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These enhancements are helpful they allow us to monitor our accounts more closely, identify more specific problems and make finer adjustments to achieve our campaign goals. However, data is at its most powerful when it can be formatted it in such a way that it tells us a story, shows us a trend or reveals a pattern. This need for customised formatting that has sparked the introduction of the new Google AdWords Analysis Toolbar.
The toolbar is the newest addition to the Campaigns tab and provides a one stop portal for all the tools we need to segment, filter and arrange the data without having to run custom reports. This is a handy time-saver as it allows the user to play around with the data, try different layouts and identify top line trends in live view.
The first tab on the toolbar is one which should already be familiar to us. It allows us to filter out the deleted and paused campaigns, which is useful for refining the account totals at the bottom of the table. For example, if there is a paused campaign that is influencing the overall Click Through Rate (CTR) for the client, you can simply filter it out and the new total will be displayed.
The second tab allows the use to drill down another level into the data, segmenting it into various time periods (days, weeks, months), or categorising the data into days of the week. This is a quick way of identifying the weekly trends of each campaign; which days activity peaks and which are the slowest. There is also an option to separate the data into different devices in order to see how the traffic differs between computer and mobile searches. This tool will gain more and more prominence as mobile browsing continues to grow in popularity.
The Filter tab allows the user to custom sort the data and exclude certain segments in order to show more specific results. For example, a filter can be created to reveal only the ads that are converting higher than 10%, and exclude those that aren’t. This is useful for optimising the account and identifying the best and worst performers. These filters can also be saved for later reference.
The Columns button allows the user to customise which data is to be displayed in the table and where it is positioned.
Once the user has found the best layout for their data, they can generate a report straight from the current view. To do this, simply click on the Download button to the right of the toolbar. From there you can name the report and choose the file format, just like in the Report Centre but without going through the entire process of setting up each parameter.
Google is always thinking of new ways to present their data, as they reminded us in a recent blog post, and this new Analysis Toolbar reflects that commitment. It allows more streamlined access to campaign data and the ability to quickly identify trends and generate reports, ultimately cutting down on the time it takes to manage campaigns. In an age when we are required to delve deeper into our campaign data and gain more specific insights, this is certainly a positive step!
This article was posted by Chris Pahor. Chris is a specialist in Search Engine Marketing at Traffika. You can follow Chris on Twitter @chrispahor.
