In paid search, metrics often vary in unexpected ways. Unexplained variation is often referred to as “noise.” Noise occurs on top of, and can sometimes cloud our view of, the true underlying pattern, or, the “signal.”

Part 2 of our study: much of the conventional wisdom around paid search driving store sales may be wrong.

The delay between clicks and orders can make it difficult to evaluate performance of tests in the early stages.

The findings are very interesting…but not what we expected!

A really good idea (probably not ours) for testing the incremental value of display ad impressions.

When your SEM says “those keywords didn’t work”, it’s time to find a new agency.

The data shows that geographical considerations matter — not just simple regional preferences: factors like population density, home values, average incomes, retail proximity etc. impact performance of PPC ads. Now we just need more tools from the engines to act on this data.

How your PPC efforts are tracked can have a significant impact on the program’s performance. Javascript-based tracking systems used by most web analytics systems typically lose 10 – 30% of the sales driven by paid search. Find out why and how to plug this hole.

Do offers work for you or against you? The answers aren’t always obvious.