Google Changed “Sponsored Links” to “Ads”

Google Changed “Sponsored Links” to “Ads”

Last week, Google started using a new description in the ad frame that the text ads appears in it’s search results. Instead of the usual long-standing “sponsored links” disclaimer, they have just use the word “ads” rather.

Here is a screen shot showing the change. See the little word “Ads” above the ad?

Normally, “Sponsored links” should appear there, below is a screen shot of the previous:

A few things we observe here:

1) This might symbolize a shift in Google going beyond “text links” in the ad frame. Google had been experimenting with many ad formats in this area, such as product ads, map ads, image ads and even tested video and other interactive ad units in this area before. Labeling this ad frame as a “ sponsored link” might be too limiting.

2) There might be a change in user behaviour towards the text ads. Through our course of work, we had meet some clients who did not even realised that “sponsored links” are actually paid advertisements. And they had been clicking on them regardless. Having the word “Ads” obviously shown now, less-savvy users may start to think twice about clicking on to them, well knowing they are advertisements with vested interest.

3) This may lead to users becoming more “ad-blind” when using Google. Having said “ad-blindness” do occur across all forms of media, be it TV, newspaper, magazine, online banners, etc, it may become worst on Google now.

How can it affect SEO and PPC(SEM)?

For SEO, with users starting to be more aware of the presence of advertisements, they would rather click on the natural/organic results. This means that it is ever more important to make your site more relevant to the search results by doing proper On-page SEO work on your site.

For PPC, marketers have to be more meticulous in constantly making sure that their text ads are well related to the keyword. With the text ads closely related to the user’s search, there would still be a fair chance for them to click on your text ads. Marketers must do more optimisation on their ad copies, A / B test the ads with more variations or even the dynamic keyword function which are already existing methodologies we are using at AdVantage SEO.

If the above sounds complicated and difficult to apprehend, do not worry. We are the experts, so that you do not have to be one. Contact us at +65 9450 0295 / +65 6640 9987 or email info@advantageseo.net and we would provide you with a solution!

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Optimising for Local Search Results – Google Place Search

Google Place Search

Is ranking well for local search results important to your business? If yes, read on.

This week Google introduced Place Search, a new kind of search result that organizes the  information around local places. Whether you’re looking for a restaurant, dry clean or tuition centre, you’ll find what you’re looking for more quickly and easily.

They had clustered search results around specific locations so you can make comparisons and choose the best sites. Many a times, the address and telephone number maybe listed, which allows you to quickly pick up your phone to make the enquiry. You should already be seeing place results automatically for many local searches. If you don’t see Place Search results at first, you can always click Places in the left-hand panel of the results page.

Place Search had been around for awhile on beta. Now they had moved the Map to the right and in fact, the map moves with you as you scroll down the page.

How would this change affect SEO and PPC(SEM)?

For SEO, if your site used to be listed in the Top 10, you would had been pushed further down. In some cases, there can be up to 7 Places Page listings and the organic listings is been reduced to 7 only. If your site had always been at 8-10 position, you could potentially be pushed to the second page.

For PPC, with the Map been moved to the right, it pushes the “Sponsored Links” in the right panel further down by about 4 listings. Worst still, when the user scrolls down the page, the Map covers the Sponsored Links showing only the organic results.

And of course, to beat the game of local search, you can:

1) Make sure you are rank in the top 7 for organic results

2) Get your Place Page ranking in the first 7 in Place Search

3) Make sure that your PPC ads appears in the first four-five listing so that you remain in the first fold of the screen

If you click on this link, you can see that we had been able to rank ourselves well for the keyword “seo singapore“.

So if you want to know how we can help you rank well in local search results with the new Place Search, contact us at +65 94500295 or info@advantageseo.net.

iPad users more likely to buy online

A recent report from Nielsen’s new Connected Devices Playbook surveys more than 5,000 consumers who already own a tablet computer, eReader, netbook, media player or smartphone – including 400 iPad owners shows that iPad users are more likely to buy online.

We feel that Marketers doing PPC campaigns should look at how they can better channel their funds on AdWords if they would like to target iPad users.

Below is a link to more of the findings:

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/the-connected-devices-age-ipads-kindles-smartphones-and-the-connected-consumer/

If you are keen to know how we can help you achieve better targeting at iPad users, contact AdVantage SEO at +65 9450 0295, or http://www.advantageseo.sg/contact-us

Getting a business off the ground with AdWords

Small businesses are especially close to my heart. When he retired from teaching, my father ran a small art company in Maine, and I saw firsthand how fulfilling — and how difficult — it was for him to realize his dream of running his own business. Unfortunately, his business closed its doors after just a few years. His key challenge: attracting qualified customers.

Many new businesses face similar challenges, but the power of technology can help business owners find the customers they need. Whether you’re a fledgling entrepreneur trying to turn your passion into a profit or an established enterprise trying to get to the next level, Internet tools like Google AdWords are the key to being there when customers come looking for you online.

To show what’s possible, we invited 53-year-old Jay Berkowitz to share his experience creating a business and using AdWords to help it flourish. Here’s what Jay has to say:

Like most first-time parents, my life completely changed when my daughter Hillary was born in 1993. My wife Janet and I decided that one of us should stay at home to care for her while the other continued working full time. Janet kept her engineering job, and I ended up quitting my job as a Wall Street bond analyst to become Mr. Mom.

Later, when Hillary started school, I had more free time. It seemed like the perfect chance to do something I’d always dreamed of: launch my own business and work for myself. I started selling themed plates and lunchboxes at New York City street fairs. Then in 2001, eight-year-old Hillary showed me (her non-tech-savvy dad) how to turn on a computer. That was the beginning of taking the business online, and realizing a whole new world of possibility. Janet and I worked together to build a website,PlatesPlus4Kids.com, and we started advertising online with Google AdWords. Soon, my little project became a full-fledged venture.

By advertising on the Internet, I was able to reach interested customers not only in my area, but all over the country. More and more people found my store through online searches. In no time, I had so many orders that I could no longer keep my inventory of themed cups, plates and lunchboxes on the kitchen table. The stock moved to the den, then the basement, and finally to a warehouse 20 minutes from our house in Little Neck, New York. Over the years, I’ve also expanded my product line and now offer children’s backpacks, umbrellas, flatware, snack containers and sandwich boxes. What started as a hobby now brings in about $500,000 in sales annually.

I only pay when people click on my ad and go to my website, so the cost of marketing is within my means. I increase the budget during the back-to-school season and the holidays (my peak periods) so my ads show above the search results during those times. I’ve also noticed that customers seem to be in a shopping mood on Mondays and Tuesdays, so I sometimes increase my budget on those days to make sure my ads show up more. Depending on trends, I create new ads to promote different characters and new inventory. For example, now that Yo Gabba Gabba is popular andbaseball season is starting, I’m making adjustments so that those phrases combined with words like “dishes,” “placemats” and “cups” trigger my ads. And of course, I have ads that mention items with princesses and superheroes — those are top sellers year-round.

What’s really great is that even though my business has expanded over the past seven years, it’s still a small family company. Two people work for me at the warehouse, but I work from home. Janet takes pictures of the products and works on the website on the weekends. I’ve had the freedom to be a hands-on parent to Hillary and the privilege of helping other parents connect with their kids through my store. Certain celebrity parents have found me through my AdWords ads and bought items for their kids.

I consider myself a pretty ordinary guy. When I started PlatesPlus for Kids, I had no idea it would become what it is today. It’s heartening to know that by following your gut and putting in a lot of hard work, you can find a fulfilling second career. Or maybe a first one.

Posted by Claire Johnson, Vice President, Online Sales and Operations, Advertising Programs

Source: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/it-takes-one-to-show-one-getting.html

Keen to know more about Adwords? Let us tell you more here: PPC Singapore

To find out how you can get yourself more business from Google Adwords immediately, contact us at tel: +65 94500295 or http://www.advantageseo.sg/contact-us

Google’s Annual Rev. From Typosquatting Put At $497m

Most people regard typos as nuisances, just inconsequential mistakes that cause them to lose a second of time hitting the backspace key.  But for Google, typos may equal big business, as Benjamin Edelman and Tyler Moore have estimated that they make the search giant $497 million per year.

Edelman and Moore, who both call Harvard their home, coauthored a paper titled “Measuring Typosquatting Perpetrators and Funders.”  In a blog post summarizing it, they presented several sets of statistics and wrote, “According to our analysis, 57% of typo sites include Google pay-per-click ads.”

Then they made a rather more interesting comment regarding the effect of Google’s connection: “Combining our observations with financial reports and others’ estimates, we conclude that Google’s revenue from typosquatting on the top 100,000 sites is $497 million per year.”

Also, Google’s pretty much the only search engine they point a finger at, since not nearly as many ads from Yahoo and Microsoft appear on typosquatting sites.

Now, it’s necessary to mention that Edelman is involved in a lawsuit against Google (”arising out of Google’s use of typosquatting domains to display advertising”), so he may not be the least biased person in the world.  The numbers he and Moore presented are still stunning if true.

UPDATE: Ben Edelman was good enough to drop by in the comments section, and he wrote,  “Surely it’s not Google’s fault that some people misspell. But our study [shows] that typosquatters register more domains targeting companies in sectors with high PPC prices. That tells us that PPC funding is *causing* and *exacerbating* typosquatting. Without PPC payments, there would be fewer typosquatting registrations — much less reason for squatters to register these domains. Google’s payments put the system in motion; squatters register domains exactly in anticipation of getting paid by Google. Google knows where it’s showing ads. (Example: Google shows Expedia ads if you misspell Expedia, but Travelocity ads if you misspell Travelocity!) So it’s natural to look to Google for resolution of these problems.”

>> Click to read the rest of Edelman’s comment …

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