Inside Adwords

Cross posted from the Official Google Blog:

As the advertising industry has grown and evolved, so too has our relationship with advertising agencies. These companies, from SEMs to the largest traditional agencies, play a critical role in the continued success of Google, our advertisers and our industry — so we spend a lot of time talking to agencies about how we can make it easier for them to work with us and our advertisers.

We’ve had a lot of great feedback from agencies and today we’re announcing changes designed to offer them better training and more rigorous certification in AdWords proficiency, and to lower costs for those who help advertisers get the most out of AdWords. We’re also making it easier for advertisers to find certified agency partners to work with them on digital advertising. Here’s an overview of what’s changing today.

Raising the bar for Google AdWords Certification

We're retiring our long-standing Google Advertising Professionals (GAP) program and replacing it with a new Google AdWords Certification program for those managing AdWords accounts on behalf of advertisers. The new program provides agencies and their employees with more up-to-date, comprehensive, strategy-focused training and certification on the latest tools and best practices for managing AdWords accounts, including:

• New training materials to help agencies better understand recent changes in search marketing and AdWords functionality, available via webinar series, learning center, or on-site training at Google
• More challenging certification exams to test practical application of knowledge and best practices (rather than simple recall of knowledge)
• Advanced-level exams to highlight competency in search, display, reporting and analysis
• A redesigned Certified Partner badge, which includes a “Click to Verify” element so advertisers can view the partner’s profile page for additional information.

For more information on the AdWords Certification Program or to create an account, visit the Google Certification program site and help center.

Helping advertisers find Google Certified Partners

Google Certified Partners can opt in to Google Partner Search, an online, searchable directory that helps advertisers identify Certified Partners that meet their criteria. Small and medium-sized advertisers who haven’t previously used an agency have told us that evaluating potential partners can be a daunting task, so we think Google Partner Search will be especially valuable for them.

To show up in advertiser searches through Google Partner Search, agencies must opt in and fill in details about their core attributes and capabilities. Searches can be filtered by location, agency experience within a particular budget range, the types of services provided and the industry verticals an agency serves. Advertisers can then evaluate the list of Certified Partners that meet their criteria and contact the partners who seem best suited to their needs. To learn more about Google Partner Search, visit the Help center.

Introducing preferred AdWords API pricing

The Google AdWords API allows developers to build applications that interact directly with the AdWords platform. Agencies and developers of search engine marketing tools use these applications to manage large AdWords campaigns more efficiently and creatively.

Today, we’re announcing preferred AdWords API pricing. This gives qualified Google AdWords Certified Partners who manage client AdWords accounts free use of the AdWords API based on managed client spend. To apply, agencies must have an active agency profile page and remain compliant with the AdWords API terms and conditions. We’ll evaluate applications for preferred AdWords API pricing based on the criteria listed here.

We hope preferred AdWords API pricing will encourage agencies and developers to experiment with new strategies, expand the functionality of their tools, and build more comprehensive client campaigns without worrying about increased costs. You can learn more about preferred pricing and how to apply at the preferred AdWords API pricing site.

We’re looking forward to receiving feedback on all of these initiatives and to continuing to improve our partnership with agencies.

Posted by Penry Price, Vice President, Global Agency Development

Have you have found this series of videos useful for improving your advertising and growing your business? Let us know.

PostPosted by Emily Williams, Inside AdWords crew

Late last year we introduced you to the AdWords New Ad Formats Initiative. At the time, we explained that new formats would be a major focus for us in 2010 and gave you a sneak peak into the types of new ad formats heading your way.

With the introduction of our new Ad Innovations site, there’s now an easier way to stay up to date with all the latest formats we’re working on. Using Ad Innovations, you can learn about high level themes like ad extensions and new ad models. You can also check out individual pages devoted to each of the new formats we’re working on, including some that aren’t fully released, like Video Extensions and Product Listing Ads.

If you want to learn more about the AdWords New Ad Formats Initiative, try watching our introductory video, and then exploring the Ad Innovations site.



Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

As we announced earlier this month, we’ve included the iPad in our list of mobile devices with full internet browsers, making it easy for you to run your campaigns on it.

Now that we’ve finished our rigorous iPad testing, we feel confident adding the iPad to the list of mobile devices that you can target specifically. To do this, simply edit the “Devices” section in your Campaign Settings, and select the iPad under 'Advanced device and carrier options:


A few things to keep in mind:

• If your device settings are set for desktop and laptop computers only, your ads won’t show on the iPad.
• If you’re already targeting selected mobile devices (such as iPhone or Android), your ads won’t show on the iPad. Make sure to select the iPad as well if you want to include it in your device-targeted campaign.

Also, remember that you can promote your iPhone/iPad or Android apps directly by linking to the download URL in your ads. This way people can download your app straight from your ads. To make things easier, we’ll handle the device targeting automatically when these ads show on mobile devices.

We’re excited to see the iPad and other innovative devices come to market and will continue to improve AdWords to help you reach and connect with your audience and your customers!

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

Our mobile phones are with us for a large part of the day. When you're on the go and there's no time to turn on a laptop or computer, it's natural to reach for your phone when you need to conduct a search, especially now that many phones have the capability to access the Internet. According to the Kelsey Group, there are currently 54.5 million mobile Internet users in the United States, representing 25% of online users. Since mobile is such a great way to connect with these potential customers, we'd like to ensure you have the tools you need to make your mobile campaigns relevant and useful to someone on-the-go.

One of the main features distinguishing a phone from a laptop or computer is its ability to make calls. With mobile click-to-call, Google allows customers to connect with businesses directly from their ads. It's easy to include click-to-call phone numbers in your ads, regardless of which type of phone the customer is using. We've discussed enabling click-to-call for devices with full Internet browses in this post about using a national phone number and this post about location extensions, but want to be sure you don't miss out on this feature when targeting users with WAP devices as well.

Click-to-call on WAP devices
The majority of mobile phones currently have WAP browsers. Originally, targeting these types of phones meant creating a mobile-specific webpage. But, if you include a click-to-call phone number in your ad, you don't need a website at all to advertise on these phones. With WAP devices, a click-to-call phone number will appear as a 'call' link at the end of your ad text. Simply include this feature in your ad if you'd like to enable customers to connect with your business by phone.

Visit the Help Center to learn more about setting up click-to-call phone numbers in mobile ads that appear on WAP devices.

Whether you're trying to reach people using devices with full Internet browsers or those on WAP phones, click-to-call offers an additional way for you to connect with all types of potential customers.

Posted by Katrina Kurnit, Inside AdWords crew

Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog:

Small businesses are especially close to my heart. When he retired from teaching, my father ran a small art company in Maine, and I saw firsthand how fulfilling — and how difficult — it was for him to realize his dream of running his own business. Unfortunately, his business closed its doors after just a few years. His key challenge: attracting qualified customers.

Many new businesses face similar challenges, but the power of technology can help business owners find the customers they need. Whether you’re a fledgling entrepreneur trying to turn your passion into a profit or an established enterprise trying to get to the next level, internet tools like Google AdWords are the key to being there when customers come looking for you online.

To show what's possible, we invited 53-year-old Jay Berkowitz to share his experience creating a business and using AdWords to help it flourish. Here's what Jay has to say:

Like most first-time parents, my life completely changed when my daughter Hillary was born in 1993. My wife Janet and I decided that one of us should stay at home to care for her while the other continued working full time. Janet kept her engineering job, and I ended up quitting my job as a Wall Street bond analyst to become Mr. Mom.

Later, when Hillary started school, I had more free time. It seemed like the perfect chance to do something I’d always dreamed of: launch my own business and work for myself. I started selling themed plates and lunchboxes at New York City street fairs. Then in 2001, eight-year-old Hillary showed me (her non-tech-savvy dad) how to turn on a computer. That was the beginning of taking the business online, and realizing a whole new world of possibility. Janet and I worked together to build a website, PlatesPlus4Kids.com, and we started advertising online with Google AdWords. Soon, my little project became a full-fledged venture.

By advertising on the Internet, I was able to reach interested customers not only in my area, but all over the country. More and more people found my store through online searches. In no time, I had so many orders that I could no longer keep my inventory of themed cups, plates and lunchboxes on the kitchen table. The stock moved to the den, then the basement, and finally to a warehouse 20 minutes from our house in Little Neck, New York. Over the years, I've also expanded my product line and now offer children’s backpacks, umbrellas, flatware, snack containers and sandwich boxes. What started as a hobby now brings in about $500,000 in sales annually.

I only pay when people click on my ad and go to my website, so the cost of marketing is within my means. I increase the budget during the back-to-school season and the holidays (my peak periods) so my ads show above the search results during those times. I've also noticed that customers seem to be in a shopping mood on Mondays and Tuesdays, so I sometimes increase my budget on those days to make sure my ads show up more. Depending on trends, I create new ads to promote different characters and new inventory. For example, now that Yo Gabba Gabba is popular and baseball season is starting, I'm making adjustments so that those phrases combined with words like “dishes,” “placemats” and “cups” trigger my ads. And of course, I have ads that mention items with princesses and superheroes — those are top sellers year-round.

click to view full size image

What's really great is that even though my business has expanded over the past seven years, it's still a small family company. Two people work for me at the warehouse, but I work from home. Janet takes pictures of the products and works on the website on the weekends. I've had the freedom to be a hands-on parent to Hillary and the privilege of helping other parents connect with their kids through my store. Certain celebrity parents have found me through my AdWords ads and bought items for their kids.

I consider myself a pretty ordinary guy. When I started PlatesPlus for Kids, I had no idea it would become what it is today. It's heartening to know that by following your gut and putting in a lot of hard work, you can find a fulfilling second career. Or maybe a first one.

click to view full size image

Jay, Hillary and Janet

Posted by Claire Johnson, Vice President, Online Sales and Operations, Advertising Programs

Like many of you, we’re excited about the upcoming release of Apple’s iPad and the promise of tablet computers. Innovative products like the iPad are on the cutting edge of a whole new class of devices that promise to make accessing information and content easier and more fun.

Over the past year, we’ve been working to make sure that our advertising products work well on a different class of exciting new devices - mobile phones with full Internet browsers like the iPhone and those running Android. These mobile devices have exploded in popularity, and have allowed advertisers to achieve incremental reach and great results. With these high-end phones making up 50% of mobile search queries, it’s highly valuable for advertisers to connect with these users.

In many ways, an iPad is more similar to these mobile devices than to desktop and laptop computers. It runs on a mobile operating system, has a touchscreen, runs mobile apps, and is highly portable, suited for on-the-go browsing. For this reason we’ve decided for now to include the iPad as a mobile device in AdWords, which means that as AdWords advertisers, you can easily extend the reach of your current ad campaigns to these new types of devices.

To ensure that your ads appear on new mobile devices like the iPad, simply make sure that you have “all mobile devices” selected in your campaign settings under the “Networks and devices” section. You can also use the default setting, "All available devices."


If you want to target the iPad specifically, our engineers are busy at work doing the final testing on an option to enable you to do just that. It will appear in the coming days when you choose to “target only selected mobile devices”. And don’t worry - if you’ve already changed your AdWords settings to not appear on these mobile devices, your ads won’t appear on the iPad.

Of course, the world of devices like the iPad is in its infancy, and these devices may evolve in ways that we haven’t anticipated yet. So we’ll continue to watch the space and ensure that no matter which direction the devices go in next, we'll make sure to give advertisers the reach, control and features they’ll need to get great results from their ad campaigns.

Posted by Paul Feng, Group Product Manager for Google Mobile Ads