We've seen a lot of AdWords accounts over the years and we've seen a lot of problems too! In this article, we take a look at some of the most frequently observed pitfalls. When clients approach us to manage a Google AdWords account, it's typically due to one of a few scenarios: They are going to be using AdWords for the first time and wisely want the account set-up and optimised by someone who knows what they're...
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...
A recent report focusing on market shares of some of the industry’s leading search engines, listed Google’s UK market share highest with an astonishing 88.09% of all queries. Is that number shocking? No, but it is much higher than expected and well beyond Bing’s 7.25% and Yahoo’s 3.48%. Why does Google hold such a strong lead and what has happened to Bing and Yahoo to make their numbers so dismal? The answer is features, effectiveness and...
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...
Merkle produce a quarterly digital marketing report, examining the state of the industry and identifying benchmarks. The report for the first quarter of 2017 runs to 28 pages. We’ve read it, so that you don’t have to! Here’s our summary: Google AdWords spend increased by 21% in the first quarter of 2017 on a year-on-year basis, representing a slightly faster rate of increase than was seen in the first quarter of 2016. As we’ve reported elsewhere, the...
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...
The first step when launching a new Google AdWords campaign is to decide on the core settings. In this blog post, we take a closer look at each of the individual settings in turn, offering guidance on selections that are right for your particular campaign. Campaign types The campaign type that you choose should reflect your marketing goals. If you are looking to target those individuals who are searching for your products or services, then the best option...
For those running retail operations, UK Bank Holidays can be a big deal. But those who aren't involved in retail know this to be true too: just try visiting a DIY superstore or a garden centre this Bank Holiday weekend! Information from Google on the May Day Bank Holiday weekend of 2015 demonstrates this pretty well: But such increases aren't only useful if you can take advantage of them. So how can you make the most of...