Microsoft’s adCenter Expands Negative Keyword Limits
Aug. 22, 2010
Now that the Yahoo-Microsoft merger is underway, Microsoft has announced a new wrinkle to its advertising program – an increase in negative keyword limits.
The change enables advertisers to increase by “thousands of negative words…both the campaign and ad group levels,” reports WebProNews.
“If you’re not familiar with negative keywords, advertisers can prevent their ads from appearing in response to certain search queries using negative keywords (specific words or phrases that help prevent ads from being displayed to customers who are unlikely to click),” explains writer Chris Crum.
“Doing so will also keep your keyword-level negatives from overriding your newly expanded lists at the higher levels,” he quotes Microsoft’s Tina Kelleher.
Here is Microsoft’s explanation of its negative keyword limits in adCenter.
“Advertisers need to upload their expanded lists of negative keywords at the campaign or ad group level with the negative keywords migration wizard in the Desktop, then remove keyword-level negatives, the company says,” adds Mr. Crum.
“Unless, of course, you’re perfectly happy with your campaigns as they are now and don’t need the increased capacity for negatives at the higher levels, then there’s no action you need to take at all,” he quotes Ms. Kelleher.
From the Coach’s Corner, for an explanation of the Yahoo-Microsoft merger, see:
Web Publishers: Are You Optimized for Bing?
Stunning Results from Internet-Ad Study Calls for Innovation
However, banner ads are the most effective of all Internet ads, if they are accompanied by paid search.
A 2009 ComScore-Starcom study may cause marketers to rethink their approach – only 16 percent of Internet users are clicking on display advertisements. That represents a 50 percent decrease in 24 months.
After reading the study entitled, “Natural Born Clickers,” and published by Advertising Age (www.adage.com), my sense is there are two obvious red flags:
- The click-through model is becoming increasingly undesirable.
- Advertisers who depend too-heavily on Internet advertising are not likely to get their desired returns on investments.
What’s worse about the rock-bottom click-through rates, only eight percent of Internet users account for 85 percent of the ad-clicking.
That follows disappointing news from a study that was released in 2008. It revealed lower-income young adults account for 50 percent of all the click-throughs.
However, the study reveals some good news:
Banner ads are the most effective of all Internet ads, if they are accompanied by paid search. It appears that Internet users who see a display ad are 65 percent more inclined to check out an advertiser’s Web site within seven days.
Furthermore, Internet users are 45 percent more likely to visit the advertiser’s site even up to 30 days later.
Meantime, while advertisers try to find an alternative to click, here are five marketing conclusions:
- Clicks, as a direct-response measurement, are still easier to source than ads in most other mediums.
- Display ads still provide value when used in search – if the ad is cost-effective in terms of attracting prospects.
- Creative must be strong and are more effective when enhanced with rich media.
- Outstanding sales and customer-service people are vital.
- Sales are the bottom-line – the cash register has to ring.
For the big picture, of course, this also underscores the need for a strategic mix in marketing investments to attract visitors to Web sites and to make purchases. That means radio, TV, Internet, public relations, cause-related strategies, community service, social networking and print.
ComScore, www.comscore.com, is an Internet marketing research company. Starcom, www.starcomworldwide.com, is a media agency.
From the Coach’s Corner, here is the key to sourcing your Internet advertising investments:
Analyze your Web site visitors’ data to see how they landed on the site.
It is also a good idea to continually evaluate the effectiveness of your Web site and its promotion, including:
- Research of the referring search engines
- Referring sites
- Hosts’ IP addresses
- Which of your pages are entered and exited
- Visitors’ search keywords and key search phrases
How Multi-Channel Marketing Yields Best Results
Q: Dear Biz Coach, after using your suggested tips on managing the boss, I got a promotion in less than three months. Thank you. Things really seemed to turn around after I wrote thank you notes regarding our company benefits to key managers. Now that I know how to market my services in the workplace, do you have any advice on marketing my company online? How did you learn this stuff? (Please keep my name and company confidential.)
A: Congratulations on your career achievement. While I have confidence in self-promotion strategies, I like to self-effacingly tell people I’ve earned every wrinkle and gray hair. Actually, I’ve had the best possible mentors. They didn’t come to me, I sought them out. Whenever someone was successful in ways I wanted for myself, I asked for their input.
You’ve suggested a great topic. The key, of course, is to motivate or inspire people to buy from you.
Yes, it’s true. Online marketing is a good place to be. Published reports indicate Internet advertising dollars average more than $5.5 billion a quarter. Forty percent of Internet advertising revenue has usually been driven by search engines; display ads have accounted for about 32 percent.
And, of course, there is Twitter, LinkedIn and a host of social networking sites.
Not knowing what your industry is, I won’t be specific, but it’s worth considering the results of several developments:
Viral marketing. As tempting as social networking and the Internet are, however, I strongly urge you not to ignore the benefits of traditional media, which drive traffic to Web sites. Millions of potential customers watch TV, listen to the radio and still read newspapers. And media outlets have Web sites. In fact, whether you want credit-worthy customers or those with sophisticated tastes, it would be a mistake not to utilize mediums with a strong news reputation. Today’s fragmented society demands it.
My sense is that viral campaigns – consumer-generated media or how Internet users spread messages via word-of-mouth in social networking – when coupled with TV and other mediums – build brand equity by affecting consumer behavior and direct-response buying.
A key is to make it entertaining while focusing on the marketing goals. It has to be edgy and grainy-looking, and you can’t divulge the advertiser right away.
Getting people to blog about you is another technique and interactivity with customers is another. In other words, these are all forms of online word-of-mouth advertising.
E-mail blasts. According to data from RightNow Technologies, www.rightnow.com, 3 percent of shoppers wanted after-purchase follow-up by retailers. How can you convert shoppers into buyers? Some 42 percent of consumers want fast and easy access to information online. RightNow also says 68 percent were motivated to visit a Web site upon getting an e-mail from a merchant.
That would also seem true in order to attract repeat business.
Lyris, www.lyris.com, a subsidiary of J.L. Halsey, reports it’s true that the majority of large Internet service providers in the U.S. have a low success rate in e-mail deliveries. Readers won’t see your ad, if you use lots of graphics or images. A failure to include a legitimate address prevents deliverability, too, thanks to content filters or junk/bulk folders.
Other factors: The sender’s reputation in mailing history; including its complaint record.
A study by eROI, www.eroi.com, says that attention to detail is critical for strong results. For example, a call-to-action is best when inserted in the e-mail above the fold. Study author Jeff Mills advocates using ALT tags, which are used in HTML and XHTML documents. ALT tags specify which text is to be rendered. Mills says readers are then able to see what the e-mail offer contains. I’ve found this to be especially true when using either my PDA or Blackberry.
ROI. Being able to measure your return on investment is critical. iProspect, www.iprospect.com, a search engine marketing firm, says 88 percent of search marketers are now able to track results. That includes overall business results and search metrics.
Trends in direct response. A study by the Direct Marketing Association confirms there is no longer a distinction between branding and direct marketing, and that marketing across multiple channels is in vogue.
For example, 30 percent of those marketers surveyed say they use TV. Twenty-eight percent include a call for action while 26 percent include a Web address or 800 number across all media advertising.
Online search costs. There have important search-cost findings in a study by Performics, www.performics.com, DoubleClick’s marketing division. The study tracks the progress of search engine ad campaigns. For example, it points out that Yahoo search costs have decreased. Yahoo’s ad system, Panama, is doing well by targeting ads to the right readers.
The use of keywords is up, but the trend prompted increases in average cost-per-clicks and the average cost per keyword. That’s because the use of keywords have increased in recent years.
Selling to tech buyers. A study by KnowledgeStorm, www.knowledgestorm.com, showed 56 percent of tech buyers use three or more keywords when starting their search. Fifty-three percent scan three to five pages in their searches and 53 percent click on sponsored links or paid ads.
Finally, here’s another reason to utilize all channels of marketing: Some 80 percent of tech shoppers admit offline marketing prompts them to search for more information. Forty-three percent of them provide their name, e-mail address, and career information in registering for tech content. But many admit to supplying incorrect phone numbers because they would prefer an e-mail response.
From the Coach’s Corner, even a study by TiVo, the adversary of television advertisers, provides an insight for targeting men. While it concludes that Mother’s Day is more hallowed than Father’s Day – 86 percent of consumers spend more money for mom than they do for dad, and only 51 percent of consumers will observe Father’s Day.
However, the study also shows what dads likely will be doing on Father’s Day: In order of preference, they’ll be watching TV, playing outdoors, working on home improvement projects or reading. The study says 75 percent of men are in charge of the remote control.
If you’re targeting men, do it on TV even though TiVo claims a 17 percent penetration.
To increase odds that their commercials will be seen by even TiVo users, savvy advertisers try to get their commercials scheduled last in the commercial break. Your chances will be enhanced if you use bookends – a 15-second commercial at the start of the break and another 15-second commercial at the end. Other success factors depend on the content of your message and sponsoring the right channels, especially local news.
