Thanks
Tom
If you test it and it works better, go with it. If it doesn't work better don't stick with it. A consultant may know AdWords better than you but you probably know your business better than any AdWords or agency consultant.
1. Access to real numbers and misspellings with good search volume.
2. Ability to write creatives that you'd get disapproved for.
3. Have seen hundreds (thousands) of accounts and what works/doesn't work.
What you also get is the ability to see how someone else would set up the account and their ideas for it - which can spark ideas for you in what other techniques to try.
I think they are good for advice though I wouldn't count on them. They usually do a good job of getting mispellings, etc.
I've also seen the no space formatting issue happen to a couple other accounts as well.
The best thing is to spend time researching and add keywords yourself.
One thing to watch out for is that the suggestions are made at the max bid price for an ad group, so you need to eyeball them before accepting.
Also, they may be thinking of what works in terms of bettering your CTR whereas you might be thinking about what works in terms of site conversion - these two goals aren't always the same.
Thanks!
1. Access to real numbers and misspellings with good search volume.
2. Ability to write creatives that you'd get disapproved for.
3. Have seen hundreds (thousands) of accounts and what works/doesn't work.
1. It is worth saying that Optimizers do not, and will not, access other accounts in order to find successful keywords, misspellings, negatives, ad copy, and so forth. The hard work and research of competing advertisers is honored and protected, and is never 'consulted' during the optimization process.
2. This sounds more like a mistake than a pulling of the Editorial strings. Optimizers must follow the same Editorial Guidelines as everyone else. And, as humans, may make the occasional mistake.
3. Exactly! This is what it really boils down to, IMO.
This may be a factor of the adwords rep receiving a commission bonus for every account they get to use their keywords. Overture reps work on this structure.
Optimizers are folks who've worked with AdWords for quite some time, and who have demonstrated both interest and expertise. There are no commissions of any kind involved.
I've seen two ads that the optimization team wrote that I tried to duplicate exactly...(one) was for 'excessive repition' of keywords.
Probably a mistake, as mentioned above. Or, I wonder if this was quite some time ago? I ask because the rules for repetition were relaxed months and months ago, as many of you will have no doubt noticed.
Also, they may be thinking of what works in terms of bettering your CTR whereas you might be thinking about what works in terms of site conversion - these two goals aren't always the same.
A very good point. Optimizations are really meant to be an informed jumping-off point, quite often for advertisers who are having difficulty getting started on the right foot. Once put into motion, it is always wise to monitor the real world results of the optimization - particularly for ROI as edit_g suggests.
AWA
No real cons, other than you shouldn't be dependent on someone else for your campaign. As AWA notes, they don't have any secret weapons other than experience - experience you can readily gain yourself by reading posts here and trying things.
I've had two reviews and both times I got what I already knew - try different creatives, etc etc. Their specific suggestions actually did little to change anything, what worked is following the basics that i"ve learned on this site.
This depends on where you are located. In Europe they will help you if your revenue is considerable less (you'll have to inform yourself about what their limit is).
At the risk of repeating myself you can also contact a PPC service company for a second opinion. They are not linked to Google and can be used for any size campaign.
We do this kind of thing all the time. <end pitch> :)
Could the reluctance of "the big dogs" to use conversion tracking be because they are probably more aware than most of us newbies to AdWords that conversion tracking kills ad headlines and makes them non-clickable on PCs running ad blocker software?
Re: [webmasterworld.com...]
One has to wonder if G's optimization revenues would suffer greatly if this problem, which I have been told has been known to G for a long time, was ever fixed?
As has been stated, CTR is not ROI. CTR does not help the marketer, nor the end user, IMHO, the only one it helps is Google.
Yes the fundamential problem with Google's optimization services is that their teams are tasked and evaluated by getting more money out of you, the marketer.
As has been stated, CTR is not ROI. CTR does not help the marketer, nor the end user, IMHO, the only one it helps is Google.
