From 3rd Party To 1st Party: The Evolution Of The Google Advertising Toolset

A year ago, I was firmly anti-Google. Not in the sense that I disliked Google — I just felt that Google did not provide the best tools in the business to analyze and make decisions on their own advertising placements.

When asked if an advertiser should consider a 3rd party technology to help manage ad spend, I would undoubtedly say “yes” because Google Analytics, AdWords, and Merchant Center were (and remain) imperfectly bound systems requiring a lot of proprietary work to merge and make informed decisions.

Much has changed in the last year. Google has made some significant changes (PLA, rules-based and improved algorithmic bidding, attribution modeling, enhanced campaigns…), making it increasingly difficult to leverage third party tools to gain an advantage over free tools like AdWords and Google Analytics. Having been on the inside at a technology house and heavily involved in marketing third party technologies, this is a difficult reality to embrace.

I’m going to go through the historical pros and present realities of 3rd party paid search technology platforms versus their free ad server counterparts (AdWords, Bing Ads, and Google Analytics). For the record, I have no personal bias toward or against particular technologies and all statements below are generalized toward the entire industry.

One of the most blatant shortcomings in the Google tracking ecosystem has always been conversion tracking — AdWords conversion events and Analytics goals/e-commerce tracking.

AdWords Tracking Setup

The inability to create composite tracking events, parse conversions event types for bidding, or modify conversion data after the fact can be frustrating if you depend on AdWords or Google Analytics as the only means of tracking conversions for your marketing program.

Google Analytics Goal Setup

Third-party providers have stepped in to provide comprehensive and flexible tracking systems with deep integration capabilities. But, while it sounds nice in a pitch, complex tracking integrations are only relevant if you have complex tracking demands. Some businesses require complex tracking solutions such as composite metrics or latent conversion attribution; however, the reality is that most advertisers have simple advertising tracking demands – either a CPA (cost-per-acquisition) or ROI (return-on-investment).

AdWords, Bing Ads and GA all do a very good job with CPA and ROI. And, with a little legwork and a half-decent internal database, most tracking needs can be distilled down to a CPA: the average net present value of a conversion.

Building on the relevance of simple tracking demands, at face value, AdWords offers a fairly similar tool set compared to even the most flexible 3rd party platforms:

AdWords Manual CPC BiddingRules based biddingAlgorithmic rank based biddingAlgorithmic CPA based bidding3rd Party Software Manual CPC BiddingRules based biddingAlgorithmic rank based biddingAlgorithmic CPA based biddingAlgorithmic ROI based bidding

Without any additional analysis, the only way to manage to a performance metric in AdWords that’s not CPA is via rules — an option that has been around for years and refined via 3rd party tools, but only a recent addition for AdWords.

As previously mentioned, any revenue-based metric can be distilled down to a CPA, and as the ad server, Google has a massive advantage over any other algorithmic bid management provider.

Consider the number of variables a 3rd party system can leverage for bidding in AdWords: in the enhanced campaign environment there are 2 bids per keyword (Computer/Tablet & Mobile). If the platform is robust, it may offer up to 8 day-parts, making 16 possible bids per day per keyword.

On the other hand, AdWords conversion optimizer can manipulate bids for all three devices, across both Google.com and search partner networks per unique impression. That’s several orders of magnitude of variance in possible bids per day!

The most common argument against conversion optimizer is that it’s a black box – but so are 3rd party platform algorithms. The inherent advantage of the ad server is too much to ignore.

Prior to Enhanced campaigns, marketers had a clear incentive to segment campaigns by as many values as possible to best understand unique click and conversion behaviors by device, network, etc. Take a comprehensive account with 50 campaigns and break it apart by three devices (computer, tablet, mobile) and three operating systems (windows, mac/iOS and others), and you’ve got a 450-campaign behemoth that’s borderline unmanageable due to size constraints.

Accounts that get too big become extraordinarily difficult to manage and manipulate as even the simplest tasks require mind-numbing repetition leading to human error.

As a result, 3rd party platforms are built around automated processes and scripted bulk changes evolved to bear the burden of repetition.

For better or for worse, Enhanced Campaigns force marketers to reduce that load back down to, in my previous example, 50 campaigns – effectively negating the benefits provided by the 3rd party tool sets designed to streamline bulk processes.

With all this talk about AdWords, we can’t forget about Bing Ads. A fleshed out Bing Ads account can make up 15-25% of overall volume in a paid search effort, so it’s nothing to scoff at. While Bing Ads lacks the same feature-rich design of AdWords, it does offer a very capable on- and offline editor. With a little elbow grease and offline analysis, AdWords bidding practices can be incorporated into Bing Ads.

With no proprietary bidding technology, we cannot rely on an algorithmic conversion optimizer to set bids for us in Bing. Fortunately, the very same tool we use to identify goal CPAs can be modified to calculate goal CPCs.

Consider the following known formulas:

CPA = Cost / ConversionCPC = Cost / ClickConversion = Conv Rate x Clicks

Doing some quick substitution:

CPA = Cost / (Clicks x Conv Rate)CPA x Clicks x Conv Rate = CostCost / Clicks = CPA x Conv RateCPC = CPA x Conv Rate

So, we can take calculated goal CPA (net present value AOV) multiplied by conversion rate to identify a goal CPC at a keyword level.

Third-party software solutions exist to fill in the gaps where proprietary software falls short. For many years now, tools like Marin Software, Kenshoo, Adobe Omniture, and countless others have delivered enterprise-level tool sets designed to make up for shortcomings in the AdWords and Google Analytics tracking and management systems.

But, with the bevy of recent updates and changes, these platforms are struggling to maintain the edge that has made the search technology industry relevant. Keeping up with AdWords/GA has become the primary objective. Google is laying down the challenge to yet another industry: add value or move on.

Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

Related Topics: Google: AdWords | Google: Analytics | Microsoft: Bing Ads | Search & Analytics

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Why your site needs of PPC advertising

If your business is a well-known giant among consumers, or whether it is a largely unknown upstart trying to make a name for itself in the digital age, your business and website business could benefit greatly from a professionally designed and implemented Pay-Per-Click (PPC) marketing strategy.  The PPC advertising model tool the Internet can be extremely effective in directing large amounts of traffic to your website.  Payment facilities and the cost of this advertising strategy are what are often more attractive than this form of marketing.  Generally, when you use a PPC model, Internet traffic is directed to your website strategically placed ads often found on search engines and highly trafficked websites.  Advertisers send payment for publishers of Web sites, which typically is the owner of the site, based on when the ad particularly (or ads) are actually clicked.  This form of payment structure can be very attractive for companies looking for an effective way to reach new visitors and customers without having to pay the price for a large scale blanket advertising campaign.

PPC advertising tries to make the best use of destination marketing and therefore can be used to generate the increased volumes of targeted traffic to your company's website.  As part of an initiative by PPC, Internet users can see its advertisements that relate to what they have done or affect the contents of the current Web site they are visiting.  In this way, the ads are presented to those who are interested in said content and material and thus will be much more likely to click on ads because they would be something that the user has already shown an interest.  And then only when an affected user actually clicks on your ad they pay for advertising.  This type of advertising model will help reduce the number of visitors a-interested that may occur on your website business and then leave immediately because it was not the type of content, goods and services, or material you were looking for.  If you look at the big picture here, this is not simply another way to invest your money in advertising and marketing, this is essentially a way that you can – literally and simply – buy targeted traffic for your website.

This form of advertising and marketing may seem simple and easy to put together and orchestrate, but there's actually a lot of thought to that must go into planning such an initiative.  Because of this, unless you, yourself, are a professional in this field and have a lot of experience putting together, these types of strategies should definitely seek the guidance and assistance of a professional organization.  A company that offers professional services of PPC will be able to discuss the objectives, strategies and motivations of your specific company and will be able to discuss current market trends and current market influence with you directly and you will be able to build a custom package of PPC advertising that is right for you, for your company and for your advertising budget.  They also have the knowledge and experience required to manage PPC advertising campaign and adjust it to suit your needs with success based on practices and current market fluctuations.

Another important reason you want a provider of PPC campaign management service professional for you and your business, is that there is a great need, and it is extremely important to keep an eye on how well they are working the current campaign strategies and what you might need to change in the future.  A good PPC service provider should be able to give constant attention to the campaign and the monitor at all times.  This kind of detail is important to service hammer before accepting any service contract type of PPC advertising actually.  Your PPC service provider should be able to take note of all of the important information and interesting on your advertising campaign and therefore should be able to present this information directly and regularly and be able to advise you on strategies and what options are available to you so you can respond to each of the results appropriately and effectively.  The PPC advertising service should also be able to provide you with website promotion tips and other useful information in order to make the most of your existing advertising practices, strategies and campaigns.  And in turn and your business should begin to reap the benefits of such an initiative in the form of finely tuned increased premium traffic for your website.

Some of the most important information on your particular PPC advertising campaign are things like conversion rates, where your web traffic is found and what said traffic is looking for.  The PPC service company should have enough experience and understanding to choose the keywords relevant and suitable for business ads can work to build high quality cables for you and your company as well.  In addition to all these things, a good PPC service will also have responsibility for the management, maintenance and design of business budget over the entire country, making sure that you are aware of all the details of your account during the entire process.  So, while you may feel you are skilled enough in terms of adjusting for your PPC advertising campaign, and we have also taken a course in Internet marketing, due to the importance and complexity of operation and execution of a PPC strategy, is something that really would be in your best interest to leave to the professionals handle.

Pay Per Click advertising is an excellent tool that is available for your company's website generate website traffic.  Web traffic and not just random, but high quality targeted traffic that has already shown an interest in the types of goods and services can offer your business.  The world of online marketing is rapidly changing and evolving.  It is also extremely competitive.  So give your business the edge it needs and have a custom PPC built for you and your business advertising campaign today.

Tags: ppc advertising, PPC service

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 3, 2012 at 11:15 and is filed under PPC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Internet advertising makes the business world Go Round

A successful business, no matter the size, depend on customers, urging his goods or services in order to be profitable.  A business without customers it's kind of like a car without an engine, not only can be workable.  Flood announcements almost every aspect of our lives these days.  If you turn on the radio and listen to any station, chances are that you don't have to listen to long before you hear a kind of advertising.  The same thing applies to other forms of media such as magazines and newspapers.  Usually there is no need to turn too many pages before you are greeted with an ad.  Commercials are common for every channel you watch.  The reason why advertising is so rampant in virtually every venue, is because it is by way of advertising that businesses and corporations to get noticed and almost every company out there is trying hard to get noticed and is vying for your attention and more importantly, for your business.

Advertising is growing, developing and evolving over the years and can come in many shapes and sizes.  Online advertising on the Internet is one of the most important avenues that your business may have to get new potential customers and generate targeted web traffic and increase website traffic.  Your company's Web site should not be just a bunch of stagnant bits and bytes that you hope people will visit a day if you are lucky enough to have displayed in the search results.  Business website should be a finely tuned machine that reaches the corners of the World Wide Web to convince new customers and new visitors to solicit goods and services which are located within.  This kind of effect and the far-reaching influence can only be achieved through a successful marketing campaign designed to greatly increase Web site traffic.  When you pay for an advertising campaign, it is as if you were to buy visitors and to buy targeted traffic for your website.  Advertising can be as simple or complex as you want it to be, but in order to implement a successful publicity initiative really, really you should seek the services of a professional advertising company to help you in your efforts.  A professional advertising agency knows the ins and outs of the industry and can work with you directly to set up a custom campaign that fits better, your business and your budget.

There are many forms of online advertising and all have different advantages and disadvantages.  Your company's advertising service can work with you to determine which types of advertising would be best suited for your particular business.  So let's go over some of the available forms of online marketing and advertising so you can get a better idea of what might be the options available.  One of the simplest forms of online advertising is the use of simple text ads.  These forms of advertising are displayed as blocks of Internet links, text-based.  These ad types do not contain images, charts or other forms of eye-candy.  They are typically sold and distributed on the web search not sites and can be served in a variety of ways.  Because of their simplicity, generally don't cost much to start with.  But without any kind of visual draw, often times you'll have to come up with some fancy text and text in order distinguish themselves from the crowd.

Another form of online advertising comes in the form of display ads.  Generally, any type of graphic designer who appeared on a Web site or web application is known as a display ad.  This form of advertising can come in many different sizes and shapes and can leave the door wide open for graphic advertising creative and convincing.  Some formats for viewing ads include banners, large boxes, "skyscrapers", leader boards and others.  Display ads are based on catchy, eye-popping visuals to be noticed and attract customers.  One of the challenges with a display ad is finding the right balance of design flair and useful information.  If you have too much talent then the point and the intent of the ad can get lost and smothered.  On the other hand, if the ad contains too much information viewers can't see as well, or will be less inclined to look over all the information that it presents and just scan over it.  But, if done right, this form of advertising can be a very successful website promotion and to attract quality traffic to your website.

Pop-up ads are another form of advertising that may be right for you and your business.  These are types of advertisements that appear to "pop up" in a new frame or window on the site that I use is currently visiting.  Other names for this form of advertisement are floating ads, hover ads, slide-in ads, etc.  And sometimes this type of advertising can be reversed, i.e., instead of popping up, the ad frame appears below, as it appears below or beneath the current web content being watched.  This type of advertising can be useful in making sure that visitors see advertisements for throwing it directly to them, however, in recent years the use of pop-up blockers has greatly increased which can prevent pop-up ads to be seen at all.

There are many other types and forms of online advertising that might be right for you and your company.  But the above formats will hopefully give you a better idea of what options are available and give you some basic knowledge to argue with your advertising service provider.  Advertising is essential for any business website and it is a great success for the promotion of your Web site and increase Web site traffic.  To create a profitable business, you need customers, and to create an account, you will need to advertise, so don't hesitate to start improving the initiative of advertising your business.

Tags: internet advertising, Web site traffic

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 10, 2012 at 11:19 and is filed under advertising on the Internet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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