Think With Google’s December Adventure: That’s a wrap!

Think With Google's December Adventure finishes this week with tips on measurement and analytics. We hoped you enjoyed our insights and daily tips this month on the Think with Google Plus Page. If you missed them or wanted to review, here are the previous weeks' recaps for:

• Week 1: Search insights and tips
• Week 2: Mobile insights and tips
• Week 3: Display insights and tips

Here are the three tips and insights covered this week (and a bonus treat):

#1. Monday - According to the Google ebook Zero Moment of Truth, consumers now consult an average 10.7 sources before making a purchasing decision.
Use Multi-Channel Funnels reporting in Google Analytics to see a user's interactions beyond the last click prior to conversion.

#2. Tuesday - 44% of searches for last-minute gifts and store locations are predicted to be from mobile devices
See how well your mobile site is facilitating conversions with mobile reporting in Google Analytics.

#3. Wednesday - Use Real-Time reporting to see the impact of your holiday promotions within seconds
Use Real-Time reporting in Google Analytics to monitor the immediate impact of email offers and other campaigns that drive customer purchases.

And as a bonus holiday treat...
Holiday measurement tips - straight from the source!
As our final posting for Think with Google's December Adventure, we've wrapped up a handy video from Google's Digital Marketing Evangelist (and best-selling author) Avinash Kaushik on how to measure your holiday campaigns.

 

To see future insights and tips, please follow Think with Google on Google+.


Happy holidays from Google!

Posted by Andrew Truong, Inside AdWords Crew

Think With Google’s December Adventure: Display and 2011 Trends Recap

Think With Google's December Adventure finished its third week with a focus on display and trends from 2011.

Here are the five insights and tips we covered this week:
Click on the titles to view the original posts and comments.

#1. Monday: Rich media ads are 2.7x as effective in driving purchase intent vs. basic Flash

• Be sure to make video a core component of your display advertising mix to maximize holiday sales.

#2. Tuesday: 96% of people visiting a website leave without completing a transaction

• Use remarketing to follow-up with targeted shoppers who browsed your products and left, or abandoned their shopping carts part-way through the purchase process.

#3. Wednesday: Rich media ads grew 66% last year and are predicted to be over 50% of all display ads by 2015

• Browse our Rich Media Gallery or our new ad formats for mobile to check out some of our "best of" examples to get your creative juices flowing.

#4. Thursday: Use Google Zeitgeist 2011 to see the hottest gifts and trends for holiday shopping lists

• Our year-end Google Zeitgeist launches today, and it's chock full of fascinating tidbits about what's been burning up the search queries this past year

#5. Friday: The search for holiday gifts is on!

• Find out what's burning up the search charts as we approach the holidays with this week's top shopping queries.

To learn more, follow Think with Google on Google+ or add this helpful holiday calendar to automatically see these tips on your Google Calendar.

Posted by Andrew Truong, Inside AdWords Crew

Think With Google’s December Adventure: Mobile Tips Recap

Think With Google’s December Adventure continued this week with a focus on mobile.

Here are the four mobile-related insights and tips we covered this week (and a fun factoid):
Click on the titles to view the original posts and comments.

#1 Monday: Search from mobile devices up 5x in the past two years!

• Capture the mobile opportunity with separate campaigns targeting mobile devices only. Advertisers with mobile-optimized sites and mobile-targeted campaigns have seen an average 11.5% increase in mobile CTR.

#2 Tuesday: 59% of users visit a business and 40%+ make a purchase after using their smartphones to find local information

• Use AdWords location extensions to showcase key business information, including your address, phone number and driving directions.

#3 Wednesday: 65% of tablet owners use their tablets at least one hour per day

• Target tablet devices as part of your AdWords campaigns and, if you have tablet specific products or services, create tablet-only campaigns.

#4 Thursday: 51% of consumers are more likely to purchase from mobile-optimized websites

• Get best practices and personalized tips on how to make your website more mobile-friendly at www.HowToGoMo.com.

#5. Friday Fun Factoid: One, Two, Dial my Smartphone

• Sign of the times: We agree with this article and predict that more kids will know how to use a smartphone than know how to tie their shoes. Watch endearing video on the post to see just how important it will be to market your content to the four screens: mobile, tablet, laptop and TV.

To learn more, follow Think with Google on Google+ or add this helpful holiday calendar to automatically see these tips on your Google Calendar.

Posted by Andrew Truong, Inside AdWords Crew

Think With Google’s December Adventure: Search Tips Recap

As we announced earlier this week, we'll be sharing insights and daily tips this month on Think with Google's Plus Page, to help you make the most of your holiday marketing.

Here are the four search ad related insights we covered this week (and a fun factoid):
Click on the titles to view the original Google+ posts and comments.

1. Monday: 57% of shoppers still plan to do most of their holiday buying after Cyber Monday – Prepare for the big shopping days ahead by scheduling budgets to meet demand. Learn how in the "budget scheduling" section of this helpful article to learn how.
2. Tuesday: Online ads are surprisingly under-served during the holidays – Take a look at the seasonal spike in shopping queries versus the level supply of ads. Grab people's attention with ads at the top of the page by taking advantage of our newly launched options for Automated Rules.
3. Wednesday: Searches for "layaway" are heating up – Layaways are catching fire again with budget-conscious consumers at retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart - especially in the Southern US. Geo-target your campaigns to areas where holiday shoppers are looking through the Location Targeting Tool.
4. Thursday: December has arrived, bringing eight projected $1 billion+ online shopping days – Target those last-minute, undecided buyers with keyword terms such as "quick and easy gift ideas." The rush to purchase gift cards has also started, so make sure you have relevant keywords and ads.
5. Friday Fun Factoid: The Cold Truth – Did you know people in the US catch an average of three colds a year, per person? At about 1 billion colds annually, that's nothing to sneeze at. And this year's cold season could be worse than usual: Cold- and flu-related searches on Google are up by 61% so far over the same period last year. That means we'll see 14.1 million more cold- and flu-related searches this December than last December. So wash your hands before hitting the keyboard and bundle up, folks!

To learn more, follow Think with Google on Google+ or add this helpful holiday calendar to automatically see these tips on your Google Calendar.

Posted by Andrew Truong, Inside AdWords Crew

Holiday insights and tips from Think with Google!

Think it’s too late for holiday marketing initiatives? Think again!

Today the Think with Google team launches December Adventure, where every weekday between now and December 23, they’ll share useful, surprising and delightful insights and opportunities for sparking your online holiday sales via search ads, mobile and more. It’s prime time for online shopping, so follow Think with Google on Google+ for daily tips! You can also add this helpful holiday calendar to automatically see these tips on your Google Calendar.

Our December Adventure is just beginning - so bundle up, log on, and get ready to grow your holiday business day by day. Click here to visit Think with Google on Google+. To share the glow of these holiday insights, use #decemberadventure.

Posted by Andrew Truong, Inside AdWords Crew