In a quiet announcement made last month, Google indicated that some changes would be made to their geo targeting. The most noteworthy of the changes is the loss of the custom shape or polygon targeting. For those not familiar with the custom targeting option, it allows advertisers to draw a shape around any geographic area to only show ads inside that shape. Custom targeting allows complete control and opens up campaign strategy possibilities not available anywhere else.

If you manage multiple accounts with comprehensive campaign set up's, you most likely utilize the AdWords Editor. Google just released version 9 of the tool that can be downloaded here and it comes with some much needed new features. Here is the high level list of new features.

Most companies are often faced with the dilemma of determining how to maximize limited online marketing budgets. Are you looking for high performance, but need to be conscious of costs? So what tactics should be used, PPC or SEO? The answer is both. PPC and SEO are often viewed as two very different online marketing strategies, with each side having their own supporters as to why their respective online marketing effort is the most effective. SEO can generate great results,

Call tracking is nothing new, but it can often be overlooked with all the set up options available for an online marketing campaign. Call tracking is an absolute must in terms of quantifying PPC or other paid initiatives, but let's forget the obvious for a minute and look at some of the other benefits call tracking can provide.

Now that Facebook has officially passed Google as the most visited site on the web, their advertising platform becomes more attractive than ever. However, even with their steady climb to the top, many online marketers remain skeptical of the advertising performance Facebook can deliver. Do consumers pay attention to ads on social networking sites? And are those clicks converting? These are just some of the questions surrounding Facebook ads and their effectiveness.

With the recent updates Google has made to their Ad extensions in Ad Words, it makes sense to take a step back and look at each type to determine how and when to use them. Ad extensions expand the standard PPC text ads in the results to display relevant additional information that would normally be gathered on the page post click. These ad types can be effective if used properly.