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Articles by: Matthew Umbro

Matthew Umbro

Matthew Umbro

Matthew Umbro is a pay-per-click advertising expert and vice president, advertising, at Closed Loop, a leading digital marketing agency. He works and collaborates with clients worldwide across multiple industries to drive leads and brand awareness. He first contributed to Practical Ecommerce in 2013 and has been in the PPC industry since 2007.

Matthew is also the founder of #PPCChat, a weekly Twitter chat for industry specialists.

He holds a B.A. in Communication from the University of New Hampshire.

Contact Matt via email or LinkedIn.

Google Ads
4 Questions for a Prospective PPC Agency

May 9, 2022 • Matthew Umbro

Contributor Matt Umbro is a long-time pay-per-click agency exec. Here are four questions he would ask a prospective agency if the roles were reversed.
Google Ads
How Conversion Data Improves Google Ads Automation

April 12, 2022 • Matthew Umbro

For years Google Ads has migrated to automated, machine-learning ad management. But the performance of those automated campaigns is only as good as the conversion data. We explain.
Google Ads
Google, Microsoft Update Ad Extensions, Lead Tracking, More

March 15, 2022 • Matthew Umbro

The latest round of advertising-platform updates includes dynamic ad extensions, off-site lead tracking, and automated descriptions. The changes follow from Google's and Microsoft's emphasis on automating ad functions.
Google Ads
Benefits of Google’s Search Ads 360, Revamped

February 15, 2022 • Matthew Umbro

Google's updated Search Ads 360 is a big improvement. The interface is consistent with Google Ads. New features include easier cross-platform management, among others. We explain.
Google Ads
Setting Up Google’s Performance Max Campaigns

January 13, 2022 • Matthew Umbro

Google's Performance Max campaigns are the latest iteration in the company's emphasis on automation and machine learning. It's worth testing Performance Max despite the lack of reporting transparency.
Google Ads
Reviewing Google Ads Performance at Year-end

December 12, 2021 • Matthew Umbro

It's necessary at year-end to review pay-per-click advertising performance. As with any managed channel, you should expect growth, such as more revenue, transactions, or unique visitors, among other metrics. The review should include broader industry and economic developments.
Google Ads
Structuring Google Ads Campaigns for Success

November 15, 2021 • Matthew Umbro

Google Ads has implemented many changes this year. Most involve more automation. The impact of these changes means advertisers may need to restructure their search campaigns.
Google Ads
Google Ads Updates Search Terms Report, Keyword Match, More

October 10, 2021 • Matthew Umbro

Google Ads released a slew of updates in September to provide advertisers more clarity into ad auctions, performance metrics, and more. This transparency is welcome, especially as the holiday season is around the corner.
Google Ads
3 Optimizations for Google Shopping Campaigns

September 13, 2021 • Matthew Umbro

The benefits of Google Shopping are compelling. Advertisers consistently experience strong revenue, traffic, and return on ad spend while often paying less per click than standard search campaigns. Still, the performance of Google Shopping ads, like all ads, could plateau. Thus continuous optimizations are key to sustaining results.
Google Ads
Breaking Down Google Ads New ‘Strikes’ Policy

August 8, 2021 • Matthew Umbro

Google Ads recently introduced a pilot program to combat repeat policy violations. Beginning in September, advertisers who continually violate ad policies will suffer consequences. The system will use "strikes" to assign penalties.
Google Ads
Understanding Dynamic Search Ads in 2021

July 13, 2021 • Matthew Umbro

Ecommerce sites often have hundreds or thousands of product pages. Creating keyword-based ads in Google for each page is laborious and sometimes impractical. That's the purpose of dynamic search ads. Advertisers can tell Google which pages and themes to target on their sites, and Google will dynamically show ads for those targets from relevant search queries.
Google Ads
Google Ads Updates Performance Max, Customer Match, Product Feeds, More

June 8, 2021 • Matthew Umbro

In its annual Marketing Livestream event last month, Google addressed updates to Google Ads, among other topics. Only a handful of the updates could produce noticeable performance changes for advertisers. I'll review the most impactful updates in this post.
Google Ads
When to Auto-apply Google Ads Recommendations

May 3, 2021 • Matthew Umbro

Google Ads is steadily incorporating machine learning into daily account management. Google recently introduced a feature to auto-apply its suggestions in the “Recommendations” tab, offering 17 types of auto-apply recommendations in three categories.
Google Ads
Understanding Google Ads Impression Share

April 5, 2021 • Matthew Umbro

I'm frequently asked by Google Ads advertisers how their campaigns compare with competitors. It’s an imprecise question. It could refer to performance, exposure, messaging, or more. The most relevant answer is typically impression share — the number of impressions your ads receive divided by the total available.
Google Ads
Changes to Google Ads Impact Campaign Setup

March 5, 2021 • Matthew Umbro

Google has recently announced three changes that will force advertisers to rethink how they set up campaigns. The changes are: broad match modifier moving to phrase match, responsive search ads becoming the default ad type, the decision to not create alternative tracking identifiers.
Google Ads
5 Practical Uses for Google Ads Editor

February 4, 2021 • Matthew Umbro

Many tools can help manage a Google Ads account. But the most effective, in my experience, is Google Ads Editor. It's an offline application to download an account and make bulk edits and additions. The tool has saved me days of tedious work by turning hours-long tasks into minutes.
Google Ads
4 Uses for Google Ads’ New Insights Tab

January 4, 2021 • Matthew Umbro

Google Ads introduced Insights in late 2020. The new beta feature will roll out to advertisers in the coming months. Similar to the Keyword Planner, Insights provides advertisers a sense of trending keywords.
Google Ads
When to Apply Google Ads Recommendations (or Not)

December 3, 2020 • Matthew Umbro

The work of a pay-per-click ad specialist is seemingly never complete — more optimizations are always possible. Google Ads provides a recommendations tab to help. These include changes to core account components.
Google Ads
Understanding Google’s Smart Shopping Campaigns

November 2, 2020 • Matthew Umbro

I’ve written many articles in the last year that address Google Ads' automation. Used carefully, automation — bidding, dynamic copy, scripts — can free up time for strategy. In this post, I’ll focus on Smart Shopping campaigns for Google Shopping.
Google Ads
Google Ads Decreases Search Terms Visibility

October 4, 2020 • Matthew Umbro

In early September, Google Ads announced that the search terms report would disclose fewer user queries. The explanation from Google is to "maintain our standards of privacy and strengthen our protections around user data." The search terms report allows you to see the actual queries from users.
Google Ads
4 More Google Ads Scripts to Automate Tasks, Save Time

September 6, 2020 • Matthew Umbro

Google Ads scripts automate routine tasks. Last fall, I shared three such scripts that are helpful to me. In this post, I'll address four additional Google Ads scripts that automate tasks and save time.
Google Ads
‘Buy On Google’ Opens to All Merchants

August 5, 2020 • Matthew Umbro

Google Shopping has made its second significant change in the last few months. The first change was implementing free Google Shopping listings. The second is opening the “Buy on Google” program for all merchants, commission-free.
Google Ads
The Anatomy of a Text Ad

June 30, 2020 • Matthew Umbro

Google and Microsoft advertisers have had to rethink quality copy with the format of expanded text ads and responsive search ads. But the principles of the copy are the same for all pay-per-click ads: include the searcher's query, the product's value propositions, and a clear call-to-action.
Google Ads
Guide to Google Ads Automated Bidding Options

June 4, 2020 • Matthew Umbro

Automated bids in Google Ads remove control from advertisers and rely on Google's algorithm for cost and performance. Google can set automated bids by the query, ad creative, apps, browser, language, operating system, and search partner. Plus, automated bidding utilizes first- and third-party data and other signals not available to advertisers directly.
Google Ads
Don’t Drop Google Shopping Ads Despite the Free Listings

May 7, 2020 • Matthew Umbro

In a surprise, Google announced on April 21 that a portion of listings on the Google Shopping tab would be free. Google had required sellers to create a Merchant Center account and run Shopping Ads through Google Ads. Henceforth, sellers with Shopping listings will still need a Merchant Center account but not Google Ads.
Google Ads
In Google Ads, Balance Automated Bids with User Control

April 8, 2020 • Matthew Umbro

In "3 Handy Google Ads Scripts to Automate Tasks," I addressed methods to expedite pay-per-click management. But, in my experience, advertisers should cautiously embrace Google's push to automate campaigns. The key is to find the right balance of automation and user control.
Google Ads
Assessing All Google Ad Extensions for 2020 (and a Couple from Microsoft)

March 3, 2020 • Matthew Umbro

Extensions complement text ads on search engines by providing helpful info for consumers and occupying more space in search results. Nonetheless, advertisers often underutilize extensions, in my experience. In this post, I’ll explain all Google ad extensions and a couple that are Microsoft-only.
Google Ads
3 New Google Ads Image Formats Could Help Merchants

February 4, 2020 • Matthew Umbro

Ads on Google have historically been mostly text. But the trend is changing. Google now offers three image-based ad formats in beta. All could help ecommerce merchants.
Google Ads
Using Google’s Dynamic Ads to Personalize, Drive Conversions

January 6, 2020 • Matthew Umbro

Merchants strive to make their Google Ads stand out. They may use value-adds and credibility factors to differentiate from competitors. But the dynamic component of ad copy is typically a better option.
Google Ads
3 Handy Google Ads Scripts to Automate Tasks

November 25, 2019 • Matthew Umbro

I am not usually a proponent of automating paid search campaigns. But one aspect of automation that I've found helpful is Google Ads scripts. In this post, I'll address three that are especially useful.

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