Tag Archives: paid search
PPC Michael Wiegand // 4 Jun, 2013
New Product Listing Ads Dashboard
Last October before the big Product Listing Ads (PLA) transition, in my panicked wisdom, I crafted a PLA Dashboard. It wasn’t pretty, and there wasn’t much to it, but it did help me keep a better eye on my PLA campaigns and improve them short-term. The dashboard looked like this: Since then, Google Analytics has introduced a… Read More
PPC Timothy Johnson // 31 May, 2013
Building Successful Low Budget PPC: Crafting Engaging Ads
In charge of building your first PPC account? Don’t have a lot of time or money to spend within AdWords? Well you came to the right place. We’re in week four of our six-part blog series in which Portent PPC Strategists Chad Kearns and Tim Johnson lay down the knowledge on best practices for achieving PPC success. Follow along… Read More
Ryan Moothart // 23 May, 2013
Meet the PPC Team (Star Trek: TNG Style)
Here at Portent, we have many Internet marketing teams: SEO, content, and design, just to name a few. But the best team, objectively speaking*, is the PPC team. *This is completely subjective as I am a member of the PPC team. That does not mean what I say is not the truth. We are a… Read More
Ryan Moothart // 19 Apr, 2013
Why Re-Organizing Your AdWords Account Can Fail in the Beginning
If you have ever re-organized an inherited AdWords account to get in line with best practices by moving keywords into new campaigns and creating new ad copy, you may have noticed how you don’t immediately get the results you were expecting. In fact, you may have concluded that all of the work just made your… Read More
PPC Michael Wiegand // 9 Apr, 2013
Better Quality Score = Better Results?
A study of 27 small business accounts Professionals who’ve spent any time in paid search – at an agency or in-house – can tell you how much of a big deal Quality Score (QS) is to us in the industry. We base our strategies on it. We lie awake at night wondering how to improve… Read More
Kiko Correa // 11 Mar, 2013
An Easy Way to Automate Your Facebook Reporting Using Pivot Tables
I hate doing things twice. I also hate doing things by hand. When it comes to PPC reporting, there is nothing quite as cumbersome as recreating reports from scratch month after month. Thankfully we have the tools available to us to make easy and effective automated reports a cinch. Assuming you have Excel, you’re pretty… Read More
PPC Elizabeth Marsten // 10 Jan, 2013
Dynamic Search Ads: A Slow and Painful Journey
Armed once again with intern Tim and a few dollars from Portent’s pocketbook, I decided to take Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) for a spin using our small business PPC Essentials management package as a test case. I made up my mind pretty quickly and an informal poll of my massive follower list (massive being a… Read More
Blog Elizabeth Marsten // 18 Dec, 2012
PPC Predictions for 2013: Why Not?
I’ve never done a prediction piece for the Portent blog before but based on the number of times a year I get asked “how much will I make from PPC?” I must have a crystal ball somewhere. (Particularly since when this question is usually asked, it’s been 5 minutes, I haven’t seen the cart funnel,… Read More
Featured Elizabeth Marsten // 26 Sep, 2012
Google Shopping: How We’re All Totally & Utterly Screwed
Well OK, I’m being a tiny bit dramatic. But Google Shopping could totally and utterly screw you over if: You’re not a major brand with an AdWords rep to spoon feed you You’re not familiar with how shopping feeds, shopping engines & AdWords works You haven’t started thinking about this and you’re an ecommerce retailer… Read More
PPC Chad Kearns // 14 Sep, 2012
The New PPC Management Referral Program that Gets You Cash
IT’S FREE MONEY! Now that we have your attention, Portent is proud to announce a newly created referral program for our PPC Essentials management package. What does this mean? It means that if you refer Portent’s PPC Essentials package to a small business owner or marketing manager and they sign up for our monthly management… Read More
Featured Elizabeth Marsten // 20 Aug, 2012
Google Shopping: Interview with Rick Backus of CPC Strategy
Rick is the CEO and Co-Founder of CPC Strategy, a comparison shopping engine management company started in 2007. They take client feeds across multiple platforms (Amazon, Nextag, PriceGrabber, etc;) and optimize them for ROI through strategy, attention to detail and expertise in CSEs (comparison shopping engines.) Rick was kind enough to let me ask a… Read More
Chad Kearns // 30 Jul, 2012
5 Critical Tips for PPC Success for Small Businesses on a Budget
Small business owners on a tight budget need to stretch their PPC advertising dollars to get the most bang for their buck. However, there are countless money-sucking traps along the way that can derail your online advertising goals. Here are five critical tips for PPC success for small businesses on a budget. 1. Separate Networks.… Read More
PPC Elizabeth Marsten // 19 Jul, 2012
Using Visitor Flow and Site Search in GA to Prove You Need PPC Landing Pages
How do you know when you should use a lander over a category or product page in PPC? Well, yes, you test. But let’s say you’ve tested between the two, but are stuck in a circle and would really like to test a category lander just for PPC and need some “evidence” to convince a… Read More
Elizabeth Marsten // 23 May, 2012
9 Tips for Setting Up an AdCenter Account from Scratch
It’s free to sign up! AdWords charges you $5 for account activation. Don’t dump your entire AdWords account in. That’s just silly. Use the 80/20 rule. 20% of what you’re doing in Google can go over to adCenter. Just like a house fire, take only what you treasure most. Then accumulate later. There are settings… Read More
Elizabeth Marsten // 4 May, 2012
10 Dangerous Defaults in PPC
You remember that episode where Homer Simpson goes into space as a NASA astronaut? He only got to go because Barney Gumble has an alcoholic relapse and Homer was the second runner up. Scientist: Well, Homer, I guess you’re the winner by default. Homer: Default? Woo hoo! The two sweetest words in the English language:… Read More