This Week’s Industry Update
Compiled By Rocket Clicks
Microsoft adCenter Includes Quality Score, Simplified Budget Among New Features
Google AdWords receives a justifiably large amount of attention when they announce an update (which basically happens on days that end in “Y”), but Microsoft’s adCenter deserves recognition for a recent binge of updates that will make the online advertising platform easier to use and navigate.
Keyword Quality Score
adCenter has used Quality Score to determine keyword rankings for a while, and now the platform will make each keyword’s Quality Score available in a numeric ranking (1-10) on its interface. The adCenter Quality Score takes in account keyword and landing page relevance, as well as landing page quality based on user experience, when determining its rankings.
Simpler Budget Management And Notifications
The current adCenter setup required that you set a monthly budget even if you’re doing a daily budget. However, that will soon change so you can set a daily budget independent of a monthly one. The new Budget Coach feature allows advertisers to view budget issues in all their campaigns and provides recommendations for spending. The Budget Summary report is a rapid reference for questions about possible budget problems.
Campaign Insights
The adCenter Campaign Insights tool is similar to AdWords’ Opportunity Tab, and features:
- Keyword bid and positioning recommendations
- Budget problems and remedies
- Negative keyword recommendations
- Match type recommendations
- Pending editorial problems
Modernized Graphic Targeting
Instead of just targeting city, metro, state/province, and country/region locations, you can now focus on business location, ZIP code, and radius/specific location when targeting geographical areas.
Source: Search Engine Watch
AdWords Position Preference Tool Will Retire
If there’s a Del Boca Vista for AdWords features, the Position Preference is slated for a May move in. Google recently announced that the tool will be retired come early May, and the feature is currently available only to campaigns that already use it. Google recommends disabling Position Preference as soon as possible to speed up acclimation to life without it.
Source: Google Inside AdWords Blog
Linkscape Update And New Findings On Google Algorithm Signals From SEOmoz
Rand Fishkin and the wunderkins at SEOmoz have revealed some interesting (yet not fully vetted) pieces of data unearthed over the past month. Among the findings:
1. Success on Facebook and Twitter usually means success in search rankings.
2. Partial anchor text seems to carry more weight than exact match anchor text, possibly due to Google’s crack down on spammy, too exact phrasing.
3. Exact match domain correlation has decreased, possible because of Google’s actions.
4. Nofollows are increasingly intriguing in their relationship to Google’s rankings, to say the least.
5. Domain-wide signals matter.
Source: SEOmoz
Demand Media Deflects Google Algo Change Like Superman Facing A Barrage Of Bullets
It’s definitely a reach to use a Superman analogy when describing a content farm, but Demand Media has actually seen an increase in weekly unique visitors since Google supposedly cracked down on sites of their ilk. This Freakonomics article also has an interesting graphic breakdown of Demand Media’s business model.
Source: Freakonomics
Google To Employees: Sucking At Social Development Means A Lower Bonus
Google CEO Larry Page recently announced to Google employees that the company’s 2011 social media advancements will determine whether their end-of-year bonuses will increase or decrease by as much as 25%.
Source: Business Insider
Want A Google Employee To Work For You? Do You Have $10-$30 Million?
Google top product managers Sundar Pichai and Neal Mohan are between $10 million and $30 million richer today. Both were slated to accept jobs at Twitter before Google counter offered with those reDONKulous checks. Memo to other Google employees: Interview at other major tech companies.
Source: Business Insider
Notable Commentary
Perfect For Smart Non-Sequitur Discussions
Explaining The Average Position Metric
Google Chief Economist Hal Varian clears up some misconceptions about the Average Position metric in Google AdWords.
Analysis By: Hal Varian, Inside Google AdWords Blog
‘We Want Information. Information. Information.’
Internet retail shoppers, and general users, are seeking out pointed, specific details about their desired product or topic and increasingly rejecting generalized language. Considering consumer review sites are available for any product or service by the dozen, this is an understandable progression for users to take.
Analysis By: Cyd Harrell, UX Magazine
Search engine optimization has morphed from a technical-dominant industry to a multi-faceted field requiring skills beyond dealing with redirects, crawl issues, and indexing. However, the technical side of SEO is still very important, and Adam Audette takes a look at some of those tips and tools that can make a big difference in site construction and visibility in search engines.
Analysis By: Adam Audette, Search Engine Watch
I Tought I Taw A Twaffic Jam
One of Twitter’s most unique features is its ability to be the definitive source of breaking news. Recent events have proven traffic reports can also be greatly influenced by a Twitter presence.
Analysis By: Tom Vanderbilt, Slate
I Know Google AdWords, And You, Facebook, Are No Google AdWords
According to the market-analysis firm Forrester Research, Facebook and other social media outlets ranks dead last out of 10 customer acquisition tactics when it comes to driving new e-commerce customers (7%). However, the survey did not explore the viability of Facebook as a customer service tool.
Analysis By: Ryan Singel, Wired