Simplifying bidding on the Google Display Network

If you use managed placements to manage bidding or targeting on the Google Display Network, you might have at one point questioned why you saw three separate default bids in your ad groups: a regular default bid, a managed placements bid, and a Display Network bid.

We’ve heard feedback from advertisers that it’s confusing to work with these three default bids (and most of you don’t even use default bids for your managed placements--preferring to set bids individually). In an effort to simplify things, we’ll be removing the managed placements default bid starting on March 15, 2011.

After this change, you’ll be able to continue managing default values for both managed and automatic placements by using a single Display Network default bid. Individual bids for managed placements will allow you to maintain the flexibility you have today.

Here’s how this change will affect you:

* Starting today, we're no longer allowing managed placement bids to be set for new ad groups containing placements. You won’t be required to enter a new bid when you add managed placements for the first time (we’re launching this change gradually, so it may take about a week to reach your account).
* Starting on March 15, we’ll automatically update existing managed placement bids. There are several changes we’ll make in order to make sure your ads will continue to serve as normal with the bids you intended. Learn more about the changes that apply to your account in our Help Center.
* If you’re eager to say goodbye to the managed placements bid today, you can do that too! You can change your managed placements bid to 0, which will cause it to disappear from your account (this change is also launching over the next week).

One important note: AdWords Editor 7.6 is not compatible with this change. Any changes to managed placements bids in this version of Editor will result in an error. Please make sure to download the latest version of AdWords Editor to manage your bids.

If these changes apply to your account, you’ll be receiving an email from us with additional details and will also see an announcement in your AdWords account. There’s no need to take any action in your account, but you can always feel free to adjust your bids at any time.

Posted by Lisa Shieh, Inside AdWords crew

Contextual Targeting Strategies for Performance at Scale - Agencies

Please join Google for an upcoming webinar to learn more about how contextual targeting can drive results for your business. Specifically, we’ll cover: contextual targeting strategies for specific marketing objectives; the Contextual Targeting Tool, which helps you build better-performing campaigns in less time; best practices and tips for boosting performance of contextually-targeted campaigns

Wednesday, 2.23.11 at 11amPST / 1pmCST / 2pmEST

https://googleonline.webex.com/googleonline/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=575572722

When Wed Feb 23 11am – 12pm Pacific Time

Remarketing on the Google Display Network: Optimizing & Maximizing your Current Strategies

Tuesday, February 15th, 11amPST / 1pmCST / 2pmEST

As a marketer, your highest ROI comes from customers who are already interested in your product or service. Remarketing allows you to connect with customers who have already visited your site, matching the right people with the right message. But even the most effective remarketing campaigns can be better. Join us as we discuss strategies to ensure you are getting the most out of your remarketing campaigns.

Register here: https://googleonline.webex.com/googleonline/onstage/g.php?d=573055558&t=a

When Tue Feb 15 11am – 12pm Pacific Time

Learn about advertising on YouTube in a new online course

Monday, January 31, 2011 | 12:00 AM

If you're interested in creating a stronger online brand presence or drawing a high volume of traffic to your site, YouTube can help you accomplish both by giving you access to the world's largest online video-streaming and -sharing community. YouTube can further enhance your current online advertising campaigns with millions of ad impressions and video ad streaming opportunities so that you can create the high-profile online presence that your website needs.

There are now a number of ways in which you can raise your profile as an advertiser using YouTube. During a live course on the Adwords Online Classroom (UK), you'll learn about the different methods of targeting YouTube and how to make the most out of any existing presence you may already have on YouTube.

This live course will be presented by a YouTube Specialist and is appropriate for all advertisers interested in growing their profile on YouTube. It will take place on Wednesday, February 2, 2011, from 3 pm to 4 pm GMT (7 am to 8 am PST).

If you’re interested, make sure to sign up now!

Posted by Lisa Shieh, Inside AdWords crew

Google starts to censor torrent-related search queries

Searching for file-sharing information via Google is going to take a little bit more effort now, thanks to new steps taken by the search engine to remove all sorts of references to torrents from its instant search and autocomplete features.

In December, Google said it was taking steps towards "making copyright work better online." Among other things, it promised that "terms that are closely associated with piracy" would no longer appear in autocompletes.

Although it may be seen as an effort to crack down on illegal file sharing, the move is a troubling one, particularly for those who provide BitTorrent services. No surprise, these companies are quick to point out that there are many legitimate uses for torrents.

Forbidden from Autocomplete Arbitrarily?

Part of the problem with this new implementation, as TorrentFreak noted when it broke the story, the list of banned terms is "seemingly arbitrary." No version of the word "torrent" will work for instant search - neither the software "uTorrent," nor "BitTorrent," the name of a protocol and a San Francisco-based company. But while the cyberlockers RapidShare and Megaupload are now forbidden, other sites like HotFile and MediaFire are not. Furthermore, you can still find the names of other popular torrent sites, including The Pirate Bay.

TorrentFreak cites a response from RapidShare, who say that "We knew about Google's plans for quite a few weeks now. We embrace that certain search suggestions will not put a wrong complexion on RapidShare anymore, but we are concerned that at the same time the legitimate interests of our users will also be affected."

The company adds that "RapidShare is one of the most popular websites worldwide. Every day hundreds of thousands of users rely on our services to pursue their perfectly legitimate interests. That is why Google has obviously gone too far with censoring the results of its suggest algorithm. A search engine's results should reflect the users' interests and not Google's or anybody else's."

For now, you can still search for torrent information. While your search queries won't autocomplete, the results aren't censored. Yet.



For NDTV Updates