One primary reason I took the course COMM464 was to learn more about SEO, analytics, and the general quantifiability of social media & internet-based marketing. Although there is more to be explored, I learned a great deal from this week’s lecture, notably with Google AdWords.

I am amazed at the subtleties of AdWords, the fact that a simple “…” or modifying the tense of a verb can radically change success rates. That being said, of course I had to search up some “Google AdWords hacks” to see what other tricks are out there. To my dismay, the information I found was very general. I suppose if marketers had a truly remarkable AdWords hack, they would keep it to themselves and not expose it for the world to use. Nonetheless, I did find some interesting tips:

• Using Gmail ads: Instead of ads on the right-hand side of the Gmail browser, ads are also available right in the inbox above the subject line. Even if people do not click, these ads are directly in users’ line of vision.
• “Write Insane Ads that Appeal to Emotions”: One site recommends publishing ads with wording that appeals to emotions. This entails really getting to know your customers and finding out details such as: what/who do they love/hate? what is their biggest problem and why are you the one to solve it? One author calls these “Unicorn Ads”:
  • example:
• Purposely use misspellings: One author encourages using misspelled words in order to “get hits before the real ads”. Apparently, it’s cheaper too.

These are just a few examples of creative tactics being developed to make certain ads stand out above others. Although some seem bizarre, it’s no surprise to me that they exist, given the competitive nature of PPC ads. I am excited to attempt some of the tactics we learned in class, and through my own personal research, to our clients in COMM464!

References:

• Patel, N. (2015, August 15). 8 Google AdWords Hacks That’ll Double Your Conversion Rate. Retrieved October 1, 2015, from http://neilpatel.com/2015/08/15/8-techniques-thatll-double-your-google-adwords-conversion-rate/
• Kim, L. (2014, September 30). The Top 10 Best PPC Hacks … Ever! Retrieved October 1, 2015, from http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/09/30/adwords-hacks
• StankDawg. (n.d.). Hacking Google AdWords. Retrieved October 1, 2015, from https://www.defcon.org/images/defcon-13/dc13-presentations/DC_13-Stankdawg.pdf