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Ask the Experts: Google Display Network Preview

September 25, 2013
by Gradiva Couzin

Q: Hi, I am running online advertising for a client and am using Google’s Display Network. I have the client asking for verification that the display ads are running, but Google does not provide an ad preview tool. How can I preview Ads for my client in order to send them a screen grab?

A: Unfortunately, Google does not provide an Ad preview tool for the display network as it does for search, nor are we aware of a third-party tool for this job. Below are two possible workarounds:

(1) AdWords “Preview”

To “preview” the Ad within AdWords, you’ll be confined to looking at just the ad itself without the context of placement in the display network. For basic text ads, this will involve taking a screen clipping of the ad itself. Since one normally uploads image ads, there is no reason to take a screen clipping of this within AdWords as it will be the same as the one you uploaded. If you are using animated ads, you may have an additional option to preview: In the “Ads” tab click the “View Full Size Display Ad” link beside an ad and then in the pop-up click “Create External Link” button which you can send to your client to preview the ad(s).

(2) Live Verification

If your client needs to see the ad in context of a website, you’ll need to view one live. To see the list of sites that are showing your ad, visit the “Display Network” tab and then “Placements.” This section of AdWords will tell you most of the sites that Google is showing your ad on. Visit the sites and refresh the page repeatedly until you see an example of your ad on display. You’ll need a bit of patience as the ad may not show immediately. Also be aware of the following factors:

If you are only running remarketing campaigns, be sure to visit the page(s) that contain the remarketing code so you become a member of the audience, otherwise the ad won’t display for you.
If you are using geo-targeting and you are not in a targeted location, you’ll either need to broaden the target for a brief period, or attempt to “fake” your location for Google. Google determines a user’s location for the display network using several factors. There is one that you can easily control: If you have a Google account, you can change your declared location and you may be served ads from that location. You can change your Google account location by clicking this link.
Be sure when checking for the ad that your budget did not max out for the day.

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Ask the Experts: Will my AdWords Campaign be Profitable?

May 8, 2013
by Gradiva Couzin

Q: I just began reading your book SEO: An Hour a Day and am very pleased with the advice found in it. Thank you. My main concern lies with PPC (AdWords), as I’m just starting out my campaign and currently have very little budget. I’m concerned that not every click on my ad will be a sale and, thus, cause me to lose money rather than make a profit. Is there another method I could perhaps attempt before diving right into PPC from the get-go, maybe a “Pay per Sale” option? Or is there another form of PPC I could try that may not put such a strain on my wallet, so to speak?

A: You’re right to assume that not every click will translate into a sale for your paid search campaign. Typical conversion rates (the percent of clicks that “convert” into sales) vary widely from industry to industry, but it would be reasonable to expect a conversion rate for a brand new campaign to be under 5%. (Brad Geddes suggests that 3% is Google’s stated benchmark)

Instead of relying on every click to convert for you, you need to identify a cost per conversion that you can live with, and set your bids accordingly. For example, perhaps you sell hat boxes at $15 apiece, and you are willing to spend $5 on advertising for each sale you get. That translates to much less than $5 per click, because you know that only a fraction of your clicks will convert to a sale. Perhaps $.25 per click would be a reasonable starting point.

I would suggest trying Google’s Conversion Optimizer, which will allow you to set a target cost per acquisition (CPA). But before you can enable Conversion Optimizer, your campaign will need to have conversion tracking in place, and the campaign will need to have at least 15 conversions in the last 30 days. Here’s information about Conversion Optimizer: http://support.google.com/adwords/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2471188

When you are starting out with a new paid search campaign, you should expect that there will be a learning curve, which means that your advertising dollars may be less efficient than you’d like them to be, at first. You’ll want to take time to manage your campaign regularly, monitoring bids, tweaking your ad text, your keyword list, and possibly your landing page, until you have reached an acceptable conversion cost.

When you’re getting started, there are no guarantees that you’ll make a profit, so determine what exploratory budget you’re willing to spend, and choose your campaign levels accordingly. Or, in other words, only gamble what you’re willing to lose.

Ask the Experts: Google Display Network Preview

Q: Hi, I am running online advertising for a client and am using Google’s Display Network. I have the client asking for verification that the display ads are running, but Google does not provide an ad preview tool. How can I preview Ads for my client in order to send them a screen grab?

(1) AdWords “Preview”

(2) Live Verification

Ask the Experts: Will my AdWords Campaign be Profitable?

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