If you're a regular reader of the blog, in the last year you've seen Google's advertising tools move in some exciting directions. We've introduced more data-driven and efficient campaign management with the new AdWords interface, easier account optimization with the Opportunities tab, and new ad formats like Ad Sitelinks and Product Extensions, to name a few.

But where is advertising with Google headed next? Which new tools, formats and features will make it possible for you to communicate with your customers in more meaningful, creative ways?

We've started a new project, Google Ad Innovations, to answer that very question. Google Ad Innovations is a website where you can explore Google's latest advertising technologies, watch short video demos to learn more, and try out select new tools.

The technologies we'll highlight on Google Ad Innovations are at various stages of development, from early tests to fully released features. Here are a few of the new releases you'll find on Ad Innovations right now:

Although there's a lot to look at on Ad Innovations, we want it to be more than a show and tell site. Every Ad Innovations page will have a feedback link: if you see a feature that can be improved, or if you think we've hit on a valuable new idea, let us know! The comments and suggestions you leave while using Google Ad Innovations will go directly to the Google team working on the feature.

So, if you want to stay on the cutting edge of advertising products, visit Google Ad Innovations — we’ll regularly add new tools and features to the site, and we can't wait to hear what you think!

Our previous post in the Content Network Optimization University series covered the basics of setting up and launching a good campaign on the Google Content Network for your clients.

Today we will cover more advanced optimization strategies. We've compiled these by observing best practices from the most successful advertisers on the network. Whether you're new to the Content Network or have been using it for a while, you can get better results from your campaigns.

The best practices are structured along 3 key phases of a campaign -

Taking time up front to set up your clients' campaigns correctly goes a long way in getting higher quality traffic to their sites. Let’s recap the top strategies.

It is important to monitor clients' campaigns' performance and consistently optimize individual elements. Before making significant changes (e.g. changing bids, excluding high volume sites, pausing ad groups), wait until enough click or conversion data has accrued; we recommend 5+ conversions or 100+ clicks per site

To get additional traffic and boost sales from your campaign, we recommend using a Content keyword expansion strategy.

You can find all the latest videos and updates on our YouTube channel.

Imagine your client is a travel company, and they're trying to excite users about deals to tropical Caribbean destinations. Users may come to the website, browse the offers and think about booking a trip, but decide that the deal is still not cheap enough. Then, they continue to browse the web. If your client later decides to offer discounted deals to the Carribean, how do they reach users who have already expressed interest in traveling there?

To help you to do this, this week we're rolling out a new feature called remarketing. Any AdWords advertiser can use remarketing to reach users as they’re browsing the web on sites within the Google Content Network. Remarketing is a simple way to connect with users, based on their past interactions with your clients' websites.

We began trialing remarketing last March as part of our interest-based advertising beta. We’ve received a tremendous response from the hundreds of advertisers who’ve been using it in recent months, across all industries - including automotive, retail, local and finance. We’ve seen that remarketing has worked well for many different kinds of advertisers - whether they’re looking to boost brand awareness, or drive clicks and sales, and whether they use display or text ads. For example, if you support search advertising clients, you can use remarketing to create an integrated campaign strategy for them. After driving traffic to their sites with search ads, you can then remarket to the users who reach their sites by showing them tailored ads on sites throughout the Google Content Network.

You can easily set up and create a remarketing campaign for clients through the new “Audiences” tab in AdWords. A remarketing campaign allows you to take advantage of the same features and reports you can use today in AdWords - it’s really just a new way to reach the best audience for your clients' ads.

Here’s an example of how it works. Let’s say your client is a basketball team with tickets to sell. You can put a piece of code on the tickets page on the client's website, which will let you later show relevant ticket ads (such as last minute discounts) to everyone who has visited that page, as they subsequently browse sites in the Google Content Network. In addition to your own site, you can also remarket to users who visited your YouTube brand channel or clicked your YouTube homepage ad.

You can also run a number of remarketing campaigns at the same time. For example, you could promote discount game tickets to users who’ve previously visited your client's tickets page, advertise VIP hospitality packages to users who clicked on his “How to get to the arena” page, and advertise a sale on team merchandise to users who’ve previously visited his YouTube brand channel.

Remarketing is a great way for businesses to reach users who are likely to be highly receptive to their ads and special offers. For example, Intercontinental Hotels Group has used remarketing to reach potential customers who have visited one of their hotel websites:

It helps advertisers and websites get higher returns. It also means more relevant and useful ads for users, and more opportunities to receive special offers and discounts that may be of interest.

As we announced when we launched interest-based advertising, we want to put users in control of the ads they see, so anyone can opt out of remarketing by using the Ads Preferences Manager. Our remarketing product complies with industry standards developed by self-regulatory groups such as the NAI and IAB and IAB UK.

To get started with a remarketing campaign, visit the AdWords Help Center.

Over the next few weeks, a new set of reports called AdWords Search Funnels (beta) will be made available in your clients' AdWords accounts.

This set of reports describes the Google.com search ad click and impression behavior leading up to a conversion. They provide data on how "upper-funnel" keywords behave on the conversion path prior to the last ad click. In addition to a Top Conversions report, Search Funnels consists of 7 reports including Assisted Conversions, First and Last Click Analysis, Time Lag, and Path Length. The information in these reports will give you even more insight into the ads customers interact with before converting on clients' sites so you can make even more informed decisions about the keywords, ad groups and campaigns in their AdWords accounts.

Take a look at this video giving an overview of the new reports:

Note: Over the next few weeks, the Search Funnels beta will be rolled out gradually to all accounts. They are available only in your AdWords account and not in Google Analytics. They are activated when you have AdWords Conversion Tracking running or if you've imported goals or transactions from Analytics into AdWords, and will only show data for keywords that show up in at least one conversion path. Search Funnel data is currently limited to search ads showing on Google.com, and for ad impressions and clicks within 30 days of the conversion.

For additional information, please visit the Inside AdWords Blog.

Many firms decide to cut their advertising and marketing spend during recessions; the most recent recession was no different.

Please join us for an upcoming webinar from Google and The Wharton School, partners on the Fast.Forward. initiative. Prof. David Reibstein, Marketing at The Wharton School, will discuss lessons learned from this difficult economic period and how those lessons impact and influence current and future marketing decisions.

Topics:

What: Exploring the Recession's Impact on Advertising & Marketing Spending: CMO / CFO Perspectives

When: March 26, 2010, 10amPST / 12pmCST / 1pmEST

Register at: www.tinyurl.com/march26webinar2010

For more perspectives on the changing face of marketing, visit the Fast.Forward. channel on YouTube.

For those of you who use the AdWords API, we wanted to remind you that on April 22, just 30 days from today, most v13 services will be turned off. Visit the AdWords API blog to learn more about what's changing and how to migrate your application to the new AdWords API.

The Search Engine Strategies conference will come to Manhattan later this month, from March 22-26, 2010, and Google will be there.

We'll be on panels and will be delivering trainings on topics ranging from AdWords and Analytics to Online Video, B2B search marketing and innovations in search. In addition, Analytics Evangelist Avinash Kaushik will be the keynote speaker, on March 24th, presenting new approaches to search analytics.

Our booth will be staffed with experts on products including Google AdWords and Analytics, DoubleClick and Webmaster Tools. We'll also be delivering a mobile ads presentation at the Expo Hall theater, which is free for all SES attendees.

Still need to buy a pass? Use 20GOOG and save 20%.

See you in the Big Apple!

This week OMMA Global takes over the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, and Google will be there. Here's an overview of what's in store.

On March 17th, get a complete view of the art and science of rich media advertising from Google's resident rich media experts, Peter Crofut and Chip Scovic.

Next day listen to Neal Mohan, Vice President of Product Management, deliver his keynote presentation on opportunities in online display advertising. He'll cover changes in the display ecosystem, and how everyone can embrace these changes and achieve their goals. If you miss his keynote, be sure to catch the panel right after on Online Advertising - Rapid Recovery or Recession 2.0?, or the late morning session Connect with the Google Content Network with Jason Miller, Group Product Manager, Google Content Network.

Later in the day, Baljeet Singh, Senior Product Manager, Video Monetization will participate in the panel Can Online Video Reach Scale for Clients Budgets in 2010? Hear what he, and other experts, have to say about definition, scale and measurement when it comes to online video.

Our DoubleClick, YouTube and Google Content Network teams will also be at the Trade Show to let you know what's new and to answer your product questions.

Interested in attending? Register here, and if you’re a MediaPost member, your full-conference pass is FREE. You can also sign up for private networking sessions here. Use the code OGSF20 for a 20% discount.

In part two of our series on mobile ads best practices, we'll focus on carrier and device targeting.

We recently launched the ability to target specific carriers and devices on mobile devices with full Internet browsers. How can this benefit you and your clients?

One of the new assets of device targeting is the new automatic device targeting for applications. Now, when you are advertising an application for Android-based phones or iPhones, the ad will automatically display a "Download" link instead of a URL.

To use this feature, include either 'itunes.apple.com/' or 'market.android.com/' followed by the app name in the ad's visible URL, and it will automatically display as 'Download iPhone App' or 'Download Android App.'

Let's say your clients sell both and iPhone and Android application. You can now set up three campaigns, one only targeting iPhones with language specific to that application and phone, one targeting Android-based phones with language specific to those users, and a third targeting all mobile devices to drive more general traffic to your clients' websites.

With Device and Carrier targeting, you can now speak to clients' potential customers even more specifically in the ad text. Does the client sell ringtones? Target mobile carriers in separate campaigns and mention the customer's phone or cell phone carrier in the ad text. Does the client sell mobile accessories? Set up campaigns focused on specific mobile devices in separate campaigns and mention the phone the customer has in the ad text.

Note: If you want to target Blackberry users, you will have to set up a WAP mobile ad within your account. While there is no way to specifically target Blackberry phones right now, you can reach those users through a mobile specific ad type. Find out more about how WAP ads differ from mobile ads for Internet-capable devices.

For more mobile tips and resources, visit the Google Mobile Ads site, as well as the Go Mobile! Series on the Inside AdWords Blog, and check back in a few weeks for more mobile tips to help your clients.

With more mobile devices with full Internet browsers hitting the market and marketers wondering how to best connect with consumers on their phones, we wanted to give you a few targeting best practices for targeting high end mobile devices.. Today we'll be giving you a few tips for optimizing mobile campaigns.

While both mobile and desktop search campaigns use similar best practices, the way we search and browse the web on our mobile phones is slightly different than on our computers. Separating mobile and desktop campaigns and optimizing for performance on each platform will drive greater success for your clients intigrated marketing strategies.

Use Device and Click Type reporting to figure out exactly what is and is not working in your mobile search campaigns. Just like with desktop search, you can (and should) bid according to what is sending traffic to your site and what converts best. Pulling out high performing keywords and placing them into a separate mobile campaign can help drive additional traffic in a growing market.