News
November 6, 2009Display Insight: Gain Access to your Competitors' Banner Ads
Posted by Richard Stokes on November 6, 2009 to Display Advertising, Features
We are excited to offer advanced access to our Display Insight service. This product offers similar benefits as SEM Insight, but extended across the entire Internet to include banner, rich media, and text ads located on high-traffic websites in the US.
This service will be publicly available in January 2010. However, we are granting advanced access to a limited number of clients. Click here for more information.
AdGooroo API and Excel Add-On Now Available
Posted by Richard Stokes on September 9, 2009 to Features
We are pleased to announce the launch of the AdGooroo API program. This API lets developers access AdGooroo competitive intelligence data to build virtually any application that meets their needs.
Here are a few possibilities:
- Integrate coverage and rank data with your agency's campaign management dashboard.
- Create a rules-based bidding engine within Excel, using a simple, easy-to-install add-on.
- Track your natural rankings in an iPhone app or Google desktop widget.
The AdGooroo API is based on the popular REST architecture and supports data transfer formats such as JSON, XML, and CSV. You are free to develop in the language of your choice, including .NET, Perl, PHP, or virtually any other common language.
The API will be available free of charge on a limited, first-come-first-serve basis to SEM Insight customers (Trademark Insight data is not yet supported by the API.) To request access, please contact your customer service representative. Upon acceptance, you will be given access to our website which contains quota details and documentation.
AdGooroo Search Engine Update - Q408 (Final)
Posted by Richard Stokes on January 12, 2009 to AdWords, Research
Search Engine Advertising Update - Q408
January 12, 2009
December’s data continues to support our thesis that Q4 will prove to be the strongest quarter on record for Google and Microsoft Live Search.
Google led in Q4 with first-page advertiser growth of 58.0%, followed by Live Search with 42.3%. Yahoo trailed with a mere 8.8%, surprisingly low given the brisk pace of online holiday sales.
Microsoft continued to close the gap in advertiser share with Yahoo. In Q3, Yahoo led by 17.6 percent (30.4% vs. 12.0%). By the end of Q4, this lead has narrowed to 3.0% (19.4% vs. 16.4%).
As we reported in our mid-quarter update, we measured large increases in ad coverage on Google - a trend which continued throughout December. Yahoo remained consistent with previous 2008 ad coverage measurements, while Microsoft ad coverage declined in Q4 (indicative of continuing focus on ad quality control and holistic search).
We expect a flattening out or even a decline of advertiser accounts into Q1. This is typical of the post-holiday quarter, but should nevertheless lead to positive Y/Y growth.
Is Microhoo! A Possibility?
Although Microsoft officially withdrew its offer for Yahoo! in May, the financial markets have been abuzz with chatter about the possibility (or unlikelihood) of a follow-up offer. Microsoft’s comments have not been particularly enlightening either way.
On November 7th, Steve Ballmer stated to the Financial Times, “It was clear that (Yahoo!) doesn't want to sell the business to us and we moved on.”
A month later, he elaborated:
"We're fully prepared to compete without any partnership with Yahoo. We don't need to act. Would it be advantageous for both of us to make a deal? Look, the fundamental basis for doing the search deal with Yahoo has to do with critical mass in the advertising marketplace. It doesn't have to do with technology, or any of these other things, it really is a market phenomenon. Together we would have more advertisers….which means we'd have more relevant ads on our page. We'd have higher monetization levels possible in front of us because there would be more people bidding on more key words. Most importantly, Google would have perhaps a real credible competitor sooner."
- Steve Ballmer, December 5, 2008
Charts available in full report:
1. Monthly Growth in Advertiser Count
2. Share of Advertisers by Search Engine
3. Avg # Ads/Keyword (US & International)
4. Avg # Ads/Keyword (US only)
5. Top 25 Advertisers by Search Engine
Download PDF (5 pages) (free registration required)
MarketingSherpa Case Study: Email Marketing in Tough Times
Posted by Richard Stokes on January 7, 2009 to Email Marketing, MarketingSherpa, Mentions
In tough economic times, search marketers turn to AdGooroo more than ever. See what Marketing Sherpa said about our 2008 direct marketing initiative and the more than 1,400% ROI it generated.
Read full case study at MarketingSherpa
AdGooroo Q308 search marketing research report now available
Posted by Richard Stokes on October 9, 2008 to
Search Engine Advertiser Update – Q308
October 9, 2008
We start this quarter's report off with the good news: Microsoft has come back in a big way. During Q3, we measured a 19.3% increase in active first page advertisers, the biggest quarterly increase since we began measuring advertising activity in April 2007. In just one year, Live Search has grown their active advertiser base by almost 32%, putting them in the strongest position since their inception. That they've been able to retain advertisers in the face of an uncertain economic environment is a sign of both excellent customer service as well as positive return on investment.
However, Google appears to have had a mixed quarter. We recorded a 3% increase in active advertisers, which would've been good news were it not for Sergey Brin's statement that Google has been “too aggressive in reducing coverage this past quarter [Q2] ”. While it appears that the company was taking steps to increase coverage (at least through July), ad coverage dropped to its lowest levels in August and September, suggesting that August and September may have been weak months.
We venture to speculate that May's rollout of the new AutoMatch algorithm has not made up for the attrition of small advertisers. This is further supported by the fact that Google launched a new algorithm change in mid-September, one which promises to undo some of the aggressive quality control measures which have purged advertisers (and spends) since July 2007. The same algorithm may also be aimed at reducing low-priced inventory, a move which strongly favors big-budget advertisers (see “Google bets on brand-name advertisers” below).
Finally, Yahoo appears to be staying the course while it waits for the US government to approve its ad-sharing deal with Google. We measured a 2.5% decrease in active first-page advertisers, but there were no significant changes in other metrics.
Charts:
1. Average Ads Shown vs. # of Searches
2. Monthly Growth in Advertiser Count
3. Relative Advertiser Count vs. 12 Months Ago
4. Share of Advertisers by Search Engine
4. Avg # Ads/Keyword (US & International)
5. Avg # Ads/Keyword (US only)
Download PDF (7 pages) (free registration required)
Searching for the Next President: the Internet’s impact on McCain vs. Obama
Posted by Richard Stokes on September 24, 2008 to
Searching for the Next President: the Internet’s impact on McCain vs. Obama
September 25, 2008
Many digital marketers operate in highly competitive industries, but few industries come close to approaching the level of competition present in the 2008 Presidential Election. At AdGooroo, we’ve found that as the stakes get higher, so does the quality of search campaigns. So what better arena could there be for us to study in order to stretch our marketing muscles?
First, the major points: More than five times the amount of traffic is being driven each month to Obama-related sites than to websites focusing on the McCain campaign.
Based on internet chatter, one might be led to believe that most of this traffic is the result of grassroots activity. It’s not. Nearly 93% of Obama-related web traffic is going directly to the Obama site (Only 73% of McCain traffic is generated on an McCain-owned website).
And despite the fact that there are 3.5x more pro-Obama websites than pro-McCain websites, McCain is receiving 11% more traffic from grassroots websites (surprise!).
From a search marketing standpoint, both campaigns are roughly equal in the level of sophistication of their paid search programs. The McCain campaign seems to have the advantage in terms of keyword selection, but the Obama campaign seems to be more responsive at targeting topical keywords (such as “lipstick” and “Paulson”).
However, Obama’s campaign has a clear advantage in terms of natural search rankings. While McCain’s website ranks on the first page of Google search results for 67 keywords, Obama ranks of the first page for a whopping 117 keywords.
Finally, we also surveyed ads currently being run by both campaigns. Again, another surprise was waiting for us: in the month of September, Obama ran 17 negative search engine ads, while McCain ran only 3.
Charts:
1. Partisan Domains by Candidate
2. Breakout of Partisan Domains by Position
3. Monthly Traffic to Partisan Domains
4. Monthly Traffic to Partisan Domains (excluding campaign-owned websites)
Download PDF (41 pages) (free registration required)
New changes with Yahoo! China
Posted by Richard Stokes on August 25, 2008 to
Please note that as of July 18th, 2008 Yahoo! China discontinued display of side ads. Only premium ads are being shown on search results pages now:
AdGooroo clients need make no changes to their existing keyword groups, this change will automatically reflect in their reports.
AdGooroo Adds "Top Ad Copy Report" to SEM Insight
Posted by Richard Stokes on August 19, 2008 to
August 19, 2008 - AdGooroo (www.adgooroo.com), a leading provider of online marketing competitive intelligence and keyword tools, today introduced SEM Insight's Top Ad Copy Report, a report that search advertisers can use to obtain examples of the industry's most effective search advertisements, including those of competitors. The new reporting function selects ads positioned to perform exceptionally well based on a patent-pending screening process developed by the AdGooroo research team.
The Top Ad Copy Report compares the effectiveness of online ads served in response to specific keyword searches, determining relevance based on various factors including coverage (percentage of time an ad appears for a given keyword) and position (relative high or low position on the search results page). Armed with this analysis of advertising effectiveness, advertisers can employ copywriting techniques that have proven successful in generating attention and response for specific sets of keywords.
"For the first time ever, advertisers have a reliable tool to help them discover the most powerful online ad copy," said AdGooroo Founder and Chief Gooroo Rich Stokes. "With the Top Ad Copy Report, SEM Insight users can see what's working and what's not in any given space. The report is easy to use and automatically finds the best ad copy in the keywords any particular user has chosen to track."
Stokes said the scarcity of comprehensive research on PPC ad copy effectiveness spurred AdGooroo's creation of the Top Ad Copy Report. The reporting tool was designed to achieve the dual objectives of identifying the most effective ads being displayed on Google and helping advertisers apply successful copywriting tactics.
The Top Ad Copy Report uses a database containing most of the world's online ad copy, and applies a methodology based on coverage, position and the duration of an ad's online lifecycle to find the most effective ads appearing in response to specific keyword searches.
To learn more about AdGooroo, SEM Insight or the Top Ad Copy Report, visit www.adgooroo.com.
About AdGooroo
AdGooroo provides online marketers and agencies actionable, on demand competitive intelligence tools that proactively monitor an industry's advertising landscape to help them build a long-term competitive advantage. Based in Chicago, AdGooroo provides competitive intelligence to search engine marketers through its tool suite, including AdGooroo Express, SEM Insight and Trademark Insight. AdGooroo tools leverage access and automation to provide advertisers with lists of competitors' top keywords, ad copy, campaign statistics and more. Top agencies and brand advertisers leverage AdGooroo competitive intelligence tools. For more information, visit AdGooroo.com.
All Eyes on Coverage To Understand Google’s Performance
Posted by Richard Stokes on July 18, 2008 to
Industry powerhouses, investment firms, and fans of the world's most widely used digital media research tool all sat up and paid attention yesterday when Google announced it's Q2 performance. One of the most high profile developments that came out of the announcement was the discussions of Google's decreased coverage. With recent quality controls put in place by Google to improve the overall relevance of search results for users and improve performance for advertisers, coverage dropped significantly and seems to have contributed to a less than stellar quarter from a Google AdWords perspective.
AdGooroo tracks coverage in many forms. We have been tracking average coverage metrics for the top three engines by analyzing and tracking the average number of ads/keyword in place at Google, Yahoo! and MSN, and we released the most recent set of findings on July 7, almost a full two weeks in advance of Google's earnings announcement. To read about and see graphic representations Google's falling ads/keyword and other critical performance metrics, visit the AdGooroo Research Library to download a copy of "Search Engine Advertiser Update – Q208."
AdGooroo champions coverage as an important metric to agencies and advertisers alike, because it harnesses the unique power of pre-click data to illustrate important branding performance metrics for AdGooroo customers. When an advertiser needs to understand how often, at what rank and in what company their ads show up against a particular keyword, no metric in existence paints as clear a picture as coverage.
Being the champions of coverage that we are, the AdGooroo team was delighted to see not only Google but also some important media outlets begin to examine coverage. This was already happening prior to the Google earnings announcement and continued on afterward. Some of the articles that highlighted this important metric and cited AdGooroo's data included:
• "Google: Weathering the Economy" Business Week, July 18, 2008
• "Can Google (GOOG) Fix “Quality Control” Keyword Mistake And Boost Revenue?"
Silicon Alley Insider, July 18, 2008
• "Even Online Ads Face Slowdown," Investor's Business Daily, July 11, 2008
• "New data point to trouble for Microsoft search business," MarketWatch, July 8, 2008
AdGooroo looks forward to continuing to track these important data points and releasing another report in early October. In the meantime, marketers, don't forgot to keep tabs on your own coverage metrics. Log in today to find out where you stand.
AdGooroo Q208 "share of advertisers" estimates now available for Google, Yahoo!, and MSN
Posted by Richard Stokes on July 7, 2008 to
Search Engine Advertiser Update – Q208
July 8, 2008
Perhaps as should be expected as we head into the summer months, Q2 was a quiet quarter for the search advertising industry.
While advertiser counts for all three search engines were flat to lower, it appears that Google and Yahoo have turned up the heat on Microsoft. While Yahoo managed to hang on to its advertiser base (+0.03%) and Google showed a small decline (-6.4%), we observed nearly a 20% drop in MSN’s active client count in Q1.
Of the three major search engines, only Yahoo has held onto its gains made over the past year. Trailing twelve month advertiser growth for Google, Yahoo, and MSN respectively were -8.5%, +9.8%, and -6.7% respectively.
While advertiser counts have historically been a reliable directional indicator of search revenue, we know that Google is attempting to change the rules of the game by placing increasing emphasis on ad quality. This is particularly evident when looking at the average number of ads displayed per keyword.
Over the past 6 months, the average number of ads per keyword shown on Google in the US has declined from 6.5 to 4.0, a nearly 40% drop. While it’s possible that this could reflect a poor economic environment, it’s more likely the result of Google’s ongoing efforts to improve the quality of its ads.
The theory is that by eliminating less effective ads, the remaining ones should have higher clickthrough and (possibly) conversion rates. This in turn should justify higher bid prices.
However, the auction-based bidding system makes this a double-edged sword. As the number of advertisers declines, so does the competitive pressure for higher bid prices. If advertisers don’t step up to the plate and bid more aggressively for placement, then it’s possible that search revenues could stagnate.
We speculatively view Google’s new AutoMatch algorithm as their response to (and tacit understanding of) this Achilles heel of auction-based pricing. AutoMatch automatically shows ads on search queries not specifically targeted by advertisers, thus increasing the number of bidders across all keywords. AutoMatch was released on May 20 so it will likely be one or two quarters before we can conclusively judge its success. However, we’ve already seen an uptick in ad coverage for June (from 3.9 to 4.0), so this is a possible portent of success.
Is search recession proof?
Charts:
1. Share of Advertisers by Search Engine
2. Monthly Growth in Advertiser Count
3. Relative Advertiser Count vs. 12 Months Ago
4. Avg # Ads/Keyword (US & International)
5. Avg # Ads/Keyword (US only)
Download PDF (5 pages) (free registration required)
How keyword length and ad position impact CTR and CPC on Google AdWords
Posted by Richard Stokes on June 23, 2008 to
June 22, 2008
Of the many factors impacting campaign return, cost-per-click (CPC) and clickthrough rate (CTR) are among the most important. For this reason, it is vital that professional search marketers understand their relationship at more than a superficial level.
In a study conducted by the AdGooroo research team in early 2008, we attempted to measure the exact relationship between cost-per-click and clickthrough rate. More importantly, we measured how these critical campaign metrics were affected by the length of the searcher's keyword phrase as well as the average position in which the ad appeared on Google AdWords.
The end result of this study was a proprietary index (the “AdGooroo search index”) which illustrates how these relationships change across the entire range of ad positions on Google.
We demonstrate how to combine this index with standard website metrics, such as conversion rate and average order size, to reliably predict the optimal average position for both broad and niche keywords.
Our model can also be used to predict those rare situations in which advertisers can aggressively outbid their competitors for top positions while maintaining profitability.
Finally, the index can also be used to reliably predict how a keyword ad will perform when historical data is unavailable or insufficient, such as when setting up a new campaign or managing keywords which receive only a few clicks per month.
Tables and Charts:
1. Change in average cost-per-click by keyword length and average position
2. Average cost-per-click versus keyword length
3. Change in average clickthrough rate by keyword length and average position
4. Clickthrough rate versus keyword length
5. Predicted profit for broad keywords
6. Predicted profit for niche keywords
Google gains advertiser share relative to Yahoo, MSN
Posted by Richard Stokes on April 16, 2008 to
Search Engine Advertiser Update – Q108
April 16, 2008
The number of companies advertising on the top three search engines increased considerably in Q1. Both January and February saw strong growth in the overall number of search engine advertisers, followed by modest growth in March. This represents the first significant sign of expansion in advertiser activity since last May. Most of this was due to a large increase in the number of active Google advertisers.
The trends in advertiser share which persisted throughout the latter half of 2007 largely reversed themselves in Q108. The biggest gainer this quarter was Google, who increased their advertiser share from 72.7% to 77.0%. Yahoo ended a long winning streak with its first decline in seven months, dropping from 34.5% to 30.1%. MSN held its ground, increasing slightly from 11.1% to 11.4%.
Despite this short-term shift in fortunes, Google lost ground to its two major competitors over the trailing twelve months. We estimate that MSN has increased its year-over-year advertiser base by 11%, Yahoo by 5%, and Google by only 4%.
While suggestive, our advertiser counts are estimates only and should be interpreted in light of other data. These figures represent the net effect of both new advertisers and advertisers lost through attrition.
Charts:
1. Share of Advertisers by Search Engine
2. Monthly Change in Advertiser Count
3. Relative Advertiser Count vs. 12 Months Ago
Download PDF with all charts and tables (free registration required)
Court rules that use of trademarks in AdWords copy is infringement
Posted by Richard Stokes on April 7, 2008 to
A court has recently ruled in favor of the plaintiff in an ad copy infringement case. The plaintiff, Storus, sued Aroa for using their trademark, "smart money clips," in the title line of one of their AdWords ads.
Barry Schwartz at SearchEngineLand points out that not only would it have been easier to petition Google to pull the ad, it would have been much cheaper as well (Eric Goldman at at Technology & Marketing Law Blog estimates the losses at between 1-5% of the total legal fees.)
Original case
Full article at SearchEngineLand
Ask and AOL data now available
Posted by Richard Stokes on March 14, 2008 to
We are pleased to announce the addition of Ask.com and AOL to our SEM Insight and Trademark Insight services.
Subscribers will now be able to access a total of six search engines from their AdGooroo accounts:
- Yahoo
- MSN
- Baidu
- Ask
- AOL
SEM Insight customers:
These new search engines can be added to your account via the "Manage Keywords" page. You will not receive data from these search engines unless you explicitly tell us to monitor them.
Trademark Insight customers:
Data for these new search engines will automatically appear within your reports. No further action is required.
We hope you find this a valuable addition to your AdGooroo account. Feel free to contact your account representative with any questions or comments.
A new look for AdGooroo!
Posted by Richard Stokes on March 10, 2008 to
As you may have noticed, AdGooroo is sporting a new look today!
As we continue to grow (AdGooroo has recently crossed the 1,000th client mark), browser compatibility and page load time have become important issues. To address these needs, we've embraced CSS/XHTML as our design standard. Our new website should provide a more consistent user experience to both our Internet Explorer and Firefox users, faster page load times, and much better readability.
Did we mention that it looks a lot better, too?
Of course, while we've spent countless hours proofing pages, there will undoubtedly be a few bugs which might have crept past us. Please let us know of any problems you may find on the site by emailing us at techsupport@adgooroo.com.
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