PPC Blog

It’s become a December tradition at Group Twenty Seven to compile and share a wish list of things we’d like to see in PPC for the coming year.

Sadly, we didn’t get everything we asked for in our 2017 PPC wish list or 2018 PPC wish list. But who knows… maybe this year will be different!

As usual, most of our wish list items relate to Google. This isn’t because we intend to pick on the company, but because Google so thoroughly dominates the paid search industry.

And for the record, we’d like to say that while our wish list is long, we know things could be a whole lot worse!

That said, here are our PPC wishes for 2019:

Continue reading »

PPC landing pages are something that many businesses struggle with.

While landing pages seem simple enough in theory, they often become less-than-ideal in practice.

One reason for this disconnect between intention and practice is that many different departments can get involved in landing page development — each with its own agenda.

Maybe product development wants to use the landing page to promote its cool new device.

Customer service wants to use the landing page to show off its beefy warranty plan.

IT wants to use its usual web template.

And legal wants to make sure that the company’s policies are front and center.

The list goes on and on.

Continue reading »

Thanksgiving is once again coming up soon! And as has become our tradition, my team and I like to use this time of year to reflect upon the many PPC functions and tools that make our jobs easier—and help us get excellent results for our clients.

This was an especially exciting year in PPC! We saw a lot of new features roll out as well as the rebranding of AdWords as Google Ads!

As a result, this year’s list consists of both long-loved tools—as well as some new favorites!

Continue reading to see which tools and functions made the cut this year.

Continue reading »

My last column talked about the ins and outs of Google Ads bidding. If you haven’t seen that column yet, give it a read before proceeding. It has some important tips to get you started with automated bidding.

This column will focus specifically on Google Ads automated bid options.

Automated bidding sounds great in theory (“Everything’s done for you!”) but can be much more complex in reality.

Not only do you have to pick the right type of bidding strategy for your business goals, you also have to learn the nuances of each.

Continue reading »

For many PPC newbies (and even PPC pros!) Google Ads can be a scary place. Things can change and catch you by surprise, leaving you thoroughly spooked!

To help you avoid that kind of chilling situation, let me outline three changes that might scare you (and your wallet) if you’re not aware of them. 

Continue reading »

Of all of the technical aspects of PPC, none confounds both pros and novices more than bid strategy.

This is partly because there are so many bid strategy options in Google Ads, each with its own nuances.

Even when you think you understand how they work based on their descriptions, that doesn’t always translate into how they work in practice. As a result, you’re never entirely sure of your footing.

Therefore, in this article, I’m going to walk you through some of the basics of manual and automated Google Ads bidding. I’ll then give you some tips for moving into automated bidding when you’re ready.

Continue reading »

At its Marketing Live event in July, Google announced two significant changes to expanded text ads. Specifically, the new expanded text ads will:

1. Show up to two 90-character descriptions (up from one 80-character description).

2. Show up to three headlines (up from two).

Here’s what a newly expanded text ad might look like:

Both of these changes are exciting, but I’m especially pumped about the second one!

Continue reading »

When you run Google searches, the results are sometimes filled with ads for directory sites.

This is especially true when the search terms relate to expensive, big-commitment services, such as schools and assisted living facilities (a.k.a., nursing homes).

People will usually thoroughly research and compare these services before buying, which makes directory sites appealing.

As an advertiser, you might see this as a problem. After all, how can your ad for a single facility compete against ads for directories that list hundreds of facilities?

Continue reading »

Recently, a client wanted to remove qualifying elements from their text ads on the Search Network. We had been using terms in their ad copy, such as “for corporate groups” and “for 50+ people” to help make our target audience clear.

However, the client started to feel that those qualifiers had become unnecessary. They wondered if we couldn’t make better use of that ad text space.

It’s true, we had been using those qualifiers for a long time—but for good reason. We felt that they were a critical part of turning away irrelevant ad clicks.

But the client wanted to test whether those qualifiers were still necessary, so we agreed.

Continue reading »

I recently received a call from a prospective client who was looking for temporary assistance with their PPC program. Their in-house marketing manager had resigned and, so far, they had been unable to find a suitable replacement. In the meantime, the CMO was covering the position.

They didn’t want to make a rushed hiring decision just to resolve the issue. But they desperately needed some help.

So they asked if my agency might step in temporarily to bridge the gap — this in spite of the company having a strict “no agency” policy due to past bad experiences. Because my agency doesn’t require long-term contracts, we agreed.

But when we opened the account, we uncovered many issues.

Continue reading »