Be smart, advertisers. Here’s how to approach rising Google brand CPC
While we are at the mercy of Google’s auction systems in determining CPC, we can install safeguards to ensure increases are...
May 20, 2019 at 12:54 pm ET
Andy Taylor
Andy Taylor is a Senior Research Analyst at RKG, responsible for analyzing trends across the digital marketing spectrum for best practices and industry commentary. A primary contributor to the Merkle | RKG Blog, Dossier, and quarterly Digital Marketing Report, his 4+ years of experience have seen him master and provide valuable insights into topics that extend across paid search, comparison shopping engines, display advertising, SEO, and social media. Prior to coming to RKG, Andy worked as an event organizer for a political campaign and dabbled in freelance writing. A graduate of the University of Virginia with a degree in Economics, he likes to spend his free time watching documentaries and selling homemade ice cream sandwiches at farmer's markets with his girlfriend.
Google is right; click-through and conversion rates kinda don’t matter
Say what? Turns out you may be focusing on the wrong things if you're fixated on click-through and conversion rates. Here are a number of reasons...
The Google expanded text ad CTR lift that never was
Contributor Andy Taylor shares his take on Google's expanded text ads (ETAs), drawing comparisons to the new responsive search ad (RSA)...
The status of Google’s presence in Google Shopping Auctions
Google has long been visible in these auctions, not only through Express but also Play and Store. Contributor Andy Taylor evaluates its presence and...
Look Ma, no keywords! Phrase-free AdWords campaigns are here
Contributor Andy Taylor discusses Google's new Local Search Ads Experiment in AdWords, which uses address and location categories in lieu of...
Phrase, broad, or broad match modifier: After exact, what’s the next best match type?
Contributor Andy Taylor answers by sharing research that shows deploying multiple match types produces little difference between phrase and broad...
What’s going on with Google brand CPC?
Brands may be at Google’s mercy when it comes to the price of branded traffic, but Columnist Andy Taylor outlines steps they can take to reduce...
Holiday shoppers increasingly turned to Google Maps in the countdown to Christmas Day
Columnist Andy Taylor from Merkle shares data on how consumers engaged with Maps and Local Inventory Ads over the holiday shopping...
Is holiday paid search more competitive in 2017 than 2016?
Columnist Andy Taylor explores year-over-year Auction Insights data from AdWords, revealing insights into this year's holiday paid search...
Four key holiday paid search trends to keep an eye on
Columnist Andy Taylor shares data that can help predict trends in the e-commerce and retail space this holiday season. Advertisers, take...
Amazon Prime Day’s surprising effects on Google AdWords performance
Columnist Andy Taylor dives into Merkle advertiser performance data to explore the impact of Amazon's recent Prime Day...
Early performance results from Google’s update to close variants
What impact has Google's latest update to close variants had on paid search performance? Columnist Andy Taylor reviews the...
How to compare paid search and organic search without sounding foolish
Which search channel is better: paid or organic? Columnist Andy Taylor argues that there is no simple answer to this question, despite what some...
What your paid search KPI says about you
Every advertiser measures success based on key performance indicators (KPIs) that they deem relevant. Columnist Andy Taylor asks, What do your chosen...
Google Maps ad traffic steadily growing
Columnist Andy Taylor of Merkle shares data on the growth of ad traffic from Google Maps, including conversion rate and CPC data by...
Google’s location tracking is better now than ever before
Columnist Andy Taylor notes that Google has improved its ability to track search traffic at the ZIP code level, which is good news for advertisers...
When should advertisers consider pausing Google Local Inventory Ads?
Retailers that sell online and in-store need to balance where to send users in their paid search efforts. Columnist Andy Taylor explores when...
Three well-meaning paid search optimizations that might kill performance
That recent adjustment to your paid search campaign seemed like a good idea at the time, but now you're seeing a drop in performance. How could this...
The limitations of Facebook’s anti-discrimination policy and others like it
Facebook recently removed "Ethnic Affinities" targeting on its ad platform, but contributor Andy Taylor notes that this update only addresses the...
What Google’s recent RLSA updates mean for advertisers
Columnist Andy Taylor discusses the impact of two recent changes to Remarketing List for Search Ads announced at SMX East 2016 -- expanded RLSA...