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Paid Search Marketing

Paid search marketing is a critical tool for any marketer or small business owner. But it’s not easy. From navigating the world of bidding, to writing ad copy that resonates, to setting up Google Ads conversion tracking and more: there are a lot of skills that fall under the paid search marketing umbrella. At WordStream, we’re here to help you refine those skills. Check out our paid search marketing blogs and get the knowledge you need to succeed.


Predictive Search: Is This the Future or the End of Search?

Ever since Google introduced auto-complete in 2004, predictive search has become a welcome part of our internet interactions, helping us search faster, find results quicker, and discover answers to questions we didn’t even know we had.

Google Ads Campaigns Limited by Budget? Find Out What It Means & What to Do

What should you do when your Google campaigns are limited by budget? Here are some tips for improving results without just raising your AdWords budgets.

How To Get Even More Google Sitelinks!

Google has today made it easier than ever to get new bigger and better Google Sitelinks for your ads, which help people find information deeper in your site so they can get to where they want to go faster.  

The Top 10 Best Google Ads Features You’re Not Using

Learn the top 10 best Google AdWords features that you're probably not using, and why you should be!

Should I Delete My Low Quality Score Keywords?

Should you delete your keywords with low Quality Scores in AdWords? Not necessarily! Learn when to delete and how to go to the source of the problem.

How Product Listing Ads Are Stealing Your Conversions

Learn how Google's Product Listing Ads suck all the clicks with commercial intent from the SERP, leaving no ROI for organic results and other PPC ads.

Google Ads Extensions Cheat Sheet

Google Ads ad extensions are a highly effective way to make your ads bigger and more clickable, at no additional cost to you. But there are so many extension types -- which ad extensions are right for you? Learn which ad extensions to enable with this cheat sheet.

News Flash: PPC Is Inbound Marketing

News Flash: PPC Is Inbound Marketing! Why the distinction between inbound vs outbound marketing is NOT about "Free" vs. "Paid", but rather Interruption vs. Flow.

Should You Include the Same Keyword with All Match Types in Google Ads?

Should I bid on the same keyword with different match types? Find out why bidding on broad, phrase, and exact on the same keyword may not make sense.

AdWords Keyword Planner Explained: How to Use Keyword Planner

If you're not already using Keyword Planner regularly in your AdWords management workflow, you should be! Check out this comprehensive overview to the AdWords Keyword Planner, a powerful keyword research tool built right into the AdWords interface.

5 Big Brand PPC Ads with Critiques: What We Like, What We’d Change

Let’s look at five big-brand Google Ads (formerly known as AdWords) ads and see what they do well and what they could do better.

What PPC Account Managers Say They Do vs. What They Really Do

PPC account managers claim to be spending lots of time optimizing their accounts, but our data suggests that actual AdWords account activity levels are low. Here's why it matters.

What’s the Best Ad Position in PPC? (Hint: Not Always #1)

Getting the best ad position is key in paid search. Learn how to get the best ad position possible in this comprehensive post.

Bid Adjustments: How Do They Work? The Math Behind Combined Bid Adjustments

Learn how bid adjustments in Google AdWords Enhanced Campaigns work when using multiple adjustments for time, location and device.

Revisiting the Economics of Google Quality Score: Why QS Is Up to 200% More Valuable in 2013

We revisit the economics of Google Quality Score and find that Quality Score is up to 200% more valuable than it was four years ago. Learn why.

‘What Do Those Plus Signs Mean?’ Modified Broad Match for Beginners

What are those plus signs on your keywords in AdWords? That’s modified broad match, a keyword matching option introduced by Google in 2010. Read this primer on the modified broad match type to find out how to make the most of this keyword type.

Five Reasons to Bid on Branded Terms in PPC

Reluctant to bid on your brand terms in AdWords? Here are five great reasons to advertise on branded keywords in PPC.

Why Your Click-Through Rates Suck

Do your click-through rates in AdWords suck? Learn why your CTR is so low and how to fix it.

Dear eBay, Your Ads Don’t Work Because They Suck

Does AdWords work? eBay doesn't think so, but he problem is their ad strategy, not AdWords! Here's how they could fix it and get ROI from PPC.

3 Reasons Your Keyword Has a Low Quality Score

Learn three possible reasons that your keyword Quality Score is low, including low click-through rate, poor relevance and short-tail keywords.

When Is 2% Not a Good CTR? The Relationship of Click-Through Rate & Ad Position

Is 2 percent a good click-through rate for PPC? Not always! Learn the importance of having a good CTR for your average ad position.

New Google Ads Offer Extensions Integrate Discount Offers with Search

Learn about Offer Extensions, the latest ad extension offered to enhance your Google PPC ads and increase your AdWords click-through rate (CTR).

Larry Kim
February 21, 2013 | Paid Search Marketing

4 Common Mistakes Advertisers Make When Transferring AdWords Accounts to Bing

Don't make these four common mistakes when transferring your Google AdWords account to the Bing Ads PPC platform.

Remarketing with Google Analytics

Piggybacking off Rich’s post, Google has made setting up Remarketing campaigns easier and smarter by allowing us to use our Google Analytics tracking code and Analytics data to set it up. Here’s how to do it.

Google Ads Geotargeting Demystified: Advanced Location Options

As you can see, Google manipulates your geo targeting settings to ensure that your ads are getting plenty of impressions. In some cases, this may work to your advantage.

Erin Sagin
February 11, 2013 | Paid Search Marketing

AdWords Enhanced Campaigns: Google Announces Big Changes to Mobile Ad Campaign Management

Learn about Google's new Enhanced Campaigns, which greatly simplify mobile campaign management and will roll out to all AdWords advertisers over the course of the year.

Larry Kim
February 6, 2013 | Paid Search Marketing

Larry Page Confirms Google Knowledge Graph Conspiracy Theory

About six months ago, I proposed a conspiracy theory that Google created the Knowledge Graph in order to "train" Google users to pay attention to the right-hand side of the SERP.