What’s Clickin’ – AdWords Updates from January 2014

Welcome to the first installment of our new monthly AdWords recap series titled What’s Clickin’.  Our objective with this monthly series of blog posts is to provide a one-stop resource for all of the latest AdWords feature updates, announcements and resources.

AdWords Updates From Around the Web

January was a relatively quiet month on the AdWords features front presumably due to the holidays and Q1 2014 strategy and planning sessions over at Google, but we did manage to round up a few announcements and resources that we thought you may find interesting.

New Look and Simpler Navigation Rolling Out in AdWords – Inside AdWords
It goes without saying that the most significant change we encountered in January was the visual update to the AdWords UI.  We hope you had some nice final moments with the big green bar. Our team encountered mixed reviews but as usual, we adapt and move on.

Search Funnels Attribution Modeling Tool  – Circle Google Ads on G+ – Post on Google Ads G+
Announced on Google+, there is now a Search Funnel Attribution Modeling Tool available in the AdWords Interface.  AdWords Help Center Documentation on this feature is available here.

Insights, innovation and a glimpse inside AdWords for 2014 – Inside AdWords
Google kicked off the month with a look back at some of the changes we encountered in 2013 and then touched on what we can look forward to in 2014.

Search Insights: Sizing Up the Competition – Think Insights
An in-depth look at analyzing competition in the brand arena.

Better Ads via Better Sitelinks – Inside AdWords
Now that ad extensions are considered in ad rank calculations, everyone should review their extensions and ensure sitelinks are active.  These are a no brainer for most AdWords accounts.

The Performance Marketer’s Field Guide to AdWords Ad Extensions: Part I – Inside AdWords
This is a two part, well written and detailed guide all about ad extensions. Part II can be accessed here.

New Learn with Google Hangouts On Air – Inside AdWords
If you’re looking to brush up on your AdWords skills or learn something new, Google’s Hangouts On Air offer some great opportunities.  Check out the latest schedule for upcoming events.

Busting Bad Advertising Practices — 2013 Year in Review – Inside AdWords
Google’s ads and policy groups are constantly battling the black hats and gave us a nice recap on what they accomplished on 2013.  Included is a nice infographic.

Improving users’ advertising experiences with in-ad surveys – Inside AdWords
The ever existing goal of providing the best possible experience to its users continues as Google announces in-ad surveys to collect user feedback.

That’s what we have for January’s recap.  We hope you found these articles informative and useful.  If you have any suggestions for us on additional topics you’d like to see us cover, please let us know in the comments below.  Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog and we’ll see you again in March for the next edition of What’s Clickin’ powered by the PML PPC Circle.

The PML PPC Circle is responsible for keeping our methodology and practices up to date based on the latest developments out of the paid search world and our own internal lessons.  Our commitment to continuously improve our methodology is a priority that helps us deliver the best possible results for our clients.