book

Your Google® Game Plan for Success: Increasing Your Web Presence with Google AdWords, Analytics, and Website Optimizer

by Joe Teixeira

September 2010

Intermediate to advanced

456 pages

11h 38m

English

Wiley

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About the Technical Editor
About 'Your Google Game Plan for Success'How This Book Is OrganizedWhat You're Not Going to Get Out of This Book
1.1. What's Your Current Plan of Online Action?1.1.1. Why Did You Build a Website?1.1.2. What Does Your Website Look Like?1.1.3. What Does Your Website Do?1.1.4. How Does Someone Benefit from Your Website?1.1.5. How Do You Plan on Marketing Your Website?1.2. How Are You Measuring Success?1.2.1. Visits, Hits, and Page Views1.2.2. Time on Site, New vs. Returning Visitors, and Events1.2.3. Conversions, Goals, and Successes1.2.4. Customer/Visitor Feedback1.2.5. Key Performance Indicators (KPI)1.3. Doing It Online Is Different from Doing It Offline1.3.1. Fast, Faster, Fastest!1.3.2. No Charge for Changes1.3.3. Much Higher Level of Accountability1.4. Getting Started on Your Journey to Success
2.1. Creating a Google AdWords Account2.1.1. Creating a Google Account2.1.2. Opening a Google AdWords Account2.1.3. Creating Your First AdWords Campaign2.1.4. Choosing a Billing Method and Entering Billing Information2.2. Becoming Familiar with the Google AdWords Interface2.2.1. The Home Tab2.2.2. The Campaigns Tab2.2.3. The Opportunities Tab2.2.4. The Reporting Tab2.2.5. The Billing Tab2.2.6. The My Account Tab2.3. The Home Tab2.3.1. Alerts2.3.2. Account Status2.3.3. Announcements2.3.4. Watch List2.3.5. Keyword Performance2.3.6. Active Campaigns2.3.7. Campaign Performance2.3.8. Help and Tips2.4. The Campaigns Tab2.4.1. Functions and Features within the Campaigns Tab2.4.2. The Campaigns Sub-Tab2.4.3. The Ad Groups Sub-Tab2.4.4. The Settings Sub-Tab2.4.5. The Ads Sub-Tab2.4.6. The Keywords Sub-Tab2.4.7. The Networks Sub-Tab2.4.8. The Audiences Sub-Tab2.5. The Opportunities Tab2.6. The Reporting Tab2.6.1. Report Types2.6.2. Settings2.6.3. Advanced Settings2.6.4. Templates, Scheduling, and E-Mail2.6.5. Viewing Your Report2.7. The Billing Tab2.7.1. Billing Summary2.7.2. Billing Preferences2.7.3. Agency/MCC Billing2.8. The My Account Tab2.8.1. Account Access2.8.2. Notification Settings2.8.3. Preferences
3.1. A Brief Review of Cost-per-Click Advertising Online3.1.1. What You're Actually Charged For3.1.2. Where Your Ads Actually Appear3.2. The Critical Role that Landing Pages Play3.3. The Google AdWords Quality Score3.3.1. Quality Score For Google And Search Partners3.3.2. Quality Score For Google And Search Partners3.3.3. Optimizing Your Quality Score3.4. Keyword Match Types3.4.1. "Broad Match" Keywords3.4.2. "Phrase Match" Keywords"3.4.3. "Exact Match" Keywords3.4.4. "Negative Match" Keywords3.4.5. The Great Debate: Keyword Match Types3.5. Cost-per-Click Ads3.5.1. Standard Text Ads and Restrictions3.5.2. Using the "Keyword Insertion" Function3.5.3. Testing and Experimenting with Different Ads3.5.4. Other Types of Ad Formats3.6. Geo-Targeting3.6.1. Selecting a Country, State/Region, or City3.6.2. Creating a Custom Targeted Area3.6.3. Who Actually Sees My Geo-Targeted Ads?

4.1. The Google Content Network4.1.1. Text Ads4.1.2. Image Ads4.1.3. Video Ads4.1.4. Automatic and Managed Placements4.1.5. Tips for Success on the Content Network4.2. Display Builder4.2.1. Selecting Your Ad Template4.2.2. Editing and Launching Your Display Ad4.3. AdWords Bidding Options4.3.1. Bidding Focus on Clicks (CPC)4.3.2. Bidding Focus on Impressions (CPM)4.3.3. Bidding Focus on Conversions (CPA)4.4. Advanced Campaign Settings4.4.1. Languages4.4.2. Position Preference4.4.3. Delivery Method4.4.4. Ad Scheduling4.4.5. Ad Rotation4.4.6. Frequency Capping4.4.7. Demographic Bidding4.5. Ad Extensions4.5.1. Location Extensions: Business Owners4.5.2. Location Extensions: Non-Business Owners4.5.3. Phone Extensions4.5.4. Ad Sitelinks4.5.5. Product Extensions
5.1. Google AdWords Editor5.1.1. Downloading Your Campaigns5.1.2. Working within AdWords Editor5.1.3. Posting Changes Live5.2. Google (DoubleClick) Ad Planner5.2.1. Viewing a Site Listing5.2.2. Creating a Media Plan5.2.3. Ad Planner for Publishers5.3. The AdWords Conversion Tracking Tool5.3.1. How Conversion Tracking Works5.3.2. Creating and Installing Conversion Tracking5.4. Conversion Tracking Data and Reporting5.5. The Search-Based Keyword Tool5.6. Other Available AdWords Tools5.6.1. My Change History Tool5.6.2. Ads Diagnostic Tool5.6.3. Ad Preview Tool5.7. Keyword Discovery Tool5.7.1. Traffic Estimator5.7.2. IP Address Exclusion Tool5.7.3. Site and Category Exclusion Tool
6.1. Measuring Success and Taking Actions6.1.1. Focus on Impressions6.1.2. Focus on Clicks6.1.3. Focus on Conversions6.1.4. General Actions to Take6.2. Answers to Common Questions and Problems6.2.1. When Should Ad/Keyword Bids Be Changed?6.2.2. When to Add/Pause/Remove an Ad6.2.2.1. When to Change Your Campaign Settings6.2.2.2. When to Create New Campaigns6.2.2.3. When to Reorganize Your Account
7.1. The Google Analytics Account7.2. Basic Functions within Google Analytics7.2.1. Date-Range Tool and Comparing Date Ranges7.2.2. Trending Graph Customization7.2.3. Adding Reports to the Dashboard7.2.4. Exporting Report7.2.5. E-mailing Reports7.2.6. Dimensions (Segmenting)7.2.7. Table Filtering7.2.8. Other Table Options7.2.9. Help, FAQs, and Common Questions7.3. The Overview and the Dashboard7.4. The Visitors Section7.4.1. Benchmarking7.4.2. Map Overlay7.4.3. New vs. Returning7.4.4. Languages7.4.5. Visitor Trending7.4.6. Visitor Loyalty7.4.7. Browser Capabilities7.4.8. Network Properties7.4.9. Mobile7.5. The Traffic Sources Section7.5.1. Direct Traffic7.5.2. Referring Sites7.5.3. Search Engines7.5.4. All Traffic Sources7.5.5. Keywords7.5.6. Campaigns7.5.7. Ad Versions7.6. The Content Section7.6.1. Top Content7.6.2. Content by Title7.6.3. Content Drilldown7.6.4. Top Landing Pages7.6.5. Top Exit Pages7.6.6. Site Overlay7.6.7. Navigation Summary7.6.8. Entrance Paths7.7. The Goals Section7.7.1. Total Conversions7.7.2. Conversion Rate7.7.3. Goal Verification7.7.4. Reverse Goal Path7.7.5. Goal Value7.7.6. Goal Abandoned Funnels7.7.7. Funnel Visualization7.8. The E-Commerce Section7.8.1. Total Revenue7.8.2. Conversion Rate7.8.3. Average Order Value7.8.4. Product Performance7.8.5. Transactions7.8.6. Visits to Purchase7.8.7. Days to Purchase
8.1. How Google (Web) Analytics Works8.1.1. What Information Does Google Analytics Collect?8.1.2. Personally Identifiable Information (PII)8.1.3. First-Party vs. Third-Party Cookies8.1.4. Limitations of Google Analytics8.2. Web-Analytics Metrics8.2.1. The Web-Analytics Association8.2.2. Web Metrics and Dimension Definitions8.2.2.1. Metrics8.2.2.2. Dimensions8.3. Unfortunate and Common Misconceptions8.3.1. Misconception: Web Analytics Is Accounting Software8.3.2. Misconception: Google Analytics Publicly Shares and Sells My Information8.3.3. Misconception: A $125,000 Tool Will Solve All My Problems8.3.4. Misconception: One Tool Should Be Enough for Me8.3.5. Misconception: Web-Analytics Tool X Should be Exactly the Same as Web-Analytics Tool Y8.3.6. Misconception: Google Analytics Can't Handle Large Volumes (Because It's Free)8.3.7. Misconception: The More Data My Dashboard Has, the Better!8.3.8. Misconception: Too Many Visitors Are Listed on the Top Exit Pages Report8.3.9. Misconception: You Should Use Year-over-Year and Decade-over-Decade Comparisons8.4. Becoming a Great Web Analyst8.4.1. Failing8.4.2. Segmentation8.4.3. Comparisons8.4.4. Executive Dashboards/Reports8.4.5. Competitive Intelligence8.4.6. Understanding Your Website
9.1. Intelligence and Custom Alerts9.1.1. Understanding "Intelligence"9.1.2. Significance and Sensitivity9.1.3. Group by Dimension9.1.4. Creating a Custom Alert9.2. Advanced Segments9.2.1. Default Advanced Segments9.2.2. Creating a Custom Advanced Segment9.2.3. Sharing and Editing Your Custom Segment9.3. Custom Reports9.3.1. Creating a Custom Report9.3.2. Sharing and Editing Your Custom Report9.3.3. Advanced Segments and Custom Reports Together9.4. Motion Charts9.5. Site Search Reports9.6. Secondary Dimensions and Pivoting9.7. Advanced Table Filters9.8. Annotations
10.1. The Google Analytics Tracking Code (GATC)10.1.1. The urchin Tracking Code10.1.2. The ga.js Tracking Code10.1.3. The async Tracking Code10.1.4. The JavaScript File10.1.5. The Tracking Code Wizard10.1.6. What the GATC Can't Track10.2. Google Analytics Cookies10.2.1. The __utma Cookie10.2.2. The __utmb and __utmc Cookies10.2.3. The __utmz Cookie10.2.4. The __utmv Cookie10.3. E-Commerce Tracking10.3.1. Enabling E-Commerce Tracking10.3.2. The E-Commerce Tracking Snippet10.3.3. Common E-Commerce Tracking Mistakes10.4. Event Tracking10.4.1. Categories, Actions, Labels, and Values10.4.2. Event Tracking Reports10.5. Custom Variables10.5.1. Schema and Key/Value Pairs for Custom Variables10.5.2. Custom Variables Reports10.6. Common Customizations10.6.1. Virtual Page Views10.6.2. PDF and Other File Downloads10.6.3. Sub-Domain and Cross-Domain Tracking10.6.3.1. Sub-Domain Tracking10.6.3.2. Cross-Domain Tracking10.6.4. Modifying Cookie Timeout Values10.6.5. Adding an Organic Search Engine10.7. Creating Profiles, Goals, Filters, and Other Settings10.7.1. Creating a Profile10.7.2. Editing Profile Settings10.7.3. Goals, Values, Funnels, and Engagement10.7.4. Filters and Regular Expressions10.7.5. User Management
11.1. What Is Google Website Optimizer?11.2. How Google Website Optimizer Works11.3. A/B Experiments11.4. Multivariate (MVT) Experiments11.5. Reports and Data Available in Google Website Optimizer11.5.1. A/B Experiment Data11.5.2. Multivariate Experiment Data11.6. Creating an A/B Experiment with Google Website Optimizer11.6.1. Step 1: Website Owner Buy-In11.6.2. Step 2: Create a Google Account11.6.3. Step 3: Logging in to Google Website Optimizer11.6.4. Step 4: Choosing the Experiment Type11.6.5. Step 5: Review Experiment Checklist11.6.6. Step 6: Identify Experiment Pages11.6.7. Step 7: Tag Your Experiment Pages11.6.8. Step 8: Review Settings and Launch11.6.9. Step 9: Follow-up Experiments11.7. Creating a Multivariate Experiment with Google Website Optimizer
12.1. Elementary Statistics12.2. Why Is Elementary Statistics Important?12.3. Types of Statistical Data12.4. Types of Surveys and Samples12.5. Histograms and Normal Distributions12.6. Mean, Median, Mode, and Midrange12.7. Averages and Outliers12.8. Standard Deviation and the Range Rule of Thumb12.9. Z-Scores12.10. Confidence Intervals and Margin of Error12.11. How to Approach Your Data After Reading This Chapter
13.1. The Google Website Optimizer Tracking Code13.1.1. Tracking Code for an A/B Experiment13.1.1.1. Original Page Coding13.1.1.2. Variation(s) Page Coding13.1.1.3. Conversion Page Coding13.1.2. Tracking Code for a Multivariate Experiment13.1.2.1. Test-Page Coding13.1.2.2. Conversion-Page Coding13.1.3. Creating MVT Combinations and Editing HTML
14.1. Syncing Google AdWords and Google Analytics14.1.1. Step 1: Administrative Rights14.1.2. Step 2: Destination URL Auto-Tagging14.1.3. Step 3: Syncing and Applying Cost Data14.2. The Google AdWords Report Subsection14.2.1. New AdWords Segmentation Options14.2.2. The Overview Screen14.2.3. Campaigns Report14.2.4. Keywords Report14.2.5. Day Parts14.2.6. Destination URLs14.2.7. Placements14.2.8. Keyword Positions14.2.9. TV Ads14.3. Other Ways to Combine AdWords and Analytics14.3.1. Importing Your Google Analytics Goals into Google AdWords14.3.2. AdWords Search Funnels Report14.3.3. Running Multiple AdWords Accounts at the Same Time
15.1. Using AdWords for Your Website Optimizer Experiments15.1.1. Experiment: New AdWords, New Landing Pages15.1.2. Experiment: New AdWords, Existing Landing Pages15.1.3. Experiment: Existing AdWords, New Landing Pages15.1.4. Experiment: Existing AdWords, Existing Landing Pages15.2. Ideas for Landing-Page Experiments15.2.1. Designing for Usability vs. Designing for Conversions15.2.2. Calls to Action15.2.3. Landing-Page Headlines15.2.4. Selling/Value Propositions15.2.5. Short, Medium, and Long Forms15.2.6. People, Places, and Things
16.1. Tracking Code Compatibility16.1.1. Using GA and GWO on One Domain16.1.2. Using GA and GWO on Sub-Domains16.2. Analyzing Google Website Optimizer Data in Google Analytics16.2.1. Annotations16.2.2. Advanced Segments16.2.3. Custom Reports16.2.4. All Traffic Sources16.2.5. Map Overlay16.2.6. New vs. Returning16.2.7. Mobile Devices16.2.8. Goals Overview16.2.9. Reverse Goal Path16.3. Creating a Duplicate Proffile for Your Google Website Optimizer Data
17.1. Programs for Analysis17.1.1. Google Insights for Search17.1.2. Google Trends17.2. Programs for Your Website17.2.1. Google Webmaster Tools17.2.2. Google FeedBurner17.3. Programs for Advertising17.3.1. Google TV Ads17.3.2. Google Merchant Center17.3.3. Google AdSense
18.1. Manual URL Tagging18.1.1. The Five Query Parameters18.1.2. Tips to Ensure Your Query Parameters Work Properly18.2. Pay-per-Click Programs18.2.1. The Yahoo!/Microsoft Search Alliance18.2.2. Ask Sponsored Listings18.2.3. Some Other Tools to Add18.2.4. URL Shorteners18.2.5. Klout18.2.6. Twitalyzer18.2.7. PercentMobile18.2.8. CrazyEgg
A.1. Getting in Touch with the AuthorA.2. Thank You, Reader!A.3. Google ResourcesA.4. Non-Google ResourcesA.5. Blogs to Subscribe To

Content preview from Your Google® Game Plan for Success: Increasing Your Web Presence with Google AdWords, Analytics, and Website Optimizer

About the Author

About the Technical Editor

Todd Meister has been developing with Microsoft technologies for more than 15 years. He's been a technical editor on more than 75 titles, ranging from SQL Server to the .NET Framework. Besides doing technical editing, he is an assistant director for computing services at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He lives in central Indiana with his wife, Kimberly, and their four children.

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