Green tips for the office

In celebration of Earth Day, we've decided to take a brief break from AdWords news and tips to share our favorite "green" tips for the office.

1) Turn off the lights in conference rooms after you're finished with a meeting.

2) Turn off computers when you leave for the day.

3) Bring your own reusable water bottles and coffee mugs to work.

4) Carpool with your co-workers.

5) Try duplex printing -- save paper by printing on both sides.

We hope you'll take some time today (and every day) to think about how to make your workplace more Earth-friendly!

Posted by Vivian, Inside AdWords crew

Introducing FrankRank, a new ad ranking algorithm

We're proud to announce a new member of the AdWords family -- Frank the hand turkey. You may remember Frank from previous blog posts, and as of today, Frank will be the official mascot of Google AdWords. As part of our continuing efforts to improve the quality of online advertising, we're also introducing FrankRank(TM), a new ad ranking technology and algorithm inspired by our new mascot.

To learn more about Frank and FrankRank, we sat down with the new mascot for a quick interview:

I see you're sporting a new look.
Frank: Oh? What? Oh yes, the bow tie. Well, I'm a big corporate mascot now. I need to look the part. Plus, I hear they have big plans for me, so I've got to look sharp.

Tell us about FrankRank.
F: I'd be happy to. Well, as you might know, AdWords rankings are now based on how well a particular ad goes with mashed potatoes and gravy... and quite frankly, how much I like the ad. Some people thought this connection between mashed potatoes and bids was confusing, but since it's really all about what I like, I figured we'd just name it after me.

We've done some usability studies with it, and you wouldn't believe the results. People are like, "Who's Frank?" and the User Experience Researcher is like, "He's a hand turkey," and then the people are like, "Woah, I get it now." Truly fascinating stuff.

How did you become the AdWords mascot? Were there others competing for the title?
F: I did have to beat out a snowman and his girlfriend for the title, but fortunately I received a travel hair dryer in my office's Secret Santa last year. That certainly heated up the competition, if you know what I mean.

Any concerns that you might be eaten?
F: Well, not in particular, I mean I'm a hand turkey, not the real thing. Now I could see that someone could be enjoying some mashed potatoes and gravy while managing their AdWords account, and then see me, think I am delicious turkey, and try to devour me, but I mean what are the odds?

What else do you have lined up for the future?
F: I've got big plans! First off, I'm going to learn 42 new languages so I can speak to all of our AdWords customers. I also hear that the AdSense folks are looking for a mascot. After that, I'm off to Mars with Project Virgle.

Posted by Trevor & Vivian, Inside AdWords crew

Roses are red...

For Valentine's Day, we wanted to write you a sonnet but we've found that it isn't as easy as Shakespeare made it look. So instead, we took the traditional approach. Here's a Valentine's day poem from each of us...enjoy!

Roses are red

Violets are blue

We love our readers
...Yes, we mean you. :) (Vivian)

Roses are red
Violets are purple
Our readers are as sweet
As fine maple syrple. (Blake)

Roses are red
violets are mauve
Inside AdWords readers
Are pretty darn suave. (Trevor)

Roses are red
So are your lips
We're glad you read
our AdWords news and tips. (Feng)

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Sugar is sweet
Google offers a number of business solutions that help advertisers increase their ROI, most of which are free. Check them out here. (Christian)

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Happy Heart Day...
From the Inside AdWords crew. (Heather)

Posted by Vivian, Inside AdWords crew

Groundhogs, Seasonality, and Trends

Tomorrow, February 2nd, is Groundhog Day, and Punxsutawney Phil will soon emerge from his burrow and give his prediction for how much longer winter will last. While working with a prognosticating woodchuck to predict seasons is great, we have our own tool for determining seasonality: Google Trends.

Google Trends shows you what the world is searching for. Using Google Trends you can see when searches for a particular keyword are most popular as well as the top geographic regions and cities for that keyword. You can even perform comparisons between keywords.

(Click the image for a full-sized version)

Here we have a trends graph for the searches performed in the United States in 2007 for the keywords flowers, roses, and chocolate. We can see that flowers is more popular around Valentine's Day and most popular around Mother's Day. Roses, on the other hand, sees the biggest surge around Valentine's Day, and just a small bump for Mother's Day. And chocolate has jumps for Valentine's Day and Easter and then starts climbing around Halloween, peaking around Christmas. You can also look at a monthly view to see which days have the most traffic. Knowing this information can help you prepare your campaigns for the additional interest.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Posted by Trevor, Inside AdWords crew

Latest Retail and TechB2C Industry Newsletters

Just because the December holidays are over doesn't mean we're taking a break from our industry trends and seasonal highlights. Get a head start on preparing for winter sales opportunities (including Valentine's Day) with our latest Retail and Tech B2C newsletters.

Retailers can find tips for driving more conversions in the AdWords Retail Industry Newsletter. Advertisers selling consumer electronics, and telecommunications and technology products or services can check out the AdWords Tech B2C Industry Newsletter for advice on reaching more customers.

You can sign up to receive AdWords newsletters via email through your AdWords account.

Posted by Feng, Inside AdWords crew

Our top 10 of 2007

The Time Square ball has dropped for the 100th time and the New Year is officially underway, but before we say goodbye to 2007, we'd like to continue the annual tradition of reminiscing about our top 10 favorite blog moments of 2007. Whether you're a newcomer to the blog or an old-time fan, we think you'll find at least a few posts in this list worth reviewing again:

10. Complimentary optimizations make it easy (and free!) for you to get some expert help with your campaigns.

9. We made a change to the formula that determines which ads get top placement.

8. Meet the Click Quality Team and learn all about invalid clicks.

7. Find out why some websites may merit low landing page quality scores.

6. Turkeys (lots of them!), snowpeople, and a few Inside AdWords bloggers, too... we celebrate the holidays with a touch of whimsy and fun.

5. Google's Chief Economist Hal Varian explains how the holidays may affect clicks, conversions, and CPAs.

4. The content network series takes you deeper inside the world of content ads, and how they can work for you...

3. ...while Placement Performance reports help you better understand where your ads are showing, and how they are performing on the content network.

2. The Optimization tips series offers helpful advice on how to make your ads more effective.

1. Learn more about return-on-investment and why it's important with our ROI series.

With that, we're off to work on our resolutions for 2008. We hope you had a restful holiday, and wish you all the best for a Happy New Year!

Posted by Vivian, Inside AdWords crew

Season's greetings

As 2007 wraps up, we'd like to take a moment to send you our warmest wishes for the holiday season. We'll be taking the next week off, but look for us again in January when we'll countdown our annual top 10 must-read posts from the past year. And before we go, here's this year's holiday doodle, featuring someone you may recognize along with his new friend:


Have a warm and wonderful holiday!

Posted by Vivian, Inside AdWords crew

Latest Tech B2B Industry Newsletter

Before the ball drops on 2007, we've got one more AdWords Industry Newsletter to share. The latest issue of the Tech B2B Industry Newsletter has tips and resources to help you prepare your campaigns for the new year. You'll find the latest Tech B2B tips from an AdWords optimization specialist and learn how the content network can help you meet your marketing goals.

You can sign up to receive AdWords newsletters via email through your AdWords account.

Posted by Feng, Inside AdWords crew

On turkeys and giving thanks

It's that time of year again. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the US, and we'd like to take a moment to thank you for your continuous support and readership. Before we take the next couple of days off, we'd like to share with you our latest blog doodle -- you may even notice a cameo appearance by a certain hand turkey from last year!

We hope you'll have a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!


Posted by Vivian, Inside AdWords crew

Industry newsletters for the holiday season

The holiday season is underway, and people are on the lookout for the perfect presents. If you're hoping to take advantage of this shopping season, you won't want to miss out on our AdWords holiday campaign tips in the latest Retail, Entertainment & Media, and Automotive industry newsletters.

We also invite you to check out the brand new Tech B2C Industry Newsletter, designed for advertisers selling consumer electronics as well as telecommunications and technology products and services.

Remember, you can sign up to receive AdWords Industry Newsletters via email through your AdWords account.

Posted by Feng, Inside AdWords crew