AdCenter v. AdWords Interface

[integramed]

I just decided to open an AdCenter account to see what all the fuss was about. Boy, this interface is cumbersome. In addition to Ads I now have a new entity to fuss with - "Orders". I suppose this is modelled on the old "insertion order" of print ad fame. Bad idea. Plus, there's the "ad review" period as per YSM. Another bad idea. I'm a long-time Google AdWords advertiser, and the AdWords interface still rules! Totally. Looks like MS used the same old interface model that's hurting Yahoo right now in my opinion. Did MS do any real testing of AdCenter before release? If I'm missing something really significant here then please enlighten me.

[KevinSource]

Believe it or not it was actually much worse in the beginning. In their defense, they are making improvements all the time. It's funny that I see this post because I literally just finished sending an email of requests to the AdCenter team. I'm sure with time it will get better...I hope, anyway ;)

[integramed]

Worse in the beginning? That's scary. And it's not just a simple case of the interface being cumbersome - they seem to be truly confused about how to treat the fundamental entities such as Campaigns, Ads and Keywords from a UI point of view. They seem to be having difficulty with their fundamental model.

Case in point, I went to check on the status of a "pending" ad and I got this ***all time classic*** piece of bemuddled thinking. And I quote:

"Each ad is associated with a specific keyword. If the ad is rejected, then all of the keyword associations for the ad will be rejected. If the ad is approved but associated with a rejected keyword, the association will be rejected."

I need to consult with a theoretical logician, or perhaps a professor of symbolic logic, and see if he can help me with this construct ;-)

[Discovery]

You're correct Adcenter is a little confusing.

Just calling it adcenter has confused a lot of people...adwords adcenter..

They have had a beta team and they have implemented many, but not all, of the suggestions. I feel that they are moving in the right direction.

Think back to when you first started using Google... I'm sure you had a learning curve and had to warm up to the concept of campaigns, subcampaigns, keyword limits and other google params. After a bit we all got it down, have a strategy and love it. And you're right, its a wonderful UI.

MSN does need many UI changes, however don't penalize them for going in a different direction..just yet... Since they have many features that Google does not such as real demographics targeting, timeframe and geographics targeting to name a few, they have created the UI in a different manner. I agree with you though, the terminology that they use "orders" and the way they explain things are not very well done. But then again, this is a Google strong point, I don't know who writes googles stuff, but they just say it so simply.

MSN is very open to suggestion and I have seen changes requested by users made immediately. They have certainly taken a different approach than YSM, they are going to listen to their core audience and try to build a UI/system that meets their core audiences expectations. And if you're like me I would love nothing more than to have another choice outside of G and Y.

So use the system and use this forum to make concise requests for change. The MSN team is listening and you may be suprised to get just what you want.

Cheers

Discovery

[integramed]

Discovery - thanks for your response. I hear you.

My AdCenter test ad has now been reviewed and is live. But, the fundamental keyword for our business (infertility) has been rejected - "undesirable content" with no recourse. I've been doing SEM since Danny first announced goto.com back in 1998 (see below) and have never, never had this keyword rejected on any of the engines. And I've used most. We're a public corporation and probably the largest provider of infertility treatment in the U.S. We do about 20% of all U.S. IVF procedures, with a national network of over 25 clinics. Our website is integramed.com
I do all SEM for the national network. Anyway, I digress... gotta get back to my AdWords account now!

The Start of SEM
http://searchenginewatch.com/sereport/article.php/2165971

[Discovery]

Interesting business to market online, we'll have to chat about that some time.

I too have had keywords rejected with seemingly no reason.

xyz services florida - accepted
xyz services texas - rejected

Both same ad and same landing page..? I submitted a request for review and within a day they accepted all ads. Other times I had keywords rejected only to find out that they were considered a duplicate in another campaign. Keyword management is where MSN is lacking a bit, however they have added a few new tools to help identify duplication at the point of submission and give you a chance to delete the keyword(s) then and there before they cause a problem.

I also have campaigns on MSN that use some of the highest volume keywords on Google, but I get no impressions on MSN... everything is active.. but no impressions? Again, MSN is still in Beta, and sometimes there are technical issues on their end and other times there are simple usability issues that cause confusion. My hope is that with clearly outlined, positive feedback by users and a quick response by MSN will result in a service/interface that will mean big profits for all of us.

Cheers,

Discovery

[integramed]

Well, if AdCenter is still in beta I suppose we should cut them some slack. But not much. They're a generation behind. I just got an email announcing that my ad had been reviewed, and giving me the status of the keywords, including the sad news that one had been rejected.

Yikes. Shades of YSM. Submit an ad, then sit my your email for 24- 48 hours to see if your ad has been "approved" to run. No sir. Not in this age of instant action, and instant gratification. And certainly not when I'm *paying them*. I'm the advertiser. I expect service.

Google delivers. AdWords gives me the (almost) instant action I need and expect. Superb. I suppose they invested in the server farms to deliver it, and I guess MS and YSM simply did not.

As regards my job, yes, there aren't many folks out there doing IVF and Egg Donor lead generation day in and day out ;-)