Google recently launched their new Adwords interface at Search Engine Strategies – New York, and it is looking very interesting.
Here is a screenshot that was taken by AccuraCast during the UK pre-launch testing in February of this year. The campaigns now appear in a left column (similar to Adwords Editor), with the campaign summaries below the chart.
Google's New Adwords Interface
One of the issues that I have always had with the current version of Adwords is that I regularly find myself shuffling back-and-forth, especially when I am writing new ads. Also, when I am managing large accounts that have many different campaigns, the web-based interface is a bear to deal with.
Another thing that I do wish that Google’s Adwords system provided was in-line conversion rates and Cost-Per-Conversion calculations, down to the specific keyword and/or ad. You can calculate the information easily enough by using Google Analytics, but the figures aren’t visible in the Adwords account. (This is one of the moments where Yahoo beats out Google).
I work around the interface issues by using Google’s downloadable Adwords Editor. It takes a little while to get used to, but I personally like it better than their current web-based interface. Plus, being able to copy-and-paste ads & keywords from one ad group to another makes things really easy when I’m working through my keyword incubation.
This announcement about Google’s new web interface has me very curious. I love data and I love metrics, so any tool which give me an edge to improve my ad efficiency, and ultimately profit, gets me very excited.
So, let’s get into some of the details…
According to the presentation at SES-NY by Angela Lai, there were several key design and performance principles that they used for the interface:
- Speed matters
- Give Guidance at the right time
- Consistency
Google uses the AJAX-rich Google Web Toolkit to drive the client-side interface, providing a significant speed boost for the user.
They are also promising to deliver more data per screen to decrease the number of clicks you need to do something.
Also, they have added in-line editing of ads, which will make things much quicker when you need to tweak an ad to increase your click-through or conversion rates. (I think this could be a GREAT improvement)
I have a beta account request in, so I’m looking forward to getting in and playing with the interface. When I do, I will put up a video review with my comments and advice.
You can submit your information to Google to request access to the beta test.
At the moment, I think they will probably have to do some serious interface kung-fu and deliver some improved analytics tools for it to be better than the Adwords Editor. However, I’m holding out judgement until I get my turn at the driver’s wheel.
-Kris
Thanks to SearchCowboys.com