So we come full circle with searcher intent. As it should be. Quality Score is Google’s best guess at how aligned your advertising is to the needs and desires of the searcher, both before and after the click.

If the same keyword means one thing to a majority of searchers, and another within the context of your website, then the harder it is going to be to implement this strategy. Do the best you can without looking spammy, or making the searcher feel mislead.

I understand that the above template may not be practical or desirable in many situations. But as a guideline, it is not a bad way at all to think of Quality Score

One last reminder, any pundit’s advice is only as good as the test you can put it to. Any “hot tip” should be looked at as fodder for testing, not as a silver bullet.

-Tom Hale
AdWords Specilaist

AdWords Help Experts is a team of Google AdWords Help Forum Top Contributors that have banded together to help people looking for practical assistance with AdWords.

I have been following the work of my fellow Top Contributors for the last few years and am very proud to be part of this group. These folks all know their stuff and have their moral and ethical house in order too. Which unfortunately can’t be said of far too many companies and individuals in the Search Marketing industry.

-Tom Hale

The role of consultant to those larger businesses that do their AdWords in-house is obvious.  They want the control of in-house management but realize that to get such staff trained and continually polished may take an outside expert or specialist.

Something that fascinates me as having a huge upside, is being a consultant to the smaller of these businesses. It is challenging, because you are often dealing with stretched-thin entrepreneurs that need things condensed, streamlined, and easy to implement without a steep learning curve.

Thomas Creek Concepts hopes to be developing programs in 2009 that act as training-consulting to small business entrepreneurs that just do not feel they are yet in a position to hire outside professional management.

This will be quite a challenge.

AdWords bloggers, experts, talking heads and the like are becoming quite common. But most do not address the temporal realities of small business owners and entrepreneurs. At conference after conference I see folks madly scribbling notes that I know are unlikely to be implemented when they get back to the office. Because what they do not have a simple clear strategy.

Seems to me there is a huge market out there that is more concerned about learning EFFICIENT cost effective AdWords strategies that are appropriate to the scope of their ad buy than they are about an “expert” dazzling them with the latest bleeding edge theories or just rehashing AdWords best practices documentation.

AdWords Consulting and Management for the harried and hectic has a lot of potential growth.

Stay tuned, or contact us to explore how we may act as your AdWords Consultant, big or small.

-Tom Hale, AdWords Specialist

SEMpdx is an organization based in Portland, Oregon whose mission is to inform and educate area businesses on the benefits of SEM to bottom line revenue.

I have dabbled in a few professional organizations but these folks without a doubt are my professional peeps. Not only are they top drwaer search marketers but they also call my beloved Portland home base.

Even if you are not Portland-centric you should think of joining if Search Marketing plays a role in your professional life.  

There is also an SEMpdx Forum where you can ask search specific questions or make search specific industry observations.

My roles at SEMpdx that landed me on the Advisory Board are that of Forum Moderator and occasional Educator at events such as Hot Seat.

Hope to see you at an SEMpdx event or online in the SEMpdx Forum.

Tom Hale
AdWords Specialist

The panel will evaluate several websites from a PPC point of view. My particular focus will be AdWords Quality Score.

SEMpdx Hot Seats are a great way to get professional Search Marketing perspectives on real individual websites. Whether you are having your website reviewed, or you are just there to hear the expert advice, if Search Marketing is on your 2009 to-do list then you should consider joining us for this Hot Seat, also you should consider becoming an SEMpdx member.

Hope to see you there.

Tom Hale
AdWords Specialist

This eleven minute piece provides an overview of AdWords from my perspective: That of a Specialist serving Small Business.

Podcast – The Power of AdWords for Small Business

Related and Popular Posts:

Ideal AdWords Relationships
Strategic Truth
Unintentional AdWords Evil

-T

Tom Hale
AdWords Specialist – Internet Strategist

http://ThomasCreekConcepts.com/

http://forum.sempdx.org/

But based on experience I have identified some characteristics that lead to success. Success being a long term client for me due to that client in turn having their own success (money/profit) due to my efforts. Now keep in mind that I am primarily an AdWords specialist, I do broader PPC (pay-per-click) work and some SEO (Search Engine Optimization) advising for my longer term clients, but my core competency, what I market, is Google AdWords management, consulting, and setup. In addition my focus is small business, so what I consider ideal qualities in client relationships may not be the same as a full blown search agency looking for Fortune 500 clients.

Here is the elevator speech version that I have been using for sometime now when I tell people what I consider an ideal prospect.

“I have had a lot of success with clients that have come to me after they have been managing their own AdWords account for a period of time.”

Why? Those clients have usually already established several key elements.

1 – They know AdWords can be profitable, or has a high chance of being profitable, for their enterprise.

2- They know this because they have Analytics and a strong Conversion Strategy in place.

3- They know they do not have the time or expertise to take things to a higher level of profit.

Someone that fits this profile is also in a better position to appreciate what I do.

Now that doesn’t mean I have not had success with clients that deviate from the above profile. But to paraphrase something said to me by an SEM noteworthy, Kent Lewis – “A promising client has the attitude and resources that enable us to help them.” As SEM professionals know, success can hinge on the communication and coordination they have with their clients.

So let’s look at this from another angle, what are the problems that must be addressed if a prospect does not fit the ideal profile.

1- If a prospect has little or no experience with AdWords their expectations have to be adjusted. Google makes AdWords seem so simple, so easy to get into, and makes it sound so obviously effective, that it creates unreal expectations for the uninitiated. That is why I have stuck to a low level initial period with clients, find out where reality is before you get too deep. This is tough because so much work can go into AdWords upfront. But my model is based on retaining current clients, not churning new ones. I want to flush out unreasonable expectations as immediately as possible with as little pain as possible for all involved, not farther into the relationship where unaddressed expectations can lead to dissatisfaction. A low level initial period (both in time and money) eases the pressures as things such as expectations, goals, and methods are initially explored. As I said, this is not easy given the nature of PPC. But so far I have been happier than not taking this approach. Time will tell.

2- I am most effective, substantially so, when I have a client who can work with me in implementing Analytics & ROI metrics (Google Analytics, Ecommerce, etc) and think through specific conversion strategies with me (mainly – how, when, where, and why to use the various options for AdWords Conversion Tracking). When I am in a situation where simple technical implementation is a problem, then it is a huge red flag and potential roadblock to success. As a “specialist” as opposed to a large agency, I do not have an engineer in the cubicle next to me. I can bring people in but that is of course is an expense. The optimal situation is that the client has adequate technical resources available to them already. Unfortunately my experience is that the general web development community is still not very search or metrics savvy. With exceptions of course

If a client has a documented track record (metrics) with AdWords, then they are more apt to be able to measure and appreciate my efforts. If they don’t, the value of my work is more nebulous, harder to identify.

3- Good AdWords management and analysis are time consuming. If a prospect understands this, and appreciates it, invariably they go looking for professional help. I do not know many small business people, service professionals, or entrepreneurs sitting around twiddling their thumbs. Time is money. Know when to hire a professional so you spend your time making money through your core competencies. AdWords can be a dangerous game if played too long by do-it-youselfers, regardless of the impression Google may give. Know when it is time to pass the baton to a pro.

I have longterm relationships with clients that do not fit much of the positive profile, in fact some better fit the negatives. But those clients are exceptions. For the most part my clients/prospects are a mixed bag of both positive and negative. That is real world.

To summarize, speaking for myself: Quality prospects know that AdWords work, or know enough to strongly feel it should or could work because they have metrics (measurements) that tell them so, but do not have the time or know how to take things to an even more profitable level. Such prospects have a higher rate of turning into long term satisfied clients.

Even though this piece pertains to my particular situation, I think there are parts that apply to broader SEM and SEO, and to vendors targeting mid-to-big business.

Related Links/Posts

Podcast – Listen to Market Accelerators interview of Tom Hale on the subject of Google AdWords for Small Business.

-T

Tom Hale
AdWords Specialist – Internet Strategist

http://ThomasCreekConcepts.com/

http://forum.sempdx.org/

This is in response to comments in the thread by Todd Mintz and related article, also by Todd.

—————————————-

Todd I couldn’t agree more that ideally you would have a unique landing page for each exact Keyword string. As behavioral targeting and the privacy wars heat up we may even be talking about a unique landing page path for each visitor, maybe even each visit.

But in my world of micro-business, service professionals, and e-cottage entrepreneurs that ideal is very much a pipe dream due to resources, i.e. time/money.

Also, as you note in your article, I have seem some real disasters from people that create landing pages designed to “force” visitors into taking particular actions by limiting the navigation choices. The results can be extraordinarily high bounce rates and a bad experience for the visitor, bad juju all the way around.

So for my client base I would temper the “PPC landing pages should be radically different from the rest of your site” to something a little more philosophical.

Like; If there isn’t a current website page that is acceptable as a beginning landing page, we have a real problem with the website and content in general. If we do have pages that “suffice”, then what are we doing, within the scope of resources, to move from suffice, to better than that, maybe good, even great

But overall Todd, you are as usual, right on the money. Be targeted, and be clever in navigation choices. Help the visitor as much as you can to stay focused on fulfilling whatever quest began with their Search Engine query.

That is worth saying again:

Help the visitor as much as you can to stay focused on fulfilling whatever quest began with their Search Engine query.

Without them feeling herded and bullied.

This is done with analysis, creativity, empathy, and time/money: not cookie-cutter dynamic insertion formulas, keyword overkill, or SEO tricks.

-T

Tom Hale
Internet Strategist – AdWords Specialist

http://ThomasCreekConcepts.com/

http://forum.sempdx.org/

“In my experience the content network is the fastest way possible to blow the largest amount of money in the shortest amount of time, while still getting the lowest amount of conversions. If somebody wants to show me any figures that say otherwise I’ll gladly look at them, but I’ll argue till I’m blue in the face that it’s pretty low value.”

First – Scott knows his stuff, plus he has wit and a great sense of humor which makes digesting his advice so much easier.

Second – Scott’s main beef in this post, is that Google is heavy handed in funneling people into Content Targeting. I couldn’t agree more, shows that despite their corporate creed, Google has some dark spots, evilish even.

Third – Without care, Content Targeting is indeed a monetary sink hole.

Fourth – In the interest of saving me some time, getting client permission, etc, I am going to speak from general experience, and sidestep the “figures” challenge.

Fifth – Mainly what I am pushing back against is the idea that Content Targeting is worthless at all times in all situations.

Here it goes:

I too once condemned AdWords Content Targeting outright.
Until I ate some crow.

I started seeing a pattern to these crow eating situations. Content Targeting has a better chance of out performing (lower cost per conversion) keyword search when the conversion strategy is early on in the buying cycle. In other words, the conversion isn’t a purchase or a direct lead.

Examples:

Simple Opt Ins: (free membership, newsletters, etc)
Downloads: (white papers, widgets, link bait, etc,)
Reputation Management: (views of Message, Point of View, another side of story, etc)

It is widely written that content targeting is a lousy direct response channel. Doesn’t mean it has no value in the larger value chain. I believe there is an AdWords bubble right now, for a lot of reasons. Mainly advertisers bidding on clicks without good valuation systems in place (conversion tracking, analytics), and then doing a poor job with that traffic once they have paid to get it to their site. Because of this bubble, give Content Targeting a second, careful, look.

Mind you it is still a tool with some built in peril. Placement Reports, site exclusion, super-tight ad groups and the like are all important in making Content Targeting work. But it can work.

Here are two examples where I found content targeting to be just as valid, if not more valid, than keyword search targeting.

A cross-platform chat widget: conversion goal – downloading the widget
A beta social site: conversion goal – signing up for an account

Wrap up analogy: Content Targeting is like a chain saw: if not used properly, you are going to bleed, badly. That doesn’t mean it can’t be a useful tool under the right circumstances.

Popular Posts:

Unintentional AdWords Evil
Strategic Truth

-T

Tom Hale
Internet Strategist – AdWords Specialist

http://ThomasCreekConcepts.com/

http://forum.sempdx.org/