Google Ad Auctions Explained by Hal Varian

Google AdWords determines the price advertisers pay for clicks in realtime ad auctions on Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).  This means with every search query a user submits on Google, an auction takes place.

In this video, Google's Chief Economist Hal Varian explains how the auctions work.

Important to note that Google gives each competing ad an "Ad Rank" that is computed by multiplying its Maximum Bid an advertiser is willing to pay with the Quality Score that Google assigns your ad/keyword/landing page.  The higher your ad rank, the higher your ad's position on the SERP.

Ad Rank = (Max Bid) * (Quality Score)

The price you pay (p₁) is directly related to the maximum bid (b₂) of the advertiser below your ad - though the Quality Score of each ad (Q₁ and Q₂, respectively) is also taken into consideration.

p₁Q₁ = b₂Q₂

Since b₂Q₂ is essentially the Ad Rank of the ad below your ad, the price you pay is equal to the Ad Rank of the ad below yours divided by your Quality Score.

p₁ = b₂Q₂ / Q₁

SEO and SEM Tools

I recently had the opportunity to spend some time working with Doug Drees, the Director of Search Engine Marketing at Mudd Advertising (formerly with Target Click Marketing - the UNI student startup!).  

We talked a lot about both Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) campaigns (also known as "Pay Per Click" or PPC campaigns).  He shared some excellent resources with me that I am passing along to you!

(Special thanks also to Greg Jass)

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

Rankerizer
Monitors and tracks your Google, Yahoo, and Bing rankings for keywords
http://www.rankerizer.com/

Rank Checker
Checks your search engine position ranking for any keyword
http://www.seocentro.com/tools/search-engines/keyword-position.html

SEO Tips from Location3.com
http://www.location3.com/category/seo/

Screaming Frog
A desktop app that spiders your website/blog from an SEO perspective.
http://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/

SEARCH ENGINE ADVERTISING

A great series of articles on Pay Per Click campaigns

PPC - The Ground Rules

PPC - Optimization Cheat Sheet

PPC - Campaign Optimization

Keyword Mixer
Quickly creates various combinations of word lists
http://keywordmixer.com/

Local Keyword Tool

If you're looking for new keyword ideas, this tool will help you.

http://www.localmarketingsource.com/local-keyword-research-tool/ 

Pay-Per-Click Blogs

Keep up with the latest happenings.
http://www.ppchero.com/

http://www.searchengineland.com/

Social Gaming Campaign at UNI

You might notice some purple keys around the UNI campus this week:

It's a pre-launch teaser for a social gaming campaign called "Unlock the Quest" that will be running on our UNI campus over the next six weeks.  

As you can see from the flyer below, they are specifically targeting "UNI's brightest and most adventurous students" which is no doubt a thinly veiled reference to those studying Digital Advertising!

The campaign has a blog site where they are giving information out about the quest and clues to help participants as they unlock the quest.  

If you're interested in participating, just text QUEST to 72466.

There is an "amazing grand prize" at stake!  

How the Web Works

If you'd like some more information on how the internet works - and specifically the technology that power web browsers, the Google Chrome team put together a nice little digital book called "20 Things I Learned about Browsers and the Web"

Digital Analytics at Facebook

Get an insider's view of how a major website like Facebook thinks about and uses data and digital analytics for product development and marketing.  Listen to Facebook product designer Adam Mosseri's talk given at UXWeek 2010 entitled "Data Informed, Not Data Driven".

#unidigadv is in full effect for Fall 2012

Hope you are as excited as I am!  I'll be using this blog to post class materials, resources, and other interesting stuff relevant to our studies of Digital Advertising.  Please explore the "Social Media Resources" and "Learning Resources" links on the right nav bar!