Archives for "Product Updates"

Posted by Jennifer on 20th August 2010

ClickSweeper Releases Analytics-Based Bidding Feature

This is a big day for ClickSweeper. Ready for the five magical words that we think could change the way you view PPC management software forever?

Fully automated analytics-based bidding.

For a while, we’ve known that some of the most valuable information on PPC campaigns comes from Google Analytics. We also know from experience just how time-consuming it is to go through Analytics reports, pick out relevant data, evaluate keyword performance, go back to Adwords, and manually adjust bids or pause keywords. Frankly, we got a little tired of flipping back and forth, so we decided to do something about it. Continue Reading

Posted by Jennifer on 28th July 2010

New ClickSweeper Feature: Zero-Navigation Ad Copying

We here at ClickSweeper are inclined to judge PPC management software by how much time and money it actually saves us. We’re always looking for ways to make ClickSweeper smarter and more efficient, and this time we’ve added a feature that will make a real difference for your ad management: zero-navigation ad copying. (And no copying and pasting, either.)

In fact, you can copy your Google ads over to multiple adgroups, campaigns, and vendors in a matter of minutes. Here’s how easy it is to use. Continue Reading

Posted by Jennifer on 6th July 2010

New ClickSweeper Feature: Cross-Engine Keyword Addition

We’re excited to launch a new time-saving feature that makes improving and synchronizing your campaigns across multiple vendors faster and easier. Now you can add keywords across Google and MSN through ClickSweeper with minimal navigation.

Simply log in, click the keywords tab, and select the ‘Add keywords’ button. An editor will pop up in which you can choose the vendor, campaign, adgroup, match type, and enter keywords. Let’s try adding the keyword ‘paycheck cashing problems’ to our Google campaign. Continue Reading

Posted by Jennifer on 9th April 2010

Want Great PPC Ad Copy?

If that title had been a PPC ad title, I bet it would have had a better clickthrough rate than a title that read, oh, PPC Copywriting Tips. Humans are curious creatures and questions are an easy way to pique that curiosity. But more on that in a bit.

As you probably know, good ad copy is a huge part of a successful PPC campaign. While ClickSweeper makes PPC ad copy management easier by identifying most clicked keywords and automatically evaluating ad copy, writing the ads themselves still falls to you. At just 95 characters, a good PPC ad is a masterful blend of relevance, attractiveness, readability, and concision. Whew! Here are a few tips to help you kick your PPC ads up a notch. Continue Reading

Posted by Jennifer on 16th February 2010

ClickSweeper: Now Even Better with MSN AdCenter

You told us that you wanted to manage your Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft ads in a single interface, and we listened. (We do that!) ClickSweeper is now offering pay per click support for Microsoft AdCenter. PPC management features currently available include all four of our fully automated bidding strategies (rank based, budget based, keyword ROI based, and conversion based), site-targeted & content-match PPC ad management, scheduled ppc performance reports, and side by side comparisons with your Google and Yahoo campaigns.

The addition of support for Microsoft AdCenter makes ClickSweeper a truly comprehensive PPC management software solution. (If you’ve been hesitating, now is a great time to try ClickSweeper for free.) If you’re already a ClickSweeper client, we’d love your feedback on how AdCenter support is working for you. If you have any problems importing your MSN account, please give us a call or shoot an email.

Posted by Jennifer on 12th February 2010

Content & Site-Targeted Ads on ClickSweeper

Have you written off content network ads as unprofitable and pointless? 2010 might be a good year to change your mind. Managed right, content network and site targeted ads on Google can achieve high click through and conversion rates.

Let’s start off with a quick look at the three types of ads you can run through Google AdWords: keyword search ads, content network ads, and site-targeted ads. Keyword search ads are triggered by the user’s queries on search engine results pages. Content network ads, which can be run with your keyword search campaigns or as separate campaigns, are shown on content network sites that either Google chooses (automatic placement) or you do (managed placement), based on the keywords you are bidding on. And site-targeted ads are separate campaigns in which you choose the keywords, the sites on which you want your ads shown, and set bids per site (not by keyword).

Content and site targeted ads, although often cheaper in terms of cost per click, can have frustratingly low CTR and conversion rates. Part of the problem stems from the structure of site-based ads: less targeted traffic, a more scattershot approach, less control. However, advantages include more traffic, wider exposure for your brand, and the opportunity to reach relevant audiences that you would never have thought of. Some quick tips to keep in mind:

keep your search and content campaigns separate so you can set different budgets for each
filter out sites that have very low click through rates (CTRs) and 0 conversions
use content network advertising to figure out which sites convert, then use those for your more expensive site-targeted ads
focus your AdGroups for higher quality scores and CTRs
monitor your conversions closely
stay on top of your bidding

But managing your bids can be time consuming and tedious. ClickSweeper stands out amongst other PPC software in that it offers advanced bid options on both content network and site-targeted ads. Automated bid updates keep you on top of the game: you can set target bids, ranks, or cost per conversion, and ClickSweeper will automatically update your bids for you.

Want to try it out? Get a free 1-month trial of ClickSweeper, and get full automation of all three types of ads.

Posted by Jennifer on 11th January 2010

Pay Per Click Management: Account Clean-up Tips

If one of your resolutions for 2010 was to tighten up your PPC campaign management, it’s definitely not too late to get started. Having a tidy, well-run Google Adwords account can mean that you generate more clicks and pay less for them. As click costs keep going up and quality scores keep going down, cleaning up your account begins to seem like a great idea.

But how do you get started? Here are some tips to improve your pay per click management and performance in 2010.

1. Check for expired promotions and obsolete ads. If you’re still running an ad with a past-due sale date, you’re throwing your impressions away and causing your clickthrough rate to plummet. (Remember, no clicks, no conversions!) Check to make sure that your ads are completely current and relevant.

2. Update and test new ad copy. Always have at least two different ads running in each adgroup to continually improve clickthrough and conversion rates. ClickSweeper’s ad copy management tool can automatically identify and suspend the less successful ad copy; then simply write a new ad copy and test it against the winner. Not only are better ads great for your bottom line, but they can also help improve your account quality score and get you lower priced clicks.

3. Use fewer broad match keywords. Broad match is very tempting because of its great simplicity, but the truth is that the searches Google thinks are relevant to your ad often aren’t the ones you’d choose. If you’ve noticed that some of your keywords turn up in a lot of irrelevant searches (for example, if your store name is Red Herring Mystery Books and your ads show up for people searching for fish), it’s time to change those keywords to phrase or exact match. You may have to use more phrase match keywords, but at least you won’t end up with visitors who are looking for fish.

4. Take action on poor quality keywords. Did you know that poor quality keywords can drag your overall account quality score down, resulting in higher minimum bids? You need to deal with these ASAP. Are some keywords relevant, just not for the adgroup? Create a better adgroup and move them over. Are some keywords simply too broad? Pause them, do some keyword research, and come up with more specific ones.

5. Evaluate the success of your content network ads. Although bid prices are temptingly low for content network ads, many advertisers find that they’re still not worth their money. If you’re not making a solid profit on your content network campaigns, you may want to turn them off and use your budget on your more profitable search ads.

We here at ClickSweeper wish you a great 2010 filled with well-organized pay per click campaigns, ROIs worth celebrating, and dropping bid prices. (Did we leave out a great tip? Leave a comment!)

Posted by Jennifer on 9th December 2009

ClickSweeper Outperforms More Expensive Software

Silverscope Promotion’s recent review of five major PPC management software confirmed what we’ve been saying for years: ClickSweeper gets the job done for less. Take a look at their study! Most of our competitors charge at least $1000 a month for the same pay per click features and management that we offer from $50 a month.

In this case, the old adage ’you get what you pay for’ just doesn’t hold up. ClickSweeper has recently added content network conversion tracking to its list of features and is working on support for Bing search ads to round out its offerings, including ad copy testing, smart automated bidding, and more. Add personalized customer service to the mix, and you’ve got a powerful PPC tool at a bargain price. Even if you have the budget to spend $1000 a month on your pay per click ads, why spend that much unless you have to?

Read Silverscope’s PPC software review. Then try us for free today.

Posted by James on 7th December 2009

How many keywords do you really need?

How many keywords do you really need to run an effective paid search for your account? The short answer is: not many.

Once upon a time, Google’s keyword prices were very low and there were few advertisers. The only factor determining keyword price was how much your competitor was bidding. That time is long gone. Now, keyword bids are determined by quality score, minimum bid requirement, and your competitors’ bids. Bargain priced keywords are hard to come by.

You don’t actually need many keywords if you use a combination of broad match and negative keywords to drive relevant clicks. Because long tail keywords are not appreciably cheaper than short, highly relevant keywords, there is no incentive to list all possible keywords. Several hundred 2-3 word broad match keywords will cover a lot of different combinations.

One very good reason to keep your keywords to a reasonable number is the cost of managing large keyword volumes. Once in awhile, I get a call from a customer who has a million keywords and is asking for help. Even with our low cost services, managing a million keywords just doesn’t make financial sense. And having too many underperforming keywords can actually hurt your Google quality score and drive up bid prices.

Finally, data shows that keywords that generate sales are likely to be highly relevant. If you’re on a budget, you’re better off using a small number of highly relevant keywords rather than trying to use lower bids on a big pool of keywords. (Of course, if you have a larger pay per click budget and your objective is branding your product, you can do both.)

One exception to the rule is ecommerce marketing. When you have many products, you’ll need more keywords that cover product name, model ID, manufacturer, and the various combinations.

Posted by Jennifer on 23rd November 2009

Performance Driven Rank Bidding. (Released on Nov. 13)

Rank bidding is often pricy without guaranteed returns. We’ve found a way to make it more profitable by combining the visibility of rank based bidding with the financial smarts of conversion based bidding. When you turn the new performance driven rank bidding option on your rank based keywords, ClickSweeper will automatically raise or lower the target ranks of keywords based on their actual profitability. Keywords that have a cost-per-conversion significantly lower than the campaign average are rewarded with higher target ranks, while keywords with a higher cost per conversion are demoted by one to two ranks. The new generation of rank based bidding is here!