AdWords Search Funnels Coming to a Campaign Near You!

Innovations / March 24, 2010

Recently the Google AdWords team announced that they will be rolling out a set of new reports to give advertisers more insights into how people search and make buying decisions. Up to now AdWords attributed conversions only to the last ad clicked and the last keyword that someone typed in before clicking and taking action on an advertisers site.

More Insights Into How Hard Your Keywords and Ads Are Working

With the new search funnels reports, you’ll now be able to see things like which keywords and ads assisted in driving conversions and how long it took for visitors to convert to customers. So keywords and ads that drive traffic to your site but are converting below average might be worth more than you think since potential customers usually search several times before making a purchase – especially when comparison shopping.

Reaching People at Earlier Stages in the Buying Cycle Might be Worth More Than You Think

Often potential customers will start with a more generic search query like “flat screen tvs” and then continue to refine their search by narrowing the focus to something like “sony bravia lcd tv” before making a purchase. Now you’ll be able to see how the more generic keyword “flat screen tvs” had a hand in driving that customer to you even though they did not convert from that first search.

With this added intelligence you’ll be able to adjust your bid strategy accordingly and might discover areas of your campaign you thought were under-performing are actually funneling people towards conversions. Said another way, your short-tail keywords that reach people at an earlier stage in the buying cycle could be swaying people towards buying from you – now you’ll have proof of it!

To see the Search Funnel Reports in action check out this video:

You can also get more details on the the official AdWords blog.