Pay-Per-Click Wish List

oday marks the halfway point to Christmas, but I've already started a wish list of things that I would like to see under the tree. Instead of this list being for Santa, it's addressed to the major paid search engines: Google, Yahoo and Bing.

If even half of this wish list is granted by the end of the year then it will be a very happy holiday season for PPC advertisers everywhere.

Google —

• Change negatives so they work beyond the 10th word in a search query. This isn't something that most advertisers will run into on a daily basis, but it does happen. Currently, negative keywords will only work if the keyword is one of the first ten words in a search query. Take for example the search query : "is there a list of the most popular video games for the xbox". In this case your ad would still show even if "Xbox" was in your list of negative keywords.


• Allow the blocking of individual search network partners. The ability to pick and choose which search network sites will display your ads would help to reduce spending budget on sites that rarely or never lead to conversions.

Yahoo —

• Release a campaign management program similar to Adwords Editor. If you've ever managed a paid advertising campaign then you will know how time consuming it can be to make a large number of changes through the use of web interfaces. Yahoo still hasn't bothered to create a stand-alone campaign management tool similar to Adwords Editor or Adcenter Desktop. I really wish they would make this a priority because it would make management much easier and more time efficient.


• Add phrase/exact/broad match similar to Google and Bing. Standard and advanced match don't offer the level of targeting that comes by using the phrase/exact/broad match methods used by the other engines.


• Clean up your sponsored search network. The Yahoo sponsored search network is notorious for being full of made-for-ad sites that drain budgets and reduce your ROI since they very rarely generate conversions.


• Increase the limit of blocked domains. Yahoo currently limits the number of blocked domains to 500. Due to the poor quality of the sponsored search network, this limit is often reached in a short amount of time — and there is nothing that can be done once it is reached.

Bing —

• Improve the web management interface and AdCenter Desktop. Nothing is more annoying than not being able to adjust bids or pause individual keyword match types without going into a separate screen.


• Add capitalization support to dynamic keyword insertion. Google and Yahoo have this one figured out, so it would be nice to see Microsoft add this feature. Proper capitalization improves the look of ads and can help boost click-thru rates.


• Improve day-parting targeting options. The current system only allows advertisers to day-part in four hour blocks instead of 15 minute increments like Google, or one hour blocks like Yahoo. Greater control helps to ensure your ads only run when they have the best chance of leading to conversions.

Although the list is short, it's full of things I would really like to see happen before the snow flies. What is on your paid advertising wish list? Leave a comment with what you would like to see changed or improved in regards to paid advertising, and hopefully, the search engines will take note and deliver your wish. Hurry though, only 182 days left until Christmas!

Five PPC campaign no-no's

Trying to say something useful in the 95 characters you have available when writing a Google AdWords ad is tough. You want to drive people to your web site, have them stick around and maybe even make a purchase. But you don't want to have to pay for clicks that are essentially misunderstandings or mistakes because people misinterpreted your ad. Ideally, a PPC ad should match the thought in a reader's mind about what they are looking for. Then, it should move that person to the appropriate landing page with a click.

To increase the odds of getting that to happen, here are some things NOT to do when creating AdWords campaigns (Remember, a double negative becomes a positive!):

DON'T include your chosen keywords in the ad title

While a lot of Google users (myself included) probably don't put enough thought into their search terms, when they do type something like "auto repair" into the search box, they're already pre-conditioned to recognize the phrase "auto repair" in their search results. So, if you DON'T include "auto repair" in the title of your PPC ad (instead, maybe offering a benefit like "guaranteed service satisfaction"), it's likely the prospective customer will scan right by it - simply because they're looking for the phrase they typed in.

Of course, different users will probably search using different terms, so using multiple keywords is a must. Google AdWords enables a user to create multiple ad groups for a range of important search terms. Each ad can then be written to optimize a particular word or phrase.

DON'T make your ad title interesting or relevant

With Google AdWords, there are only 25 characters for a title. So it's easy to think you can't do much with your ad title, but if it doesn't work, no one will click on your ad. So someone writing a PPC ad has to deal with the conflict between including keywords in ad titles and the need to say something compelling. This suggests you consider bidding more on some of the shorter keywords in your "preferred" group. For example, "auto repair" uses only 11 characters. "Automotive service" uses 18.

DON'T use short words

If it's hard to say nothing in 140 characters on Twitter, imagine how hard it might be to get someone to do something (i.e., click on your link) in 95 characters on Google AdWords? The message may be perfect, but if you're using eight- or 10-character words when you could be using four- or six-character words to say the same thing, you may run into character limits. "Satisfied" can become "happy," "complimentary" can be "free," and "choose" or "select" can become "pick."

Also, it's important to remember that a PPC ad serves a very specific function - to get someone to click on a link to your landing page. It is not the place to communicate feature/benefit information about your product or service.

DON'T be targeted and meaningful

Your PPC ad will not sit by itself on an empty page, nor will it distinguish itself with snappy Flash graphics, bright colors or captivating visuals. So, if your ad says more or less the same thing as every other organic listing and PPC ad on Google's search page, it'll be tough to earn that click you're looking for. One way to stand out is to be highly targeted in your messaging. For example:

• Don't sell printers, sell color laser-jet printers
• Don't sell baseball gloves, sell 111/2-inch infielders gloves

The more specific you can be, the more likely you are to catch the eye of people who really want to buy

DON'T test your ad copy or your landing page

A PPC ad needs to be handled with TLC. Keyword rankings can change and the information on your landing page always needs to accurately reflect the promise made by your ad. Among other things, this means you always need to test your PPC ad copy against certain metrics. What are its bounce rates? Where do people leave your site? How many new visitors does the ad generate? How many sales did it generate? And so on. You may want to try saying the same things in different ways to see what generates the best traffic and the best engagement. Google Analytics can give you all this information by keyword, ad group and campaign.

In the end, that's really all you need to know about creating an effective PPC ad capability. You can make every other mistake in the book - but if you're willing to test and keep testing until you get the results you want, you'll get the attention of the prospects you want and convert them into clicks and sales.