Dec 12

2013 Holiday Toy Drive and Company Dinner

by | December 12th, 2013 | Posted in Minnesota Events, Portland Events, WebRanking News | Comments Off on 2013 Holiday Toy Drive and Company Dinner

Cheers from WebRanking!

On December 8, 2013 in Minneapolis, the Minnesota WebRanking crew gathered once again in what is now becoming a tradition. We got together to celebrate the holidays, and a very successful 2013 for our company.

The Portland crew did not join us this year. We were fortunate to have them in Minnesota last year as all the stars aligned and schedules worked out perfectly to have them with us. Alas, the stars were crooked this year. But that didn’t stop us!

Jul 12

Final Countdown To AdWords “E-Day”

by | July 12th, 2013 | Posted in Pay Per Click | Comments (2)

Keep Calm Its The Final CountdownJuly 22nd is fast approaching. This is the day that AdWords advertisers has been dreading since Google first announced to Enhanced Campaigns, the platform upgrade that includes major changes to how campaigns are built, managed and perform. On the 22nd of July 2013, all existing campaigns will be automatically upgraded to Enhanced.

Several studies have already shown that Google Enhanced campaigns are causing AdWords Cost-Per-Click rates to rise, and will increase even further on the 22nd when all campaigns will be auto-upgraded. If you have not yet upgraded your campaigns, you only have a little time left. I suggest doing so ahead of time so that you get your settings dialed in the way you want them, and not the way Google wants.

Dec 21

2012 Holiday Toy Drive and Company Dinner

by | December 21st, 2012 | Posted in Minnesota Events, WebRanking News | Comments Off on 2012 Holiday Toy Drive and Company Dinner

Cheers from WebRanking!

This past Sunday in Minneapolis, the entire WebRanking crew and immediate family were fortunate to have the opportunity to all be together to celebrate the holidays and what was a very successful 2012 for the company.

With offices in both Portland and Minneapolis, it isnโ€™t often we have the chance for everyone to get together as a company, but with WebRanking sponsoring the LinkedMinnesota Holiday Extravaganza the next day, it presented us with the perfect opportunity to do so.

To kick off the eveningโ€™s festivities, we met up at a local toy store where we all took part in selecting and purchasing toys to donate to the outstanding Toys for Tots Foundation. As Christmas and the holidays is truly about the kids, this was a tremendous opportunity for us to give back and help brighten the Christmas experience for some very deserving children.

Jul 13

Google Testing Combinations of Ads and Ad Formats in Image Search Results

by | July 13th, 2012 | Posted in Pay Per Click, Search Engines | Comments Off on Google Testing Combinations of Ads and Ad Formats in Image Search Results

Google AdWords Logo

Google AdWords

In keeping with Google’s habit of conducing AdWords SERPs tests on Fridays like the left side search tool test, the Olympic Logos test, and the โ€œRelated toโ€ Ads Segmentation test, another unique test was spotted today for their Image Search pages.

This test appears to be for SERP combinations with and without standard AdWords PPC Text Ads, as well as with product listing ads for searches that appear to be related to ecommerce products. The following screen captures show some of the combinations that were spotted today.

 
Keurig SERP with Both Text Ads and Product Listings Ads

This SERP contained both of the Google AdWords ad formats for Product Listings and Text Ads, with the Top 2 Text Ads loading a couple of seconds after the rest of the page did. That delay caused the product ads and images below to appear to “bump” down.

Google Testing Image Search Ads: Keurig SERP

Google Testing Image Search Ads: Keurig SERP

 
Keurig SERP with Product Listings Ads Only

Jun 07

Google AdWords Location Ad Extensions Provide a Visible Boost To Local Map PPC Listings

by | June 7th, 2012 | Posted in Local Marketing, Pay Per Click | Comments (2)

Google AdWords Location Ad Extension with Grey Pin on PPC Text Ad

Google AdWords Location Ad Extension

Over the past few years Google has been implementing small, but significant, formatting and functional changes to their search result pages, as well as the release and upgrade of several ad extensions like the Location Extension shown in the image to the right.

The Location Ad Extension, with it’s grey pin, has morphed over time to look more and more like the Google+Local page pin (formerly known as Google Places pages). There are several theories as to why the free Google Places listings, AdWords PPC Ads, and even standard organic “free” listings, have started to look alike, and most people align with one of these two points of view:

A) To create a more unified experience for users between the organic search results and pay per click ads.

or…

B) To blend the look, format and function of the free and paid listings so that searchers can have a hard time making the distinction between them, thus reducing their ability to choose between which type of listing they would like to click on. Basically, tricking surfers into clicking on the higher listed ppc ads more often than the organic “free” listings that Google generates no revenue from.

The truth probably lies somewhere in between.

The following image should provide you with a good example of this. (click to enlarge)

May 10

Using Photos & Images for Conversion Rate Optimization [CRO Chat Streamcap]

by | May 10th, 2012 | Posted in #CROchat | Comments Off on Using Photos & Images for Conversion Rate Optimization [CRO Chat Streamcap]

Using Photos & Images for Conversion Rate OptimizationOur latest #CROchat discussed how pictures, illustrations and visual graphics can affect conversion rates. The following is the transcribed Streamcap from the live chat:

Apr 25

Conversion Rate Optimization Best Practices for Web Forms [CRO Chat Streamcap]

by | April 25th, 2012 | Posted in #CROchat | Comments Off on Conversion Rate Optimization Best Practices for Web Forms [CRO Chat Streamcap]

CRO Chat - Best Practices for Contact Web FormsOur latest #CROchat was another great one where the topic and question set covered “Conversion Rate Optimization Best Practices for Web Forms”. The following is the transcribed Streamcap from the live chat:

Feb 28

Google AdWords Keyword Tool Update: Adds New Features & Changes UI

by | February 28th, 2012 | Posted in Keyword Research, Tools & Software | Comments (6)

Google AdWords Keyword Tool

Google AdWords Keyword Tool

If you have used the Google AdWords Keyword Tool lately, chances are you stumbled upon a few newly added features. If you haven’t, then you should check them out.

The biggest change you will notice is when you do a search for a keyword or phrase, next to your results will be a small down pointing triangle, signifying that if you click it, there is more to see.

The arrow reveals 4 new keyword tool options:

  • Google Search
  • Google Insights for Search
  • Exclude Term
  • Show More Like This
  • New Keyword Level Drop Down Menu in AdWords Keyword Tool

    Google AdWords Keyword Tool: New Keyword Level Feature

    Here is a larger screen capture of what it looks like on a full page:

    Jan 31

    Google, what the (bleep) are you doing?

    by | January 31st, 2012 | Posted in Search Engines, Social Media | Comments (4)


    Google announced its new privacy policy last week – it was immediately met with Congressional concern, fire and brimstone from privacy advocates and some good old fashioned ribbing on Twitter from none other than Steve Martin (yeah, THE wild and crazy guy). This was just another dark cloud in a growing storm of concern regarding the Mountain View search giant.

    Jan 12

    Bing Testing a New Media Bar on the Homepage

    by | January 12th, 2012 | Posted in Search Engines | Comments (2)

    Likely in advance of the upcoming Windows 8, Bing.com appears to be testing a new bar on the home page below the image. I first saw the new homepage on Tuesday, January 10th when I opened Internet Explorer 9. We opened Bing in different browsers, and on different machines, and did not see the new layout. Much like when we see something new on Google, we usually only see it in one browser. Well, I saw it for just 2 days, and now it’s back to the regular homepage. My guess is that they had it up for CES, where they were showing off tablets that were running Windows 8.

    Side by Side comparison of the previous version of Bing's Homepage and the test version.

    Side-by-Side comparison of the Bing.com Homepage.

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