Google has been slowly shifting its online customer support from social platforms like Facebook and Twitter to solely using an online form. Now, the company is making it final.
Starting on January 1, 2020, Google says that it will no longer provide support through direct messaging on Google Ads’ Facebook and Twitter accounts. Instead, customers seeking support will be directed to the online support form.
Why This Matters
In the past, many brands and advertisers had preferred to receive support through Google Ads’ social pages because they tended to be quick and allowed for easy clarification of issues that could arise.
The company says the decision to eliminate these support options was intended to streamline the process and improve security or spam risks.
“Customer security and success is paramount. Due to the growing global concern around spam and phishing, we are making an effort to resolve all Google product customer questions via 1:1 communication through direct email, phone or chat,” a Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land. “Streamlining these channels will provide faster and more secure responses for all global customers.”
It should be noted that while Google will first direct customers to an online form, this tool then provides a number of ways to contact the company including by phone or email.
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/GoogleAdsGoogleAdwordsManagementPageFeaturePicture2.jpg4001000Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2019-12-23 18:36:152019-12-23 18:36:15Google Ads Ends Social Support For Customers On Jan 1
Google says it will be rolling out a new ad extension aimed specifically at driving leads for your business in the coming weeks.
The ads look similar to typical search ads with a unique call-to-action. If a user clicks on that CTA, they are taken to a form which can be quickly pre-filled with contact information from their Google account or manually entered.
“Capture interest when potential customers are searching for your company, products, or services on Google. A fast, mobile-optimized experience makes form submission easy and eliminates the extra step of navigating to your mobile site lead form.”
Based on their own testing, Google says one advertiser improved their closing rate for sales leads by 20% by using lead form extensions.
While the feature is currently limited to beta testers, it will become available to all Google Ads advertisers in the next few weeks. However, the ad extensions will not be available for advertisers in a few select areas.
Lead form extensions will not be eligible for ads relating to:
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/GoogleAdsGoogleAdwordsManagementPageFeaturePicture2.jpg4001000Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2019-10-31 17:11:352019-10-31 17:12:09New Lead Form Ad Extensions Help You Drive Leads With Your Google Ads
A new report shows that paid search ads are the fastest growing way to advertise online for retailers.
According to the findings from eMarketer, retail advertisers in the US will spend a combined $13.12 billion on search ads in 2019, up more than 20% from last year.
In 2020, it is projected that spending will grow even more, to $15.65 billion.
While search engine advertising is an effective advertising method for most industries, the report suggests that retailers benefit more than other sectors due to specific tools and features. For example, it cites how search ads may appear in Google Maps and show local stock of specific products, which can help drive real-world traffic and sales.
Based on their data, the report estimates that 46.3% of digital ad spend from retailers will be used on search engine advertising, compared to the industry average of 41.5%.
Similarly, this rate is expected to grow even more in 2020 to account for 47.3% of total retail digital ad spending:
“Retail overindexes on search because bottom-funnel search ads are essential for driving ecommerce, and Google Shopping ads have become a go-to ad product for retail advertisers. Conversion rates for retailers using Google Shopping ads range from 1.1% to 3.1%.”
Part of this growth may be attributed to new burgeoning opportunities outside of Google’s search ecosystem. For example, the report identifies Amazon search as a potential driving force for future retail advertising.
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Search-Ads.png360640Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2019-08-13 15:40:132019-08-13 15:40:13Paid Search Ads are Becoming The First Advertising Choice For Retailers
LinkedIn will begin showing all the sponsored content an advertiser has run within the past six months in an “Ads” tab on the associated LinkedIn pages.
The company announced the change this week as part of an effort to bring more transparency to advertising across the platform:
“At LinkedIn, we are committed to providing a safe, trusted, and professional environment where members can connect with each other, engage with relevant content, and grow their careers. Increased transparency to both our customers and members is critical to creating this trusted environment.”
When viewing an advertiser’s page, users will be able to click the “Ads” tab to view every ad that company has run in the past six months.
Users can also click on the ads as they typically would, but the advertiser will not be charged, nor will it impact campaign reporting.
Obviously, the tab won’t include any of the information behind the ads, like who they targeted or the budget for that campaign.
In my eyes, this seems like a reason to ensure your LinkedIn advertising is consistently high-quality, with the upside that high-performing ads have a chance to lead to sales without having to pay for those ad clicks.
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/LinkedInLogo.png399640Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2019-05-22 19:03:482019-05-22 19:03:48LinkedIn begins showing all your ads from the last 6 months in one place
This week Google held its annual Marketing Live event to reveal the latest innovations in online advertising, and the latest ad units aim to provide a more consistent experience across all of Google’s advertising platforms while also introducing new ways to advertise across the web.
The new ad units, including Discovery ads, Gallery ads, and Showcase Shopping ads, are all highly visual and highly automated, relying on the same automation model as Universal App Campaigns.
Here’s what you need to know about all the newest ways to advertise with Google:
Discovery Ads
Google has used the “Discovery” section of its platform to highlight content and sites it feels may be relevant to your interests. Now, brands and websites can also target this section with ads in the Discovery area, visible under the search box in the Google mobile app, in Gmail under the social promotions tabs, and in the YouTube home feed.
As Google VP of Product Management Brad Bender explained during the Marketing Live event, Discovery ads are intended to be “visually rich, mobile first, and use the ‘power of intent’”, meaning the ad service relies strongly on signals from users like past site visits, app downloads, or video views.
The company says the Discovery feed now reaches more than 800 million users around the world, making this a highly attractive area to target with ads.
Gallery Ads
Another new format introduced at the Marketing Live event is Gallery ads, which present a carousel of swipeable images at the top of mobile search results. The carousel includes between four to eight images, with up to 70 characters of copy possible for each image.
Notably, this changes the way Google charges for ads. Gallery ads are paid for on a CPC basis, which means you are charged if someone clicks on the ad. However, Google also tracks how far a person swipes through the carousel. When they wipe past the third image in the sequence, that also counts as a “click” or form of engagement. This means that you may be paying for ad interactions that do not include an actual click or landing page visit.
In testing, the search engine says Gallery ads saw “25% more interactions” compared to other search ad formats. Though, it is unclear how the actual CTR of these ads stacks up.
Increased Visibility for Showcase Shopping Ads
Showcase Shopping ads have been around since 2016 as a way for retailers to highlight a curated list of products in non-branded searches (which Google says accounts for 40% of queries).
Now Google is expanding these ads to a variety of new areas of the platform, including Google Images, the Discover feed, and the YouTube feed.
The ads include a large main image, as well as smaller images. When clicked these ads expand to showcase a variety of relevant products from the retailer, and may include other information such as store locations or in-store availability.
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/GoogleMarketingLive2019.jpg360640Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2019-05-16 16:48:422019-05-16 16:48:42Google Reveals New Ways to Advertise at Marketing Live 2019
Often, businesses think of SEO and online advertising as being entirely separate. They may feel like they need to choose one or the other. However, a new study from WordStream shows that most experts agree that SEO and advertising work best together, not apart.
The new data published in WordStream’s report on the online advertising landscape in 2019 reveals that more than three-quarters (79%) of online advertisers are also incorporating SEO within their marketing strategies.
Even more, digital advertisers ranked SEO as the leading marketing channel aside from advertising for growing their business.
The full breakdown of responses is as follows:
Outside of digital advertising, what other marketing channels are you using to grow your business in 2019?
SEO – 79%
Email marketing – 66%
Content marketing – 60%
Word of mouth marketing – 47%
Direct mail – 32%
Event marketing – 26%
Guerrilla marketing – 9%
Affinity marketing – 6%
Telemarketing – 4%
Other – 1%
As WordStream explains, the findings show that while advertisers may prioritize paid search for bringing in immediate revenue, they also recognize the importance of fostering a long-term strategy for bringing in new potential customers:
“Like content marketing, SEO can be an extremely valuable long-term strategy when done effectively. Kudos to those surveyed for recognizing the importance of balancing short-term results with a long-term strategy for sustainable growth!”
The report includes a number of other interesting tidbits about the current state of online advertising, including the discovery that nearly half of advertisers are increasing their Google search ads budgets this year.
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/SEOPPC.jpg360640Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2019-03-28 17:22:562019-03-28 17:22:56Survey shows 79% of online advertisers are incorporating SEO
“LinkedIn’s lookalike audiences combine the traits of your ideal customer with our rich member and company data to help you market to new professional audiences similar to your existing customers, website visitors and target accounts.”
Specifically, the company highlights a few ways lookalike audience targeting can help businesses improve their advertising:
Reach high-converting audiences: Discover audiences similar to those who are already interested in your business.
Get results at scale: Extend the reach of your campaigns to more qualified prospects.
Engage new target accounts: Target your ads to additional companies you may not have previously considered. These companies match a similar company profile to your ideal customer.
In testing, LinkedIn says lookalike audience targeting led to a 5-10x increase in campaign reach without sacrificing ad performance.
At the same time it announced the launch of these new targeting options, LinkedIn also revealed a few other improvements to their ad platform:
Interest Targeting
While interest targeting has been available on LinkedIn since January, the company says it is now increasing the targeting capabilities of the feature.
Through a partnership with Microsoft, LinkedIn will now allow advertisers to target users based on not only their LinkedIn profile information but through the professional topics and content they engage with on Bing.
Audience Templates
LinkedIn has also created some new features specifically aimed at new advertisers. Audience templates provide advertisers with a selection of more than 20 premade B2B audiences. This way, you can start targeting your ideal audience without having extensive knowledge of ad targeting.
The templates cover a range of characteristics, from users skills, job titles, groups, and more.
In the announcement, LinkedIn says the new features will all be rolling out over the next two weeks.
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/LinkedInLogo.jpg360640Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2019-03-21 17:08:382019-03-21 17:08:38LinkedIn’s new ad targeting options allow you to target your ideal customer
Google’s “Shopping Ads” will start appearing within Google Images search results by default, as the company announced recently in an email to advertisers.
In the past, it was possible to display your shopping ads in Google Images by manually opting-in to the Search Partner Network. This is because Google Images was previously a part of the Search Partner Network.
However, that has all changed. Google Images is now a part of Google’s own search network, which makes it a default placement for shopping ads.
Notably, advertisers cannot opt-out of the placement currently, which Google says is a good thing for advertisers:
“If your campaigns are not currently opted into the Search Partner Network – your ads will start showing on Google Images and as a result there may be a 3-10% increase in traffic at lower cost-per-click and comparable conversion rates.”
Meanwhile, many advertisers question whether this is actually a change for the better. While some shoppers may frequent Google Images for a variety of reasons, it seems logical that they would be less purchase-focused than users actively searching Google’s shopping results.
You can read Google’s full email announcing the change below:
Google Images is now a part of the Search Network for Shopping ads Hello, Google Images is a visually rich surface and a key part of millions of users’ shopping journeys every day. Users frequently turn to Google Images for idea exploration, how-to guidance, product discovery and visual imagery related to key shopping categories like fashion, home and beauty. We are excited to announce that we will be integrating Google Images into our core Search Network in late March. This means Shopping ads, that you are already familiar with, will now automatically be eligible* to appear in Google Images results when users are searching for relevant keywords. What this means for your Shopping campaigns: All of your Shopping ads will be automatically eligible* to serve on Google Images. You will no longer have to opt into the Search Partner Network to show Shopping ads on Google Images. *For Europe only: if you are unsure what surfaces your ads show on, please check with your CSS. If your campaigns currently run on the Search Partner Network – you may see a decrease in traffic coming in from Search Partner Network and an increase in traffic coming from the Search Network. This is because Google Images was previously a part of the Search Partner Network. Note: Historical Google Images traffic will not be re-categorized from the Search Partner Network to Search Network. If your campaigns are not currently opted into the Search Partner Network – your ads will start showing on Google Images and as a result there may be a 3-10% increase in traffic at lower cost-per-click and comparable conversion rates. Sincerely, The Google Ads Team
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/GoogleAdsGoogleAdwordsManagementPageFeaturePicture2.jpg4001000Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2019-03-12 17:56:272019-03-12 17:56:27Google Shopping Ads are now showing in Google Images results
A new survey of US consumers has some surprising findings about what customers expect out of business websites.
The results from 1,013 respondents between the ages of 18-60 show that consumers have high expectations when it comes to how frequently your website is updated, what features are implemented, and how you are advertising your business online.
What Consumers DON’T Want in a Website
Of the respondents, more than 80% say they view a brand more negatively if their website is out of date. Additionally, 39% of consumers say they would reconsider buying a product or service if the website isn’t current.
The issue of advertising is also a prickly subject for consumers, based on the survey results.
Less than 10% approved of brands showing ads on social media based on a person’s browsing activity. Meanwhile, approximately 26% feel negatively about ads appearing on their social media feeds based on their browsing or device history – saying it is an invasion of privacy.
On the other hand, 41% of consumers say they don’t mind if websites keep personal data, but only if it is secured on used exclusively to improve the user experience.
Overall, consumers are largely conflicted. Approximately 50% of respondents say that they like the convenience of brands keeping data for to improve ads and user experience, but they are concerned about how else it might be used.
What Consumers DO Want in a Website
In general, consumers say ease of use should be the top priority in making their online experience better.
Approximately 50% of the respondents said they prefer user-created content like reviews and photos to help inform their purchasing decision.
Meanwhile, 25% say their favorite website feature is receiving a reminder when they have left a product in their shopping cart.
Perhaps surprisingly, a major feature desired by users is an on-site search engine. Nearly one-third of respondents say they are put-off if a site does not have a search box, while more than 40% say a search box is the most important feature on a site.
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/FrustratedatComputer.jpg360640Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2019-01-31 18:06:122019-01-31 18:06:22Survey shows how people REALLY feel about out-of-date websites
For the first time since its release in 2016, Pinterest is making major changes to its self-serve Ads Manager, including dynamic pricing and stock information.
All the changes coming to Ads Manager
Perhaps this biggest change is a new step-by-step campaign set-up tool that will walk advertisers through picking a business goal, customizing their audience, and selecting or creating Pins to promote.
Pinterest is also introducing ad placement options to select whether you want your ads to appear in feeds or search results at the ad group level.
Advertisers will also be given more control over when their ads are scheduled to run, as well as a “pause campaign” tool for reviewing Promoted Pins before they start running.
To help you better target your ads with a detailed audience, Pinterest is integrating the Audience Insights tool directly into the ad manager. This will keep you from having to switch back and forth between windows to create data-driven audiences for your ads.
At the same time, Pinterest is making some changes to its reporting dashboard to let advertisers make changes to multiple rows or campaigns at the same time.
Updates to Product Pins
As part of the revamp, Pinterest is greatly expanding the options available for Product Pins, including the addition of dynamic pricing and up-to-date stock information.
The company is also increasing the number of Product Pins that will include the shopping bag icon to directly link to a checkout page, making it easier to purchase items with just a few clicks.
The new Product Pins are replacing the Buyable Pin format and are already rolling out for both mobile and app versions of Pinterest.
New fashion and home discovery categories
Lastly, Pinterest is creating two new shopping recommendation categories for home décor and fashion retailers within the Style and Home sections. This will give these retailers more opportunities to reach new audiences and help ensure their ads are shown to the right audiences.
With the holiday season coming up, now is a good time to make yourself familiar with all the new advertising options on Pinterest. The social shopping platform is one of the biggest tools used by online shoppers to not only plan their holiday gift purchases but actively purchase new products as they browse.
00Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2018-10-18 13:21:182018-10-18 13:21:18Major changes are coming to Pinterest’s Ads Manager ahead of the holiday shopping season
