Google Tag Manager (GTM) has been around for a long time, and I’ve been using it for most of that time. Just not very extensively. I’ve known that it has tremendous capabilities beyond how I’ve been using it, but only recently did I decide to explore...
UTM Parameters UTM parameters are an age-old method of tracking web activity based on link clicks, and they are still very useful today. In fact, they can help compensate for tracking data that is now missing due to PETs (Privacy Enhancing Technologies). They work by...
When advertising through Google Ads, it helps to get as much data as possible about the results that are generated. And although it’s an evolving and imperfect science, there are several tools and mechanisms that can give you useful data. For starters, you can...
If you like reading, you might be interested in seeing some of my favorite books from recent years. Some of them were enlightening and inspirational. Some were funny and fascinating. As you’ll see, I’m not a big reader of fiction. When I read for fun, it’s almost...
Facebook (whose parent company is now Meta) can be very confusing and frustrating to use. It changes often, tends to be buggy, and has an overwhelming number of features that intersect. Even people whose job it is to master (like me) have regular headaches with it. On...
Jon Loomer is one of the top social media and Facebook ads experts in the world, and I was thrilled to have the chance to interview him last week. There are so many lessons I’ve learned from his teachings and his example over the years. I wanted this interview...
If you’re advertising through Google ads, it’s important to have control over who will see the ads, where they’ll see them, and in what context they’ll see them. Google offers an interesting array of options for ad targeting. However, not all...
The field of web analytics is almost as old as the World Wide Web itself (which was invented in 1989 by Tim Berners Lee). The point of web analytics is to give data about activity that happens on a website, such as which web pages are seen, in which order(s) are they...
Google Ads offers a wide array of features and options to help optimize your campaigns for the best results. One of those features is called bid adjustments. With bid adjustments, you tell the system to alter your bids in the auction based on specified conditions. For...
The History For over a decade, Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) allowed advertisers to create ads based on the wording of their choice. The basic components of an ad were: the headline, description, and URL. For the purpose of optimization, Google always...
To excel as an online ad specialist (which has been my goal for years), it’s crucial to understand how results get tracked and measured. The world of online tracking is a complicated one that can never be completely mastered. But in 2021, I decided to up my game...
Meta/Facebook Ads has traditionally employed automated bidding that attempts to deliver a specified result in an efficient way, such as link clicks, video views, lead form submissions, Messenger conversations, website sales, and others. This is generally still the...
Where do people see Google ads? Most people know that ads appear in Google search results, but Google has several other major outlets and networks where ads can be served. And although Google Ads may not be the only advertising platform around (there’s Microsoft...
When you begin creating an ad campaign with Meta Ads Manager, the first choice you need to make is the campaign objective. This is so that you can achieve the results you want for your business. For example, do you want to drive traffic to your website, or do you want...
If you are planning to do search engine advertising through Google Ads, it’s critical that you master the keyword match types system. The keyword match types are an indispensable feature that determines how closely the targeted keyword needs to match a search...
Targeting is one of the most significant aspects of Meta/Facebook advertising. It’s wonderful if you have an effective ad creative that garners attention and promotes your business, but it can’t be expected to perform well if the wrong people are seeing...
Since Google ads is an auction-based system, advertisers need to place bids to get exposure for their ads. Therefore, bidding is one of the most important aspects of the entire process. While bidding used to be simpler and more straightforward, modern technology has...
In Meta Ads Manager, the ad level is where you put together the various elements of the ad itself. While creating an ad, you’ll be able to see a preview of how it will look. You can see the different ways it might look depending on where it’s placed (such...
Since Google ads is a self-serve advertising platform, it’s natural that advertisers will use it with varying degrees of knowledge and skill (or the complete lack of). When advertisers use it without understanding it much, there can be problems. In fact, it can...
When running ads through Meta Ads Manager, where do your ads appear to the public? The answer is that there are several possible platforms and placements. As the advertiser, you can choose the platforms and placements that you think will be most beneficial. The ad set...
