Yesterday on the Inside AdWords blog, Google announced a new change to AdWords and the way adverts are rotated.

Advertisers have the option to rotate adverts in three ways. Optimise for Clicks, Optimise for Conversions or Even Rotation. We always test adverts on the Even Rotation setting as it allows you to split test your adverts and find out what copy works. Over time, this can give you very powerful insight into what makes your customers tick. With the other two rotation settings, you don't have this control over testing copy because, as soon as one advert starts getting more clicks or conversions than the other, it starts being shown for more of the time, so skews data.

Unfortunately, Google is making it far harder for us to work in this way because...

"Starting next week, the “rotate” setting for ad rotation will change. Instead of rotating creatives for an indefinite period of time, this setting will only rotate for a period of 30 days. After that, the setting will then optimize to show the ads expected to generate the most clicks. Every time a creative is enabled or edited, the ads in that ad group will rotate more evenly for a new period of 30 days."

This is far from great news for advertisers who like to test out ad copy and see what really works for their markets. They say this is to help advertisers improve the performance of their accounts but we think it's a very bad move and one we can't help but feel Google us putting in place to get more click budget from Pay Per Click customers.

Get ready, as the changes will start taking place next week and "ad groups with creatives that haven’t been added or modified in the past thirty days will see this new ad rotation behavior. Otherwise, this change will begin 30 days after your last creative was enabled or edited."

Having all won tickets in a few online competitions, Steve, Ceri and Andrew from our SEO team are all at the Brighton SEO Conference today.

We haven't had any updates back in the Cardiff office today, so they are either concentrating heavily in the seminars, learning a lot of new SEO tricks, or have sloped off for some sunbathing on the beach.

Either way, if you see them this afternoon or at the after party later, say hello from the rest of us!

Digital training and consulting company, Marketing Tom Media, has invited us to help train people at the upcoming Google AdWords Workshops this month and next.

Last year, Chris and I were involved in the 2 day Google AdWords Masterclass, which got great feedback, so myself and Alun from Marketing Tom Media are doing it all over again.

Whether you are new to Pay Per Click advertising, or have some experience and want a refresher or are keen to learn the more advanced features then we'll be covering everything, from building accounts and choosing keywords to writing adverts and using ad extensions to really stand out.

The spaces have been filling fast and there are only a couple of seats remaining. You can read more and book online here. 

When creating a website the most important thing to consider isn’t the colours, the images or the layout. The most important factor to consider is the text that goes onto the pages. The words you choose and the way you use them will make a huge difference to how people view your site; if this is done well you will turn curious visitors into paying customers.

Even with text so important, website copywriting is often left until the last minute, and even those who appreciate how vital it is will often be unaware how to write effectively for the web.

Here are 7 tips to keep in mind in order to make the most of your website copy. Whether you are writing a website sales page, a product listing, a news article or blog post, we hope these tips come in useful.

When writing for web…

1. Keep your sales pitch in mind

There isn’t much loyalty on the web and with people easily distracted and happy to seek out your competitors, you need to write content that makes its mark. Whatever your USPs (unique selling points), make sure they are on show and in the headings and subheadings.

When writing a web page, always think of a couple of messages you’d like to get across – the core messages that help your business stand out – and focus the structure of the page around them. Always include a Call to Action explaining how people should enquire.

2. Make sure people can skim-read

When using the web, people tend to make split-second decisions and will quickly hop around from one page to the next. Online consumer behaviour shows that large chunks of text will go unread due to short attention spans and a lack of time. Chop your message into bite-sized chunks; this ensures that when people quickly skim over a page, they still pick up the main messages you want to deliver. You can do this successfully by breaking large paragraphs into smaller sections of text complete with subheadings and bullet points.

3. Have clear keyword focus

Every single web page should focus on at least one key-phrase which is commonly used by customers searching for the products and services you offer. All parts of the page, including the title, headings and meta data, should support these key-phrases.

It is important to remember that the search engines rank webpages, not websites. Keyword focus should be different on each page of your site so you don’t find yourself with web pages which compete against one another.

Trying to fit too many keywords on a page is another common fault. You can only really fit a couple of closely related key phrases on a page, so pick those that matter the most and save the rest for other pages.

4. Don’t overcomplicate the issue

Don’t write web copy that confuses people. This sounds like common sense, but so many websites are far too clever for their own good. In some industries jargon is acceptable, but complicated words that require a dictionary aren’t. The internet has given people from all walks of life access to your website, so make sure they understand what they read, regardless of their level of education.

Many website copywriters think of website visitors as secondary school students. This is the level to write to. Here is a useful tool which will help you determine the readability of your text. 

5. Create unique content

Website content needs to be completely different to anything else you’ve written as, when browsing online, people’s reading patterns change drastically. Simply using the same text you have used for offline media such as brochures and articles will not achieve the desired results.

Google and the other search engines really dislike duplicate content. If your website uses text that is found elsewhere on the web, the search engines will not consider your site as important; consequently you won’t rank as highly as you might.

6. Keep search engines and searchers in mind

There are cut off points where search engines will stop reading. A page title, including characters and spaces, should be under 65 characters. A meta description should be under 155 characters. 

Page titles and meta descriptions appear along with your URL in the search results. Along with making sure they are keyword-rich, these should really sell your site’s offering and differentiate your products and services as much as possible from those offered by the competition.

7. Highlight the benefits, not the features

An age-old copywriting tip, but one that is so often forgotten; always communicate the benefits, not the features. Otherwise known as ‘selling the sizzle, not the bacon’, it’s based on the idea that people don’t make buying decisions on the product or service itself, but rather the outcome that it brings.

Consider why people would use your offering. Does it save them time? Does it make their life easier or their money go further? Does it make them happier or healthier? Whatever it does, make sure this is put across clearly instead of, or more prominently than, the features and components that make up the offering.

If you are one of the many people who has been annoyed with recent Google changes, such as personalised search and auto-correction of your searches, then you’ll be glad to hear that you can now choose to turn them off…

In a post on the “Inside Search" blog, Google says “we've received a lot of requests for a more deliberate way to tell Google to search using your exact terms. We've been listening, and starting today you'll be able to do just that through verbatim search.” 

When you use Verbatim Search (found in the left hand menu, under the ‘More Search Tools’ option), Google uses the exact words you enter, without making changes and without showing results that they think you will be more likely to want.

Google lists the things that Verbatim Search turns off, including:

• automatic spelling corrections 
• personalised search results, using information such as sites previously visited.
• synonyms in the results

See the full list here.

Another example of just how restless the development team at Google can be is shown below. A whole new look and feel for Google Places:

The map has completely changed shape, the pins next to the search results are grey instead of red, and the addresses are no longer below the results, rather by the side. The Pay Per Click adverts are also more prominent, standing out more on the page. 

If you are interested in science and research, or work at a UK science and discovery centre, a museum, science festival or University department, then come and join us next week. Liberty Managing Director, Gareth Morgan, will be speaking at the annual one-day conference, hosted by the National Space Centre in Leicester.

The talk will focus on content strategy and how attractions can make the most out of search engines and social sites.

Other speakers include the Head of Research for the Chartered Institute of Marketing, who will be talking about mobile marketing, and a look at QR codes with a Board Member and Trustee of WikiMedia UK 

Book your space here: http://sciencecentres.org.uk/events/marketing2011.html

Call extensions for mobile devices have been with us for quite a while now. But this week, Google introduced a new version that is designed to target the desktop and tablet users – which will be rolled out to all advertisers over the next few weeks. 

So, if you’re an advertiser that enjoys healthy conversion rates from users phoning your business, you may wish to pay more for a phone lead than an online enquiry. Equally, if you’re an advertiser interested in online conversions – there are benefits for you too. 

How does it work? 

Currently the position of your advert in the Google rankings is influenced by your Ad Rank – which is your Quality Score multiplied by your maximum cost-per-click. With bid-per-call enabled, this will carry its own Quality Score and can directly impact on your overall Ad Rank. Which means you could improve your overall ad positions and generate more clicks and calls. 

Want to give it a try?

Go to the ad extensions tab and:

- Select the call extensions option.

- Select the option for a Google forwarding number. 

- Enter your max CPP

If you are already using call extensions for mobile, just enter a max CPP for the extension to show on desktops, laptops & tablets. 

What is really exciting about this type of targeting is the reporting. Not only will you see the basic dimensions, like phone-through-rate and cost-per-call. You’ll get extra metrics like call time, duration, and caller area code – which will be available from the dimensions tab.

AdWords advertisers are being targeted by scammers with a new phishing email that is being sent out a lot. In the past 24 hours, we've seen a few dozen of these emails target various inboxes belonging to Liberty and its clients.

Whilst phishing emails have been doing the rounds for years, and AdWords ones aren't a new thing either, these ones are different because they are written by someone who can actually spell. Even though previous emails were filled with misspellings and grammatical errors, they caught a lot of people out, so these will probably do quite well.

With the title "Google AdWords: Please Update Your Payment Information", the plain text email reads:

------------------------
This message was sent from a notification-only email address that does not accept incoming email.

Please do not reply to this message.

If you have any questions, please our Help Center to find answers to frequently asked questions.
------------------------

Hello,

Please update your primary and backup payment information, even if you plan to use the same information.

Please follow the steps below to update your information and trigger our billing system to process your
next payment.

1. Log in to your account at http://www.google-mnc.com/Select/login
2. Enter your new or updated payment information.
3. Click 'Save Changes' when you are finished.

To update your backup credit card:
1. Visit the 'Billing Preferences' page, as described above.
2. In the Backup Credit Card section, click 'Edit'.
3. Re-enter your backup credit card details.
4. Click 'Save'.

To update your bank account:
1. Visit the 'Billing Preferences' page, as described above.
2. In the Bank Account section, click 'Edit'.
3. Re-enter your bank account details.
4. Click 'Save'.

Thank you for advertising with Google AdWords.
Sincerely,
The Google AdWords Team

Join us at Think Digital / Cardiff, a collaborative event being held in the Kuku Club on the 11th November.

Speakers from local businesses, including Liberty MD, Gareth Morgan, will be offering advice to attendees on how to promote their businesses and make more sales online.

Topics of discussion include how to plan an internet strategy, how to avoid common SEO mistakes, how to build social communities and how to improve website user experiences.

Visit the Think Digital website for more information and to book your place.

You can also follow the event on Twitter.

All proceeds go to charity.

See you there!