We recently discovered that Google appeared to be testing a new SERPs layout which brought the PPC ads closer to the organic search results. This was originally showing in Firefox only, but not any more! It appears that the test may now have reached a positive conclusion.
Google Testing New PPC Ad Layout in SERPs
With increasing numbers of people throwing out their bulky old CRT monitors and switching to large flat screen monitors with their increased resolutions, this is a very welcome change to the search engine results page (SERP) layout on Google.
It only seems to be a test at this stage as it only shows for me in Firefox 3 and not in Internet Explorer 8. A colleague of mine cannot see the change at all in either browser. Take a look at the two screenshots below (full size images at the bottom of this post).
PPC Quality Score & Google`s Search Network
We all know how important quality score (QS) and its most important contributor, clickthrough rate (CTR), are in determining ad positions on Google AdWords. We know that improving QS and CTR can help reduce cost per click and improve the performance of your PPC campaign. But how does this fit in with the different locations in which your ads could be appearing? Does performance on Google’s search network influence performance on Google search?
Practical bid management systems
Sonar is the in-house IT system that supports all of our activities - bid management, campaign analysis and reporting, CRM - you name it. Having our own bid management sytem is fundamental to our offering. Firstly it gives us complete flexibility to apply any type of rules to govern bid changes. We’re not believers in ‘black box’ algorithms - it is vital that a campaign manager understands exactly why a specific bid change is being applied, and can directly control these changes. (more…)
2p or not 2p? That seems to be the question
We recently noticed a strange quirk within the Google AdWords system. In addition to a range of well targeted product or service type ad groups, our pay per click campaigns often contain a distinct ad group based around the client’s company name or brand.
With one client in particular over the last few months we had noticed a drop in the performance of their brand group. (more…)
A Change of Character?
Google ad titles have a maximum of 25 characters right?