Successful online advertising—the process of matching qualified customers who use the Internet with appropriate buying opportunities—results in both satisfied users and advertisers. The key to success in online advertising is creating an ad that is relevant, clear, and accurate. Adhering to the following guidelines will help your ad content get accepted more quickly. Word and character counts Make sure that your ad title and text meet Editorial Guidelines. Content Make sure that the type of content you are advertising is allowed. For example, adult or sexual content, profanity, weapons, or deceptive or illegal products and services, such as essay writing, are not allowed. For a complete list of disallowed content, see Content guidelines. Grammar and punctuation Make sure that your ads follow these simple rules: For examples of the proper use of grammar and punctuation in your ads, see Style and grammar examples. Ad relevance A relevant ad is defined as an ad that closely reflects the most probable user intent during a keyword search. Both the ad copy and the content on the landing page must be sufficiently relevant to the keyword. Help make your ads more relevant by following these guidelines: Duplicate ads To provide the best possible user experience, Microsoft AdCenter does not permit redundant listings. Advertising affiliates are allowed, but Microsoft AdCenter reserves the right to disallow specific ads or affiliates if the search results are too homogeneous. Trademarks Special or free offers Calls to action Technical requirements Be sure that your display URL (The Internet address that customers see in an ad following the ad text.) , destination URL (The Internet address of the webpage a customer is taken to after clicking an ad link, or display URL.) , and landing page Language Make sure that ads and keywords are written in the language set for the ad group. For more information about the language and region setting, see Select a language and market for an ad group. Below is the example under the above guidelines and you need to consider when drafting your ads. Disapproved Ad Order Your Dell Battery Low Prices, Fast Shipping, Buy Now! Site not related to Ad text - Style guidelines Each ad is associated with a specific keyword. If the ad is disapproved, then all of the keyword associations for the ad will be disapproved. If the ad is active but associated with a disapproved keyword, the association will be disapproved Approved Ad Shop for {YOURKEYWORD} 100% Guaranteed Same Day Shipping! Related topics Reasons for disapproved ads and keywords ,IS_adCenter_4_0_4 , , 120yek , 65yek , lairotide , yekdi124 limits, character, content, grammar, ad relevance, relevance, duplicate ads, duplicate, trademarks, rejected, pending, submitted, editorial, guidelines, editorial guidelines, style guidelines
(The Internet address that customers see in an ad following the ad text.) is the last line of your ad.)
(The Internet address of the webpage a customer is taken to after clicking an ad link, or display URL.) is not displayed in your ad, but it is used as the landing page for the ad.)
(The webpage on which a user "lands" after clicking an ad title. The title links to the page specified by the ad's destination URL.) meet these requirements:
FeedBurner FeedCount
Friday, July 25, 2008
Microsoft AdCenter Editorial Guidelines
Monday, July 21, 2008
The Search Landscape Reflected In Paid Results
Any of you who have read some of my past articles or who have visited Beanstalk's services pages will know - I'm not a PPC guy. Quite honestly, it's not in my primary skill set and it's something I would definitely prefer to leave to the experts. Now that said, following Google and its health (which is tied directly to AdWords and AdSense) is something I'm keenly interested in. To this end, recent changes in Google's paid search display and ranking systems will have huge impacts on advertisers and, more important for the purpose of this article, on Google itself. A couple weeks ago a friend of mine, Richard Stokes from AdGooroo sent me a PDF entitled, "Search Engine Advertiser Update - Q208" . With this document they outline the changing trends in the paid search marketplace and many of the stats are surprising. If you're a PPC manager they're obviously directly important. For those of us in the organic optimization world they are still both interesting and important. They're interesting for reasons which will become clear below and they're important because anything that affects the economic health of the search engines affects the search landscape both inside and outside of the paid search realm. As Richard Stokes points out and I completely concur, this places Google in an environment where one of two things will happen: One might guess that this also means that Yahoo! is gaining ground (which is true) but it's definitely a case of too little too late. Also earlier today (it was a busy day in search) Yahoo! released a letter to its shareholders that on one hand referred to the alliance between Microsoft and Carl Icahn as a destroyer of shareholder value for Yahoo! and then went on to say that they would be willing to sell the company to Microsoft at $33/share (which is what Microsoft has offered previously and which is more than $10 above their current market value).
Paid Search Market Share
what could be more important to the engines than their percentage of the paid search arena? Does Google really care about being the dominant search engine as far as organic search goes? Let me put this a different way, if Google was standing in front of their shareholders - would they prefer to announce that they held 80% of all worldwide searches and reported revenues of $7.8 billion dollars for the quarter OR would they rather stand up and say they hold 20% of all worldwide searches and reported revenues of $8.7 billion dollars? Organic results drive traffic which in turn results in clicks on paid ads. From a business standpoint that's the only reason that organic search even matters.
So which engine has the healthiest paid search environment? According to AdGooroo, Q2 results show a different world than one might guess (which is why I noted that it is interesting).
Over the past twelve months advertiser growth (or lack thereof) breaks down as follows:
Google: -8.5%
Yahoo!: +9.8%
MSN: -6.7%
Advertiser counts have also changed (i.e. the number of advertisers on the engine). Yahoo! leads in this area as well with a growth of 0.03%. Google dropped by 6.4% and MSN dropped by almost 20% (good thing they have their OS revenue to fall back on).
And A Drop In Ads
To go even further, Google has increased the importance of quality which has resulted in a reduction of nearly 40% in the number of ads that appear on a results page. 6 months ago ~6.5 ads appeared per page whereas now that number is closer to 4. This has the potential to significantly help or significantly hinder Google's revenue.
1. Advertisers will realize that their clicks are converting much higher, search marketers will spend more time and resources creating more and more relevant ads and landing pages and advertisers will be willing to bid more as the conversions improve, or
2. The competition for the top spots will be reduced and so too will the average bid prices.
Google's Q2 Report
And what inspired the writing of this article was actually the release of Google's Q2 report earlier today. After reading it I immediately had to contact Richard and let him know that the results confirmed some of the predictions noted in his work. He writes:
"... the auction-based bidding system makes this a double-edged sword. As the number of advertisers declines, so does the competitive pressure for higher bid prices. If advertisers don't step up to the plate and bid more aggressively for placement, then it's possible that search revenues could stagnate."
Google revenues were up only 3% over Q1 of this year and revenue from paid clicks was down by 1%. This is the first time in Google's history post-IPO that I can remember them showing reductions in revenue in one quarter over the previous. It appears that this new paid search model in not quite as effective at pulling in money as the old.
Now, to be fair, the new system of requiring higher quality scores and better ads and landing pages is new - only a few months old at this point and so there are likely still bugs to be worked out, but Wall Street did not react favorably to the announcements today and I suspect that the situation isn't going to look better for Google at the close of day tomorrow (though what do I know about stocks).
What Does This Mean?
So what does this mean? This means that Google has a lot of work to do and those in the paid search space need to pay close attention (even closer than normal) as shareholders don't like to see losses and Google is going to need to make moves to recover and show significant gains by the time their Q3 reports come out.
It seems that one can't look at the stronger relative results in the paid search area that Yahoo! has achieved as a win when they seem to be backsliding on their initial position regarding the sale to Microsoft.
So Where Do We Go From Here?
For one thing, watch closely. Monitor resources such as AdGooroo's research library, and the Clix Marketing blog. Pay close attention as we're going to see a lot of changes to what's going on and these changes are likely going to have effects on both the paid and the organic results as Google strives to provide the better results they're targeting through paid search now but at the same time improve their revenue.
This may involve adjustments to the quality scoring (I can pretty much guarantee that one) and may involve adjusting how paid ads appear on the page with the organic results. All we can really do is watch, wait and adapt.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Google Inc. Advertising Program Terms Policy Update
The Google AdWords Team
You can find out about the advertising program (Google Adwords) updates below under Google AdWords terms and conditions.
Dear AdWords Advertiser,
We're writing to let you know about a change to Google's advertising
policies that may affect your AdWords account.
Beginning in the coming weeks, we are expanding our Mobile
Subscription Services policy to no longer accept AdWords ads that
promote mobile content that require users to enter personal
information if the site does not clearly display pricing. Mobile
content includes, but is not limited to, one-off purchases as well as
subscriptions.
We will also require that subscription information be clearly
displayed if the service is not a one-off purchase. For sites
promoting subscription services, both the price and billing interval
should be displayed along with a checkbox or other opt-in method. If
the user does not opt in, he or she should not be able to proceed.
All of the above should be located in a prominent place on the page on
which users enter their personal information and should be easy to
find, read and understand.
When we make this change, Google will suspend all ads identified as
being in violation of this policy. If your account is affected by this
policy change, please make any necessary changes to your site to
comply.
We have thought hard about our stance on the advertising of this
content and the potential effect that our policy decision could have
on AdWords advertisers. However, as a business, Google must make
decisions regarding the advertising that we accept. We apologise for
the inconvenience that this policy change may cause you.
Yours sincerely,
The Google AdWords Team
Google Inc. Advertising Program Terms
These Google Inc. Advertising Program Terms ("Terms") are entered into by, as applicable, the customer signing these Terms or any document that references these Terms or that accepts these Terms electronically ("Customer") and Google Inc. ("Google"). These Terms govern Customer's participation in Google's advertising program(s) ("Program") and, as applicable, any insertion orders or service agreements ("IO") executed by and between the parties and/or Customer's online management of any advertising campaigns. These Terms and any applicable IO are collectively referred to as the "Agreement." Google and Customer hereby agree and acknowledge:
1 Policies. Program use is subject to all applicable Google and Partner policies, including without limitation the Editorial Guidelines (adwords.google.com/select/guidelines.html), Google Privacy Policy (www.google.com/privacy.html) and Trademark Guidelines (www.google.com/permissions/guidelines.html), and Google and Partner ad specification requirements (collectively, "Policies"). Policies may be modified at any time. Customer shall direct only to Google communications regarding Customer ads on Partner Properties. Some Program features are identified as "Beta," "Ad Experiment," or otherwise unsupported ("Beta Features"). To the fullest extent permitted by law, Beta Features are provided "as is" and at Customer's option and risk. Customer shall not disclose to any third party any information from Beta Features, existence of non-public Beta Features or access to Beta Features. Google may modify ads to comply with any Policies.
2 The Program. Customer is solely responsible for all: (a) ad targeting options and keywords (collectively "Targets") and all ad content, ad information, and ad URLs ("Creative"), whether generated by or for Customer; and (b) web sites, services and landing pages which Creative links or directs viewers to, and advertised services and products (collectively "Services"). Customer shall protect any Customer passwords and takes full responsibility for Customer's own, and third party, use of any Customer accounts. Customer understands and agrees that ads may be placed on (y) any content or property provided by Google ("Google Property"), and, unless Customer opts out of such placement in the manner specified by Google, (z) any other content or property provided by a third party ("Partner") upon which Google places ads ("Partner Property"). Customer authorizes and consents to all such placements. With respect to AdWords online auction-based advertising, Google may send Customer an email notifying Customer it has 72 hours ("Modification Period") to modify keywords and settings as posted. The account (as modified by Customer, or if not modified, as initially posted) is deemed approved by Customer in all respects after the Modification Period. Customer agrees that all placements of Customer's ads shall conclusively be deemed to have been approved by Customer unless Customer produces contemporaneous documentary evidence showing that Customer disapproved such placements in the manner specified by Google. With respect to all other advertising, Customer must provide Google with all relevant Creative by the due date set forth in that Program's applicable frequently asked questions at www.google.com ("FAQ") or as otherwise communicated by Google. Customer grants Google permission to utilize an automated software program to retrieve and analyze websites associated with the Services for ad quality and serving purposes, unless Customer specifically opts out of the evaluation in a manner specified by Google. Google may modify any of its Programs at any time without liability. Google also may modify these Terms at any time without liability, and Customer's use of the Program after notice that these Terms have changed constitutes Customer's acceptance of the new Terms. Google or Partners may reject or remove any ad or Target for any or no reason.
3 Cancellation. Customer may cancel advertising online through Customer's account if online cancellation functionality is available, or, if not available, with prior written notice to Google, including without limitation electronic mail. AdWords online auction-based advertising cancelled online will cease serving shortly after cancellation. The cancellation of all other advertising may be subject to Program policies or Google's ability to re-schedule reserved inventory or cancel ads already in production. Cancelled ads may be published despite cancellation if cancellation of those ads occurs after any applicable commitment date as set forth in advance by the Partner or Google, in which case Customer must pay for those ads. Google may cancel immediately any IO, any of its Programs, or these Terms at any time with notice, in which case Customer will be responsible for any ads already run. Sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 will survive any expiration or termination of this Agreement.
4 Prohibited Uses; License Grant; Representations and Warranties. Customer shall not, and shall not authorize any party to: (a) generate automated, fraudulent or otherwise invalid impressions, inquiries, conversions, clicks or other actions; (b) use any automated means or form of scraping or data extraction to access, query or otherwise collect Google advertising related information from any Program website or property except as expressly permitted by Google; or (c) advertise anything illegal or engage in any illegal or fraudulent business practice. Customer represents and warrants that it holds and hereby grants Google and Partners all rights (including without limitation any copyright, trademark, patent, publicity or other rights) in Creative, Services and Targets needed for Google and Partner to operate Programs (including without limitation any rights needed to host, cache, route, transmit, store, copy, modify, distribute, perform, display, reformat, excerpt, analyze, and create algorithms from and derivative works of Creative or Targets) in connection with this Agreement ("Use"). Customer represents and warrants that (y) all Customer information is complete, correct and current; and (z) any Use hereunder and Customer's Creative, Targets, and Customer's Services will not violate or encourage violation of any applicable laws, regulations, code of conduct, or third party rights (including without limitation intellectual property rights). Violation of the foregoing may result in immediate termination of this Agreement or customer's account without notice and may subject Customer to legal penalties and consequences.
5 Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability. To the fullest extent permitted by law, GOOGLE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION FOR NONINFRINGEMENT, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Google disclaims all guarantees regarding positioning, levels, quality, or timing of: (i) costs per click; (ii) click through rates; (iii) availability and delivery of any impressions, Creative, or Targets on any Partner Property, Google Property, or section thereof; (iv) clicks; (v) conversions or other results for any ads or Targets; (vi) the accuracy of Partner data (e.g. reach, size of audience, demographics or other purported characteristics of audience); and (vii) the adjacency or placement of ads within a Program. Customer understands that third parties may generate impressions or clicks on Customer's ads for prohibited or improper purposes, and Customer accepts the risk of any such impressions and clicks. Customer's exclusive remedy, and Google's exclusive liability, for suspected invalid impressions or clicks is for Customer to make a claim for a refund in the form of advertising credits for Google Properties within the time period required under Section 7 below. Any refunds for suspected invalid impressions or clicks are within Google's sole discretion. EXCEPT FOR INDEMNIFICATION AMOUNTS PAYABLE TO THIRD PARTIES HEREUNDER AND CUSTOMER'S BREACHES OF SECTION 1, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW: (a) NEITHER PARTY WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, INTEREST, GOODWILL, LOSS OR CORRUPTION OF DATA OR FOR ANY LOSS OR INTERRUPTION TO CUSTOMER'S BUSINESS) WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION NEGLIGENCE) OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES AND NOTWITHSTANDING ANY FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY LIMITED REMEDY; AND (b) EACH PARTY'S AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO THE OTHER IS LIMITED TO AMOUNTS PAID OR PAYABLE TO GOOGLE BY CUSTOMER FOR THE AD GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM. Except for payment obligations, neither party is liable for failure or delay resulting from a condition beyond the reasonable control of the party, including without limitation to acts of God, government, terrorism, natural disaster, labor conditions and power failures.
6 Agency. Customer represents and warrants that (a) it is authorized to act on behalf of and has bound to this Agreement any third party for which Customer advertises (a "Principal"), (b) as between Principal and Customer, the Principal owns any rights to Program information in connection with those ads, and (c) Customer shall not disclose Principal's Program information to any other party without Principal's consent.
7 Payment. Customer shall be responsible for all charges up to the amount of each IO, or as set in an online account, and shall pay all charges in U.S. Dollars or in such other currency as agreed to in writing by the parties. Unless agreed to by the parties in writing, Customer shall pay all charges in accordance with the payment terms in the applicable IO or Program FAQ. Late payments bear interest at the rate of 1.5% per month (or the highest rate permitted by law, if less). Charges are exclusive of taxes. Customer is responsible for paying (y) all taxes, government charges, and (z) reasonable expenses and attorneys fees Google incurs collecting late amounts. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Customer waives all claims relating to charges (including without limitation any claims for charges based on suspected invalid clicks) unless claimed within 60 days after the charge (this does not affect Customer's credit card issuer rights). Charges are solely based on Google's measurements for the applicable Program, unless otherwise agreed to in writing. To the fullest extent permitted by law, refunds (if any) are at the discretion of Google and only in the form of advertising credit for only Google Properties. Nothing in these Terms or an IO may obligate Google to extend credit to any party. Customer acknowledges and agrees that any credit card and related billing and payment information that Customer provides to Google may be shared by Google with companies who work on Google's behalf, such as payment processors and/or credit agencies, solely for the purposes of checking credit, effecting payment to Google and servicing Customer's account. Google may also provide information in response to valid legal process, such as subpoenas, search warrants and court orders, or to establish or exercise its legal rights or defend against legal claims. Google shall not be liable for any use or disclosure of such information by such third parties.
8 Indemnification. Customer shall indemnify and defend Google, its Partners, agents, affiliates, and licensors from any third party claim or liability (collectively, "Liabilities"), arising out of Use, Customer's Program use, Targets, Creative and Services and breach of the Agreement. Partners shall be deemed third party beneficiaries of the above Partner indemnity.
