The conversion tool could help advertisers decide whether to opt out of Google's contextual advertising program, AdSense. Some search engine marketers have complained that keywords served on content pages have much lower conversion rates than those on search pages. AdWords customers are automatically enrolled in AdSense unless they opt out.
Will more AdWords advertisers pull out of the AdSense program? At least now the ad publishers will know for certain where their money's coming from.
The conversion page would be the page where you thank the customer for purchasing the product, filling out a request for more information or just the page that you wanted to promote. No need to track your own cookies since Google does it for you.
keywords served on content pages have much lower conversion rates than those on search pages.
Currently, Google can report only conversions for ads shown on Google.com and some of our ad network sites. This means that not all conversions originating from your AdWords ads will be reported. However, your conversion rate, cost-per-conversion, and value / click are adjusted to reflect only those sites from which we can track conversions.
I'm not sure what precisely "some of our ad network sites" includes, but it doesn't sound like it includes AdSense sites yet. I hope they plan to include everything.
This is a really great step forward -- necessary, even. Overture should have done this ages ago. More information makes for a better marketplace in the long term. Except for the people who profit from ignorance...and they don't deserve our tears.
Very useful information - for Google.
And for any webmaster that can not for one reason or another implement an inhouse version to track this.
>Overture should have done this ages ago
They have done this weeks/months ago. Free for now, paid service later.
Oops, my mistake. I should pay more attention to Overture. (I stopped taking them seriously after they got in bed with Gator.)
Has anyone got any preliminary data on reliability for this tracking tool?
Thanks guys
This is the code, where I typed 99.99 for the variable thing (assuming a sale of $99.99). Is this saying that I need to plug in the actual sale amount everywhere in the code I see the 99.99?
<!-- Google Conversion Code -->
<script language="JavaScript">
<!--
google_conversion_id = 1234567899;
google_conversion_language = "en_US";
if (99.99) {
google_conversion_value = 99.99;
}
google_conversion_label = "Purchase";
-->
</script>
<script language="JavaScript" src="https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/conversion.js">
</script>
<noscript>
<a href="https://services.google.com/sitestats/en_US.html" target=_blank>
<img src="https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/conversion/1234567899/?value=99.99&label=Purchase&hl=en">
</a>
</noscript>
"Who's there?" asked Grandma.
"Your grandchild, Little Red Riding Hood," replied the wolf, counterfeiting her voice; "who has brought you a keyword conversion tool and a little pot of butter sent you by mother."
Will more AdWords advertisers pull out of the AdSense program? At least now the ad publishers will know for certain where their money's coming from.
That depends on the advertiser, the ads, and how well the ads are doing. Some advertisers are seeing a higher ROI on content sites than on search pages.
A more important question is whether the conversion tool is a harbinger of greater advertiser control and flexibility down the line. Will advertisers be able to select the content sites where they want their ads to appear (e.g., by include or exclude filters like the advertiser-exclusion filters that AdSense publishers currently have)? If not, Google will have trouble selling content ads (and perhaps AdWords in general) to mainstream advertisers who are used to having control over where their ads run.
Why a visible image when everyone else uses an invisible one?Google has chosen to use a visible Google Site Stats image for the conversation tracking process to make this process apparent to users. Our goal is not to place our brand or promote our company on your web pages; however, we feel that it is important to be honest with and respect the privacy of users being tracked.
Hmmmmmm.... Generally, I respect Google a lot, but does this sound just a little disingenuous? I don't see anything on Google.com alerting us that our searches are being tracked. How is this situation different? I think they're counting on milli-seconds of eyeball exposure here.
The wording of Google's privacy policy with regard to advertisers' data suggests that while they're not tracking you personally, they may be tracking ROI info in the aggregate.
GoToast, Conversion Logic, and other tracking tools don't have this schizzy fox/henhouse situation built into them. Your info is your info.
On the other hand, when the Google tool tracks AdSense clicks, it will be the only tool I can imagine that will be able to do this. I suppose at that point you could say to yourself that if Google doesn't get the ROI info from you, it will get it from other advertisers, so you might as well use the tool.
If you're alone in your keywords, maybe you should skew your Return data low, so they'll see you're losing money on every click and that their minimums are too high. ;)
Hmmmmmm.... Generally, I respect Google a lot, but does this sound just a little disingenuous? I don't see anything on Google.com alerting us that our searches are being tracked. How is this situation different?
It's a matter of user perception. Tracking searches to build a better search engine is one thing; tracking ad responses to help companies sell more products is another thing altogether.
As for google getting the total ROI picture does it matter? Our site generates the bulk of sales from previous customers. What would the stats really tell Google. They are missing to much information in the total picture to gleen good data.
We do not take orders on line - we need someone to send us an e-mail with a request for a quote.
We have set it up so that all of our "money pages" are selected. Now we will be able to track by key word the most effective ones. If some keywords are just being used as general information we can cut them back or make them more exact.
If it works it's great. Time will tell.
{ google_conversion_value = 99.99; }
is to put the name of the variable that you actually use to display the total amount, e.g. grand_total or whatever, instead of an amount. The same thing has to be done again further down, where your example shows value=99.99, where you would put e.g. value=grand_total (if that is what you call it. The script will pick up the actual amount and show it in the report from Google.
This has to be the best thing since indoor plumbing and I can hardly wait to lay my hands on some really good conversion data.
If you put the variable grand_total in the code how does it know that your grand total is 99.99? Do you have to set it up as a javascript variable in the script tag? If so, how is that accessed from the <noscript> tag?
Personally i have the information in an asp.net variable but the javascript doesn't have access to that either.
Currently google is tracking the number of conversions but i can't get any actual costs, presumably because i have done the same as coolspot and put the value in, not the variable name.
If I can't, does this put Google in contravention of the EU Directive on Privacy and E-Communications due to be law on Dec 11th?
There is a "hidden" agenda here, but most can't see the forest, because the trees are in the way.
We implemented conversion tracing this afternoon and Google has already added two columns to the Adword Statistics: Conversion rate (%) and Conversion Cost ($). This is on a per keyword basis, per campaign and grand total. They are empty right now, but should contain real figures in a few hours from now.
<!-- Google Conversion Code -->
<script language="JavaScript">
<!--
google_conversion_id = 1234567890;
google_conversion_language = "en_US";
if (total_amount) {
google_conversion_value = total_amount;
}
google_conversion_label = "Purchase";
-->
</script>
<script language="JavaScript" src="https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/conversion.js">
</script>
<noscript>
<a href="https://services.google.com/sitestats/en_US.html" target=_blank>
<img src="https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/conversion/1234567890/?value=total_amount&label=Purchase&hl=en">
</a>
</noscript>
"Hey Mr. Advertiser! You get clicks for .25, and your ad/site converts at a fantastic 3:1, and your product is $100. Well, SURPRISE! Your terms (and everyone in your category!)are now at a minimum of $5!
Thanks for using our conversion tracking system."
There are third party tools and standalone softwares that can do this without giving traffic vendors your viatal information.
Overture and Adwords have been very good to me, but I won't use their tools. Already have a good system.
So what I'm trying to figure out is if that tracking image absolutely has to show up on all the pages that are tracked.
On one site I'd like to use the conversion tool just to see if people browse around past the landing page. I don't mind putting the image on the google landing page (which wouldn't do any good) - but I don't like the idea of littering the entire site with it (which many users visit without going through adwords / google).
I can certainly think of ways to hide the image - but I don't want to get on Google's bad side. They don't seem to explicitly say "don't hide the image" - but they might not bring it up just to avoid giving people the idea.
Thoughts?
-Rich
Google does formally ask that you include the image on the appropriate conversion page(s), and that you not modify, obscure, or reduce it.
The is detailed in the AdWords Terms and Conditions, as Item 4.
I'm guessing that this would be a pretty good time to mention that there is a link at the bottom of every page in your account that takes you to the Terms and Condtions, so that you have EZ access to the info.
It's worth reviewing the Ts & Cs from time to time, as they do evolve. Same for the Editorial Guidelines, as I probably say too often. ;)
Though your "end result", increasing "bid costs" are what access to conversion info. will result in, it's the fact that they have access to your conversion data.
Which means if you aren't the "Big Fish" in your pond, bigger fish may have access to your conversion data through their account reps. We all know that money talks, and the larger accounts get "spoon fed"....
I'm not saying they will single out conversion data of individual advertisers, but will group advertisers for individual keywords, that are performing well...
Think about this Everyone! Have you 'ever' seen a PPC engine release "any" enhancement that is "not" geared to make them more money?
1) The image is not wanted in any way.
2) The script loads way to slow. It tripled the loadtime when I tested it.
Rgs
Lundorff
Hpw does the javascript know what to put in total_cost?
In my page the information is in an asp.net variable how does it get from there to the google javascript?
