This past week highlighted a few new features or updates to help with or improve upon digital marketing efforts, therefore I’m going to share a few finds that are rather interesting, helpful and strong contenders for consideration for your marketing strategy! [Seriously. You should probably just implement them anyway because they are pretty easy/awesome and enhancements to what you are already doing.] Let’s check them out:
First, I need to share Google’s Consumer Surveys. This service opened up for free when you use the prepared survey that consists of four standard questions. A small script will need to be added in the <head> of your site, but that’s it. The basic survey will run until 500 responses are generated. At that time, all data will be aggregated and a report is built. However, you can always check back during the survey’s deployment to check up on responses. If you are interested in customizing the survey’s questions, no problem. There is a small fee, but this will allow you to create the questions to fit your marketing needs.
I’m in the process of testing this out and am very anxious to see the results. Your audience is about to tell you about how they feel about your website. Although this will provide great insight, I can understand the development of a nervous twitch…eek! And that little voice inside your head, “Please like my site! Please like my site! Please like my site!” 🙂
Next, AdWords added a Review extension. In the blog post by the Google team, the subject highlights the tool as the “don’t take our word for it” extension. It allows you to add reputable third-party reviews inside your paid ads. So neat! There are just three things you need to remember:
- The review must come from a reputable source that complies with AdWords policies.
- You must have permission to use the review.
- Google has the right to enlist computer or human-based testing to make sure the review is in fact valid.
This could definitely help with just giving potential visitors an additional reason to click on your ads. Be sure to match up that third-party source with the keywords your targeting to get the biggest bang for your buck. This might cause a quick review of your ads, perhaps consider a new ad group – but when it comes to paid search, the extra research is worth it, and will pay off.
Third, you can now view your AdWords cost data directly in Google Analytics. I love this marriage that is constantly evolving. It makes the big picture that much more clear as the pieces of the entire puzzle start to work together more closely. Be sure your have linked your two accounts [Analytics and AdWords] first and then once that is complete, perform the following in Analytics:
Admin > View Settings > AdWords Import & Export Settings [ select the AdWords accounts] > Apply
It’s definitely giving you another way to see how those marketing dollars are spent, if they are going to the right places, and if they are maximized for a healthy ROI.
Have you seen any other measurement improvements highlighted this past week? In other news, it’s almost the 4th of July!! YAY!
