Performance Basics: Conversions and ROI Defined
There’s an old marketing joke that goes, “I know half my advertising works, I just don’t know which half.” Advertising is only effective if it generates measurable results for a business. In the past, determining whether an ad was a good investment required a lot of guesswork. Advanced technology now makes it possible to determine when an ad leads to a conversion.
Conversions
The term ‘conversion’ usually refers to turning a non-customer into a customer. If, for example, someone clicks on an AdWords ad and buys something on the associated site, the click counts as a conversion from a site visit to a site sale (the visitor is converted to a customer).
Since different businesses can have different advertising goals, ‘conversion’ can actually have a variety of meanings. For example, a conversion can refer to any of the following:
• A purchase. For example, a visitor purchases a digital camera.
• A sales lead. For example, a visitor submits his contact information to get an insurance quote.
• A download. For example, a prospective buyer downloads a research paper about a company’s software capabilities.
• A subscription. For example, a new subscriber completes the sign-up process for a newsletter.
• A page view. For example, a visitor looks at an important webpage on a website. Read more
Tracking Performance
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students should be able to:
• Gather data to determine if a website and ads are a good investment
• Read AdWords reports
• Evaluate ROI for an advertising program
• Use and interpret AdWords conversion tracking tools
• Use and interpret Google Analytics
Google Advertising Professional Exam Preparation
To prepare for the GAP qualification exam, study the following information at the AdWords Learning Center (www.google.com/adwords/learningcenter):
• “Local Business Ads”
• “Mobile Ads”
Local & Mobile Advertising Read more
Integrating Local with Mobile: Google Maps for Mobile
Google sometimes shows local business ads for relevant searches made on mobile devices (www.google.com/gmm), as shown in Image 5-4. Google Maps for mobile is a mapping program for mobile devices. Since ads that appear in mobile search results contain only two lines of text, local business ads may show in a shortened form on mobile searches. (Currently, advertisers aren’t charged for impressions or clicks accrued by local business ads in mobile searches.)
Image 5-4: A local business ad appears on Google Maps for Mobile.
Google Text Messaging
Users can view Google search results using simple messaging service (SMS) text messaging. To use Google SMS, users send a text message of a search query to 466453 (‘GOOGLE’ on most devices). Google runs a search and texts back the results. Some examples of Google SMS queries appear in the table below.
Search Features
Example query
Local Listings
pizza 94040
Movies
Casablanca 9411110
Prices
price ipod player 40gb
Text versions of local business ads can also appear in Google SMS query results. Due to the limited amount of space in the SMS format, ad text may not be included in its entirety. However, the advertiser’s business name and contact information is included (Image 5-5.) Read more
Mobile Ads: Advertising on the Go
Searchers can see AdWords ads just about anywhere—not just in front of their computer screens. Google shows AdWords ads for searches made on mobile devices, like web-enabled cell phones, smart phones, or personal digital assistants (PDAs). These ads are called mobile ads.
Mobile ads are short, text-based AdWords ads that contain two lines of text, with a limit of 12 or 18 characters per line (depending on the language the ad is written in). Users have two options when viewing a mobile ad:
• Click through to the advertiser’s mobile webpage (the advertiser’s display URL appears in the ad’s third line)
Call the business phone listed. A ‘Call’ link will appear next to the display URL. The user clicks the link, enters his number, and Google connects the user to the business for free.
Image: 5-3: A mobile ad.
More: A mobile web page is a version of the advertiser’s website that is formatted to display on mobile phones. A mobile web page is written in a mobile markup language, such as XHTML, WML, or CHTML. Read more
Getting on the Map: Creating Local Business Ads
Almost anyone in the United States can create a local business listing for free through the Google Local Business Center (google.com/local/add); there is no charge to the business to appear on Google Maps. There are two steps AdWords advertisers must take to enable local business ads to run on Google, Google Maps, and search sites in the Google Network:
1
. Create a business listing in Google Maps
2. Create AdWords local business ads
Step 1: Create a Local Business Center Listing
Advertisers first need to add their business listing to Google’s Local Business Center. Since Google verifies that the business address is correct, it can take several days before a local business ad starts to run. After Google initially verifies the address, advertisers can edit listings as often as they like. Changes are reflected in search results within six weeks. Read more
Going Local: About Local Business Ads
Local business ads are AdWords ads associated with a specific geographical location. They can appear when a user searches for specific businesses or services in the user’s geographic area. This option gives advertisers a good way to reach local customers. For example, a user searching for dentists in Palo Alto, California, might type ‘dentist Palo Alto, CA’ on Google.com. Like Yellow Page listings, Google displays a list of dentists in or near Palo Alto, as shown in Image 5-1.
Image 5-1: Local results for search ‘dentist Palo Alto, CA.’
Local business ads are eligible to appear in two places:
• On Google Maps (maps.google.com) in the enhanced manner shown in Image 5-2.
• In the regular text-only format on Google.com and other sites in the Google
search network. Read more
Local & Mobile Advertising
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students should be able to:
• Describe local and mobile ad formats
• Explain how local and mobiles ads work
• Discuss the audience for these ads
• List the benefits and disadvantages of these formats
• Describe the targeting options for mobile ads
Helpful Links
Google AdWords Editorial Guidelines:
https://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=6129
Live Video Ad Demo Page:
http://www.google.com/adwords/videoadsdemo.html
78 | Image and Video Ads Read more
Google Advertising Professional Exam Preparation
To prepare for the Google Advertising Professional exam, study the following lessons at the AdWords Learning Center (www.google.com/adwords/learningcenter):
• “Creating Image and Animated Ads”
• “Creating a Video Ad”
