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Tips and tricks for managing your business with Google’s solutions
Improving targeting options in AdWords Express
Friday, March 27, 2015
Promoting your business is about getting in front of customers in the moments that matter to them—you design your ad so you can show up to the right people, at the right time, and on the right devices. If you use
AdWords Express
, you simply write your ad, tell us what kind of business you want to promote, and Google does the rest.
But a frequent request we hear from some AdWords Express advertisers is for a way to narrow down the
search phrases
that cause their ad to show. That’s why today we’re introducing the ability to
remove search phrases
that may not be the best fit for your business (and add them back if you need to).
This change should provide more freedom to create ads that reach the kind of customers looking for the products and services you want to promote. For example, if you run a bakery and only want to advertise your award winning cakes, you can now remove search phrases about cupcakes or bread.
Today, we’re rolling out this feature to AdWords Express advertisers based in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Click the pencil icon inside the “Search phrases” card and uncheck the phrases you want to remove
Log in to AdWords Express
to review the search phrases for your business. We look forward to hearing your feedback and making this feature available in more countries soon.
Posted by Francisco Uribe, Product Manager, Google AdWords Express
It's time to put America’s small businesses on the map
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
If you searched for “Dependable Care near Garland, TX” a few months ago, you would have seen a lot of search results—but not the one that mattered to Marieshia Hicks. Marieshia runs
Dependable Care Health Service
in Garland, and it was her business that was missing. But that all changed last month when she attended a workshop at the Garland Chamber of Commerce called Let’s Put Garland on the Map.
The workshop, run by our Get Your Business Online team, showed her how to use Google My Business—a tool that allows business owners to control the info listed about their business on Google Search and Maps—to help more people find Dependable. Marieshia added an updated phone number, hours of operation, and a description to her business listing. Within a few months, she had more customers come through the door and referrals from doctors who could reach her. This one simple adjustment made a difference. In Marieshia’s words: “It’s huge.”
Huge might be an understatement.
Four out of five people
use search engines to find local information, like business hours and addresses, and research shows that businesses with complete listings are
twice as likely
(PDF) to be considered reputable by customers. Consumers are
38 percent more likely to visit and 29 percent more likely to consider purchasing
from businesses with complete listings. Yet only
37 percent of businesses
(PDF) have claimed a local business listing on a search engine. That’s a lot of missed opportunities for small businesses.
With this in mind, our Get Your Business Online team set out in 2011 to help businesses like Marieshia’s get found online. We’ve gone to every state in the U.S. and worked with thousands of business owners to create free websites and update their Google Search and Maps listings. But there’s a lot more work to do to help businesses take advantage of the vast opportunities yielded by the web. So today, we’re introducing
Let’s Put Our Cities on the Map
, a new program to help 30,000 cities get their local businesses online.
If we want to help every business in the U.S., we need to reach businesses where they are. So this tailor-made program provides each city with a custom website where local businesses can find helpful resources, including a new diagnostic tool that shows businesses how they appear on Search and Maps, a step-by-step guide for getting online with Google My Business, and a free website and domain name for one year with our partner, Startlogic.
We’re also forming partnerships with local organizations—like chambers and small business development centers—and equipping them with free trainings and customized city materials to run workshops just like the one Marieshia attended in Garland. These local partners know the challenges for local businesses more than anyone—and they recognize the value of getting businesses online. After all, getting Dependable’s information online not only means the world for Marieshia, it means even more for the city of Garland. Complete business info can help generate economic value
up to $300,000 a year
for a small city or up to $7 million for a large one
(PDF). So when our local businesses are online, our local economies benefit.
If you have a favorite local business—a day care, a dentist, a dry cleaner—show your support by helping them get their info online and on the map. Visit your city’s website at
www.gybo.com
to find out how you can get involved.
Let’s put our cities on the map!
Posted by Soo Young Kim, Head of Marketing, Get Your Business Online
Celebrating 30 years of .COM and the future of .DOMAINS
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Cross-posted with the
Official Google Blog
When you visited Google today, we’re pretty sure you didn’t type 173.194.113.18 into your browser. This string of numbers separated by periods—an IP address—isn’t nearly as easy or memorable as typing google.com. Domain names ending in things like .COM, .NET and .EDU make browsing the web and telling people where to find you online easier. Since this month marks the 30-year anniversary of .COM and several other domain endings, we’re taking a minute to celebrate these often-overlooked suffixes that have changed the way we use the web.
Though they were introduced in 1985, domain names didn’t gain much awareness and use amongst the public until the
World Wide Web became available to all
during the ‘90s and it became clear they were an important part in unlocking its power. Using these online addresses, people began to
spread messages
,
start businesses
and
access information
that otherwise would have been nearly impossible to find. Popularity and demand for these names grew so much that people were soon
willing to pay millions of dollars
for the perfect one.
Today there are 270+ million registered domain names; in fact,
about 17 million were added just last year
. To create more naming options for people online, hundreds of new top-level domains are being added, and many, like .TODAY, .NINJA and .BIKE are already available. We
wrote about this back in 2012
, and since then we’ve launched three of our own:
.HOW
,
.SOY
and
.みんな
.
As .COM turns 30, we’re looking back on the history of domain endings and all they’ve made possible. Today there are more choices than ever before for people to find the perfect name for their businesses, projects and ideas on the web. If you’re interested in learning more about this history, or you’d like to register your own piece of the web, head over to
Google Domains
to claim your .DOMAINS from a .COM to a .GURU. Here’s to .COM’s 30th, and all that’s yet to come in how we name destinations on the Internet.
Posted by Ben Fried, CIO
AdWords app launches on Android
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Note: To use the AdWords app, you need to be an existing AdWords advertiser. Not using AdWords?
See why
you should consider it.
Staying on top of your campaigns just got easier
Today, we’re introducing the
AdWords app
, an easy way to view and manage your ads’ performance when you’re on the go. This new Android app is available globally for existing AdWords customers.
Businesses, large and small, are increasingly using smartphones to manage everything from customer support to product orders to marketing. Now, you can use your smartphone to keep your AdWords campaigns running smoothly—no matter where your business takes you.
As a companion to your desktop account, this app lets you:
View campaign stats
Update bids and budgets
Get real-time alerts and notifications
Act on suggestions to improve your campaigns
Call a Google expert
Download the
AdWords app
for Android
Tommy Sands, Senior Paid Search Manager from Philly Marketing Labs, tells us, “Having the ability to quickly review and take action in my AdWords accounts when I only have my mobile device enables me to be better and more efficient at managing my campaigns. It's nice to know that I'm only a few taps away from the information I need, no matter where I am.”
Review (and make changes) on the go
Whenever you open the app, you’ll see an overview of your clicks, costs, and conversions. For deeper insights, you can view metrics by ad group, day of week and device.
Changes in campaign performance can happen at any time—now you can address them quickly, even when you’re away from your desk. For example, if you see your best performing campaign is maxing out on budget, you can make adjustments so you don’t lose out on potential sales. You can even pause or enable a campaign for a time-sensitive promotion.
You’ll also receive customized suggestions that you can act on immediately. For example, if there’s an opportunity to get more impressions by adjusting your bids, we’ll let you know so you can make the change right from the app.
Get the app
The
AdWords app
is now available for devices that use Android 4.0 or later. To get started, download it today from the
Google Play Store
. And for more information, visit our
Help Center
. We look forward to hearing your feedback as you bring AdWords with you on your business adventures.
Posted by Geoff Menegay, Product Manager, AdWords
Better than 1,000 words: introducing new photo tools to help you show off your business on Google
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
When it comes to attracting new customers, photos can both entice customers to your business when they’re browsing online and give customers confidence that they’ve come to the right place.
Starting today, you can tell us which image you’d like to appear when customers search for your business on Google. Just log in to
Google My Business on the web
or in the
Android
or
iOS
apps, and visit the Photos section. While you’re there, you can also give your business a fresh look online by updating your profile, logo and cover photos.
Photos you add through Google My Business can be displayed on Google Search, Maps and Google+
We’ll also guide you through adding the best photos to show off what makes your business unique. For example, hotels will receive guidance for adding exterior, room and common space photos that show guests what to expect inside and out. Cafes and restaurants can get customers drooling over their latest food and drink and provide more details with a menu photo.
Log in to
Google My Business
today to see suggestions of photos to add for your business.
Posted by Abhishek Poddar, Google My Business Product Manager
Charge up your phones with call-only campaigns
Monday, February 23, 2015
Cross-posted with
Inside AdWords
People are living their lives online and engaging with your business in new ways. With smartphones in hand, consumers are increasingly looking for products or services while on the go and then placing a call right away. In fact, 70% of mobile searchers call a business directly from search results.*
Today we’re introducing
call-only campaigns
, a new and easy way for businesses to reach potential customers by prominently showing your phone number, business description and call button -- right when people are searching.
Uniquely built for businesses that value phone calls more than website clicks
Call-only campaigns are specially designed to only show on mobile devices that can make phone calls. This means every click you pay for can be a phone call to your business.
Bid just for phone calls
Since every click goes towards a phone call, you can design a bidding strategy based specifically on your CPA or ROAS goal for calls. This helps you maximize the value of every call to your business.
“Our customers are increasingly calling us on their mobile devices to get an insurance quote. The great part about call-only ads is that they give us the ability to bid based on the value of a call so we can meet the specific ROI goals that we have set up for sales that come through the phone."
Jason Johnson
Marketing Director, Clearlink Insurance
Customize ads focused on a single call to action - phone calls
Tailor your ads for phone calls with creatives like “speak to a specialist today" or “call to make an appointment" to let people know they can easily reach your business without needing to visit your site.
For BizLab, a national telecommunications retailer, most conversions happen offline over the phone.
"The new call-only ads have improved lead volume and conversion rates by targeting mobile devices with ads, like “call now” that are simply focused on driving calls.”
Catherine Wilson
Senior PPC Analyst, BizLab
Another major internet provider uses call-only campaigns to connect customers quickly and easily with their sales team.
“With a phone call as the only call to action, call-only ads improve the mobile shopping experience by eliminating the intermediary step of visiting our website. They provide an easy way for consumers to get the product they want by calling into our sales center directly. Better customer experience coupled with an increase in calls & sales provides a win-win for both consumers and advertisers.”
Josh Leibner
Director of Paid Search at Red Ventures, marketing partner for large businesses
Learn more
If you’re currently using the call extensions setting to create call-only ads, you can find details on how to upgrade to call-only campaigns in the
AdWords Help Center
.
Posted by Amit Agarwal, Product Manager, AdWords
*Google/Ipsos, The Role of Click to Call in the Path to Purchase, September, 2013.
Introducing Google Small Business Community Office Hours
Thursday, February 12, 2015
With a mission to help small businesses to get the help they need to succeed on the web, the
Google Small Business Community
team connects small business owners to experts and each other every day. In addition to our monthly Hangouts on Air, we’re now excited to bring you more ways to connect with experts to answer your most pressing questions. Each month, we will have experts spanning different fields pertaining to small businesses.
This month, our theme is productivity and we have three experts in to lend their advice. Ray Ramon is joining us from InfusionSoft, a company that helps small businesses streamline their marketing processes. We have Jamie Viggiano from TaskRabbit, a task-based service that helps small businesses find temporary help. We’ll also have some experts from the Google for Work team to talk about cloud-based tools that help you and your team work better, together.
Join us on
February 17 at 12 PM PT
for a live text Q&A where our experts will answer your productivity questions, such as
“What are some of the tasks a small business can automate to be more productive?”
and
“What are ways I can save time with Google apps?”
What are some topics you’d like us to cover in our monthly Office Hours? Join the Google Small Business Community and let us know.
Posted by the Google Small Business Community
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