5 Google Optimize tests to take AdWords to the next level : Web & Search Engine Optimizers : RippleSmith

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising often focuses too much on the click.

It sounds crazy. The industry is named after clicks, after all, but what happens after a user comes to your landing page is even more important.

That’s why the direct integration between AdWords and Google Optimize has me so excited. Landing page optimization is now way easier to do, which means that we can do so much more with all of those clicks that we’re paying for.

There’s a lot to get excited about when it comes to Google Optimize: It’s easy to set up experiments, and it’s even easier to create different versions of your site (no coding required). You can choose the winners of your tests with Google Analytics metrics and goals.

But as an AdWords guy at heart, I’m particularly excited about this integration: We can now directly tie our experiments to AdWords setups, from accounts all the way down to keywords.

Setting up Optimize and AdWords

Before we get into some of the ways to test AdWords with Optimize, I figure it makes sense to talk about how to set up an experiment.

To start, you’ll need to link your AdWords and Google Analytics accounts.

You’ll also have to enable auto-tagging in your ads. Once both of those are done, you have to check a box in the Linked Accounts section of your AdWords account to enable the link to Optimize.

It’s that simple.

Currently, you can run tests on search network traffic which includes search partners, shopping campaigns and Dynamic Search Ads. And within those campaigns, you can set up experiments for the following in Google Optimize:

Accounts.
Campaigns.
Ad groups.
Keywords.

AdWords components to test in Optimize

There really are a ton of things worth testing. Here is a list I came up with that may spark ideas for you.

1. How can you make a stronger connection with returning users?

You can get at this a couple of ways. The first is if you have already segmented out your remarketing lists for search ads (RLSA) traffic into their own campaigns.

If that’s the case, simply run tests on those campaigns. If your audiences are only applied t…

[Read the full article on Search Engine Land.]

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