How is search engine marketing going to change in 2018? What are the latest trends that you need your agency to be on top of? In this week’s blog post, we examine some of the top stats that provide enlightenment. 60% of Google users are unable to identify the fact that they are looking at a paid ad, rather than an organic listing (Source: Smart Insights, 2017) The average Click Through Rate (CTR) witnessed on Facebook,...
Sometimes we ponder a lot, prior to writing a blog post. This is one of those posts where we thought a lot about whether we should even write it, before doing so. We’re going to provide a comprehensive guide to how you can actively optimise a Google AdWords account. Or, to put it another way, we’re about to reveal some of the best secrets of the trade. Gulp. Why are we happy to do so? Firstly, we...
For those looking to plan a Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising campaign, there are a number of online tools available. But there is only one free tool that allows limitless access to data direct from Google: this helps to explain why Google’s Keyword Planner remains the number one choice for PPC professionals. With direct integration with Google AdWords, the Keyword Planner also enables new campaigns to be created more quickly and efficiently than might otherwise be the...
Within any Google AdWords account, at the top right of the screen, there is a section where the advertiser gets to see the latest notifications. In recent days, you may have seen this appearing in this spot: So what does this notification mean? In this blog post, we'll be offering a full explanation. Bidding strategies There are various ways of bidding within any Google AdWords campaign, but many advertisers are perhaps most familiar with the method that is known...
In the world of search engine marketing, even seasoned experts continue to learn more each day. With advertising platforms changing so frequently, not to mention high levels of activity within some industry sectors, it's an absolute necessity to keep up to date. So where do we turn when we want the latest information on Pay Per Click (PPC) marketing developments? Here's our list of the top 5 sources of news, views and insights: Search Engine Land The Search...
Retail Business Technology Expo (RBTE) 2017 was a two-day event, which took place at London Olympia. The exhibition is billed as the UK's biggest and fastest growing annual event for retail and hospitality. As a Google Partner agency, with a particular interest in this area, we ensured that we had a presence at RBTE 2017. Over the coming days, we'll be posting a series of articles highlighting the main "takeaways" from the event. With registered speakers and attendees...
Whatever form of marketing activity you have in mind, you are probably looking to produce a positive return on investment (ROI). But have you got the foundations in place, so that you can reach that objective? In this article, I'll show you how to make the perfect start. [bctt tweet="The crucial first step to producing positive ROI" username="searchsouth"] Do you know what ROI really means? It's a stupid question, of course! You understand, as I do, that ROI refers...
In this blog post, we’ll be talking about how you can find better keywords for your AdWords campaigns. We’ll talk about keyword discovery, measuring competition and some tools that can make the job that bit easier. What is a keyword? When we visit our preferred search engine, we enter a phrase in order to access information. If we’re looking to buy a new pair of jeans online, then we might enter: Buy men’s jeans online In this case, buy men's...
You may be familiar with the appearance of standard Google AdWords ads, which primarily consist of 2 lines of headline text, a line for the description and a display URL. But it's also possible to extend your ad, to make it more prominent within Google's listings. With ad extensions in place, you can improve the visibility of your ads and also provide extra value. You might, for instance, seek to include your shop/office location, or your business...
The Google AdWords platform has changed considerably over the years, meaning that even the most experienced search engine marketing professionals can sometimes struggle to navigate to the right areas within an account. In this article, we highlight some key AdWords tip #1 Account structure The structure of an AdWords account is relatively simple, but can appear to be confusing for those who are not familiar with it. So here's the standard account structure explained: Campaigns: An account is...