Advertiser Guide

Google and third-party partners
We believe that AdWords can help your business succeed. However, you might not have the time or resources to devote to building – and regularly maintaining – a successful AdWords account. Or maybe you’d just like some help from an expert. That’s where our third-party partners come in. There are many different types of third parties out there, from the largest advertising agency and yellow page publisher to the one-person web consultant. To help you select a third-party partner, we’ve developed our Partner Programs. Third parties participating in these programs will display a badge on their website and have taken and passed certification exams. Two badges that you’ll probably see most often are AdWords Certified Partner and Premier SMB Partners. See the badges and learn about our Partner Programs at www.google.com/adwords/partnerprograms. To confirm that a company is certified within our Partner Programs, click the badge on their website. If they’re certified, you’ll be taken to the company’s profile page on Google.com.

How to work with a third-party partner
An AdWords third-party partner can save you and your business a lot of time and energy. For best results, we encourage you to stay informed, involved, and up-to-speed on your ad campaigns, and let your partner handle the time-consuming work. Third-party partners will often charge a fee in addition to the cost of your advertising. Remember, they’re providing a valuable service by managing your AdWords campaigns, providing you with reporting, answering your questions, and optimizing your campaigns, among many other things. We believe it’s important for you to understand the total cost of your AdWords advertising, including any fees your third-party partner charges. Use this amount to determine your return on investment (ROI). Here are five quick tips for being a savvy customer:

• Be selective When selecting a third-party partner to work with, look for companies that display a Certified Partner or a Premier SMB Partners badge. You can use Google Partner Search to verify that a company is certified, or to search for certified partners. As part of your selection process, be sure that you understand and are comfortable with the length of the contract you’re entering into with the partner. There are a few other criteria to help you choose the right third-party partner for you: Has this third-party partner worked with businesses in your area before? What about businesses with similar budgets or target audiences? What other services can they provide – alongside AdWords – to grow your business?

• Pick one partner You may be tempted to divide your budget among multiple third parties to see which one drives the best results. You’re welcome to do this as long as you test them one at a time. Google doesn’t display more than one ad for a business on a page of search results, so you’ll find it difficult to test multiple third parties at once.
• Educate yourself Understanding AdWords at an advanced level can take time, but it doesn’t take much time to learn the basics. Review the “AdWords basics” section below or visit the AdWords Help Center at adwords.google.com/support/aw to learn more. Understanding AdWords will help you make more informed decisions with your third-party partner.
• Trust experience If you’re working with a company that’s managed hundreds of AdWords accounts, then it’s likely that they’ve developed expertise with AdWords. If they tell you that certain industries have historically higher online-advertising costs or certain keywords might not work for your business, they’re probably speaking from experience.
• Evaluate your performance Unless you’re focused on branding, what matters most about AdWords is the return on your advertising investment (i.e. the number of new customers coming in the door). So take some time each month to measure what you’re investing, and the results you’re receiving from that investment.

AdWords basics

• Keywords: The words or phrases you select – when users search for those words on Google, your ad may appear next to or above the search results.
• Clicks: The number of times users clicked your ad. Impressions: The number of times your ad appeared.
• Clickthrough Rate (CTR): The number of clicks divided by the number of impressions, shown as a percentage. A good CTR can improve your average position.
• Average Position: The average position that an ad appears in when it’s triggered. An average position of 1-8 generally means that the ad is appearing on the first page of search results.
• Cost: The total amount you spend with AdWords.
• Conversion: The action that your advertising results in, such as a phone call, lead, or sale. This is usually a good metric to use to measure the success of your advertising.

Disclaimer: While we may not respond personally to your email, we will investigate your comments and, if necessary, take the appropriate action. If you have a question about your AdWords account and need help, please visit the Help Center at http://adwords.google.com/support/aw