Welcome new AdWords Top Contributors!

This week, the English AdWords Community team is pleased to welcome three new members to the AdWords Top Contributor program: Moshe Avichai, Pankaj Sabharwal, and Scott Dunroe. The Top Contributor program recognizes advanced AdWords experts who have dedicated their time and passion for AdWords to helping other users in the Community. Read their stories below about how they first got involved in the AdWords Community.

Moshe Avichai (aka �MosheTLV�)

With a start of my engineering consulting business and use of AdWords, I wanted to gain a better understanding of the advertising system. AdWords forum was my starting point to get answers to my questions.�

Pankaj Sabharwal (aka �pankaj1782�)

I realized how much my AdWords knowledge improved since I discovered the forum. Ever since then, it has become my hobby to help other users in the AdWords Community. I love interacting with the Community because it has users ranging from beginners to Adwords Experts.

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Scott Dunroe (aka �ScottyD�)

The ability to interact with some of the most knowledgeable individuals in the AdWords industry is a real privilege. But the best feeling of all is helping novice members with their AdWords related questions and then seeing them gradually become active members themselves.

Our three new Top Contributors will be active in the Community along with the other Top Contributors and our thousands of users to help you with all your AdWords questions. Join the conversation!

Posted by the AdWords Community Team

GoMo: Mark your calendar to �Hangout on Air� and learn how to build a mobile site in minutes

Did you know that 40% of mobile web users reported that they�ve turned to a competitor�s site after a bad mobile experience1? With about half of all Americans now owning a smartphone2, it�s time for businesses to meet user expectations by delivering a mobile experience as good as the desktop experience. In short, it�s time to step up to the plate and build a site optimized for the mobile web. �
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Google can help. We recently teamed up with DudaMobile to release a free mobile site builder. �In three easy steps you�re able to get started with mobile: (1) enter your site�s URL, (2) customize your site and (3) redirect mobile users automatically to the new mobile-friendly version. �It�s free and takes just a few minutes to complete!

Join us on Thursday, May 10th at 1pm EST/10am PST and watch as Google showcases how two businesses, Top Mast Resort in Massachusetts and Sava�s Restaurant in Michigan, go mobile and build mobile-friendly sites--live on air.

You�ll see how Top Mast is preparing to take advantage of mobile travel purchase intent - which is five times higher than online travel purchase intent, according to InsightExpress. �You�ll also see Sava�s move ahead of 95% of restaurants that do not have mobile-friendly sites, according to a study by Restaurant Science.

Finally, you�ll hear from the CMO of Dudamobile, Dennis Mink; he�ll talk about best practices when using the mobile site builder and walk through important questions to ask yourself when building a mobile-friendly site.

Details on how to tune in

1. Sign into Google+ on Thursday, May 10th at 1pm EST/10am PST
2. Go to the Think with Google Google+ page
3. Look for the stream post and click to enter the live stream

Be sure to set a reminder in your calendar! If you have questions before or during the Hangout, post them with the hashtag #GoMoSite as a comment on the Google+ page.

Posted by Suzanne Mumford, Google Mobile Ads Marketing

Sources: (1) Gomez 2011 (2) Nielsen February 2012

AdWords Community now available on your phone!

Ever wish you could reach out to other advertisers with just a click, even when you're not behind your computer? We�ve got some good news for you - AdWords Community is now optimized for all web-enabled mobile devices!

Like PPCBossman and many other Community users, you can get AdWords Community mobile on your smartphone and stay connected anywhere and at any time:

• Ask your AdWords questions as soon as they come to mind.
• Post answers/articles and help other members.
• Instantly browse any thread you want to re-visit.

Sign up is as easy as opening www.en.adwords-community.com in your mobile browser (ensure you type in the www) with no additional applications. It auto-captures your mobile email (you can choose to use a different email) - simply choose your username and get started!



The simple interface with finger-friendly buttons lets you easily use all all the Community features just like on your desktop. One member theitiuk says this increases his accessibility to reach out to the Community at any time from anywhere. PPCBossman, who is a regular user, finds the functionality almost identical to the desktop version.

Try it out, bookmark it on your phone and let us know what you think by posting your comments and suggestions on the AdWords Community.

Posted by Rashmi Singh, Ad Policy Specialist

Learn about Display Network Advertising with Google AdWords

Join us every Wednesday at 11am PST on the Google+ Your Business page to learn about the tools that Google offers your business. This week, we�re excited to bring you a Hangout On Air about advertising on the Google Display Network.

The Display Network is a powerful tool that can help you reach potential customers that may not be actively looking for you on search engines. In fact, 95% of users� time is spent outside of search. During the Hangout, we�ll show you how to harness the Display Network to select appropriate targeting options and identify important performance metrics for your business. Join us to learn more about topics like image ads, branding your business, and re-engaging users who have previously visited your site. In addition, we�re excited to invite two Top Contributors,�Kim and Theresa, from the AdWords Community to share their personal experience advertising on the Display Network.

Just sign into Google+ and add the Google+ Your Business page to your circles. Post questions ahead of time - simply look for the post that we put up every Monday morning soliciting your questions. Then, on Wednesday, navigate to your Stream where you�ll be able to view our Hangout live with just one click!

We�re excited to see you, answer your questions, and teach you a little about AdWords!

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Posted by Allison Sommer, Inside AdWords crew

Making Search Ads work for businesses with mobile apps

Mobile search is a powerful channel for businesses to engage with customers that are searching for them or for their application. Last year, we introduced improvements to click-to-download ads, and for publishers, launched Custom Search Ads for Mobile Apps. Today we�d like to share several new features that will make it even easier for AdWords advertisers to promote, track and monetize their mobile app. For the first time, businesses can use AdWords mobile search ads as a holistic solution to promote, monetize and track their app downloads.

Promote your app using the new Mobile App Extension

All AdWords advertisers will receive the option to use a new Ad Extension - the Mobile App extension; a new way to promote their mobile apps. Not all mobile users searching for a business may know that the business has an app. The Mobile App extension allows advertisers to append a mobile app download link to their search ads. With this extension, advertisers can promote their mobile app to users who may simply be searching for their brand, product or service.

The mobile app extension gives advertisers a new distribution channel for their mobile apps and users a new discovery medium. Beta participants saw a 6% lift in CTR for campaigns using Mobile App extensions, compared to control campaigns.

The new Mobile App Extension found in the �Ad Extensions� tab. Use its new �app picker� function to easily find your company�s app in Google Play Store or iTunes App Store

GrubHub, a web and mobile service that connects diners to restaurants and simplifies online ordering for delivery and pick up, was an early beta tester of the Mobile App extension. In addition to pointing mobile customers searching for food delivery services to their mobile website, they used the mobile app extension to add an additional link to their app download page. Abby Hunt from the GrubHub team explains the importance of reaching customers on mobile: �GrubHub is dedicated to feeding our diners anytime, anywhere - this is why it is important for us to reach our diners on their mobile devices. Hungry people are checking their mobile devices on the way home from work or walking to class, and where they are."

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GrubHub was an early tester of the Mobile App extension, allowing hungry customers searching for their business the option of accessing information on their mobile site or app via an ad.�

Enriching click-to-download ads with more useful app information
Advertisers running campaigns solely focused on promoting and driving downloads of their app will benefit from recent changes that add more useful information to their click-to-download ads. Last year, we added mobile app icons next to the text ad. We�ve now incorporated richer information about your mobile app right in the ad unit itself. When a user searches and your click-to-download ad appears, they�ll be able to see image previews, a description of your app, and when applicable, pricing and rating information.

All this new information in the click-to-download ad is automatically drawn from the Google Play Store and iTunes App Store. We hope that customers will benefit from recent changes that make click-to-download ads more engaging and for users searching on Google.

Quicken Loans Inc., the nation�s largest online home lender and a top five retail lender uses click-to-download ads to promote their Mortgage Calculator App. They�ve seen a rapid increase in the number of customer searching for them on mobile. Greg Broda, Paid Search Partner Manager at Quicken Loans explains:�"When it came time to promote the new Quicken Loans Mortgage Calculator app, the decision to utilize Google�s mobile click-to-download ad platform was a no-brainer. The placement has allowed us to share the app with a very targeted and engaged group of users."

Quicken Loans runs click-to-download ads, now complete with app previews and pricing information, that point users to their app download page.

Track Android app downloads through AdWords
Businesses will now be able to track downloads of their Android app from their AdWords campaigns as an AdWords conversion. This means that when a user downloads a mobile app from the Google Play store via a click-to-download ad or a mobile app extension, we will count their download as a conversion. For more information on how to set this up, visit this page.

Monetizing your mobile app with Custom Search Ads for Mobile Apps

We�ve now brought Custom Search Ads to tablet apps via the recent launch of a new AdMob SDK. Tablet and mobile app users will receive ads relevant to what they're searching for inside an app, and businesses running mobile apps will have a new tool to monetize their content and services.

Mobile apps represent a significant opportunity for businesses to reach their customers, and mobile search is an important channel to reach these customers. We�re looking forward to bringing new products in the coming year that will help businesses grow by promoting,�tracking, and monetizing their mobile apps with Google.

Posted by Anurag Agrawal, Product Manager, Mobile Search Ads

New Changes to Ad Rotation

AdWords currently offers three ad rotation settings: optimize for clicks, optimize for conversions, and rotate evenly. Using the �rotate� setting for ad rotation is helpful for testing new creatives, but when run indefinitely can inhibit advertiser performance and deliver less relevant ads to our users.

Starting next week, the �rotate� setting for ad rotation will change. �Instead of rotating creatives for an indefinite period of time, this setting will only rotate for a period of 30 days. �After that, the setting will then optimize to show the ads expected to generate the most clicks. �Every time a creative is enabled or edited, the ads in that ad group will rotate more evenly for a new period of 30 days.

This change will be rolling out next week. At that time, ad groups with creatives that haven�t been added or modified in the past thirty days will see this new ad rotation behavior. Otherwise, this change will begin 30 days after your last creative was enabled or edited.

This change will enable us to provide users with the most relevant ad experience and should help advertisers improve the performance of their AdWords accounts. For more information on this change, please visit this article in our AdWords Help Center.

Posted by Karen Yao, Senior Product Manager

Webinar: Driving Online Conversions with Remarketing

Join the UK Google Online Media Specialist team for a live "Driving Online Conversions with Remarketing" webinar on Tuesday May 1st at 3:00 PM GMT (10:00 AM EST / 7:00 AM PST).

97% of website visitors do not convert the first time they visit. Remarketing can help you re-engage with your potential customers and bring them back to your website to buy your products. Join our live webinar to see how you can use remarketing to increase your online conversions by helping close the deal with customers who were not ready to make a purchase the first time around.

Key areas that will be covered include:

• What remarketing is and how it works
• Reasons to use remarketing
• A step-by-step set-up guide
• Campaign optimization tips

This webinar will be presented by a Google Online Media Specialist and will include Q&A. The session is suitable for advertisers who are already running campaigns on the GDN, as well as those who have not yet used the GDN.

�Register now!

Post Posted by Allison Sommer, Inside AdWords crew