A quick primer on the nature of the problem. Skip down if you don’t need a primer. One of the most common problems I run into with Google Analytics (GA) occurs when a website uses a 3rd-party shopping cart, booking system or other transactional functionality. These systems often run on another domain, which means a
At Two Octobers, one of our core working principles is that collaboration makes work more productive and fun. To get better at it, we brought in some of the fabulous folks at On Your Feet. Here’s a short video capturing the ensuing productivity and fun. Video production, direction and editing: Johan Christanson Muse: Balto
Updated August, 2016, to reflect changes in AdWords Editor and added support for the expanded text ad format. In the Summer of 2015, Google removed the HTML export feature from AdWords Editor. We made heavy use of this functionality in order to share new campaigns with clients for approval. To replace it, I created a Google
Google recently released a major update to product advertising on their AdWords platform. With the update came a new name, Shopping campaigns, replacing their previously-named Product Listing Ads (PLA) campaigns. Shopping campaigns generate keywords and ads from a product data feed provided by the advertiser, and are an incredibly effective way to market products online. One
Can engagement metrics be used as a proxy for conversion rate when optimizing advertising campaigns? When we manage advertising campaigns, whether they be in Google AdWords, Facebook or elsewhere, we strive to drive a many leads or sales as possible. Doing this usually includes setting bids or budgets based on an expected conversion rate. For
I was recently working with a client and struggling with a profoundly low conversion rate coming from search ads. The keywords we were buying were on target, the ads were performing well, and the landing pages appeared well designed. Then I tried to put myself inside the mind of the searcher. When I did that,
According to people who know more than I do, link building is the most important thing you can do to improve your search engine ranking, apart from avoiding stupid mistakes. Most link building advice falls into one of two categories: Quit your day job and try to become more like the person giving the advice,
This weekend, I had a coffee with a client who owns several boutique hotels in Mexico. We talked about some interesting ideas he has for a travel review site, with built-in mechanisms to verify the identity of reviewers, and weighted reviews based on the reputation of the reviewer. His motivation for thinking about this is
Most of my friends know I’ve been involved in search marketing for a long time, so I’m often asked to look over Google AdWords campaigns to see why they aren’t performing well. People even pay me to do this. The very first thing I do when I look over an account is to check for
I’ve spent much of the last 10 years building tools that automate online marketing tasks. Early on, I had a grand vision of creating an application that would perfectly distribute marketing investment based on an advertiser’s ROI goals. But along the way, I met a few, very smart people who changed my thinking. Before I get
