Customized Tracking Urls, for overture ppc Options

[delridge]

Hello Forum,

I am a new forum member, and this is my first post. I have a brand new site and a lot of learning to do, much of which looks like it'll be culled from this forum. My apologies in advance, if this is posted in the wrong location.

I found Google's AdWords to be ferociously simple and straightforward to setup and run. However, if I wasn't so new to this, I would describe my Overture setup experience as "excruciating". Once I get the hang of it, though, I'm sure I'll see the beauty of it.

My question:

I have 8 different ad creatives, with an average of 50 keywords each, for about 400 keywords total. To make the best use of the ad tracking software I'm using, each keyword would have its own referring URL.

The URL would read like www.mydomain.com/jump.php?d=OVHTJ04&kw=keyword+phrase+here.

No problem, until the keyword+phrase+here part. Is there a way to assign keyword-specific URLs in Overture, without editing each keyword listing, one by one? In Google, it's easy -- whip them up in Excel with a few "IF" and "CONCATENATE" formulas, then cut/paste them en masse into your AdWords ad group.

I looked into the Overture Tracking URLs, but so far it looks like the Overture-created URLs wouldn't fit the format I've described above.

Am I missing something, or is that just the way it is?

Thanks for your help,

Matt

[Jill]

Welcome Matt! (IMG:http://www.highrankings.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/bye1.gif)

Jill

[kevinsource]

HI Matt,

I am not certain when you are starting from scratch, but your Overture rep, or an overture rep. can email you your entire campaign in excel format. Perhaps you should call them and ask them if you create a list of keywords can they email a template for putting them into the appropriate format for uploading. I too use custom tracking url's and because my account/keyword list is already in place, it is no problem for Overture to email my keywords to me for bulk changes. I would certainly ask them what your options are. I know it can be frustrating trying to make changes to your entire keyword list through the direct traffic center.

[delridge]

Thanks for the suggestion, kevinsource. Sounds like a good idea, I'll give that a try.

Matt

[Haystack]

Welcome Matt and kevinsource. (IMG:http://www.highrankings.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/bye1.gif)

As kevinsource mentioned, if you don't have an account rep, you basically have to manually input term after term into the Direct Traffic Center, which can be a real drag.

[BrianR]

Welcome to the forum, both delridge and kevinsource! - hope you both find it useful.

Ask all you want and contribute all you can.

BrianR

[goodman]

Another thing you might look into is whether third-party bid management and tracking tools offer this feature (inserting appropriate keyword-by-keyword URL's automatically into your AdWords and Overture campaigns). Many now do, not just the well-known or higher-end ones (GoToast, did-it Maestro); I believe Keyword Max, IndexTools (thumbs down on this one from me - poor usability) and a few other low-end ones do it too, which can save you a lot of headaches with spreadsheets. ConversionRuler 2.0 offers this feature but this version still hasn't come out of alpha/beta. These tools are getting cooler and easier to use.

In spite of that powerful capability it may not always be wise to track by keyword. This can generate too much data. In AdWords, we *still* often track by group unless there is a good reason to expect that the right amount time/money will be put into reading and reacting to long lists of data week in and week out. If this isn't the case, scaling back on your tracking ambitions to track 10-20 groups of keywords instead of 400 keywords is a wise choice.

Good luck,

Andrew

P.S. What is the name of the tracking software you're currently using?

[delridge]

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for the excellent feedback. I'll take a look at some of that software, to get an idea what's out there for possible future use.

I hear what you're saying, about tracking individual keywords vs. keyword groups. I have a new business, and my plate is overflowing with needed improvements that will bring me a return on my time better than sitting around pondering the relative value of 400 different keyword phrases.

I did find something interesting yesterday, in a quick review of those 400 keywords. Of the $200 I spent on AdWords last week, all my sales came in on $5-worth of low-traffic, high-converting keywords (for now, I consider the other $195 a getting-my-name-out-there expense).

One week of data does not a pattern make. But in the process, I learned that the existing (and free) Google information can make that wheat-from-chaff sorting very quick and easy, without any need for special ad tracking/bid mgmt software.

Anyway, back to the point: Andrew, thanks again for the feedback!

Matt

PS: In the ad tracking department, I'm currently using AdInformer. When it comes to actually tracking my ads, the free information Google and Overture provides does the job quite well. The main thing I've ended up using AdInformer for is watching how visitors move through the site. AdInformer assigns a "clickID" to each incoming visitor, and shows you the sequence of pages (and the timestamps) the visitor went through while navigating your site. That feature certainly isn't unique, but AdInformer was a cheap, easy, and familiar (for me, because I've already used other products/services from that company) way to get it.

[kevinsource]

Matt,

Unlike Andrew, I do track by keyword. He is right in saying that it does create a plethora of data. However, I am at the point where I can review the data, with regard to ROI, once monthly. Of course in the beginning I had to look at the numbers much closer, but once I had my prime positions and optimal CPC established for each keyword I could make minor tweaks every month rather than weekly (with the help of a bid management tool (IMG:http://www.highrankings.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) . I also look at keywords by group on a daily/weekly basis to insure that there is nothing majorly wrong. Like Andrew said, it all comes down to number of keywords in your PPC campaigns

I know we got slightly off the subject, sorry. Good luck with your PPC and tracking adventure (IMG:http://www.highrankings.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Kevin

[eragon]

Welcome Matt! (IMG:http://www.highrankings.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/bye1.gif)

If I'm not mistaken, you have to spend $5,000 a month (or there abouts) to Overture to be able to bulk upload with a spreadsheet. I could be wrong, but I heard that at a seminar not too long ago. I spend that much, so I have nothing to compare to. If you don't spend that much, perhaps Overture will offer another or similar method.

I agree with you though: manually updating them one by one is a REAL drag! (IMG:http://www.highrankings.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)

[eklages]

Matt,

Hi and welcome! You do have to spend a certain amount on Overture to gain the use of an account manager-- although I'm not sure I know what that exact amount is. That said, it sounds like you may have to do it the manual way and put the urls in yourself. Also, you may want to take a look into Overture's free tracking. I'm not sure what your business is, but that may also be an alternative for you. In the Directraffic Center they mention

If you’d like more detailed information when analyzing your Web server logs, use Overture Tracking URLs. You'll receive data that will allow you to determine traffic by search term, match type and raw search query.

I'm not sure if could help, but there's more info in the Directraffic Center Precision Match tab right hand side of the page link-- Add Conversion Data.
Good luck!

p.s. I totally agree! Adding anything into the Overture system can be a huge pain. Not as user-friendly as it could be. (IMG:http://www.highrankings.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)

[thebean]

Matt --
I was/may still be in the same boat as you. That is a new Overture account who had no trouble initiating a campaign with Google. My Overture rep sent me a blank spreadsheet to fill in for easy uploading. I'm happy to send it to you if you like.'

-Tim

[idrive]

I believe the minimum amount per month that you need to be spending to have an Overture rep is $1500 US. While you can directly upload a spreadsheet, it still must await approval - 3-5 days. If you email it to your rep it can be approved in one day.

My information comes from our Overture rep :-)