I was just talking about this last week on the show, and it looks like today is a big day for mobile advertising!

Google’s really getting serious about mobile advertising.  In November they purchased AdMob, a mobile display ad technology provider, for $750 million.  If you’ve seen skinny horizontal ads at the top of an iPhone app or game, those have most likely been AdMob’s doing.  In the past, AdMob has concentrated on mobile display ads, while Google has focused on search ads.

The amount of money Google spent on this purchase shows how important Google feels the subject of mobile advertising really is.  It IS the future of advertising.  And to prove the seriousness of Google in this direction of advertising, here’s a bit of a letter that I received this morning:

“Dear AdWords Advertiser,

“We’re pleased to announce that beginning in January, your location-specific business phone number will display alongside your destination url in ads that appear on high-end mobile devices. Users will be able to click-to-call your business just as easily as they click to visit your website. You’ll be charged for clicks to call, same as you are for clicks to visit your website…”

Google is making it easier for mobile users to engage with your ads.  And this is just the beginning.  Google’s own phone, which uses Android software, called “Nexus One” is being unveiled at the Googleplex in Silicon Valley right NOW as I type this post.  It’s intended to be part of a new class of phones called “superphones”.

The other very interesting thing about this is Google moving forward with an implementation of click to call advertising.  I’ve seen other networks like Commission Junction roll out this kind of program and I’ve even seen Google dong experimental click to call tests, but this is the first time that I know of Google fully rolling out this type of advertising.

What’s everyone else doing about this?  Not sure, but at the moment iPhone users are still happy with their iPhones, and Blackberry users are still loyal Blackberry users.  But here’s something:  the rumor is that Apple is acquiring a company called “Quattro Wireless”, which is a mobile advertising company who rivals AdMob.  So it doesn’t look like everyone is sitting back on their haunches while Google takes over the mobile universe.  Which is something I find comforting.

Tags

Google AdWords

I’ll see you on the live training!

Tags

Google AdWords, Social Marketing

Last week Google accidentally let slip that they will be penalizing AdWords advertisers for slow loading times of landing pages. You can view the Google’s FAQ on this topic here.

(For those not intimately familiar with AdWords, if you are bidding $.05 for the keyword phrase “best keyword ever”, you may have to increase your bid anywhere from $.20 to as much as $10.00 if Google thinks your landing page is too slow.)

Wow. This brings up a bunch of questions. What is “slow”? How will I know if I am penalized? How do I fix it? How much will this cost me!?

What is “slow”?

Since “slow” is a relative term, you may think your page loads great. Google says in their Help Center:

…we evaluate your load time relative to the average in your server’s geographic region.

How will I know if I am penalized?

Look at how your keyword is graded on the Keyword Analysis page. If it says, “This page loads slowly”, you are affected.

How do I fix it?

Put simply, if you are a web developer, just follow the directions they list: use few redirects, reduce page size, stop using interstitials, and minimizing iframes. If you aren’t, you will need to get someone to help you.

And even once you do fix it, it will take awhile for Google to take away the penalty:

The AdWords system re-evaluates landing pages on a regular basis. If you make significant improvements to your landing page’s load time, you should see an improved Quality Score and lower minimum cost-per-click (CPC) bids. Note that your Quality Score may update incrementally over a number of weeks after you improve your load time.

How much will this cost me?

No one knows yet the extent of “slow” that Google is penalizing. But irregardless, if you are not actively managing your AdWords campaign and watching for penalties, this could cost you A LOT of money. Like any of the other penalties Google lists in their 100 page document, if you don’t know what they are, you can’t be possibly be able to ensure they don’t happen to you.

My takeaway from this: AdWords Is For Professionals

Adwords is going from “too darn complicated” to “tax law complicated”. With so much money being spent, it is not a system for an AdWords newbie to dabble in. Unless you have a wildly successful campaign that can make you money even with all the mistakes you WILL make, it will more than likely cost you A LOT of money.

If you start an AdWords account with the desire to “learn as you go”, you are shooting yourself in the foot. You will cause penalties to your account that can take years to correct. Sometimes, the problems will never go away.

And with this penalty, you could be over-paying Google, not know it, and not even realize it was because of your site speed (or dozens of other factors most new webmasters wouldn’t have a clue about).

Trying to figure out AdWords as you go is like trying to represent yourself in court. Sure, you may get lucky, but do you want to bank on that?

photo credit: biscuitsmlp

Tags

Google AdWords