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FAQs About Search

General Information

When is click data updated from the search engines?

The process of pulling the previous day's click data from the search engines begins at 06:00 in the advertiser's time zone.

In addition, Google campaign-level performance metrics on the search network for the current day are pulled at 08:00 and 16:00 in the advertiser's time zone.

What actions causes keywords and ads to lose their history?

Note:  (Advertisers with portfolios) Expect the performance of new keyword and match type combinations to be volatile while Media Optimizer gathers data to create new models.

Actions in the Search > Campaign Management views, in the bulksheet posting process, and in the search engine's own editor:

The existing keyword or ad is deleted and another one is created when:

  • You edit a keyword name.

  • (Google and Microsoft) You change a keyword's match type.

  • You move a keyword between ad groups.

  • You edit an ad copy (headline/title or description) or an ad image.

  • You move an ad between ad groups.

Events in the product inventory feed posting process:

An existing ad or keyword is deleted and another one is created when:

  • A feed file contains a new value for a column used in an ad variation.

  • The template settings for an ad changed since the last propagation.

  • A new feed file includes a row for an ad or keyword that was a) in a previous file but b) has been omitted since then and was paused or deleted according to the feed data settings.

An existing ad or keyword is deleted when the feed data settings stipulate it when:

  • A new feed file doesn't include a row for an existing ad or keyword.

  • The scheduled end date for the components of a posted feed file occurs.

  • The stock level of an item dips below a minimum specified in the feed data settings.

(Google AdWords campaigns) Can I use a shared budget for campaigns in portfolios?

For best results, don't add AdWords campaigns to an AdWords shared budget if they are in optimized portfolios that are configured to "Auto adjust campaign budget limits." If you do, AdWords will override the Media Optimizer optimized campaign budgets, which may lead to bidding inefficiencies.

(Google AdWords campaigns) Can I send mobile and non-mobile users to different landing pages?

You can use the AdWords ValueTrack parameters  {ifmobile} and {ifnotmobile} to determine the domain name of the landing page in one of two ways, as applicable for your sites:

  • Include the mobile designation as the host server using {ifmobile:m}{ifnotmobile:www}.

    For example, http://{ifmobile:m}{ifnotmobile:www}.example.com will take users to m.example.com when they view a mobile ad and www.example.com when they view a non-mobile ad.

  • Include the mobile designation as the top-level domain using {ifmobile:mobi}{ifnotmobile:com}.

    For example, http://www.example.{ifmobile:mobi}{ifnotmobile:com} will take users to www.example.mobi when they view a mobile ad and www.example.com when they view a non-mobile ad.

In both cases, the destination URLs or final URLs with Media Optimizer tracking will include the unencoded {} tags and any additional parameters appended to the base URL.

Note:  Don't use a full URL as the value for ifnotmobile and ifmobile parameters; use only the variable part of the URL (such as "m" versus "www," or "mobi" versus "com").

(Google AdWords campaigns on the search network) What data is shown for today?

Google campaign-level performance metrics on the search network for the current day are pulled at 08:00 and 16:00 in the advertiser's time zone.

In the Campaigns tab in the Search > Campaign Management and the Optimization > Portfolios views, when you report on Today or a custom date range that includes the current day, it will include the most recently-pulled data.

Campaign Reports that include the current day and have a data aggregation of "Hourly" will also include the most recently-pulled data.

Note:

  • Data for clicks, impressions, and conversions are delayed by three hours and won't be complete until the next data pull.

  • Campaign Reports don't show device data by hour. If the report includes the "Device" column, all data for the hour is included in a row with a device value of "N/A."

(Google Merchant Center accounts) How do I set up Media Optimizer tracking for Google product listin...

To allow Media Optimizer to track conversions for Google product listing ads, generate tracking URLs using the Search > Tools > Tracking URLs tool, and add them to the product data by including them in a custom column "adwords_redirect" within the Merchant Center product feed. URLs generated using this method don't include any tracking parameters specified in the Media Optimizer account or campaign settings.

For more information about Google Product Listing Ads, see http://support.google.com/adwords/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2454022.

Why do destination URLs for my ads include "&EV_HASH={<hash>}?"

When you upload ads using an product inventory feed for an account with the Media Optimizer pixel redirect and with keyword- and creative-level tracking, Media Optimizer adds the hash parameter and value to the ad's destination URL to identify that it was created using the inventory feed feature.

(Product inventory feeds) Should I pause or deleted ads that are obsolete or are for a product whose...

It depends on the advertiser's business requirements.

When you pause ads, they will be reactivated if you resubmit the same ad or the stock level goes above the minimum. This allows you to retain the ad's history.

When you delete ads and resubmit them, new ads are created, and historical data will need to be accumulated. If you don't expect to resubmit deleted ads, however, having historical data is not important.

(Product inventory feeds) If I delete an ad template and then create a new, identical one, will miss...

If the next feed file is missing line items and you have not previously posted those line items from the new template via a previous feed file, then the missing line items won't be recognized as "missing," and they won't be created. To avoid this, propagate the previous feed file through the new template and post the data before propagating and posting data from a new file.

(Product inventory feeds) Can I update prices for my products without affecting an ad's quality scor...

For Google campaigns, yes:  Google's {Param 1} and {Param 2} variables allow you to dynamically insert numeric values in an ad variation without deleting and recreating the ad, and therefore without affecting the quality score.

To use Google's {Param 1} or {Param 2} variable for your price data, map the price column in your data file to that variable in the appropriate feed template(s), and then include the variable in your ad variation templates.

For example, if the column is called "Price," then open the feed template that will create the ads, click in the input field next to Param 1, and then click the Price column in the Feeds/Available Columns list, which will insert [Price] as the value for Param 1. Then, in the ad variation template at the bottom of the feed template, insert {param1:default text}, where "default text" is text that will be used if the parameter column in the feed file is empty for an ad row.