Showing posts with label AdWords. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AdWords. Show all posts

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Every day we hear from business owners who think they need special skills to reach new customers online. Often they’re just overwhelmed by the seeming complexity of online marketing options. So they sit on the sidelines, eager to get in the game, but confused about where to start.

Sound familiar?

Google and Ink from Chase have teamed up this year to help small business owners get off the sidelines and into the game! As part of this commitment to helping small business owners, we jointly hosted the first Google-Ink from Chase ‘Grow Your Business Online’ event on March 15, 2011 at the JP Morgan Headquarters in New York City.

Over 200 Ink small business customers attended the program, living proof of how an incredibly diverse array of small business touch our lives every day - from chocolate shops to online gaming and private medical practices. The evening featured welcome comments from Richard Quigley, President of Ink from Chase, expert advice from AdWords evangelist Frederick Vallaeys on four ways for SMBs to market their business online and also included the Nuyorican Poets Cafe’s executive director, Daniel Gallant, talking about how online advertising helped their business grow.

One small business owner remarked that the tools and tips from Google experts on how to market small businesses online gave her “a new perspective of how to reach out to customers.” Another attendee found the Google Places page so compelling he went back to his business afterwards and “immediately verified my business’ Google Places page.”



Interested in learning more about how to get your business online? Check out our Small Business Online Marketing Handbook to get started.

 
The world has gone mobile. From smartphones to tablets, mobile devices are quickly becoming the best way for people to find products and services when they're on the go. Read on to learn about how you can take advantage of the mobile opportunity with AdWords and drive mobile customers to your business.

Happy reading!
The Google AdWords team

P.S. Have some feedback about this newsletter? Please let us know what you think.
In this Issue
APRIL 2011, VOL 2

MONTHLY FEATURE
A growing mobile opportunity

ADWORDS INSIGHT
Design a mobile-only campaign

SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESS
Bringing customers to the table

GOOGLE HIGHLIGHTS
Art Project

Your AdWords Account
  MONTHLY FEATURE
A growing mobile opportunity
In the past year alone, the number of Google mobile searches has quadrupled. In fact, by 2012, more people will connect via a mobile device than a computer.* How can your business benefit from this trend? Here are three ideas:

Make it easy to call you
People on the phone are looking for immediate answers. So it makes sense that many smartphone consumers call the businesses that they find after a mobile search. Encourage new customers to call you with AdWords Click-to-Call, which displays your business' phone number as an additional line of text on your ad. Google research shows that click-to-call ads drive a 6-8% average increase in clickthrough rates.

Make it easy to find you, too!
If you're a local business, mobile users are especially important, because one out of three searches on a mobile devices has local intent. And, according to a recent survey conducted by eMarketer, 58% of smartphone owners say they use their phone to find store locations. In AdWords, you can use Location Extensions to display your business' address and its location on a map. Once you have Location Extensions enabled, you can automatically take advantage of the new Hyperlocal feature. Hyperlocal shows your potential customers distance information, so they can see how close they are to your store!

Customize your ads for the mobile user
The eMarketer study also shows that people commonly use their phones to compare prices, find discounts and check product availability. Consider writing ads especially for smartphone users, keeping in mind what people want when they're on the go. You can actually create a separate AdWords campaign just for mobile. Check out AdWords Insight, below, for detailed instructions on how to do that.

ADVANCED TIP: What happens when someone wants to find out more about your business, and clicks to your website? Does your website load quickly enough for smartphone users? Take a few moments to see if your website passes the test. If it doesn't, there are a range of options to help you optimize your website for mobile devices.


*Source: Meeker, Mary; Morgan Stanley. "Ten Questions Internet Execs Should Ask & Answer." Business Insider.com, November 16, 2010.
  ADWORDS INSIGHT
Design a uniquely mobile campaign
Google Research shows that mobile-only campaigns help drive higher mobile clickthrough rates—11.5% higher on average. Why? With a separate mobile campaign, you can set the bids, budgets, keywords and ad text that work best for mobile customers.

  1. Create a new campaign in your AdWords account.
  2. Find the "Networks and devices" section in your Campaign Settings, and under "Devices" click "Let Me Choose".
  3. Un-select "Desktop and laptop computers," so you are only targeting "Mobile devices with full Internet browsers."
  4. Select keywords and create ad text with your mobile customer in mind.

  SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESS
Bringing customers to the table
Can your customers find you when they need you most? Roy's Restaurants shared the success of their hyperlocal mobile-only campaign: "Mobile searchers looking for dining options could effortlessly see how close they were to a nearby Roy's restaurant and the click-to-call function allowed for instant reservations." This campaign drove a 40% increase in calls, while the cost-per-click was 67% less than desktop ads. As a result, the campaign's overall return on investment was 800%—double the ROI of their blended mobile/desktop campaigns. Want to try it for your business? Learn about the strategies Roy's used.
GOOGLE HIGHLIGHTS
Picture this with the Art Project
Want to visit the world's most magnificent museums and masterpieces? Art Project, powered by Google—collaboration with 17 of the word's most acclaimed museums—lets you walk through museum wings to explore the world's most precious works of art. From Van Gogh's Starry Night to Botticelli's Birth of Venus, zoom in to discover striking details like brushstrokes and aging signs, all without leaving home.
 
 
 
Posted by Jenn Karakkal, AdWords Small Business Team

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

(Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog)

We’ve worked hard to keep in touch with our AdWords customers and we’re always looking for new ways to support you. Currently we offer email and online support, and today we’re introducing free phone support for all of our U.S.- and Canada-based AdWords customers. When you have a question about your account or advertising campaigns, you can now call an AdWords specialist if you prefer.

We’re adding phone support for a simple reason: you asked for it! You told us that while you appreciate online resources like our AdWords Help Center, you also want the option to get live, expert support when you need it. We heard you, and got to work assembling a team of AdWords experts to answer your calls.

The new phone option is one of many tools that can help you succeed with AdWords—and (most importantly!) find even more customers. You can also email us, or learn from other advertisers in the AdWords Help Forum. Our AdWords Online Classroom offers free online courses on a wide variety of AdWords topics, from the basics to great tips to take your account to the next level.

To speak to one of our specialists, give us a call at 1-866-2Google between Monday-Friday, 9am-8pm Eastern Time. This number is for current AdWords advertisers only, so please make sure you have your customer ID ready. We look forward to speaking to you and learning more about your business.

We'll roll phone support out to advertisers in other countries in the coming months.

Friday, March 4, 2011


Welcome to Click, a Google newsletter for small businesses. In each issue, we'll offer insights and strategies on how to grow your business and get the most value out of your marketing efforts. Hear about new products, promotions and services - plus interesting things going on at Google. We want to be sure this newsletter is useful and relevant to you, so please let us know what you think.

Happy reading!
The Google AdWords team

PS: Read about a few AdWords customers whose wishes came true this year.
In this Issue
MARCH 2011, VOL 1

MONTHLY FEATURE
Customers are up for grabs

ADWORDS INSIGHT
Improve your ad's headline --
and results

SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESS
A flood of new business

GOOGLE HIGHLIGHTS
Life-saving information services

Your AdWords Account
MONTHLY FEATURE
Customers are up for grabs

Small businesses have competitive advantages over the big guys -- namely agility and the ability to make quick decisions. Use these qualities to go beyond traditional marketing and reach customers in new, creative ways. Here are a few ideas to get you started: improve your online presence, use social networking and collect data online.

Location, location, location!
Since one out of five Google searches involves location, you want your business to appear in local searches. Try free online listing services, such as Google Places, or free hosting services to help you to establish a website. (Learn more about improving your virtual storefront in our Small Business Success section below).

Build a fan base
Satisfied customers can be your best promoters, and free services like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter can help you communicate with loyal patrons -- and help them spread the word about your business. Learn more about how these services can offer fresh and compelling information, such as photos, videos or fun facts about your business and employees.

Know your customers
Reaching customers online allows you to collect valuable data about their habits and preferences. Easy-to-use web analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, can tell you a lot - such as which search terms customers use, what they look at on your site, and where they spend the most (or least) time. Use this knowledge to make smart decisions about site content and keyword choices for your online marketing campaigns.
ADWORDS INSIGHT
Improve your ad's headline - and results
A good headline will grab attention for your ad -- and your business. You don't have to be a copywriter -- just use descriptive words that communicate what makes your business unique. Think about what your customers want -- not just what your business does. For example, "Joe's Gourmet Pizza" is descriptive, but "Seattle's Best Brick Oven Pizza" will likely get the attention of hungry, local customers.


  1. Sign into your AdWords account
  2. Select the "Ads" tab
  3. Click on the text of your ad (or the pencil icon next to the ad) to edit the headline
  4. Click "Save," and preview your new headline
SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESS
A flood of new business  
Jessica Soler, Owner of Salon Red in Decatur, Georgia, uses a website and local online listings to help her customers find salon locations and book appointments. She says, "Here's a great example of how the web helps Salon Red: we were nominated by one of the local papers to be a 'Best Of' salon in Atlanta, and tons of people went online to vote for all of our locations. We just were flooded with business, and it all came from online." Hear more about this success in her own words.
GOOGLE HIGHLIGHTS
Life-saving information services
In disaster and humanitarian crises, access to information can be of vital importance. In both the recent earthquakes in New Zealand and Haiti, Google's Crisis Response offered survivors and relief workers access to critical information on life-supporting services, including the locations of shelters, water tanks, power outages and open grocery stores. In addition, Google Person Finder is helping connect people with information about missing friends or relatives. Find out more, and learn how you can help.
YOUR ADWORDS ACCOUNT ADWORDS RESOURCES SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER
AdWords Online Classroom
AdWords Seminars
Inside AdWords Blog
AdWords Help Center
Google Buzz
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LinkedIn
Email

Posted by Jenn Karakkal, AdWords Small Business Team

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

[Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog.]

When we here in the U.S. think of Thanksgiving, many of us think of our favorite foods: perhaps a fresh-from-the-oven pumpkin pie, a sweet glazed ham or a succulent turkey. But thanks to Charlie Hohorst III of Lafayette, La., tens of thousands of Americans dream instead of a turkey... stuffed with a duck... stuffed with a chicken.

For the past 15 years, Hohorst has run food shopping site Cajun Grocer, which specializes in more than 1,000 different authentic Louisianan foodstuffs and delicacies. The “turducken”—a Cajun dish consisting of a de-boned turkey filled with duck, chicken and stuffing—is “the bread and butter” of his business, says Hohorst. He can attest to their growing popularity as he ships an ever-increasing number of turduckens to cities all over the country, from Los Angeles to Boston.

Cajun Grocer’s business has grown hand-in-hand with the use of Google AdWords. Before starting AdWords campaigns in 2002, sales were fueled primarily by word of mouth, and reaching the right audience at an affordable price was a challenge. “With a specialty product like a turducken,” says Hohorst, “who do you target and how do you target them?” Using AdWords, Cajun Grocer can show off their products alongside relevant searches on Google and measure every penny spent on advertising.

Cajun Grocer’s ad for “turducken” searches, using AdWords Product Extensions.

The process of hand-crafting all eight types of turducken for the Thanksgiving rush starts in April and continues through packing and last-minute shipping as late as November 23.

Aside from their role in spreading the culinary influence of his native Louisiana, what Hohorst really loves about turduckens is that, much like the Thanksgiving holiday itself, they give people a reason to come together. “They’re a gathering item. Many people have heard of them, and when someone they know has one, it can bring in 10 or even 20 people.”

Posted by Jim Prosser, Communications Manager

Saturday, November 20, 2010

When Uday Challu noticed a growing dissatisfaction with avenues for technical support, he was inspired to create a better way for people to get help with their tech troubles. So in 2007 he founded iYogi.com, India’s first direct-to-consumer remote technical support company. Founded on a belief in good karma, iYogi aims to mitigate frustrations with technical products and services by delivering a high-quality customer service experience.

iYogi Founder Uday Challu

iYogi provides round-the-clock, 24-hours service on a wide variety of technical products and issues, in Australia, Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. Uday uses Google AdWords to reach these international customers.

Uday says he saw search and, in particular, AdWords as a way to reach customers in need of technical support. He says, “iYogi services are currently available in multiple geographies and advertising with AdWords seemed like the most obvious way to reach customers who were turning to the Internet to find and fix their problems.”

With the intent of starting small and building to scale, Uday targeted his first campaigns to the U.S. only. Using location and language targeting, iYogi launched a U.S.-only campaign with general keywords related to customer support, and honed his campaign over time. “We gathered lots of intelligence from the Search Query Report, which helped us identify other keywords people in the U.S. were searching for,” says iYogi Vice President of Online Marketing K.R. Sreejith. “We also tested new ad texts and customized these ad texts to highlight popular keywords.”

Then, using lessons from his experiences in targeting the U.S., Uday expanded into the Canadian market. He found his experience in the U.S. helpful for the Canadian campaign, but didn’t see similarly high volume. After examining the global competitive landscape, he decided to expand to Australia and the U.K.

“We quickly learned that ads in the U.K., for example, had to be different than ads in the U.S.,” says Sreejith. “Using the Search Query Report, we noticed that the popularity of certain keywords was different in the U.K. and that there are differences in the spelling of these terms. We also learned from our sales teams that U.K. customers spend more time on the phone than do U.S. customers. So, we edited our ad texts and landing pages to reflect these different keywords and values.”

Today, iYogi is one of the fastest growing remote tech support provider in the world. As Uday continues to expand his business internationally, he’ll continue to use insights gained from his ad campaigns and to provide the rest of the world with similarly karmic technical support experiences!

Posted by Anand Devsharma, Team Manager, India

 

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