Beware of the Google Doodle

Posted by tom bates on August 18th, 2010

Google, PPC

We all like a good Google Doodle, and the good ones always create a fair deal of buzz and chatter. Take the recent Pacman Doodle, it took the internet by storm and probably cost businesses a billion man hours! This is all well and good but yesterday something happened which means I will always check the doodle at 9am every day out of necessity rather than curiosity.

I think it must have been a slow day for news because the Doodle was highlighting the 71st Birthday of the Wizard of Oz. Not the 70th, not the 75th, let alone the 50th or 100th, the 71st. So you can’t really blame me for not having it on my radar. Read the rest of this entry »

Enhanced CPC – Google’s Latest Tool For Lazy PPC’ers

Posted by Steve Baker on August 17th, 2010

Google Adwords, PPC

So, Google have launched their latest time-saving measure for Adwords account managers, ‘Enhanced CPC’.

Where their standard bid optimization is completely automated, this option allows you to set your bid, and they’ll adjust it based on the conversion rate. The tool will increase your bids up to a maximum of 30% above your bids, though there does not appear to be a minimum. Read the rest of this entry »

Local Ad Extensions

Posted by Aimee Roberts on August 16th, 2010

PPC, PPC Campaigns

Local Ad Extensions are one of many ad extensions available within a Google campaign now. It is also one that is often overlooked. Although it is not suited to all clients, due to the focus on the location, smaller companies could benefit from a more compelling ad and take some focus away from a larger competitor.

An example is shown below. I searched for “restaurants leeds”. The top website shows reviews and offers for many restaurants in Leeds, but the second ad is a lone restaurant with the Local Ad Extension included. When opened up the ad is definitely a focus on the page. Read the rest of this entry »

Apple iAds, The Future of Paid Advertising?

Posted by Peter Gould on August 13th, 2010

Digital Innovation, PPC

In the world of paid advertising, it’s fair to say that at the moment, Google is king. Could you therefore be forgiven for not exploring any other platforms in which to conduct your paid advertising campaigns? Not really in my opinion.

Google may be king at the moment, but will their reign last forever? Technology is constantly changing, and the online engagement users expect will change along with it. Will traditional text and banner adverts that have worked so well for years, still entice users in the same way they once did? Will users predominantly still use their desktop or laptop computers to browse the Internet, or will more and more begin to make the switch to powerful smartphones like Apple’s iPhone? Read the rest of this entry »

Twitter Growth Worldwide – Latest Figures

Posted by Samia Kesseiri on August 12th, 2010

Social Media, Twitter

Yesterday comeScore released the latest figures for Twitter growth worldwide. The comScore study found that 93 million internet users visited Twitter.com, which is an increase of 109% from the previous year.

Graham Mudd, VP of comScore, explained that Twitter experienced the biggest and fastest growth where nearly 3 out of 4 global internet users access social networking sites [mainly Twitter] each month. These figures are not really surprising. Read the rest of this entry »