Part 2: Google Ad Innovations: Search Innovations & Analysis

I hope you enjoyed learning about the Ad Extensions available with Google’s Ad Innovations.  Today, we’re going to delve into some of the other Search Innovations.

AdWords for Mobile (Status: Open Beta)

Ok, so this one is not to be confused with mobile advertising.  So here’s the scoop.  AdWords for Mobile gives you flexibility to monitor alerts that you set up for those keywords and campaigns in AdWords that you’ve so carefully crafted. 

Any changes, updates, and even deletions can be done right there from your phone (currently only compatible with Android, iPhone, and Palm Pre devices)!  This ability to make account changes and stay on the go allows you to respond to activity with your account quickly and efficiently whenever you need to. 

You’ll need to create your alerts and campaigns in the web interface but after that you can look at a variety of statistics right from your phone.  An example of an alert you may want is to be notified when your clicks reach 90% of your budget. 

We can’t always predict when that’s going to happen but you certainly want to be able to respond when it does.  So, with AdWords for Mobile and your nifty smartphone, you can react to the alert without the anxiety of worrying about how long it will be before you can get back in front of your computer. 

Now, you can make simple changes from the phone but keep in mind that you will need to make any major changes from the web. 

Also, you should note that this information is only in reference to keywords and campaigns but it is still a nice little tool when you need to do a quick check up on those items no matter where you are.

Search Funnels (Status: Limited Release)

You’ve done your homework.  You’ve carefully crafted keywords for your campaign.  How do you truly measure how effective it is?  Search Funnels is how. 

This is a set of reports that gives you a very targeted analysis of click behavior prior to conversion.  Before, all we have had access to is to the only what happened in that last click prior to conversion.  Now, Google has provided advertisers with a very sophisticated way to track and analyze search behavior through all layers of the search funnel.  Using these reports (which are generated from conversion paths or a sequence of ad clicks that lead up to conversions), you are gaining valuable knowledge about consumer behavior.

So first, let’s take a look at the “funnel”.  Traditionally, all sales processes go through a sales funnel so the online sales process is no different. 

As you can see in the process illustration above, each of the steps can be directly linked to a step in the search funnel of online consumer behavior.  So, as an advertiser, knowing your strengths and weaknesses at each of these stages would not only be valuable but critical to the success of your campaign.

In a recent blog post by SEER Interactive (Click here to see the post), Google’s Search Funnel reports are laid out in great detail, along with screen shots so that you can get a nice feel for how these reports will look.  From a basic perspective, you, the advertiser, is going to want to review the Path Length Report and the Time Lag Report.  The Path Length report is going to let you know the number of searches a customer conducts before the conversion is complete.  By contrast, the Time Lag report is going to tell you how long it takes to complete the conversion from the moment the customer starts their search.  Both of these reports rely on data gathered from impressions and clicks.  At a deeper level, you would then review the Assist reports: these reports will tell you what keywords “assisted” in the conversion.  Why might this be important?  Suppose the keyword that “assisted” your customer to the purchase was actually in the middle of the search funnel.  This knowledge would allow you to tighten the entire structure of your advertising campaign.

So, let’s say you are an advertiser who is using keywords “hotels in London”, “hotels in Kensington London” and “Four Towers London” and “Four Towers Hotel Kensington.”  If I, as the searcher, am searching for a hotel in London, I might start with a generic search using keywords “best hotels in London”.  I might see your ad that was triggered by my keyword search.  Perhaps I click on your ad.  At this point (my click point), a cookie is placed on my computer.  So, I might look around a bit and then leave the site.  It could be for any number of reasons but for this example, let’s just say that I’m not quite ready to book anything just yet because I realize I do not know exactly where in London I would like to stay.  After a little more research, I realize that I definitely want to stay specifically in the Kensington area of London. So, when I enter a more qualified search phrase of “hotels in Kensington London”, your ad is triggered and appears again.  I click on it and remember that I’ve been here before but did not realize that it was in Kensington.  Duly noted but I’d still like to see what other options I might have in the area.  After I research a number of other options but ultimately I decide that your hotel is most appealing.  I remember it was called “Four Towers Hotel” so I go to Google and search for “Four Towers Hotel Kensington”.  The ad comes up and I click on it again.  This time, I book a room.  Since I booked, the cookies that were placed on my computer every time I clicked on the ad will interact with the cookies on the booking confirmation page.  Google will count my booking as a conversion for the keyword “Four Towers Hotel Kensington” since this ultimately was the keyword that linked me to making the reservation.  However, without the Google Search Funnel analysis, you, the advertiser, would have had NO idea how heavily the other keywords influenced my decision to book the room at your hotel.  Without that critical information, you might have even decided to remove those earlier keywords from your campaign making a false assumption that they were not working.  This could be a very costly assumption.

In summary, when you know how customers are searching, you are able to more effectively maximize and prioritize your keywords, adgroups, and campaigns.